Employment Law for Employers

Employment Contracts

It is a legal requirement that employers provide employees with a written statement of their terms of employment. This should set out the minimum terms governing the employment relationship and is the bare minimum that an employer must provide.

It is advisable for employers to provide a written contract of employment to an employee which includes the minimum legal terms. This is  advantageous to the employer and employee. A written contract can include details of the ownership of intellectual property rights, confidentiality clauses and post termination restrictions. 

It is advisable to ensure that you have  concise, easy to follow and legally compliant policies and procedures, often included together in a Staff Handbook, some essential policies include:

• Disciplinary Policy
• Grievance Policy
• Equal Opportunities Policy
• Flexible Working Policy
• Bribery Policy
• Data Protection policy
• Social Media Policy

How our Solicitors can help you:

• Discuss your business requirements with you
• Offer bespoke employment contracts for your employees and service agreements for directors which specifically meet your needs and serve to protect your business interests or provide template contracts for a fixed fee.
• Guide you through the employment law minefield and ensure that you deal correctly with any issue faced
• Provide you with template or bespoke policies and procedures which ensure that you follow legal requirements and  have fair procedures in place

Discrimination against workers has been a key and developing feature of  employment law, with the Equality Act 2010 providing protection to staff and recognising the protected characteristics of gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, disability and age. 

In a fast moving and evolving environment employers need to ensure that they and any mangers dealing with staff are up to date to minimise the risks of discrimination in the workplace. With successful Claimants potentially being awarded uncapped compensation plus the risk of reputational damage it will be invaluable to your business to ensure you are aware and prepared.

How our employment discrimination solicitors can help you:

Our expert solicitors can advise you on how to deal with these issues, support you with those issues and in defending discrimination claims, provide appropriate policies and procedures or provide staff training.

Post termination restrictive covenants are clauses that can be included in a contract of employment and are potentially lawful if you protect the legitimate interest of your business and go no further than is reasonable to do so.  This is why ideally covenants should be tailored to your business and the role of the employee.

These clauses are designed to restrict the activity of employees once the employment relationship has ended and need to be drafted carefully to minimise arguments around enforceability . They are particularly important for senior employees or employees who have access to sensitive data or when employees have relationships with key clients or suppliers. The idea behind post termination restrictive covenants is to stop the former employee from using the data or relationship in their new employment to the detriment of their former employee.

We can design and draft bespoke covenants for you with appropriate targeted restrictions to minimise threats to your business. Alternatively, we can review and update current covenants.

Our team can also support you with the necessary steps to enforce restrictive covenants against employees.

If you are looking to make your business more efficient by restructuring and making staff redundancies our expert solicitors can guide you through the process. Often employers fall into the trap of using redundancy as a non-contentious way to end an employee’s employment contract. However, redundancy has a specific meaning.

Broadly speaking, redundancy situations fall into three categories:

1. Business closure (that is, closure of the business altogether)
2. Workplace closure (that is, closure of one of several sites, or relocation to a new site)
3. Diminished requirements of the business for employees to do work of a particular kind

Employers must follow a fair procedure, which includes consultation with employees, and adopt a proper selection process. An employer cannot necessarily avoid a claim for unfair dismissal merely because it can show that an employee was dismissed by reason of redundancy.

How our redundancy solicitors can help you:

• Guide you through the process and ensure you adopt the correct procedure
• Provide you with checklists for each step of the process
• Draft appropriate letters to provide to employees at each stage
• Advise if a settlement agreement may be appropriate

In employment law, a settlement agreement (formerly known as a compromise agreement) is an agreement whereby an employee or worker agrees not to pursue certain employment claims against their employer, in return for which the employer will pay to the employee a sum of money.

For a settlement agreement to be legally binding the employee must obtain independent legal advice and an employer usually contributes towards their legal costs.

Settlement agreements can be used in a range of scenarios; commonly they are used when the employment relationship simply is not working but there are no real grounds for dismissal. In cases such as that, an agreement can be reached whereby the employee leaves in return for a one-off payment.

How our Solicitors can help you:

• Our specialist employment solicitors regularly draft and advise on settlement agreements (compromise agreements)
• As always, our employment solicitors will tailor the advice to your specific case, using the benefit of their years of experience
• Drafting effective restrictive covenants to prevent employees from joining a competitor, interfering with supplier relationships and poaching clients and other staff

TUPE refers to the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006. The main effect of TUPE is to preserve continuity of employment, as well as terms and conditions of employment, of any employees who are transferred to a new employer when there is a “relevant transfer”.

It is imperative to give due consideration to TUPE in relevant commercial transactions. The specialist solicitors in Warners employment law team can advise you on all areas of TUPE and what due diligence should be undertaken. Often employment claims faced by businesses arise from failure to comply with the strict requirements of the TUPE legislation.

Our TUPE solicitors can advise you on:

• whether TUPE applies to your circumstance
• due diligence if appropriate
• transferor’s and transferee’s statutory consultation obligations
• dismissals and/or changes to terms and conditions before or after a TUPE transfer

Our expert employment law solicitors can advise you on the correct process when you need to dismiss an employee so that you can avoid being accused of unfair or wrongful dismissal.

Unfair dismissal

Every eligible employee has the right not to be unfairly dismissed by his employer. If an employer wants to dismiss an employee they must be able to show that, not only did they have a potentially fair reason to dismiss, but also that they acted fairly in doing so.

Potentially fair reasons include:

• Capability (or qualifications)
• Conduct
• Redundancy
• Illegality (for example a delivery driver being disqualified from driving)
• Retirement
• Some other substantial reason
• However, there are some circumstances, such as pregnancy, where any dismissal will be automatically unfair.

Wrongful dismissal

Wrongful dismissal occurs where a dismissal takes place in breach of contract. A claim for wrongful dismissal can be brought in either the Employment Tribunal or civil courts. If brought in the Employment Tribunal, it must be presented within three months of the date when the claim arose. A claim in the civil courts for wrongful dismissal, however, can be brought within six years.

How our unfair or wrongful dismissal solicitors can help you:

• Advise you on the procedure which you should follow and how best to deal with the matter
• Advise you on the merits of the case and, if need be, represent you in the courts or Employment Tribunal
• Provide pragmatic and tailored advice relevant to your circumstances
• Disciplinary, grievance and other internal procedures

Yes, employers can terminate employees without cause, but proper procedures must be followed. Generally, employees with more than two years of continuous service have additional protection against unfair dismissal. However, there are exceptions, such as dismissals based on discrimination or whistleblowing.

The maximum working time per week for most employees in the UK is 48 hours, averaged over a 17-week reference period. However, employees can choose to work longer hours by signing an opt-out agreement. It’s important to ensure compliance with other working time regulations, such as rest breaks and annual leave.

Employers should have a clear procedure in place to handle workplace discrimination complaints. This typically involves conducting an internal investigation, addressing the issue, and taking appropriate disciplinary or remedial action. Employees can also raise complaints with the Advisory, Conciliation, and Arbitration Service (ACAS) or an employment tribunal.

Yes, employers are required to provide paid annual leave. As of April 2023, the statutory minimum is 5.6 weeks of paid leave per year, which can include bank holidays. The entitlement may be higher if the employment contract provides for it.

Yes, employers can request criminal background checks on job applicants, but it must be done in compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Certain positions, such as those involving work with vulnerable individuals, may require more extensive checks.

Employers must comply with data protection laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This involves obtaining consent for collecting personal data, ensuring data security, and providing employees with information about their data rights.

Non-compete agreements are enforceable in the UK, but they must be reasonable in terms of scope, duration, and geographical area. To be enforceable, non-compete clauses must protect legitimate business interests and be supported by consideration, such as additional compensation or benefits.

Yes, employers are legally required to provide employees with a written statement of employment particulars within two months of starting work. This document outlines key terms and conditions of employment, such as working hours, pay, and notice periods.

Employers have a legal duty to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of their employees. This involves conducting risk assessments, providing a safe working environment, offering appropriate training, and implementing health and safety policies. Compliance with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and related regulations is essential.