Key developments

View Employment by content type:

News

Practice notes

Precedents

Q&As

Latest Employment News

Step into step 3: Employer’s guide to the next stage of the government’s roadmap

The following Employment news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on Step into step 3: Employer’s guide to the next stage of the government’s roadmap

The gender pay gap in a COVID-19 world — Are we falling back on old habits?

The following Employment news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on The gender pay gap in a COVID-19 world — Are we falling back on old habits?

Will a digital only immigration status for EU nationals be discriminatory?

The following Employment news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on Will a digital only immigration status for EU nationals be discriminatory?

Employment weekly highlights—13 May 2021

The following Employment news provides comprehensive and up to date legal information on Employment weekly highlights—13 May 2021

Featured Employment content

Letter—employer acknowledgement of notification of maternity leave

Date: [insert date]Dear [insert name of employee]Congratulations and thank you for telling me about your pregnancy and the date that your baby is due....

Collective agreements

Collective agreements are agreements negotiated between one or more trade unions and employers or employers' associations and which relate to one or...

ET1 grounds of claim—direct sex discrimination, sexual harassment and constructive dismissal

[Insert in para 8.2 of claim form ET1:]1The Claimant was employed by the Respondent as a [job title]. She worked at the Respondent’s premises at...

Calculating pension loss in employment tribunal claims

Pension loss will generally only arise in cases where an individual has lost their job and the pension provision that went with that job. An...

Practice notes

Striking out and unless orders in employment tribunal proceedings

Coronavirus (COVID-19): All proceedings in employment tribunals in England, Wales and Scotland during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and until...

9th Nov

In-house

Practice notes

The basic award

Coronavirus (COVID-19): The Employment Rights Act 1996 (Coronavirus, Calculation of a Week’s Pay) Regulations 2020 (Week’s Pay Amendment Regs 2020),...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Employment tribunal case management

Coronavirus (COVID-19): All proceedings in employment tribunals in England, Wales and Scotland during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and until...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Unfair dismissal time limit

Three months beginning with the effective date of terminationAn unfair dismissal claim must generally be submitted to the employment tribunal within...

9th Nov

Precedents

Letter—long-term sickness absence (6): to employee confirming dismissal on notice (following final written warning)

[To be typed on headed notepaper of employer][Date]Dear [insert name of employee],Re: [insert name of employer] (the Company)Following our most recent...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Definition of dismissal in unfair dismissal

To succeed in a claim of unfair dismissal, the claimant must establish that they were dismissed by the employer. A contract of employment may...

9th Nov

In-house

Precedents

Letter—TUPE (3) letter from transferee to transferor to inform of proposed measures

[To be typed on headed notepaper of transferee][Strictly private and confidential][Address][Date]Dear [enter name(s) of relevant individual(s) at the...

9th Nov

Precedents

Application—additional information (further and better particulars)

[Insert date][Insert] Employment Tribunal[Insert address]To the [insert] Employment Tribunal[Insert name of case, eg X v Y]Claim Number: [insert claim...

9th Nov

Practice notes

No response, rejected response or claim not contested: employment tribunals

Coronavirus (COVID-19): All proceedings in employment tribunals in England, Wales and Scotland during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and until...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Qualifying period for unfair dismissal

For employees starting fresh employment on or after 6 April 2012, the right not to be unfairly dismissed generally only arises when the employee, by...

9th Nov

Precedents

Letter—TUPE (9) from employee objecting to transfer

[Strictly private and confidential][Address][Date]Dear [enter name(s) of relevant individual(s) at the transferor],Proposed transfer of [enter...

9th Nov

Precedents

Letter—from employer placing employee on garden leave

[To be typed on employer’s headed notepaper][Enter name and address of employee][Enter date]by handDear [enter name]Garden leaveI refer to [[enter...

9th Nov

Precedents

Letter—secondment letter (employer—employee)

BREXIT IMPACT: The drafting and enforcement of the applicable law (governing law) and jurisdiction clause in this Precedent may be affected by Brexit....

9th Nov

Practice notes

Unfair dismissal remedies—general

Coronavirus (COVID-19): The Employment Rights Act 1996 (Coronavirus, Calculation of a Week’s Pay) Regulations 2020 (Week’s Pay Amendment Regs 2020),...

9th Nov

Practice notes

Contractual redundancy payments

An employee is entitled to a statutory redundancy payment when:•he has been continuously employed for not less than two years•he has been dismissed,...

9th Nov

In-house

Practice notes

Payment in lieu of notice (PILON)

The right to notice means a right for the employee to remain in employment for the period of notice, not simply to be paid for it. An employer will...

9th Nov

Most recent Key developments content

Q&As

Are employers legally required to draft a letter explaining that an employee is a key/critical worker (which the employee could then use to justify leaving their homes during a lockdown), or is it just good practice for an employer to do so?

In accordance with the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (All Tiers) (England) Regulations 2020, SI 2020/1374 (as amended), current...

22nd Jan

Q&As

Should an employer allow an employee who is 28 weeks’ pregnant to attend the workplace during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic?

An employer must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees. Failure to do so is a...

21st Jan

COVID-19

Q&As

Can a settlement agreement provided for an employee to be placed on furlough under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CRJS) for a period of three months or more, during which time their salary is funded by the grant and at the end of this period the employee is to be paid their contractual notice period and a Compensatory payment which includes a Redundancy payment? If this is not within the spirit of the Scheme is it an offence which is to be reported and consent to be obtained?

For information on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) generally, see Practice Notes: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (revised version 1 July...

20th Jan

COVID-19

Q&As

If an employer agrees to place a worker on furlough under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and then later discovers that it is not eligible to claim the CJRS grant to subsidise the cost of the furloughed worker's wages, can the employer treat the payment it has made to the employee as an overpayment of wages and make a deduction from wages to recover the money, or will it depend on the contents of the furlough agreement?

The nature of pay and wagesThe essence of employment is pay in return for work; there is a duty to pay wages whenever an employee is ready, willing...

20th Jan

COVID-19

Q&As

Are employers able to claim under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) in respect of payments in lieu of accrued untaken holiday entitlement on termination of employment?

For information:•on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) scheme generally, see Practice Note: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (revised version...

20th Jan

COVID-19

Q&As

Can a UK-based company claim under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for a UK employee who is working overseas (eg USA) under a UK contract of employment?

There is no express geographic restriction in the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CRJS) Treasury directions, or the CRJS guidance. However, the...

Produced in partnership with Samantha Bainham of Baker Mackenzie 20th Jan

COVID-19

Q&As

If an employee who is entitled to 100% of their salary for their notice period on furlough (due to sections 88–89 of the Employment Rights Act 1996) is then placed on flexible furlough and works two days out of a five-day working week during their notice period, at what rate does their notice pay have to be paid? Furthermore, if they have contractually agreed to be paid a reduced salary of 80% when working, can the employer continue to pay them this during their notice period for the days worked?

The answer to this Q&A is likely to depend on:•whether there are normal working hours or no normal working hours for the employee in question, and•if...

20th Jan

COVID-19

Q&As

Can a settlement agreement provide for an employee to be placed on furlough under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) for three months, during which time their salary will be funded by a CJRS grant, and to be paid a statutory redundancy payment at the end of that period?

For information generally on the situation where an employer enters into a settlement agreement before termination that provides for the employee to...

20th Jan

COVID-19

Q&As

How is the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement implemented in UK law, and how does this impact domestic statutory interpretation?

This answer refers to the provisions for implementation of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), and associated agreements, under Part 3 of...

Produced in partnership with Eleonor Duhs of Fieldfisher and Louise Laing of Brodies LLP, Fieldfisher Counsel for EU and International Law, House of Commons 20th Jan

Q&As

Can a law firm furlough trainee solicitors under the coronavirus (COVID-19) job retention scheme?

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) was announced by the government on 20 March 2020. It is a temporary scheme running from March to October...

20th Jan

COVID-19

Q&As

What is the status of EU directives in the context of retained EU law? Are there any circumstances where EU directives or provisions of directives (and associated case law) are retained?

Sections 2 to 7 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (EU(W)A 2018), as amended by the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 (EU(WA)A...

Produced in partnership with Michael Bimmler of No 5 Chambers 18th Jan

Q&As

To what extent are UK courts and tribunals bound by domestic and EU case law on Brussels I (recast) decided before/after IP completion day? If not bound, in what circumstances may they still have regard to it?

This Q&A is intended as a guide to the functioning of retained EU law, rather than the specifics of Regulation (EU) 1215/2012 (Brussels I (recast))...

11th Jan

Q&As

What are the key features of a Brexit SI?

As part of the UK’s domestic preparation for Brexit, the government is introducing a range of primary and secondary legislation, including a...

11th Jan

Brexit

Practice notes

Conducting a health and safety risk assessment

Having in place a well-thought-out and accessible structure on health and safety could help enable an organisation to ensure that it is managed...

Produced in partnership with Melanie O'Brien of DG Legal 8th Jan

COVID-19

Q&As

Are workers eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme?

The rules of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) are set out in Treasury Direction No 1 and Treasury Direction No 2, which are supplemented by...

Produced in partnership with Clare Taylor of BDBF LLP 8th Jan

COVID-19

Practice notes

Formulating a health and safety plan

Having in place a well thought-out and accessible structure on health and safety could help enable an organisation to ensure it is managed effectively...

Produced in partnership with Melanie O'Brien of DG Legal 8th Jan

COVID-19

Q&As

Regarding the ‘reasonable excuse’ for not wearing a face covering under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Covering in a Relevant Place) (England) Regulations 2020, SI 2020/791, reg 4 in relation to employees required to wear a face covering due to working in premises listed in SI 2020/791, Sch 3, do the physical, mental or disability provisions apply? What is the position in relation to the stated requirement in the close contact services guidance for those working in close proximity for extended periods that they ‘must wear a visor/googles and type II face mask’?

This response deals with the position before the introduction of the new national restrictions from 5 November.The Health Protection (Coronavirus,...

7th Dec

Precedents

Policy—lone working

1Introduction1.1Both individual staff members who work alone and their managers have a duty to assess and reduce the risks lone working presents. This...

7th Dec

COVID-19

Q&As

Is Brexit considered a force majeure event?

The change to the economic and commercial environments within both the UK and the EU as a result of Brexit may impact on the underlying commercial...

6th Dec

Brexit

Q&As

If an employee is furloughed (eg under the coronavirus job retention scheme) when a relevant transfer under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 takes place, does this affect whether they will automatically transfer to the transferee?

UPDATE: Since this Q&A was first published on 3 April 2020, the HMRC guidance for employers: Claim for your employees’ wages through the coronavirus...

5th Dec

COVID-19