Employment and Related Matters
Age Discrimination
The Equality Act 2010 replaces all previous equality legislation, including the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006. The Equality Act covers age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership and pregnancy and maternity. These are now called ‘protected characteristics’… Read More
Annual Leave
Under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (as amended) workers are entitled to paid statutory annual leave of 5.6 weeks (28 days if the employee works five days a week), this basic entitlement is inclusive of bank holidays. This annual leave entitlement is now closer to that of workers in other European countries, where holiday allowance… Read More
Dismissal Procedures
There have been many changes to employment law and regulations in the last few years. A key area is the freedom or lack of freedom to dismiss an employee. An employee’s employment can be terminated at any time but unless the dismissal is fair the employer may be found guilty of unfair dismissal by an Employment Tribunal. We set out… Read More
Health and Safety
It is very likely that owners and managers of many smaller businesses are not aware of just how demanding health and safety regulations can be. We provide an overview of these below and highlight some practical tips and processes on how your business can remain (or become!) compliant. The main statutes are: The Health and Safety at Work 1974 (HSWA)… Read More
Legal Working in the UK
In line with the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, it is a criminal offence to employ anyone who does not have an entitlement to work in the UK, or undertake the type of work you are offering. Any employer who does not comply with the law may be facing a fine of up to £10,000 per offence. Further, if employers knowingly use… Read More
Managing Absence
Recent surveys indicate that the adverse impact of absence on business profitability today is significant, with thousands of man hours lost every day. Recent statistics show that an average of 7.7 days are lost each year per employee with a median cost of £600 per employee. Approximately two-thirds of working time lost to absence is accounted for… Read More
National Minimum Wage
The National Minimum Wage (NMW) was introduced on 1 April 1999 and is reviewed each year by the Low Pay Commission. Any changes normally take place on 1 October. There have already been a number of instances of employers being penalised for not complying with the legislation. HMRC are the agency that ensures enforcement… Read More
Recruitment Procedures
Most claims for discrimination in recruitment have no maximum limit. Can your business afford compensation of perhaps £20,000 because you made a simple mistake? How do you make sure you don’t break the law? We set out below the main principles involved in the recruitment of employees. We have written this factsheet… Read More
Redundancy Procedures
There have been many changes to employment law and regulations in the last few years. A key area is the freedom or lack of freedom to make an individual redundant. An employee’s employment can be terminated at any time but unless the redundancy is fair an Employment Tribunal may find the employer guilty of unfair dismissal. We set out… Read More
Statutory Sick Pay, Statutory Maternity and Statutory Paternity Pay
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) and Statutory Paternity Pay (SPP) are important regulations to understand as they enforce minimum legal requirements on employers. Each operates in a different way. This factsheet sets out the main principles of the regulations and what an employer needs to consider… Read More
Employee Expenses
An exemption may apply to the reporting of employee expenses on forms P11D as long as the necessary conditions are met. Under the exemption the business must satisfy itself that the employee would be entitled to full tax relief on the expenses reimbursed… Read More
