Employment

No other single area of the law affects the daily lives of so many people and the day-to-day running of every business. With ever evolving legislation, employment law is now a minefield for the unwary; even a simple mistake can be costly. With this in mind, our cross disciplinary employment lawyers work speedily and efficiently to discover core issues and requirements and deliver results.

With European Court decisions affecting long held English law principles, employment law has a growing European dimension that requires particular care. Proactive advice and pre-emptive action in this increasingly complex area is essential for employers and employees alike. Our employment specialists will offer comprehensive advice with a focus on “managing out” employment problems before they arise.

Our lawyers will deliver commercial and practical solutions on a broad range of employment and HR issues both contentious and non-contentious.

Tax-advantaged Employee Incentives for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

The Government has announced two important matters relating to Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI). EMI are tax advantaged share options offered by small and medium sized companies to their employees. In a recent press release dated 20th August 2009 HMG...

Age Discrimination - Qualifications and Pay Structure

It is indirect discrimination for an employer to apply a provision, criterion or practice that is, on the face of it, age neutral but which puts people in a particular age group at a disadvantage, unless it can be shown to be a proportionate means of...

Age Discrimination - Life After the Abolition of the Default Retirement Age

As a result of recent changes in the law, the last date on which an employer could lawfully notify an employee of a retirement dismissal using the statutory Default Retirement Age (DRA) provisions laid down by the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 ...

Health and Safety Breaches - Penalties

The Health and Safety Offences Act 2008 received Royal Assent on 16 October 2008 and came into force on 1 January 2009. It amends Section 33 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and has increased penalties for breaches of health and safety...

Collective Redundancy Consultation

Employers should be aware of the potentially serious financial consequences of failing to consult when making collective redundancies. If an employer is proposing to make redundant 20 or more employees at one establishment within a period of 90 days or...

TUPE - Service Provision Changes

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) apply to any size of business and protect the employment rights of employees when their employer changes as a result of a relevant transfer. This occurs when there is a...

Costs Awards in Employment Tribunal Proceedings

Costs orders are the exception, rather than the rule, in Employment Tribunal (ET) proceedings. However, where a claimant acts unreasonably in pursuing a claim, the ET can make a costs award in favour of the other party. In Dunedin Canmore Housing...

The Corporate Manslaughter Act

The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 established a new statutory offence of corporate manslaughter (corporate culpable homicide in Scotland). An organisation is guilty of the offence if the way in which it manages or organises its...

TUPE - Post-Transfer Obligations and Collective Agreements

The Court of Appeal has overturned the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in Alemo-Herron and others v Parkwood Leisure Ltd. Parkwood Leisure Ltd. had taken over a company that acquired employees of the London Borough of Lewisham’s...

Workplace Bullying

Workplace bullying is not only unpleasant and demotivating but it is also claimed to cost British business £14 billion annually. Surprisingly, there is no specific law relating to workplace bullying, although some forms of offensive behaviour would...

Damages for Wrongful Dismissal

The Court of Appeal has ruled that an employee who suffered a loss as a result of findings of personal and professional misconduct made against him in disciplinary proceedings that were conducted in breach of his employment contract, which would not...

The Equality Act 2010 - A Guide for Employers

The Equality Act 2010 has replaced nine major pieces of discrimination legislation and other ancillary measures that have been introduced over the last forty years. The core provisions of the Act came into force on 1 October 2010. As well as harmonising...

Collective Redundancy Consultation - Obligation to Consult in Special Circumstances

A recent case before the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) dealt with a situation that is quite common in the construction industry, whereby problems encountered on site require adjustments to the working and staffing arrangements in order to adapt to the...

Get the Christmas Party Right

It’s that time of year again. Love them or hate them, the invitations to office Christmas parties will be arriving soon if they haven’t already. For employers, parties pose a particular threat. Here are some tips on making sure your...

Written Statement of Employment Particulars

A contract of employment may be verbal but all employees, whether part-time or full-time, are entitled by law to be given a written statement setting out the main particulars of their employment, provided their employment lasts for one month or more. All the...

Stress - An Employer's Duties

Dealing with stress in the workplace is a difficult issue for employers. As well as specific duties under health and safety legislation, employers owe their employees a common law duty to take reasonable care to safeguard their health and safety and this...

Drug Policy - Recognising the Signs and What to Do

Research findings from Medscreen, based on drug testing carried out over the last ten years across a variety of professions, reveal that there has been a 3,000 per cent increase in the number of workers testing positive for cocaine. More than five per cent...

Compromise Agreements

As a general rule, ‘out of court settlements’ of employment disputes are not legally binding in that they cannot exclude an employee's right to take the matter concerned to an Employment Tribunal (ET). A formal compromise agreement is one of the...

Failing to Prevent Bribery - Are You at Risk?

The Bribery Act 2010 came into force on 1 July 2011. It created a new offence which can be committed by a commercial organisation if it fails to prevent persons associated with it from committing bribery on its behalf. A business can provide a defence by...

Dealing with Employee Absence

Employee absences can be both costly and disruptive. It is advisable to have systems in place to measure and analyse these costs so that you can identify problem areas. Are there patterns of absence? Does a particular department have a below average record?...

Sex Discrimination

Employment law is increasingly becoming a minefield for employers with employees’ rights and employers’ duties at an all time high. Employers have to be ever more certain that their policies in respect of employees and employment standards...

Recruitment - Preventing Illegal Working Without Discrimination

Hardly a day goes by without there being some mention of illegal immigration in the news. The number of people discovered working here unlawfully has risen sharply in recent years. There has been much talk of the possible introduction of a national identity...

False Claims on a CV - What to Do

According to research by the Risk Advisory Group, more than half of CVs submitted by job applicants contain lies or inaccuracies. These range from gaps in employment history to false claims regarding qualifications and failure to mention fraud committed...

Compromise Agreements - Tax Position Clarified

A compromise agreement is an agreement made between an employer and an employee who is having their contract of employment terminated. It sets out the terms under which the termination will take place and contains a provision that the employee will receive a...

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Employment

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Richard Twyman
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Employment

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