Employment Law in the United Kingdom – what differences are there?
Is it a United Kingdom? We thought we’d look in detail at the main differences in Employment Law between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and have updated this for…
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…
Antenatal Leave for fathers/partners available from 1st October 2014
For a long time pregnant employees have had a legal right to paid time off for antenatal appointments and from 1st October 2014, prospective fathers/partners, including same sex partners, of…
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…
Is obesity a disability? It can be!
When considering if a worker has a disability or not – for the purposes of being covered by the Equality Act 2010 – employers must consider the impact of any…
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…
Say Thank You to your staff – employee ‘experience’, motivation
Say thank you! In a recent survey by recruitment website monster.co.uk, taken by 2000 workers and 500 employers/managers, more than 58% of British workers don’t believe they are thanked enough…
Changes to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 supports reformed offenders entering the workplace. Following a specified period of time – which varies according to the sentence – an offender’s cautions and…
Employing young people/school leavers
From the start of the 2013/14 Academic year the Government changed the law on how long young people are required to stay in education or training. Raising the Participation Age‘…
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…
Should employers fear the office Christmas party?
Your Christmas Party is normally pretty lively and good fun, but employers need to consider various factors beforehand, so there are no problems (yawn – but bear with us here!).…
EU decides surrogate mothers can take maternity leave
The European Court of Justice in 2013 advised that a British woman who had a child through a surrogate mother is entitled to paid maternity leave. Women who adopt a…
‘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 are…
Confidential pre-termination negotiations and Settlement Agreements
Many employers, if a relationship with an employee is not going well, for whatever reason, may consider ending that relationship and will hope to start a conversation with an employee to end their…
Criminal record checks
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), which replaced the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) in late 2012 is there to help employers make safe recruitment decisions,…
Can an Agency worker become permanent at the company they work for?
An Agency worker (temp) is usually contracted and paid by the Agency who employs them, and the Company that hires them pays a fee to the Agency for their work. Here though,…
Should you let an employee audio-record a disciplinary or grievance meeting?
Read our latest advice here about whether you should let an employee audio-record a disciplinary or grievance meeting or appeal; and whether the employer should do this too. There could…
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…
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…
What would UK Employment Law be like without Europe?
Following the Referendum in June 2016 we look at what impact Europe has had on our existing UK employment laws; what laws are derived from Europe; where the Government has…
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?
It can be quite common that during a bad patch an employer, rather than make redundancies, may choose to make other changes to an employee’s Employment contract including lay-offs and…
Important Agency Workers Regulations Tribunal cases
Updated July 2020 Finally, at the end of 2012, over a year after the Agency Workers Regulations were introduced in October 2011, a case about the Swedish Derogation model came…
Leadership Tips for Entrepreneurs!
Have a read of our new article, one of an occasional series on Management and Leadership Tips for Entrepreneurs/Company Directors/Managing Directors.
Everything you need to know about references (part 2)
In our second article on References here we look at what obigations a previous employer has whey they provide a reference for an employee. The Data Protection Employment Practices Code…
Everything you need to know about references (part 1)
In our first article on References here we look at whether Employers have to seek references about employees when recruiting and whether there is a legal obligation for a previous…
Trust and Confidence – what does it really mean, and what happens when it breaks down?
We look at the Implied Terms in your contract of employment that are probably not written down anywhere, but are understood to exist because of the conduct of the parties,…
For what reasons can I be made redundant?
In this article we look at the scenarios when your employer is considering making redundancies, and in what situations can they make you redundant? The Employment Rights Act 1996 (the…
What is religious discrimination?
Religious discrimination employment law cases have been in the news for several years and with four important UK cases going to the European Court of Human Rights in September 2012,…
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…
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…
Have you been dismissed while working abroad?
If you work abroad you may now be able to claim unfair dismissal in the UK if you are dismissed. With unemployment rising in the UK, British workers may have…
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…
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…