In the absence of a clear contractual provision to that effect, it is unclear on what basis an employer might be able to avoid having to pay a sum due under a signed settlement agreement in the event of the employee's death. The remedy

We refer you to the Practice Note: Auto-enrolment—who needs to be enrolled?, in particular the section entitled: ‘Auto-enrolment—who needs to be enrolled?—Exceptions to the auto-enrolment duty’. This section refers, among other things,

It is not clear whether, having resigned, the employee in question is working her notice period, or whether the employment is now terminated. The Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures (the Acas Code) is designed to help parties deal with disciplinary and grievance situations in the workplace, and consequently it will apply to any written grievance brought by the employee. Grievances are defined in the Code as concerns, problems or complaints that employees raise with their employers (Acas Code, para 1). There is nothing to say that the employee must state that a letter is a grievance. For further information, see our Practice Note: Acas disciplinary and grievance code—application under the headings Acas disciplinary and grievance code—application—Key principles of the Acas Code and Acas disciplinary and grievance code—application—Grievance. As to the relevance of the Acas Code in the context of establishing liability: • where the Acas Code applies, a failure to follow it will not

Expenses incurred by the worker in carrying out his employment do not count as ‘wages’ for the purpose of an unlawful deductions claim. It follows that the statutory protection against deductions under section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) does not apply to a deduction from that payment. For further information, see Practice Note: Deductions from wages. It may be, however, that the employer has a contractual obligation (express or implied) to indemnify a worker for costs or expenses incurred in carrying out his employment—see

A worker is entitled to a redundancy payment under section 135 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) when: • they are an employee • they have been continuously employed for not less than two years at the ‘relevant date’ • they have been dismissed • the dismissal was by reason of redundancy For further information, see Practice Note: Entitlement to statutory redundancy payment. An individual may also have a right to an enhanced redundancy payment under the terms of their contract of employment. Where that is the case, the specific terms of the contract will govern any entitlement. For further information, see Practice Note: Contractual redundancy payments. The circumstances that constitute a dismissal under ERA 1996, s 135 are defined in ERA 1996, s 136. See Practice Note: Entitlement to statutory redundancy payment, under the section on ‘Dismissal’. In circumstances

A constructive dismissal (where the employee terminates the contract under which he is employed, with or without notice, in circumstances in which he is entitled to terminate it without notice by reason of the employer's conduct) amounts to a dismissal by the employer. To establish that he has been constructively dismissed, an employee must show that: • his employer has committed a fundamental or repudiatory breach of his contract of employment, ie a breach going to the root of the contract • he has left because of that breach • he has not affirmed the contract of employment by delaying for too long after the employer's breach or otherwise acting in a manner that

For the purposes of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996), a person's employment (by a particular employer) is presumed to have been continuous unless the contrary is shown. Except as provided in ERA 1996, s 215–217, any week which does not count in computing a period of employment breaks the continuity of the period of

The employment tribunal has jurisdiction to hear claims for breach of contract under the Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction (England and Wales) Order 1994 (ET Extension of Jurisdiction Order 1994), SI 1994/1623. The employment tribunal’s jurisdiction to consider breach of contract claims is subject to a number of restrictions, including that the claim must arise or be outstanding ‘on the termination of the employee’s employment’ (ET Extension of Jurisdiction Order 1994, SI 1994/1623, reg 3(c)). The time limit for a claimant to bring a claim for breach of contract in the employment tribunal is three months beginning with the effective date of termination of the contract giving rise to the claim or, where there is no effective

As we are unable to provide legal advice, we are unable to provide a comprehensive answer to this fact-specific question. For information generally on: • procedure regarding witnesses and witness statements in the employment tribunals, see Practice Note: Conduct of employment tribunal hearings—general • witnesses, including obtaining a witness order, see Practice Note: Witnesses—employment tribunals • vulnerable parties and witnesses, see the section: ‘Vulnerable parties and witnesses’ of Practice Note: Employment tribunal case management • dealing

For general information: • on the early conciliation requirement, see Practice Note: The early conciliation requirement • on the time limit for bringing an unfair dismissal claim under the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996), see Practice Note: Unfair dismissal time limit An unfair dismissal claim must generally be presented to the employment tribunal before the end of the three month period beginning with the effective

An employee with at least two years’ continuous employment is entitled to a redundancy payment when they are dismissed by reason of redundancy. It will be a question of fact whether, in the circumstances, an employee has been dismissed (and whether by reason of redundancy). For further information, see Practice Note: Entitlement to statutory redundancy payment. There are specific situations in which an employee is considered not to have been dismissed, such as when suitable alternative employment is offered within a particular time frame and accepted. The statutory scheme in sections 138 and 141 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) encourages the employer to offer, and the dismissed employee to accept, new or renewed employment as an alternative to a statutory redundancy payment. Assuming that the dismissal is by reason of redundancy: • if the employee's contract of employment

For the reasons set out below, the answer to this question will depend on: • what the contract of employment says about the right to bank or public holidays • whether the right to the bank holidays in question can be said to be contractual, rather than statutory and, if so, whether the contract of employment excludes the right to payment in lieu of accrued contractual holiday entitlement on termination Whether there is a right to bank or public holidays The right under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR 1998), SI 1998/1833 is to a total of 5.6 weeks' paid annual leave each 'leave year', made up of: • a basic entitlement to a minimum of four weeks' paid annual leave (20 days for a regular full-time worker), and • an additional entitlement to 1.6 weeks' paid annual