If you are asked to disclose convictions on a job application form, you should do so unless they are ‘spent’ The rehabilitation periods for ‘spent’ convictions reduced on 28 October 2023. From that date, the new rehabilitation periods are as … Continue reading
Author Archives: James Carmody
How far back can I claim for underpaid holiday pay?
Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, when your employment ends, you are entitled to a payment in lieu of holiday accrued but untaken to the termination date. Sometimes however, you may find that you have been underpaid for earlier periods … Continue reading
What is an ACAS COT3 Settlement Agreement?
ACAS: What is an ACAS COT3 settlement? ACAS is the government mediation service for employees and employers. The ACAS service is free of charge and helps parties reach agreement. The appointed ACAS officer will help facilitate negotiations between the parties … Continue reading
Is My Redundancy Unfair?
Call an expert employment solicitor today on 0207 118 0950. Click here for our Five Star Trustpilot reviews. See our Five Star Google reviews. If you have over two years’ service, you can claim Unfair Dismissal if you think your selection for redundancy is … Continue reading
Are there any claims that should NOT be settled by a Settlement Agreement?
Settlement Agreements are used primarily to settle statutory claims arising out of the employee’s employment or its termination. This will normally include Employment Tribunal claims such as Unfair Dismissal, Unlawful Discrimination, unlawful deduction of wages, Whistleblowing claims, and other statutory … Continue reading
Discrimination Claims Out of Time
Claims of unlawful discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 normally need to be instigated no later than three months less a day from the date of the act complained of (or last in a series of acts complained of), by … Continue reading
Imposing New Employment Contracts:
If an employer wants to impose new contractual terms on their existing employees, they will sometimes serve notice of termination under the old contract, and then immediately offer new employment under the new employment contract. This is considered a dismissal … Continue reading
Redundancy and Settlement Agreements
If you are being made redundant by your employer, you may be offered a Settlement Agreement either: a) at the beginning of the redundancy process, or b) once the redundancy consultation process has concluded. Your employer may offer you a … Continue reading
Disciplinary meetings at work
Under the ACAS Code for Disciplinaries, the employer should invite the employee to a disciplinary meeting to discuss the allegations before reaching any decision. Does a manager holding a disciplinary have to meet an employee before deciding to dismiss? In … Continue reading
Gender Pay Gap Reporting and Equal Pay
Since 2017, employers with over 250 employees have to publish gender pay gap figures. The Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017 defines a pay gap to be the difference between the median (or mean) hourly pay of … Continue reading
Equality Act and Injury to Feelings
For claims issued on or following 6 April 2023 awards for injury to feelings in discrimination claims may be as follows: Lower band: for less serious cases: £1,100 to £11,200 (up to £9,900 for claims submitted before 6 April 2023)Middle … Continue reading
Unfair Dismissal – What is the Duty to Mitigate?
If you succeed in a claim of Unfair Dismissal, the Tribunal will make a Compensatory Award to compensate you for your loss of earnings etc from the date of dismissal until the date that you secure suitable alternative employment. The … Continue reading
Unfair Dismissal and Redundancy Figures update
From 6 April 2023, the figures for calculating unfair dismissal awards and redundancy payments go up. Unfair Dismissal: The statutory cap for Compensatory Awards in unfair dismissal claims will be the lesser of a) 52 weeks gross pay or b) … Continue reading
WhatsApp Messages and Legal Proceedings
10 March 2023: Recent press revelations about Matt Hancock’s Whatsapp communications as Secretary of State for Health during Covid highlight how common Whatsapp is now as a form of business communication. In legal proceedings, parties have to provide disclosure of … Continue reading
What is my entitlement to Statutory Redundancy Pay?
If you are being made redundant, and if you have over two years continuous service, you will be entitled to a Statutory Redundancy Payment. The Statutory Redundancy Payment is calculated based on a week’s gross pay to a maximum of … Continue reading
What Questions should I ask if my position is put at risk of redundancy?
If you have been put at risk of redundancy, these are the sorts of questions you should be asking: Why is my position at risk of redundancy? – An obvious question, but one that employers do not always find easy … Continue reading
Settlement Agreements and future claims
Can Settlement Agreements settle claims against the Employer which have not yet arisen? In a typical Settlement Agreement you will see a clause listing out a number of potential statutory claims that are being settled, plus claims in common law, … Continue reading
Holiday Pay For Workers with Irregular Hours
Holiday Pay for Workers with Irregular Hours. The 2022 the Supreme Court decision in Harpur Trust v Brazel has had a major impact on how employers calculate the rate of holiday pay for employees on zero hours contracts or who … Continue reading
No Jab No Job?
Is “No Jab No Job?” unfair? The answer to that question is likely to depend on the nature of the job and the procedure adopted by the employer. However in a claim brought by a nurse, 3 care assistants and … Continue reading
Flexible Working Rights Extending
5 January 2023. Currently, the statutory right to request flexible working can only be requested after 26 weeks service (see Statutory Right to Flexible Working). However, in December 2022, the government said it would be changing the regulations so that … Continue reading
National Minimum Wage, Maternity Pay and Statutory Sick Pay
In April 2023 the rate of Statutory Sick Pay and the National Minimum Wage will increase. The rate for statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, and shared parental pay will increase to £172.48 per week (up from £156.66). The rate for statutory … Continue reading
Settlement Agreements and ACAS COT3 Agreements
7 December 2022: A Settlement Agreement is an agreement that brings to an end all and any statutory or other claims arising out of your employment or its termination. There are several requirements necessary for a Settlement Agreement to binding, … Continue reading
In Redundancy is an ‘at risk’ pool of one ok?
28 October 2022: When selecting staff for potential redundancy, the employer will normally start by defining the pool from which redundancies will be selected. For example, if you have five Widget Testers, but want to reduce the number from six … Continue reading
Dismissal for Lateness
12.09.2022. Is dismissal for persistent lateness unfair? Persistent lateness for work can be a real problem for employers when punctuality is important, but how easy is it to dismiss an employee as a result? In Tijani v House of Commons … Continue reading
Repaying training costs
Can employers demand repayment of training or other costs if you resign and leave? Employment contract clauses requiring the repayment of training and other expenses by the employee if they leave are common. But are they enforceable? Here are some … Continue reading
Backdated Holiday Pay and Annual Leave for Workers
Backdated Paid Annual Leave (UK Employment Law – 30 May 2022) Many businesses who take on people on a self-employed, consultant or other capacity to avoid employer liabilities, live in fear of backdated holiday pay claims. Under the Working Time … Continue reading
Was it unfair to dismiss an employee for refusing to return to work during the pandemic?
11 May 2022: Under s100 Employment Rights Act 1996, it can be ‘automatically’ unfair to dismiss someone who refuses to return to the workplace in circumstances of danger (for example where there is unsafe machinery the employee has to use). … Continue reading
Is Long-Covid a Disability under the Equality Act 2010?
Long Covid is a general term to cover the effects of Covid, once you no longer test positive for the virus. The NHS lists common symptoms of long-covid as including: extreme tiredness (fatigue) shortness of breath chest pain or tightness … Continue reading
Abuse of the Grievance Procedure
Employers sometimes become frustrated with employees who put in multiple grievances or grievances which appear to be an abuse of the grievance process. In Hope v British Medical Association in the Employment Appeal Tribunal, Mr Hope brought numerous grievances against … Continue reading
Redundancy and the Right to Appeal
It is good practice for employers to give employees the right to appeal if they are made redundant. But will the redundancy be rendered unfair if the employer fails to give the right to appeal? Not necessarily, concluded the Court … Continue reading
Dismissal following Final Written Warning
In Fallahi v TWI, the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) concluded that it was fair to dismiss an employee following a Final Written Warning, even though he had challenged the basis on which that final warning had been imposed. Mr Fallahi … Continue reading
Max compensation: Unfair Dismissal
What is the maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal? The maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal is the lesser of 52 weeks gross pay or £93,878 (£89,493 if dismissed before 06.04.2022) You will also get a basic award of a … Continue reading
National Minimum Wage
From the 1st April 2019, the National Minimum Wage (National Living Wage) is: £8.21 per hour for ages 25 and over. £7.70 per hour for ages 21 to 24. £6.15 per hour for ages 18 to 20. £4.35 per … Continue reading
Injury to Feelings in Discrimination Claims
For claims presented on or after the 6th April 2019, awards for injury to feelings in discrimination claims will be made in accordance with the following guidelines: • lower band (less serious cases): £900 to £8,800 • middle … Continue reading
Work references and the Data Protection Act
An employee is losing job offers because of a bad reference given by an ex employer. What can he or she do? Ex employers have a duty to take reasonable care to ensure the information it contains is true, … Continue reading
Redundancy and Trial Periods for New roles
Do I still have the right to a redundancy payment if I try a new role on a trial period but am then unhappy with it? If the terms of the new employment differ from the previous terms, the … Continue reading
Redundancy and Retirement Age
Redundancy and the Over Sixty-Fives The default retirement age of 65 was abolished in the UK in 2011. Employers can only impose a compulsory retirement age on employees if it can be objectively justified as a genuine occupational requirement. Compulsory … Continue reading
Why do employers offer enhanced redundancy payments?
Call 0207 118 0953 for Expert Legal Advice. Click for our Five Star Trustpilot Reviews Many, though by no means all employers, will offer enhanced severance payment if they have to make an employee redundant. Employees with over two years’ … Continue reading
When Redundancy can become Unfair Dismissal
When Redundancy can become Unfair Dismissal. Employers often go wrong when they’re selecting people for redundancy. Here are just some examples of how the process can go awry: Prejudging the outcome: The number one sin that many employers commit, is to … Continue reading
Brexit & Employment Law
24 June 2016: Britain Votes to Leave: In a 1974 judgement Lord Denning wrote of the (then) European Community Treaty “The treaty is like an incoming tide. It flows into the estuaries and up the rivers. It cannot be … Continue reading