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A Brief Guide to TUPE

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 the relevant transfer of a business or a part of one....

A General Guide to Recruiting Staff

Getting the recruitment process right is vital to ensure that you not only select the most suitable candidate for the vacancy but also do so without falling foul of the applicable law. The Law The Equality Act 2010 is intended to eliminate...

A Guide to Equal Pay Audits

Under the Equality Act 2010 , it is unlawful for an employer to discriminate between men and women in terms of their pay and conditions where they are in the same employment and are doing the same or similar work, work rated as equivalent or work of equal...

A Guide to Garden Leave

‘Garden leave’ is the term used to describe the situation in which an employee who has resigned or been dismissed is required to serve out their notice period at home, rather than reporting for work. Normally, garden leave is used as a...

A Guide to Preventing Disability Discrimination in the Workplace

Under the Equality Act 2010 , which repealed all previous discrimination law and brought together the relevant legislation in one place, it is unlawful to discriminate against a worker on account of a physical or mental disability or to fail to make...

A Guide to Selecting Employees for Redundancy

When an employer faces having to dismiss employees by reason of redundancy, there are certain procedures that should be followed in order to comply with the relevant law. Redundancy is a potentially fair reason for dismissal, but it may be found to be...

A Guide to Shared Parental Leave

Regulations that came into force on 1 December 2014 made changes to the way in which eligible parents can take leave after the birth or adoption of a child. Shared parental leave (SPL) aims to introduce more flexible, more equal arrangements that will...

A Guide to Unfair Dismissal

Only employees have the right not to be unfairly dismissed. The right does not extend, for example, to people who are self-employed, independent contractors, members of the armed forces or workers employed under an illegal contract – e.g. a bar person...

A Guide to the Agency Workers Regulations

The Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (AWR) came into force on 1 October 2011. They apply to those workers who are supplied by a temporary work agency to work temporarily for and under the supervision and direction of a hirer. All temporary agency workers...

A Guide to the Gender Pay Gap Reporting Regulations

In spite of the Equal Pay Act 1970 , which prohibited less favourable treatment between men and women in terms of pay and conditions, and subsequent equality laws, there is still a significant gap between the pay of men and women in the UK. To try to...

Acas Guidance on Employment References

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) has guidance for job applicants and employers of the legal requirements appertaining to employment references . Where a reference is provided, it must be accurate and fair. It must not include...

Advice on Workplace Dress Codes

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) has guidance for employers who wish to impose dress standards in the workplace. This emphasises that employers should have sound business reasons for applying a particular dress code, such as...

Age Discrimination and Retirement

Since the abolition of the Default Retirement Age (DRA) in 2011, it is not permissible for an employer to dismiss an older worker on the ground of retirement unless this can be objectively justified under the Equality Act 2010 . This does not mean that...

Bullying at Work

At present, there is no legislation in the UK specifically to protect those who suffer bullying at work. Victims of bullying need to look to other legislation to gain protection or redress under the law. This may be employment law, health and safety law or...

Compensation for Injury to Feelings

There are three bands that are used by Employment Tribunals when assessing the amount of compensation payable for injury to feelings in discrimination and whistleblowing cases, often called the 'Vento' bands after the 2002 case in which the Court of Appeal...

Corporate Manslaughter and Gross Negligence Manslaughter

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...

Driving on Company Business

In 2016, 529 people were killed, 5,269 seriously injured and almost 40,000 slightly injured in collisions involving a driver or rider driving for work. The Health and Safety Executive estimates that 'more than a quarter of all road traffic incidents may...

Drug Policy - Recognising the Signs and What to Do

Substance abuse amongst staff can affect all areas of employment, whether it be a decrease in productivity, increased absenteeism or the increased likelihood of accidents and injuries. The failure to identify and deal with a problem is an unnecessary risk...

E-cigarettes in the Workplace

Legislation under the Health Act 2006 that prohibits smoking in enclosed public places and workplaces, on public transport and in vehicles used for work does not cover the use of e-cigarettes. The devices do not burn tobacco or create smoke but work by...

Early Conciliation - How Does it Work?

For Employment Tribunal (ET) claims lodged on or after 6 May 2014, it is a legal requirement, unless an exemption applies, for the claimant to first notify the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) by completing an Early Conciliation...

Employee Rest Breaks

Employers Must Be Proactive to Ensure Workers Get Proper Breaks Except in certain circumstances, an adult worker whose daily working time is more than six hours is entitled to a 20-minute uninterrupted rest break as laid down by Regulation 12(1) of the ...

Employees' Right to Request Flexible Working Arrangements

Since 30 June 2014, all employees have had the right to ask their employer for a change to their contractual terms and conditions of employment so that they can work flexibly, provided they have worked for their employer for 26 weeks continuously by the date...

Employment Rights - Ministers of Religion

In President of the Methodist Conference v Preston , the Supreme Court ruled that a Methodist minister was not an employee of the Church and so could not pursue her claim for unfair dismissal. For many years, it was accepted law that ministers of...

Executive Pay Ratio Reporting

The Companies (Miscellaneous Reporting) Regulations 2018 , made under the Companies Act 2006 , came into force on 1 January 2019. The Regulations introduce new corporate governance reporting requirements for UK-listed companies with an average of more than...

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...

Graduate Recruitment

Most businesses would like to benefit from an influx of talent, enthusiasm and fresh ideas. The challenge is to achieve it at an acceptable cost. One option is to employ a recent graduate. In the past, most graduate recruitment was undertaken by large...

Homeworking and an Employer's Duties

Since 30 June 2014, all employees who have worked for their employer continuously for 26 weeks have the right to ask their employer if they can work flexibly. For many people, more flexible working arrangements could include carrying out some or all of their...

In Brief: Acas E-learning Modules

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) offers useful electronic learning modules on a variety of topics . These include: Acas Codes of Practice; Bullying and harassment; Change management; Conflict resolution; ...

In Brief: Advice on Occupational Asthma

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has a website dedicated to advice on how to reduce occupational asthma . This is aimed at employers and is part of the HSE’s ongoing campaign to reduce significantly the number of occupational asthma sufferers. ...

In Brief: Assessment of Repetitive Tasks Tool

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the most common occupational illness in Britain. They include problems such as low back pain, joint injuries and repetitive strain injuries of various sorts, and affect more than 500,000 people every year. They are often...

In Brief: Employing Reservists

The Ministry of Justice has published a toolkit for employers containing guidance and support on all aspects of employing reservists. This includes: details of rights and responsibilities, and financial assistance for employers and reservists; ...

In Brief: Guidance on Recruiting and Retaining Transgender Employees

In partnership with Inclusive Employers – a membership organisation for employers looking to build inclusive workplaces – the Government has produced guidance designed to provide employers with practical advice , suggestions and ideas on the...

In Brief: HSE Guidance on the Safe Use of Work Equipment

The Health and Safety Executive has a publication on what employers and others responsible for workplace health and safety should do in order to comply with the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 . The Regulations place specific duties...

In Brief: Working at Height Regulations

Falls from height are the single biggest cause of workplace deaths and one of the main causes of serious injury. A place is ‘at height’ if there is a risk of a fall liable to cause personal injury. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 were...

Informing and Consulting Employees

The EU Information and Consultation Directive 2002 established minimum requirements for companies with more than 50 employees for consulting and informing them on a wide variety of subjects. The Directive does not apply to those businesses with fewer than 50...

Mobile Workers - Daily Travel To and From Work is 'Working Time'

The EU Working Time Directive, which is implemented into UK law by the Working Time Regulations 1998 , defines working time as 'any period during which the worker is working, at the employer's disposal and carrying out his activity or duties, in accordance...

National Minimum Wage and Statutory Pay Rates

The following changes to the National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates took effect from 1 April 2019: The NLW, which applies to those aged 25 and over, increased from £7.83 to £8.21 per hour; The NMW for 21- to...

Part-Time Workers and Discrimination

The Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 established a minimum standard of fairness for part-timers so that they cannot be treated less favourably than comparable full-time co-workers, unless the treatment is...

Pension Rights for Gay Spouses and Civil Partners

The Supreme Court has handed down a ruling which means that all married gay couples and civil partners should receive equal pension rights. Paragraph 18 of Schedule 9 of the Equality Act 2010 states that employers and pension funds are permitted to...

Preventing Illegal Working

The Immigration Act 2016 contains a wide range of measures, including new rules intended to was introduced to crack down on businesses that employ those who do not have permission to work in the UK and to prevent employers from exploiting vulnerable...

Religion or Belief Discrimination - What Constitutes a Philosophical Belief?

When the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 were first introduced, employees were protected from discrimination by reason of any 'religion, religious belief or similar philosophical belief'. The wording was changed in 2007, with the...

Religious Discrimination Claims

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) was asked to rule in four UK cases in which Christian employees claimed to have suffered discrimination at work on account of their religious beliefs. Two of the cases concerned women who were prevented from wearing...

Resolving Workplace Disputes

As of 6 April 2009, the Employment Act 2008 repealed the Statutory Dispute Resolution Procedures in their entirety. In their place is a voluntary Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) Code of Practice , which sets out the basic principles...

Settlement Agreements

Following changes made by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 , compromise agreements were renamed ‘settlement agreements’ and new provisions (Section 111A) were inserted into the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA) making settlement...

Settlement Agreements

Following changes made by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 , compromise agreements were renamed ‘settlement agreements’ and new provisions (Section 111A) were inserted into the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA) making settlement...

Sleeping Time and the National Minimum Wage

Whether or not a worker who is on call at their employer's premises but who is allowed to sleep when their services are not required is entitled to be paid the National Minimum Wage (NMW) for the entirety of their shift has been the subject of dispute in...

Staff Handbooks and Contractual Rights

It is not uncommon for employees’ contracts of employment to expressly incorporate the staff handbook, although much of its contents will refer to policy matters rather than having contractual status. The decision of the Court of Appeal in Keeley v...

The Calculation of Holiday Pay

Voluntary Overtime and the Calculation of Holiday Pay Following on from the 2014 decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in Bear Scotland Limited and Others v Fulton and Others that payments for overtime which employees are required to work...

The Equality Act 2010 - A Guide for Employers

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

The General Data Protection Regulation

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which replaced the EU Data Protection Directive, came into force on 25 May 2018 and now, together with the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018), forms a large part of the data protection regime in the UK. The...

The Right to Privacy and the Workplace

In the long-running case of Bărbulescu v Romania , the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) looked at an employer's right to examine an employee's use of office computers for sending personal communications during working hours, in breach of the...

The Smoking Ban - Do You Comply?

The legislation banning all smoking at work comes into force on 1 July 2007. It applies to all enclosed public spaces and workplaces, with only a very few limited exceptions. The ban also extends to work vehicles not used exclusively by one person. Employers...

Varying Employees' Contracts of Employment

If an employer is seeking to make changes to employees' contracts of employment, it is important to remember that where this will necessitate adverse changes to their existing terms of employment, the contracts can only be varied with the agreement of both...

Vicarious Liability

There have been a number of cases in recent years that illustrate the extent of employers' liability for the actions of their employees. In a workplace context, an employer can be found liable for the acts or omissions of its employees, provided it can be...

When Does Notice of Termination Take Effect?

Exactly when notice of termination takes effect can impact on an employee's entitlement to certain benefits or employment rights. In the absence of an express term in the employee's contract, if they are dismissed in writing and the letter is posted to their...

Whistleblowing

The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA) – often referred to as the ‘Whistleblowing’ Act – was introduced in the wake of various workplace scandals and disasters after official enquiries revealed that workers had known of the...

Workplace Stress - An Employer's Duties

The Chartered, Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) has published its nineteenth annual survey, 'Health and Well-Being at Work' , which was carried out in November 2018 in partnership with Simplyhealth. This found that 37 per cent of the businesses...

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....