Whistle-blowing (the Public Interest Disclosure Act)
Employees and Workers who ‘blow the whistle’ - i.e.make a 'protected disclosure' of any wrong-doing in the workplace by their…
The National Minimum Wage – record keeping period extended to 6 years
Detailed information about the Minimum Wage; information on TV/Film Industry Pay Guidelines; information about Agency Workers and guidelines for Unpaid…
How to deal with an Acas conciliation request
(Updated October 2020). If an employee or ex-employee has a potential Employment Tribunal claim, from May 2014 they are required…
Taking on an apprentice – the full details
Apprenticeship schemes are often in the news (and not always for the right reasons), so we’ve had a look at…
Agency Worker Regulations (AWR) – what does it mean?
From 1st October 2011, Agency Workers in Great Britain (Northern Ireland will publish their own separate regulations) will have the…
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,…
The Swedish Derogation Model – what is it? When is it ending?
The Agency Workers Regulations come into force on 1st October 2011 to bolster the rights of so-called "vulnerable" agency workers…
Calculating holiday pay (updated 2017)
When calculating holiday pay Employers must now include payments for regular overtime and contractual results-based commission. Updated to look at…
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…
Limited Company Contractors not always protected under Equality Act
Are LCC’s protected under the Equality Act? It is common in many industry sectors for workers to work through a…
Statutory Sick Pay changes could affect small employers
A major change to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) comes into force on 6th April 2014, which will affect all employers.…
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…
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…
Time workers should be paid the NMW to ‘sleep over’
At the end of 2013 an important case went to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) – Whittlestone v BJP Home Support…
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…
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…
‘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…
Third party harassment provisions in Equality Act repealed
The 2010 Equality Act contained the concept of Third Party Harassment, where employers could be held liable for harassment of…
Criminal record checks
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), which replaced the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) in late…
The Conduct of Employment Agencies Regulations 2003
It’s a long title, but these Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations are important for Limited Company Contractors (or Personal Service Companies)…
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…
Can disciplinary or grievance meetings be audio recorded?
There could be various reasons you, or your Employer, may wish to audio-record important work meetings/hearings, including the hope that…
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,…
Can a Limited Company Contactor be in scope of the Agency Workers Regulations?
Although many commentators believe that the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) were not intended to apply to ‘professionals’ with their own limited companies…
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…
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…
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…
What are zero-hour contracts, and can casual workers ever become employees?
With the introduction of the Agency Workers Regulations in 2010, many Companies are believed to be using far more zero-hour…
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…
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…
Workplace surveillance: can your employer spy on you at work?
With CCTV cameras everywhere you go these days, how likely is it that your employer or client will be keeping…
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…
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…
What is religious discrimination?
Religious discrimination employment law cases have been in the news for several years and with four important UK cases going…
Holiday entitlement and sick leave – some clarity?
There has been plenty of confusion surrounding how workers holiday entitlements interact with sickness absence. With several years of conflicting…
Continuity of Service – for employees and workers
We thought we’d look at the concept of continuity of service in more detail here, as it is important for…
Your employer is making you redundant but has offered you another job – must you accept it?
Your job is at risk of redundancy, and your employer has offered you redeployment to another job in the same…
Fixed Term Contracts: what are they & how can they come to an end?
Fixed Term Contracts have always been popular with employers as a way to fill a ‘gap’ for a temporary period,…
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.…
Disciplinary procedures: common mistakes made by employers
In unfair dismissal claims, employment tribunals take the "Acas code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures" that was introduced…
Your client asks you to do something illegal, what should you do?
Although rare, it’s not completely unheard of for a client or boss to ask you to do something illegal as…
Care Workers – what are your rights at work?
At Workline we get a lot of queries from Care Workers who are unsure of their rights, and with Healthcare…
How to make your contracts IR35-proof
This is a difficult and potentially time-consuming process. Long-term freelancers will certainly wish to 'IR35-proof' their contracts in order to…
Employment tribunals – your rights
With a 56% rise in Tribunal claims in 2010, Employment Tribunals (ET’s) have been in the news a lot lately!…
Your employment status – Am I an Employee, a Freelancer or a Worker?
There are three different types of working individuals but deciding someone's employment status can be complicated as there is no…
Guide To Statutory Redundancy Pay and Redundancy
Our advice about Redundancy is updated for 2011. Redundancy is a ‘fair’ means of dismissal by your Employer if the…
Guide to pay, wages, pay cuts, and ‘unauthorised deductions’
Pay and Wages explained. How your Pay is protected from 'unauthorised deductions' from your Employer and what to do if…
What are my main Employment rights as an Employee, Worker or Freelancer?
Whatever your employment status, whether you are an employee, worker or freelancer, you have rights at work that are protected…
Written Statements, contracts, and changing terms in your contract
All Employees are legally entitled to a Written Statement, which they must receive within two months of starting the job.…
Maternity Leave and Pay Chart
As part of our guide to Maternity here is a quick chart to help you work out your Maternity Leave…