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Employment Law Updates

Employment Tribunal Guidance for Employers

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

Discrimination because of religion or belief

All employers should already be aware that treating an employee differently because they are Muslim, Jewish, Christian, black, white etc can result in legal action. But, can you be accused of discriminating against another person’s philosophical belief’s? “Religious or philosophical belief” is one of the 9 protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. And unlike

Know when to outsource a HR function

As a small business owner, how many times have you gone into the office early to find mountains of paperwork that you just never seem to get through? Most employers will understand the frustration of spending more time than necessary on non-revenue generating activities. Therefore, outsourcing a HR function can make the business more profitable

Time off for dependants: advice for employers

From the first day of employment all employees have the right to time off to care for a dependant. Under s57a and s57b of the Employment Rights Act, all employees are entitled to a “reasonable” amount of unpaid leave. However, what is deemed as reasonable can be fact specific. Who is a dependant? A dependant

Employment Law Quiz

Employment legislation covers all areas of day-day business activities. This includes what employers can and cannot do in regard to employment contracts, recruitment, wages, dismissals, employee rights and working hours. All employers – no matter what size – must ensure they comply with UK employment legislation, failure to do so can expose your business to

Does ‘misconduct’ need to be ‘gross’ to make a dismissal (without prior warnings) fair?

Does dismissal need to be ‘gross’ to make a dismissal fair? No, held the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in Quintiles Commercial v Barongo. In this case, the Claimant worked in pharmaceutical sales and found themselves dismissed on the grounds of misconduct after failing to complete compliance training and not attending a compulsory training course. On appeal,