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The National Minimum Wage increases on Wednesday 1st October
From 1 October 2014, the rate of National Minimum Wage (NMW) for employees will rise as follows:
Posted in:Employment Law
Disciplinary procedure: increasing sanctions
A Court of Appeal decision confirms that where an employer has set out a formal contractual disciplinary procedure, it is bound by the terms of that procedure. In this case the employee had appealed against the imposition of a written warning and the employer contemplated increasing the severity of that sanction, which would lead to […]
Posted in:Employment Law
Redundancy and disability discrimination: making reasonable adjustments
Employers considering a business reorganisation should take note of an EAT decision which held that an employer failed in its duty to make reasonable adjustments when it did not adjust certain redundancy criteria that placed a disabled employee at a substantial disadvantage. This was despite the fact that the failure would have made no difference […]
Posted in:Employment Law
Age discrimination: objective justification
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has upheld an employment tribunal’s decision that as at 31st December 2006 a law firm’s mandatory retirement age of 65 for partners was a proportionate means of achieving the legitimate aims of workforce planning and staff retention. The retirement age was objectively justified and did not amount to direct age […]
Posted in:Employment Law
Restrictive covenants in employment contracts
A Court of Appeal decision provides a stark reminder that restrictive covenants must be carefully thought through and worded, with rigorous consideration given to the underlying intention and drafting of the clause. The Court of Appeal overturned the High Court’s decision to read words into a non-compete covenant and held that the only intepretation available […]
Posted in:Employment Law
Sign up for our next employment law seminars on ‘atypical’ working
Our autumn employment law seminars are on the subject of ‘atypical working’. We are hosting two events – one on Wednesday 15th October at The Wynyard Rooms and the second on Tuesday 21st October at the Wilton Centre. Click onto the links for further information.
Posted in:News & PR Employment Law
New government funded contract awarded to Maximus
Maximus has been awarded the new government funded occupational health service. The service will provide occupational health assessments and assist employees to return to work who have been absent for four weeks or more. It will be launched on a phased basis in 2014 and is expected to be fully running by May 2015. Further […]
Posted in:Employment Law
Employment status: limited liability partnerships
The Supreme Court has held that a former equity partner of a law firm incorporated as a limited liability partnership (LLP) was clearly a worker and therefore eligible to bring a whistleblowing claim against the LLP.
Posted in:Employment Law
Owner-managed businesses: car benefit
Owner-managed businesses should be alerted to the consequences of leasing a car through a company, as the advantage of a lower lease premium may be outweighed by the tax and NICs liabilities that result.
Posted in:Employment Law
Hiring an employee: references and probationary periods
Two surveys have highlighted the risk of candidates providing fake references and the fact that a large number of staff fail their probationary periods.
Posted in:Employment Law