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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 ... -
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... -
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... -
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... -
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... -
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... -
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... -
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... -
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?... -
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... -
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... -
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... -
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... -
Health and Safety - VDU Use
More and more workers are spending a large part of their day looking at a computer screen. The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 specifically deal with the health and safety issues associated with working with VDUs. The Health... -
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... -
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... -
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... -
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... -
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... -
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... -
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... -
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... -
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...
Employment and HR
The contents of this article are intended for general information purposes only and shall not be deemed to be, or constitute legal advice. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of this article.
