Category: Employment

 

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*Amanda Jefferies, Head of Employment Law, summarises the Employment Law changes which are likely to affect all businesses from April 2020*

Most readers will know that there are rules in place to protect employees if the business in which they are employed changes hands. They are rather snappily entitled “the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations” (TUPE for short) and their effect is to move employees and any liabilities associated with them from the old employer to the new employer.

Good question, you may say, since October 2016 the government has been carrying out an enquiry into whether the terms “Employee” and “Worker” are properly defined legally. Currently there are three possible categories; “employee”, “worker” and “self-employed/freelance”

As a result of a recent case relating to workplace stress or depression being seen as a disability, it may be useful to look at the law relating to disability. The law says that if an employee has a disability and is thereby put at a disadvantage compared with non-disabled employees, then the employer has a duty to take such steps as are reasonable to avoid the disadvantage. A disability is legally defined as a physical or mental medical impairment that has a substantial effect on the ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities  and is “long-term”, meaning it has lasted or is likely to last more than 12 months.

This is an interesting legal topic that rarely gets a mention. Most employers, employees and HR professionals are well aware of the main grounds for which an employee can be dismissed; gross misconduct, continuing misconduct after a final written warning, etc. But there is also a “catch all” legitimate ground for dismissal for “some other substantial reason”, or SOSR for short.

The various specialist civil courts in England and Wales will be reorganised and be officially known as the “Business and Property Courts of England and Wales” from June 2017. They will handle, amongst other matters, international dispute resolution jurisdictions. The courts included within the Business and Property Courts will be as follows:

Well article 50 has been effectively triggered today. Since the referendum there has been a period of uncertainty, but the latest analysis of possible effects on businesses and the probable changes to the law can be better understood.

One legal issue that rarely gets mentioned is what happens if a company decides to re-locate. Many contracts of employment include mobility clauses which effectively force employees to move, leave or face dismissal. While these clauses are perfectly legal, should an employee choose to leave as a result of the move it may not just be a simple case of dismissal or dealing with a resignation, and if an employee flatly refuses to move, you may have to acknowledge they’re redundant and pay redundancy or you may find yourself at the wrong end of an unfair dismissal claim.

The law is forever being changed and amended so it often helps to know what’s likely to happen in the year ahead so as a business you can make plans and contingencies. Here are a few “red letter dates” for your diary.

As the new legislative year begins, here are a few pointers to what employers and employees can expect to see in the New Year as regards employment laws and laws that may impact businesses and employers in general. Firstly, pay disparity, the Gender Pay Gap Reporting regulations  that we blogged about last year, although the regulations are still in draft form the deadline for the first report is expected to be 4 April 2018 based on pay and bonus data from 2016/17.