Employment
We advise employers and employees about their employment rights. The source of those rights can be statutory, case law based or contractual. Employment law regularly accounts for a high number of legislative changes and it is an area of law in which it is vital to seek up to date legal advice.
Employers
It makes good commercial sense for employers to keep under review staff contracts for existing and new employees and to ensure that any changes are notified to the employees in the appropriate way. We will be glad to agree a fixed fee for reviewing your existing policies and advising about any changes required. For prospective employers who are thinking about recruiting staff, we can provide employment contracts which will suit your specific business needs.
Additionally, we can provide advice and assistance with a wide range of staff policies and employee handbooks that help give your organisation the legal framework necessary to both comply with legal obligations and to help deal with employment problems as they arise. Carefully tailored policies on internet misuse, confidentiality, violence in the workplace and a host of other considerations, can speed up the decision making process in dealing with disciplinary procedures and streamline any dismissal that may be appropriate. The existence of clear policies will go a long way to protecting employers from claims by disgruntled ex-employees and avoid potentially substantial costs both in terms of compensation, management time and legal expense that would otherwise arise.
In the event of claims being brought against your organisation, we can advise you as to where you stand legally, provide the tactical guidance necessary to resolve a dispute informally or provide representation before an Employment Tribunal.
Employees
We provide advice to employees during the course of their employment on a wide range of issues including:-
- Rights to statements of employment particulars
- Rights to itemised pay statements
- Unlawful deductions from wages
- Guarantee payments
- Whistle blowing cases
- Maternity & Paternity rights
- Minimum periods of notice
- Unfair Dismissal
- Constructive Dismissal
- Redundancy
In all of the above areas, an employee will have a right to refer to the Employment Tribunal for a determination of a dispute with an employer. We advise you to take employment law advice at the earliest possible opportunity so as not to fall foul of strict time limits for bringing claims. Remedies you may be entitled to include a declaration that a particular right has been breached, compensation or even reinstatement by your company in the event of an unfair dismissal. We can provide full representation at an Employment Tribunal hearing.
Discrimination
In the field of discrimination, statutory Employment Law has consistently played a leading role in developing our laws and attitudes towards the need to outlaw discrimination in the workplace. Laws are now in force that prohibit direct or indirect discrimination against an employee based on:-
- Gender
- Race
- Disability
- Religion or belief
- Sexuality
- Age
Harassment and victimisation are also outlawed and the case of English v Thomas Sanderson Ltd extended the type of conduct which Tribunals will uphold as discriminatory. In that case, a heterosexual employee was successful in claiming damages against his employer in the Court of Appeal, under the sexual orientation regulations, despite the fact that he was heterosexual and notwithstanding that nobody at the company believed that he was gay. The conduct complained of was that he was "incessantly mocked" by colleagues who insisted on calling him "faggot".
Accordingly, "banter" or other behaviour which creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment is likely to lead to a finding of discrimination.
There is no limit on the amount of damages that can be claimed in such cases, although there are strict time limits of 3 months from the discriminatory conduct in which to bring the claim.
Grievance & Dismissal Procedures
The Employment Tribunal now have a power to vary an award by up to 25% where they consider that either an employer or employee has behaved unreasonably in the conduct of any investigations or meetings that are held. The ACAS code of conduct is now relevant and it pays to get legal advice about what procedures or correspondence should be followed before taking the necessary action.
Unfair dismissal
We advise employers and employees with regard to unfair dismissal cases. A dismissal may be unfair in a number circumstances and give rise to claims. Termination of an employment contract may be valid upon the expiry of a fixed term, or be due to redundancy, retirement, capability issues, or conduct. In all cases, it is vital that the employer has behaved reasonably in setting an objective criterion by which the dismissal decision has been taken.
Compromise Agreements
It is still the case that before an employee can agree to waive his or her employment rights in exchange for a severance package or other payment, a written compromise agreement must be entered into. This requires that the employee is given independent legal advice from a solicitor, or appropriately qualified advisor, and that the solicitor or advisor is backed by a policy of insurance. The agreement must be in writing and comply with a range of statutory requirements. Compromise agreements are a very useful way of resolving potentially difficult disputes in a speedy, confidential and structured way. For example, it is often useful to append an agreed reference to the back of an agreement which will form the basis of any reference the employer will agree to give to any prospective employer. An employer will usually pay for the legal costs of the employee obtaining such advice from a solicitor because the settlement will only be enforceable against the employee if the procedure has been followed.
Please contact Kevin Grant by e-mail or by telephone on 01904 655 555 to discuss.