Equal Opportunties and Discrimination (Equality Act 2010)
The new Equality Act came into force on 1st October 2010 and replaces all previous equality legislation. The Equality Act covers the same groups that are protected by existing equality…
Should employers fear the office Christmas party? Misconduct outside the workplace
Your office Christmas Party is, hopefully, normally pretty lively and good fun. However, Employers can face problems if their staff ‘misbehave’. Without being too much of a Grinch there are…
Redundancy and ‘suitable alternative employment’ explained
In this article we look at the concept of an Employer providing 'suitable alternative employment' when an individuals job is being made redundant - what does it mean, how do…
Employment Law in the United Kingdom – what differences are there?
We thought we’d look in detail at the main differences in Employment Law between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Generally, employment law between England and Wales is the same;…
Disability Discrimination – what makes a worker disabled under the Equality Act 2010?
When considering if a worker is disabled or not for the purposes of being covered by the Equality Act 2010, employers must consider the impact of any physical or mental…
Small Business owners – how to work well with freelancers
With the ongoing shift towards employers using freelancers / contractors instead of employing PAYE workers and employees in the current uncertain climate, we look at how small business owners can…
Can love and relationships in the office work?
It’s not uncommon for romance to blossom between work colleagues – generally, this causes few problems, but we thought we’d take a look at what can sometimes be a quagmire…
Deciphering your legal status and IR35
IR35 – Updated 2016. Many new freelancers and contractors may be vaguely aware of IR35, but not know when and where it applies. Before getting too intimate with the ins…
What languages should be spoken at work
With the diversity of workforces in the UK today, there’ll inevitably be many workers of different nationalities and with different languages and cultures. This will mean that employers may need…
‘Without Prejudice’ rules explained (and Settlement Agreements)
‘Without Prejudice’ Rules have existed for a long time, and are used by an employer when they and an employee have a dispute in their working relationship which they try…
Confidential pre-termination negotiations and Settlement Agreements
Many employers, if a relationship with an employee isn’t going well (for whatever reason), may consider how they can end that relationship. One way of doing so will be to…
Interrupted breaks can still count as rest under the WTR
An important case about compensatory rest and rest breaks took place recently. The case of Hughes v Corps of Commissionaires Management Ltd concerned a security guard who worked 12-hour shifts…
Can an employee be dismissed because of their political opinions?
The European Court of Human Rights says no, you can’t be dismissed because of your political opinions! In the case of Redfearn v the United Kingdom, the Court of Human…
Short-time working and lay-offs – can you use them?
During a bad patch, it’s common for an employer to attempt to make changes to your employment contract, to save money, rather than make redundancies. In our article about Written…
Everything you need to know about professional references
We look at several issues, as this can be more complicated than it initially looks! (updated 2025) Do Employers have to seek references when recruiting? Generally, there’s no legal obligation…
Trust and Confidence – what does it really mean, and what happens when it breaks down?
A contract of employment is an agreement between you and your employer. There’s always a contract between you and your employer, even if you don’t have anything in writing, because…
An employee will be redundant if their full time job becomes part-time
(updated 2014) The Employment Rights Act 1996 (the law that currently covers making redundancies) says that, ‘an employee is dismissed by reason of redundancy if the dismissal is wholly or…
Peter Stringfellow – how he is clarifying employment law
Updated for 2013. Last year there was an important employment law case about employment status that showed that Employment Tribunals would focus on the actual reality of working relationships when…
Large Scale Dismissals – are they legal?
With dismissal notices being given out by Shropshire Council to all their staff earlier this month, we thought we’d take a closer look at what this means and if it…