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Employment Related Matters

  1. 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’.

  2. Annual Leave

    Under the Working Time Regulations 1998 workers are entitled to paid statutory annual leave and prior to 1 October 2007 a worker was entitled to 4 weeks’ statutory paid leave. As a result of amended regulations statutory paid leave was increased to 4.8 weeks annually (or 24 days for an employee working 5 days per week) from 1 October 2007 and increased to 5.6 weeks from 1 April 2009. This increase will move more UK workers’ annual leave entitlement closer to that of workers in other European countries, where holiday allowance is typically more generous.

  3. Dismissal Procedures

    We set out below the main principles involved concerning the dismissal of employees including some common mistakes that employers make. We have written this factsheet in an accessible and understandable way but some of the issues may be very complicated. Professional advice should be sought before any action is taken.

  4. Health & 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.

  5. 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 illegal migrant labour it could carry a maximum 2 year prison sentence and/or unlimited fine.

  6. 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 7.4 days is lost each year per employee with an average cost of £692 per employee. Approximately two-thirds of working time lost to absence is accounted for by short-term absences of up to seven days. We consider below the main principles of effective absence management.

  7. 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 of the NMW. We highlight below the main principles of the minimum wage regulations. Please contact us for further specific advice.

  8. 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.

  9. Redundancy Procedures

    We set out below the main principles involved concerning the redundancy of employees. We have written this factsheet in an accessible and understandable way but some of the issues may be very complicated. Professional advice should be sought before any action is taken.

  10. Statutory Sick, 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 summarises what an employer needs to consider.