Employment Law Updates

A recent decision made by the Employment Tribunal has highlighted the importance of not treating a positive drug test result as a reason for automatic dismissal. In the case of Ball v First Essex Buses Ltd, Mr Ball was employed as a bus driver and had over 20 years’ service with his employers. Part of […]

Christmas and New Year can be the most expensive time of the year for most people. If you employ people, the festive period can bring a number of problems that you will need to be aware of before you can wind down for you break. In this blog we will detail some of the most […]

With Christmas only 4 weeks away, the employment issues surrounding this holiday often create a HR headache for employers. This blog is intended to arm employers with the correct knowledge and guidance to help make the festive season as stress free as possible. 1. Overtime If an employee has normal working hours, overtime usually means […]

Providing your employees with payslips is generally a routine process that does not require a lot of thought behind it. Under UK law, a payslip should be issued to all employees each time they are paid. Employers do not need to issue payslips to non-employees, this includes contractors, freelancers and workers. There are further exceptions […]

The National Living Wage, which is the statutory minimum wage for those aged 25 and over, has to rise to £8.21ph from April 2019 – which means an additional £690 annually for low paid workers. The Low Pay Commission (LPC), which recommended the increase, have anticipated that the increase will see almost 2.4 million workers […]

How healthy is your business? To find out, answer these simple questions below. 1. Do all your employees have a written contract of employment? Y/N 2. Are these contracts of employment issued within the first 8 weeks of their employment commencing? Y/N 3. Do you have job descriptions for all roles within the organisation? Y/N […]

A letter that sets out one months’ notice should not be automatically assumed as a letter of resignation, an EAT Judge has confirmed. In the case of East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust v Levy, Judge Jennifer Eady dismissed the appeal and confirmed the tribunals earlier decision that the employee had in fact been […]

The Employment Tribunals (ET) are an independent judicial body established to resolve disputes over employment rights between employers and employees. Claims likely to be heard in the ET will involve matters on unfair dismissal, discrimination, wages and redundancy payments. In July 2017, the Supreme Court unanimously held that ET fees were unlawful and must be […]