HR / Employment Law News

General Election 2019 – The Parties’ Policies on Employment Law

Polling day is looming – Thursday, 12th December will allow the country to decide which political party will lead the UK through not just Brexit but the next 5-year term. This opportunity to vote is not a celebratory contest to choose which party leader you like – but an opportunity to look closely at the policies they are proposing in their party manifestos. For employers, all political parties are promising substantial changes within the world of work. So what changes

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11th December 2019

Can employees carry over annual leave entitlements?

The answer to this question is ‘it depends on what type of annual leave it is‘. To explain, there are three different categories of annual leave: statutory annual leave originating in EU law which gives workers 4 weeks’ paid holiday and is subject to EU / Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) requirements; statutory annual leave originating in UK law which gives workers 1.6 weeks’ paid holiday and isn’t subject to EU / CJEU requirements (despite UK courts

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9th December 2019

interference of managers at disciplinary investigations

Stark warning to employers of the dangers of senior management interference in disciplinary investigations

In Cadent Gas Limited v Singh the Claimant was a gas engineer and undertook roles as a H&S representative and shop steward for the GMB union. He had worked for the Respondent for 19 years and had an unblemished disciplinary record. Throughout 2016 and 2017 he had raised a long list of grievances, relating, among other things, to being unfairly treated on the grounds of his trade union activities. These included three grievances against his line manager. Although the Tribunal

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9th December 2019

Managing redundancy dismissals

Business reorganisations / restructures are part of everyday life for organisations looking to remain viable and competitive in the marketplace. Where they involve job losses, however, there can be exposure to unfair dismissal claims. We look at the steps employers can take to mitigate the risks. Consider whether there is a genuine redundancy situation An employer must demonstrate that the dismissal is for a reason that falls within the statutory definition of a redundancy, i.e. that it is due

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15th November 2019

Can employers afford to ignore their employees’ mental health?

According to the Mental Health Foundation, around 15% of people experience mental health problems in the workplace. Therefore, it’s more important than ever that employers understand their responsibilities in this area. For employers who may already be dealing with any of these issues, we offer a specialist Employment Tribunal representation service. We’re also running a couple of free half-day seminars on 6th December 2019 aimed at: helping employers understand their responsibilities and the benefits of managing mental health in

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13th November 2019

Annual employment tribunal and EAT stats published

The latest employment tribunal and EAT statistics have been published by the Ministry of Justice. They detail the type and volume of cases received, disposed of and outstanding for the period April 2018 to March 2019. This information is useful in assessing employment litigation trends and the impact of fees (introduced in July 2013, but outlawed in July 2017) and Acas early conciliation (introduced in May 2014). The stats show that 121,111 employment tribunal claims were accepted in this period.

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23rd September 2019

TUPE, due diligence and the data protection challenge

How can you undertake thorough and effective due diligence in the context of a TUPE transfer without breaching data protection legislation? This is a question we have been asked by clients a few times of late and so we thought it would be useful to get the answer out there for the wider benefit of employers in general. In summary, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), duly tailored by the Data Protection Act 2018, requires UK employers to comply with

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30th August 2019

Wellbeing in the Workplace

There have been copious studies into the link between employee wellbeing, both inside and outside of work, and improved workplace performance. The overarching trend is undeniable: where employees wellbeing is positively influenced by their employer the productivity, profitability and quality tend to improve. So, what, as Business Owners, Leaders and HR professionals, should we be doing from a wellbeing perspective to get the most out of our employees? There are many different factors which influence wellbeing on a personal level

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13th May 2019

The Modern Slavery Act – are you compliant?

What is the Modern Slavery Act 2015? UK Government introduced the Act in October 2015 to increase the transparency of companies’ supply chains and structures to reduce human trafficking and slavery. The legislation requires all organisations that meet certain criteria to publish an annual modern slavery statement. Your organisation must produce a modern slavery statement if it: Has a turnover or combined group turnover of £36M or more, and Operates within the UK or is incorporated in the UK. The

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9th May 2019

Have you complied with your Gender Pay Gap reporting duties?

The Gender Pay Gap Regulations, which were introduced in April 2017, require private and voluntary sector employers with 250 employees or more to publish a report on their own website, and a dedicated government website, by 4 April each year indicating the differences between the average pay and bonuses of male and female employees (“the gender pay gap”) as at 5 April the previous year (the corresponding dates for public sector employers are 31 March and 30 March) Those organisations

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18th April 2019

Latest tribunal stats make ominous reading for employers

The latest employment tribunal statistics have been published by the Ministry of Justice. They detail the type and volume of cases received, disposed of and outstanding for the period October to December 2018. This information is useful in assessing employment litigation trends and the impact of fees (which were introduced in July 2013 and abolished in July 2017) and Acas Early Conciliation (which was introduced in May 2014). The stats show that there was an increase of 23% in the

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1st April 2019

Can employers afford to ignore their employees’ health and wellbeing?

Being told that they should look after the health and wellbeing of their employees, and engage them, may not get an enthusiastic reception from managers whose primary focus is the bottom line. However, identifying the consequences of neglecting these areas might put a different spin on things. Stress can turn into depression, short-term absence can quickly become long-term, medical conditions evolve into disabilities, and if employment is terminated without considering reasonable adjustments, this could result in claims of Disability Discrimination.

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21st February 2019

EU Settlement Scheme Overview

As the date on which Britain will exit the European Union draws ever closer, and with a continued lack of clarity on how Brexit will affect us, it is undoubtedly a difficult and unsettling time for both EU citizens and their families in the UK, and for their employers. Whilst there is no requirement for employers to explicitly advise employees of what they need to do to remain in the UK, EML has been providing clients with relevant and practical

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31st January 2019

The Employment Law implications of Jose Mourinho’s sacking

If there’s one thing that changes almost as frequently as employment law, it’s football managers…particularly at the latter-day Manchester United! In April 2014, United parted company with David Moyes, its first manager since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, after less than one year in post and on account of the club’s disappointing season. Moyes’ successor, Louis Van Gaal, appointed in June 2014, lasted just two years before being handed his P45. Now, Van Gaal’s successor, Jose Mourinho, has been

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24th December 2018

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