Now is a good time for SMEs to put the Government to the test in its commitment to "Back Small Business", set out in its strategy document with that title, released this week. This follows the review of employment laws to be led by Lord Young also announced this week. Lord Young got attention by proposing an increase in the qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims to 2 years (see our blog "Return to 2 year qualifying period? Smaller employers encouraged to be brutally honest.")...
Our expertise in securing investment in environmental technologies is increasing rapidly, through our subsidiary company, Forbury Investment Network. We are delighted to have accepted invitations to speak at the following high profile events in November....
That all depends on what you read. According to the latest "Report on Jobs" from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG, October 2010 saw the slowest rates of growth in 14 months for both permanent and temporary placements, and growth in the number of vacancies was also recorded at a 12-month low....
The Commons Act 2006 (the Act) regulates the registration of land as a town or village green. The aim of the Act is to protect open spaces which have been used recreationally by the public against future development....
The Government`s "enterprise tsar", Lord Young, has confirmed that he will be consulting over making changes to unfair dismissal law, including the possibility of putting the qualifying period for bringing an unfair dismissal claim back up to 2 years. This is part of David Cameron`s "brutally honest review" into the burdens on small and medium sized businesses. The qualifying period started out at 6 months in 1971, increased to 12 months in 1980 (2 years for small businesses with 20 or fewer employees), then increased to 2 years for all employees (regardless of the size of the employer) in 1985. It is 12 months at present, reduced from 2 years in 1999. Lord Young believes that putting the qualifying period up in the 1980s actually increased employment....
Does English law apply to foreign individuals and companies in this country? In the eyes of the law nationality is irrelevant....
The employee had worked at McDonalds for over 12 years, and alleged he had suffered excessive weight gain, owing to him being asked to sample the products on sale, as well as being provided with a free lunch....
A survey recently carried out by the CIPD and Simplyhealth (a health care provider) revealed that in the last 12 months stress was the main cause of long-term sickness absence in the businesses surveyed....
The EAT in Lancaster University -v- The University and College Union (UCU), agreed with the Tribunal`s decision to reduce a protective award from the maximum 90 days` to 60 days` pay. The union had ‘effectively condoned` a failure to undertake a collective redundancy consultation process....
Under the whistle-blowing rules, an employee is protected from being subjected to a detriment or being unfairly dismissed for making a protected disclosure. However, what disclosures can qualify for protection? Section 43B(1) ERA sets out 6 categories of subject matter about which a protected disclosure can be made....
A recent annual absence survey carried out by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has revealed that stress-related absence levels have increased over the past year. Workers in the public sector came off worse, with the survey finding that they took an average of 9.6 days off sick a year (3 days more than those working in the private sector)....
Sometimes employers need to make changes to terms and conditions of employment for sound business reasons and unfortunately those reasons do not always meet the employees` expectations. Also, it can be difficult for employees to fully understand why certain decisions are being made as, by no fault of their own, they are unlikely to be party to all the relevant information and/or the financial pressures of the employer....
The Equality and Human Rights Commission`s Codes of Practice on the Equality Act 2010 were published and laid before parliament last week....
In the case of Gisda Cyf v Barratt [2010] UKSC 41, the Claimant was sent home following a disciplinary and told to expect a letter concerning possible dismissal....
In a first reading, the European Parliament has voted on the European Commission`s proposal to reform the 1992 Maternity Leave Directive, increasing the minimum period of maternity leave from 14 to 18 weeks and paying women 100 per cent of their salary during maternity leave....
The Employment Relations Minister, Ed Davey, announced this week that the government will not be amending the Agency Workers Regulations before their entry into force in October 2011. The Regulations, which are a requirement of an EC directive, were passed in the last weeks of the Labour Government and, following the general election, the Coalition Government made a pledge to review certain aspects of the Regulations in the light of concerns raised on behalf of employers, in particular by the CBI....
As the headline figure of an estimated 500,000 public sector job losses starts to sink in following today`s spending review announcement, we should remind ourselves that this is only an estimate. The really hard work of how £83 billion worth of spending cuts by 2015 will translate into job losses is likely to take some months to thrash out and even then there will be plenty of negotiations to be had with the unions....
Chancellor George Osbourne announced his Spending Review today. This was expected to set the deepest cuts in public spending in decades....
It has been widely reported in the press this week that Wayne Rooney has fallen out with manager Alex Ferguson and is looking to leave Manchester United when his current fixed term contract expires in 20 months time....
Last week it seemed everyone had an opinion on the current law on strikes in the wake of feared industrial action by public sector workers and an autumn-winter of discontent in response to the Government`s spending cuts. According to the Daily Telegraph and official figures, the number of public sector working days lost to disputes has already shot up in the 12 months to July due to walkouts such as the Civil Service strike in March and the Royal Mail action last year. A forthcoming opportunity to see how public sector workers will react to the cuts will take place on 20 October. The Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) is due to be announced then. This is the Government`s four year public spending plans and will include a sharp rise in pension contributions for nurses, teachers and other public sector staff. The BBC staff have also planned a strike that would hit the corporation`s coverage of the CSR. There is a fear that widespread unrest could jeopardise Britain`s fragile economic recovery....