The economic downturn has obliged many businesses to make some of their employees redundant. Firms that find themselves in this position need to take great care to ensure the correct procedures are followed. Failure to do so could result in a successful unfair dismissal claim, as a recent case illustrates. It involved a woman who
An insurance company has been awarded damages and granted an injunction against a group of employees who left to set up a rival business. The court found that the group had committed numerous breaches of their employment contracts and fiduciary duty. They enticed others to resign and also used confidential company information while still employees.
The Health and Safety Executive has revised its guidance for employers with staff who work from home. The new guidance relaxes some of the regulatory requirements and recognises that a lot of work carried out at home is going to be “low-risk, office-type work”. In these circumstances, as an employer, you are only responsible for
Business leaders have criticised the Government’s much publicised moratorium on employment law saying that it has done virtually nothing to reduce the regulatory burden. The moratorium was introduced last April. The aim was to exempt start-up businesses and firms with fewer than 10 employees from new regulations for three years. The Institute of Directors say
Employees wanting to bring tribunal claims will have to pay fees ranging from £150 to £1,750 under new proposals announced by the Government. Ministers say the move will relieve pressure on businesses and reduce the £84m annual cost to the taxpayer. The Ministry of Justice has now begun a public consultation on the proposals, which
The Government is planning radical changes to employment law to provide a fairer balance between reducing costs to business at the same time as protecting the rights of employees. The proposals are in response to public consultations, including the Red Tape Challenge, in which people were invited to suggest regulations that could be scrapped. The
The number of employment tribunal claims from part-time workers has surged over the last two years. In the 12 months to March this year, the number trebled to reach 1,600. It’s thought the rise is due to the fact that a large number of employees were put on to shorter working weeks during the economic
The changes to the regulations covering agency workers have now come into effect. It means that agency workers who fulfil the same role with a firm for 12 continuous weeks are entitled to the same basic employment conditions as employees. The regulations apply even if the person only works for a few hours each week.
The need for employers to have the correct legal and training procedures in place was shown in a recent case in which a child was injured as she walked under a street light. The accident happened as the light was being repaired. The workman detached the reflector to inspect it but it fell just as
The new National Minimum Wage rates have now come into effect. The rate for adult workers has risen by 15p to £6.08 an hour. The rate for 18-20 year olds goes up by 6p to £4.98 an hour. The rate for 16-17 year olds has increased by 4p to £3.68 an hour. The rate for