Entitlement to claim unfair dismissal When it comes to determining the fairness of a dismissal an employment tribunal will first establish that the claimant has the right to bring an unfair dismissal claim—in other words, that they were an employee, they were dismissed, their claim was presented in time (usually within three months from the effective date of termination), and that they have the requisite continuous employment (unless they are claiming their dismissal was for an automatically unfair reason for which no qualifying period applies).  For further information in this regard, see Practice Notes: • Entitlement to claim unfair dismissal • Qualifying period for unfair dismissal • Definition of dismissal in unfair dismissal • Unfair dismissal time limit Ordinary unfair dismissal Once it has been established that the claimant has the right to bring an unfair dismissal claim, it will generally be for the employer to show that the reason, or principal reason, for dismissal was one of a list

The answer to this will depend on: • the extent to which the employer wishes to minimise risks (particularly of discrimination claims) • whether the employer is operating in a regulated field which imposes its own requirements (eg in firms regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) or is part of a profession which may also impose requirements/principles via its professional rules. You will need to check these extra rules Some of the points below are legal requirements (eg checking immigration status) and some are best practice, to reduce the risk of employment tribunal claims; even if the employer is a small organisation, it should still follow many of the basic principles. Checks on permission to work in the UK First, the employer must check that the person it wishes to employ has permission to work in the UK. Employing someone who needs permission to work without first carrying out the required checks it

For information on the requirements for sponsoring a skilled worker generally, see: • the section of Practice Note: The points-based immigration system for employment lawyers entitled ‘Skilled workers • Practice Note: Sponsoring a Skilled Worker On the face of it, there is nothing to prevent an employer from: • having an internal policy to the effect that it will not sponsor a worker unless the salary for the role is above a certain threshold, and • setting that threshold above the general minimum salary threshold (currently £26,200), or going rate However, the employer will need to consider possible discrimination issues. Under the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010), it is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a person (on the grounds of a protected characteristic): • in the arrangements the employer

Yes, provided they (and the trustees) are satisfied that any incentive exercise proposal complies with applicable legal requirements, in particular regarding: • the contractual obligations and duties the employer owes to its workforce (for more information, see Practice Note: Employer duties to provide pensions to employees) • consultation with employees under the Pensions Consultation Regulations, SI 2006/349 (for more information, see Practice Note: Pension consultation requirements—an introduction) • data protection (for more information, see Practice Note: Data protection for pensions lawyers) • statutory restrictions on amendment under the Pensions Act 1995, s 67 (for more information, see Practice Note: Statutory restrictions on amendment—section 67 and when it applies) • assignment, commutation or surrender of benefits under the

You may wish to consider: • the duty of fidelity and confidential information • the effect of the doctrine of restraint of trade • the possible impact on the question of employee status Duty of fidelity and confidential information An individual who is not an employee will not owe a duty of fidelity to the employer, and therefore will not be subject to the duty: • not to work in competition during the employment (or engagement) • not to misuse confidential information during the employment (or engagement) • not to misuse trade secrets after termination of the employment (or engagement) Information which may come to the knowledge of an employee or worker during employment or engagement may be divided into the following four categories (largely derived from Faccenda Chicken v Fowler): • information that is largely incidental to the employer's business interests and/or is readily available from public sources (category one) • information

Statutory requirements for stipulating when a contract will terminate Where a worker begins employment with an employer, the employer must give the worker a written statement, setting out certain prescribed particulars of employment (section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996)). This statement often takes the form of an employment contract (see, Precedent: Employment contract basic version). For further information about statutory particulars, generally, see Practice Note: Written statements of employment particulars. The particulars must include, among other things, information about the term of the contract (see Practice Note: Written statements of employment particulars, under the main section dealing with ‘What the written statement must cover’). Where the contract does not have a fixed term, then written particulars must be provided of the length of notice which the worker is obliged to give and entitled to receive to terminate their

According to the Government’s coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance on getting tested, as well as testing patients to confirm their clinical diagnosis, it is also testing: • all essential workers, including NHS and social care workers with symptoms • anyone aged over 65 with symptoms • anyone with symptoms whose work cannot be done from home (for example, construction workers, shop workers, emergency plumbers and delivery drivers) • anyone who has symptoms of coronavirus and lives with any of those identified above Additionally, it is testing: • social care workers and residents in care homes (with or without symptoms) both to investigate outbreaks and, following successful pilots, as part of a rolling programme to test all care homes • NHS

Transfer of Undertaking (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE 2006), SI 2006/246, reg 4(7) is the statutory successor to regulation 5(4A) of the TUPE Regulations 1981. Regulation 5(4A) was inserted into the TUPE Regulations 1981 to expressly encapsulate the decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Katsikas v Konstantinidis that an employee cannot be compelled to join a new employer as a result of a TUPE transfer. An employee has an absolute right to object to a transfer. If that right is exercised then the employee’s employment comes to an end by operation of law, such that the employee has no right to notice pay and cannot claim unfair dismissal etc. The current regulation 4(7) provides that: ‘Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not operate to transfer the contract of employment and the rights, powers, duties and liabilities under or in connection with it of an employee who informs the transferor or the

For information about changing terms and conditions of employment, generally, see Practice Note: Changing terms and conditions of employment. An employment contract or worker contract may, like any other contract, be amended at any time either: • in accordance with the terms of the contract itself • with the agreement of all the parties to the contract Introducing changes in accordance with the terms of the contract As an initial step, an employer may wish to scrutinise the terms of the contract in each case to establish whether the nature of the proposed change falls within the scope of any flexibility built into existing contractual terms. It should be noted, however, that the extent to which an employer can introduce changes to an employee’s terms and conditions of employment by relying on an express contractual term purporting to authorise unilateral variation,

Statutory sick pay is included in the definition of ‘wages’ for the purposes of the right not to suffer unauthorised deductions. For further information, see Practice Note: Deductions from wages—Definition of wages. Under section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996), an employer cannot make any deductions from the wages of a worker unless: • the deduction is required or authorised to be made by virtue of: ◦ a statutory provision, eg the requirement

Under section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996), an employer cannot make any deductions from the wages of a worker unless: • the deduction is required or authorised to be made by virtue of: ◦ a statutory provision, eg the requirement to make deductions for income tax or National Insurance contributions via Pay As You Earn (PAYE), or ◦ a relevant provision of the worker's contract, eg where the employer provides a loan to the worker and has a contractual right to take money out of the worker's wages in repayment, or • the worker has previously signified in writing his agreement or consent to the deduction (eg in respect of pension contributions) ‘Relevant provision' in relation to a worker's contract is carefully defined in

Provisions in employment contracts allowing the employer to recoup relocation, training and other expenses incurred by it in respect of an employee are generally enforceable and are often included. Sometimes, the relevant clause will specify that the obligation to repay certain expenses incurred on the employee's