A recent case, Patsystems Holdings Ltd v Neilly, has highlighted some of the important factors courts will use to determine the enforceability of restricted covenants in employment contracts. Often when employees gain promotion their employment contracts will remain on the original terms, which might be out of date. In this case a junior employee was given inappropriate restrictions in his c...
Some overseas students have been queuing all night in order to comply with a requirement on their student visa to register with the police with 7 days. Failure to do so is a breach of their immigration conditions and could result in their removal from the UK. Due to the large number of students commencing studies at this time of the year, the police are struggling to cope with the demand....
New laws have come into force today, 1 October 2012, that require UK employers to automatically enrol eligible workers into a pension scheme and make mandatory minimum contributions on their behalf. The reforms are being implemented gradually, with only large employers that employ 120,000 or more staff having to comply from today, and those employing 50,000-119,999 staff having to comply by 1 Nov...
Construction projects are technical in nature and are often hugely complex. The contract needs to reflect this complexity and will involve some negotiation even where a standard form contract is to be used....
Where an employee is absent from work from one employer due to a temporary cessation of work and then starts work with an associated employer, is the employee continuously employed for purposes of bringing an unfair dismissal claim? The facts In Holt v EB Security Ltd UKEAT/0558/11/CEA, Holt ("the Claimant") was employed at a pub from July 2007 until it closed and his employm...
David Cameron appeared on the Late Show with Letterman last night to promote British business following the Olympics. The Prime Minister soon became unsettled when Letterman asked him questions from the Citizenship test that migrants to the UK are required to sit. Having answered a few questions incorrectly, the Prime Minister is quoted as saying "...You have found me out", "...That is bad" and "...
The Legal 500 directory has just announced their 2012 results, with outstanding listings again for Clarkslegal:...
The case of Neijjary v Aramark Ltd confirms that employers need to be careful when dismissing on misconduct grounds where a number of allegations are made, not all of which may be upheld on appeal. It also deals with the issue of contributory fault. In this case, Mr Neijjary was employed as a hospitality manager by Aramak, a hospitality services company, at a Goldman Sachs site. He was summarily...
On 14 September Vince Cable announced the Ending the employment relationship consultation which covers ways to encourage the use of compromise agreements, to be renamed "settlement agreements", as a way for parties reaching mutual agreement where the employment relationship has broken down Proposals The consultation, which closes on 23 November 2012, has sought views on proposals that aim to al...
In November last year the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) called for evidence on the effectiveness of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE). Following this, Clarkslegal held a round table discussion with various employers affected by TUPE to gather views and evidence on the questions raised by BIS. Based on this discussion, we sub...
Vince Cable has announced various consultations on employment law. These proposed changes to employment law are part of the Government`s systematic review of employment law to reduce employment red tape and give firms more flexibility and confidence in managing their workforce. BIS reports that these proposed reforms are most likely to benefit small businesses. The consultations announced...
Today the Ministry of Justice has published the annyal Employement Tribunal and EAT statistics up to the 31 March 2012....
The universities minister, David Willetts, has announced at the universities conference that the Government will set up a £2m hardship fund to help "legitimate overseas students" at London Metropolitan University, following the university`s sponsorship licence being revoked last month....
The EAT has upheld a tribunal`s finding that two employees, who were dismissed for failing to agree to new terms (including a pay cut) following a TUPE transfer, were unfairly dismissed....
This month a Scottish Council whose former employees` pension records were found in a paper recycle bank in a supermarket car park were fined £250,000 for the data breach. More than 600 files were found at the recycle bins, containing confidential information and, in a significant number of cases, salary and bank account details....
The Government has announced a range of legislative measures aimed at boosting UK business growth. According to BIS, from April 2013 the Government intends to introduce new rules that will exempt hundreds of thousands of businesses from regular health & safety inspections. Only businesses operating in higher risk areas will face these inspections, such as those in construction and those who hav...
Since May 2011 the Information Commissioner`s Office (the "ICO") has had the power to issue Civil Monetary Penalties ("CMPs") of up to £500,000 for serious breaches of the Data Protection Act....
1 April 2013 is an important date for lawyers. It is when the new rules on recovery of legal costs in legal proceedings are planned to come into force....
A survey, Facing the future: CBI/Harvey Nash employment trends survey 2012, carried out by the CBI and Harvey Nash, examines the impact of the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 on businesses....
A recent case highlights the pitfalls of engaging casual staff without a written contract. Determining the employment status of causal workers is often difficult as the term suggests a relationship that is informal between the parties, with limited obligation on both sides. However casual workers will in some instances be considered to be providing their services under contracts of employment, despite working on an ad hoc basis and as such have more rights as employees. This would include the right to not be unfairly dismissed....