Employment Law

Employment relationships in the modern working world are vast and varied: from workers, to employees, to consultants, to freelancers. On top of this, businesses operate at all times of day and night, many internationally, and following Covid-19, there is an ever-increasing ability for many individuals to work anywhere in the world.

Unless you actively avoid the news, you’re probably familiar by now with the headline-grabbing controversy caused by entrepreneur and Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk, after he announced that half of the company’s workforce were to be ‘laid off’ as part of cost cutting measures.

Christmas is often the busiest time of the year for many businesses, so the extra support from temporary staff, ‘Christmas temps,’ around this time, is often appreciated. As an employer, however, it is important you know the rules inside out to keep you on the right side of employment law.

Work Christmas parties are a staple on the corporate calendar, but it is always important to remember that even though it is a Christmas party, it is also a work event. As an employer, it is your job to ensure the rules are followed. Not only will this protect your employees from damaging their reputation, but it can save you the misfortune of having your business's reputation damaged or having to discipline an employee.

Katie Ash explains and answers some questions about settlement agreements.

Katie Ash, head of Employment Law, answers the most commonly asked questions about redundancy.

Here Sara Patel, an employment law expert at Banner Jones, helps to separate the facts from the fiction, and clarifies the law and the role of employers in relation to a few of the most common workplace myths.

Workers’ rights have long since been protected by law… to an extent. However, in 2019 the Conservative government promised to introduce a unified Employment Bill which would hold British businesses accountable across the board.

Running a business can be challenging, and never more so than when decisions need to be made that potentially affect the lives and livelihoods of employees.

Sadly, however, it is part and parcel of the day job, and most business owners and decision makers will grapple with the prospects of having to let people go, and the subsequent redundancy process, at some point during their career.

As such a large part of an employee’s life is spent at work, it’s important that employers play an active role in ensuring that their workers develop and maintain good mental wellbeing and a healthy relationship with their place of work.

This is particularly important post-pandemic, when it is widely acknowledged that employees' health has suffered because of lockdowns, job uncertainty, and the mandate to work from home.

After all, healthy and well-motivated employees will have an equally positive impact on the productivity and effectiveness of a business!

One of the most widely publicised phenomena caused by the pandemic is what has now become known as The Great Resignation.

According to a poll undertaken by recruiter Randstad UK in November of last year, almost 7 in every 10 employees (69%) said they felt confident to move to a new job within just a couple of months.

The cost of defending Employment Tribunal cases can vary significantly and could cost your business anything from £10,000 to £50,000. Then if the claimant is successful, there will be the cost of compensation on top of this. The average award for an unfair dismissal case in the UK is a little under £7,000, with claims resulting from discrimination costing significantly more. Businesses also need to consider the hidden cost of employment law claims caused by the damage it can do to their reputation as an employer and as a business that clients and customers want to work with. Often this cost can be more damaging than the award itself.

.

From 11 November 2021, all care home workers and anyone entering a care home must be fully vaccinated, unless they are medically exempt under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021.

Fixed Fee Employer Protection Plan

In our latest blog Head of Employment Law, Katie Ash, goes through the eight key steps to lawfully recruiting someone into your business.  It can be a costly mistake to ignore the rules and get this wrong.

Flexible working has been at the forefront of many businesses since the pandemic began, and for many it is now time to formalise a flexible working policy. This guide tells you how to handle flexible working requests but we can also assist with a policy if required.

For many women, returning to work after maternity leave can feel like a daunting prospect and one of the biggest sticking points is in relation to those who continue to breastfeed or express milk once their maternity leave has ended.

Here, Banner Jones’ Head of Employment law, Katie Ash, looks at the state of current legislation here in the UK.