As specialists in employment law, we have day to day experience in all employment related matters. We would like to share some of our insights in the articles on this page.

News and comment from the team

Working together

One of our keys to success is putting you at the heart of what we do. For example: most firms require you to hire an employment law solicitor and then pay for an employment law barrister on top of this.

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We defend claims in every area of employment law, claims such as: sex discrimination, race discrimination, disability discrimination, unfair dismissal, redundancy, compromise agreements, bullying and harassment, stress claims and whistleblowing.

Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (‘TUPE’) provides protection to existing contracted employees where there is a transfer to another legal entity of: 1. A business or undertaking, 2. A part of a business or undertaking, or 3. A service provider. Both 1 and 2 above will constitute a ‘business transfer’ and will be protected by TUPE. An example of such

Privacy at work

When personal or sensitive personal data is stored or handled by an employer’s relevant filing system (such as manual or paper files, a computer, or another type of electronic device), the Data Protection Act 1998 (the ‘Act’) will apply. Handling or processing may include getting hold of, recording, modifying, retaining or deleting information, and a ‘relevant filing system’ must be a highly struc

Part-time workers

As a result of the changing structure of family life, the Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 (the ‘Regulations’) have been introduced to ensure that those who want to work part time have some degree of protection. Claims brought under the Regulations are brought to an Employment Tribunal within three months less one day of the unfavourable treatment that i

Returning to work after maternity or paternity leave

When children come into the equation, there can be a need to reevaluate the balance of work and life. For many people this will be looking at changing working hours, flexible or part time working. Whilst there is no right to be allowed to work flexibly, there is the right (since 2003) to request flexible working conditions. Conditions that can be requested as flexible working include asking for di

Flexible working for part-time workers

Whilst flexible working used to have something of a stigma attached to it, nowadays it is recognised as an important way for the changing structures of family life to function to provide for the needs of the modern family. In the light of this, the Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 (the‘Regulations’) provides protection for those who are able to work part

Contractual rights: Permanent Health Insurance

A private health insurance policy can be taken out by an employer to provide benefits in a situation where an employee is unable to work. This is a three-way relationship, where the insurer and the employer have a legal relationship via the insurance policy, and the employer and employee via an employment contract. Applications under a private health insurance policy can sometimes take seve

Bonuses and contractual rights

Bonus schemes tend to fall into two types – discretionary and contractual – or the scheme may be a mix of both of these. The structure of the scheme will usually be set out in an employee’s contract of employment. Where the scheme combines both these types of bonuses, in general this will give the employee the right to be taken into account when it comes to awarding bonuses, but whether or not tha

Bonus disputes and discrimination

Bonuses usually fall into one of two camps – those that are based on individual performance and those that are paid to everyone in the company, regardless of any other factors. The risk of bonus discrimination A bonus that is based on the way an individual employee performs may be directly related to the amount of income or business that person creates within the company they work fo

Agency workers

Those who are working as agency workers for a temporary work agency are protected by the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (the ‘AWR’). A temporary work agency is one that provides employees to employers on a temporary hire basis (not on a permanent basis). The definition of an ‘agency worker’ will not extend to those who are self employed, but outside of that category, the description is qui

Collective redundancies

Where 20 or more employees are to be made redundant (i.e. dismissed for a reason not related to the individual concerned) within 90 days in the same place there must be a ‘collective consultation.’ Redundancy situations which will count towards this figures may include: – Downsizing. – Closing a particular place of business. – Re-employing certain employees under a new con

Redundancy

A redundancy situation A redundancy situation occurs where: 1. An employer’s business no longer operates in the area in which the employees to be made redundant work. 2. The business as a whole has ceased to exist. 3. There is no longer a need for the work carried out by employees being made redundant, or this is about to happen. If an identical workload is to be handled by le

Grievance procedures

The point of a grievance procedure is to try and enable a solution to be found when problems arise in the workplace between employer and employee, without there being an escalation to a more formal type of process, such as an Employment Tribunal. The kinds of issues that may arise could include problems with contractual terms, salary and working conditions, and issues of discrimination. Before the

Disciplinary hearings and procedures

It is important for an employer to have a well-developed disciplinary process so that employees have guidelines on how to behave in the workplace and so that there are clear steps that should be followed where employees do not behave properly. ACAS Code of Practice on Discipline and Grievance The minimum standard procedures that an employer must follow when taking disciplinary action

Family leave

Paternity leave, parental leave and taking time off for dependants are family related rights that are perhaps not that well known in the UK, particularly when compared to those that are more commonly acknowledged, such as maternity leave. However, they do exist and both employers and employees should be aware of the circumstances in which they can be used. Paternity Leave The biologi

Returning to work and flexible working

The right to request flexible working from an employer has existed since 2003 – it is not a guaranteed right to a flexible arrangement, but simply the right to ask an employer to put one in place. There is also the right to request such an arrangement for another of the child’s carers (since 2006). Eligibility There are a number of eligibility criteria that need to be met for someone

Maternity rights in employment

There are a number of different aspects to the maternity rights that are extended to pregnant women in the workplace, from the action that should be taken by an employer once he or she is notified of a pregnancy, to entitlements to maternity leave and pay. Whilst there are some general principles set out below that provide a structure for maternity rights, the differing circumstances of each case

Health and safety for pregnant women in the workplace

General risk assessment Since the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 came into force, there is a duty on employers to generally assess their workplace to identify any risks to the women of ‘childbearing age’ in their company. ‘Childbearing age’ is a wide group, effectively from teenagers through to women in their 40s. This evaluationshould highlight any potential risk

Pregnancy or maternity discrimination

Pregnancy or maternity discrimination is a specific type of discrimination, which is made unlawful by the Equality Act 2010 (the ‘EA’) (and before that the Sex Discrimination Act 1975). It is separate and distinct from a claim for sex discrimination. The EA covers discrimination against someone that is related to pregnancy or maternity throughout employment, from the start of the recruitmen

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