About Employment Law
We know that employment law is a fast-paced world and that staying on top of all the latest legal developments is a time-consuming job – add this to the time you spend carrying out research and tracking down the right precedents and you have really eaten into the precious hours in your working day.
Starting employment
We cover recruitment, employment contracts, policies, handbooks and more. It’s not just contracts though. Other documents may regulate the employment relationship, such as policies, procedures and collective agreements.
Managing the employment relationship
Sickness and absence is a common occurrence in an employment relationship that brings up multiple legal issues. We offer a range of resources with practical guidance and legal considerations.
TUPE, outsourcing, share. and asset purchases
TUPE 2006 will likely apply when acquiring businesses through an asset purchase. You’ll need to consider due diligence, consultation obligations, employees and liabilities transferred to the buyer.
Stay on top of changes
We know that employment law is a fast-paced world and that staying on top of all the latest legal developments is a time-consuming job – add this to the time you spend carrying out research and tracking down the right precedents and you have really eaten
Topics We Cover
Our Employment Experts
Emma Darlow Stearn
Lucas Nacif
Paula Rome
Christina Morton
Connie Cliff
Latest Employment News
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has published a position statement on the judicial use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), setting out expectations...
The Home Office has published version 10/26 of Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors – Part 2: Sponsor a worker, which replaces version...
This edition of Employment weekly highlights includes: (1) commencement regulations bringing further Employment Rights Act 2025 provisions on...
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has reduced the fees for DBS checks and subscribing to the Update Service with effect from 5 October 2026....
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published updated guidance for whistleblowers, replacing guidance published in 2021. The guidance...
Latest Employment Practice Notes
FORTHCOMING CHANGE: This Practice Note reflects the current legislative position, however, note that certain elements may be impacted by the Digital...
This Practice Note provides a summary of the UK GDPR regime. For a higher-level introduction to UK data protection laws, see Practice Note: Data...
This Practice Note introduces the UK’s Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018).For higher-level introductions to data protection law in the UK, see...
This Practice Note provides further guidance on key definitions used in the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation, Assimilated Regulation...
This Practice Note introduces the general prohibition under Chapter V of the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation, Assimilated Regulation...
Latest Employment Precedents
Delete clause 3.6 of Precedent: Consultancy agreement—company and individual—pro-client and replace it with the following clauses 3.6 and 3.7:3.6Your...
You must read this policy because it gives important information about:•the Company’s rules on the use of internet, email, telephone and other...
This Agreement is made on [date]Parties1[Name of company], a company incorporated in England with registered number [insert company number] whose...
You must read this policy because it gives important information about:•the data protection principles with which we must comply;•what is meant by...
1Purpose and scope1.1[Name of organisation] uses closed circuit television (CCTV) to provide a safe and secure environment for staff, visitors and...
Latest Employment Q&As
Featured Employment content
Rates of SMP, SSP, Maternity Allowance etc to be increased in April 2024
The government has published proposed new benefit and pension rates for 2024 to 2025 including in respect of Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), Statutory...
ET1 grounds of claim—indirect sex discrimination
ET1 grounds of claim—indirect sex discrimination[Insert in para 8.2 of claim form ET1:]1The Claimant is a woman and the Respondent is [enter details,...
Waiver of notice
Waiver of noticeEmployers and employees can waive their right to be given notice when their employment relationship comes to an end.Waiving...
Constructive dismissal
Constructive dismissaldismissal of an employee by their employer will typically be at the instigation of the employer. In other words, the employer...
The duty of fidelity and fiduciary duties
The duty of fidelity and fiduciary dutiesAll employees are under a duty of fidelity to their employer. The duty of fidelity is also known as the duty...
TUPE—transfer of employees
TUPE—transfer of employeesThis Practice Note examines which employees transfer to the transferee under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of...
The early conciliation requirement
The early conciliation requirementstyle="width: 100%">Coronavirus (COVID-19): All proceedings in employment tribunals in England, Wales and...
The term of trust and confidence
The term of trust and confidenceThis Practice Note analyses the term or duty of mutual trust and confidence (in a fiduciary sense) implied or imposed...
Employment contract basic version
Employment contract basic versionContract of employment dated [insert date]Parties1[Name of Employer] [of [insert address] OR a company incorporated...
Garden leave and the right to work
Garden leave and the right to workIn broad terms, putting an employee on 'garden leave' means the employer sending the employee home on full pay...
Letter—secondment letter (employer—employee)
Letter—secondment letter (employer—employee)[to be typed on employer letterhead][Name of Employee][Address][Date]Dear [insert name of...
Pre-employment checks
Pre-employment checksFORTHCOMING CHANGE: Under section 193 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (PCSCA 2022) the time it takes for...
The unfair dismissal compensatory award
The unfair dismissal compensatory awardAn award of compensation for unfair dismissal generally consists of a basic award and a compensatory award. The...
Reinstatement
ReinstatementReinstatement is one of the orders that may be made by a tribunal under section 112 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996)...
Disclosure in employment tribunal proceedings
Disclosure in employment tribunal proceedingsDocuments of one kind or another will form a significant part of the evidence in many employment tribunal...
What should a collective grievance process look like?
Seventeenth edition of the Judicial College Guidelines published
The 17th edition of the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) has been published two years after the 16th edition. The JCG is usually the starting point...
Letter—long-term sickness absence (6): to employee confirming dismissal on notice (following final written warning)
Letter—long-term sickness absence (6): to employee confirming dismissal on notice (following final written warning)[To be typed on headed notepaper of...
Associated legal terms
Health benefits
Health benefits are payments, services or other advantages provided to an individual in respect of their health, typically under an employment contract, insurance policy or statutory scheme. In legal practice, the term commonly covers private medical insurance, dental and optical cover, income protection, critical illness cover, Employee Assistance Programmes, occupational health support and, in some contexts, sick pay and rehabilitation services.
“Health benefits” is largely a descriptive, non-technical term rather than a defined expression in UK or Irish primary legislation, although specific component benefits (for example, “sick pay”, “statutory sick pay”, “medical insurance”, “benefits in kind”) are regulated and defined in employment, tax and social security law.
The concept is central in drafting employment contracts, staff handbooks, compromise/settlement agreements, insurance policies and pensions and benefits documentation, and is relevant in TUPE/business transfer, redundancy and discrimination claims (particularly disability discrimination and reasonable adjustments). It also has tax implications, including treatment as a benefit in kind.
Usage is broadly consistent across England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, subject to jurisdiction-specific statutory schemes and tax rules governing particular health-related benefits.
Prohibition notice
A prohibition notice is an enforcement tool used by regulators to require an immediate stop to activities that pose a serious risk or are carried out in breach of legal requirements. In UK and Irish legal practice, it is most commonly associated with health and safety, environmental and regulatory law.
In England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, “prohibition notice” is a statutory term, for example under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and associated legislation, allowing inspectors to prohibit the use of premises, plant, processes or activities until specified risks are remedied. Ireland uses the same term in comparable legislation, including the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005.
Key legal features include: written notice, identification of the contravention or risk of serious personal injury, specification of the prohibited activity and conditions for lifting the prohibition. Non-compliance is typically a criminal offence and may support subsequent prosecution or civil claims.
Use and effect are broadly consistent across the UK and Ireland, though procedural details and appeal mechanisms (for example to an employment tribunal or court) vary by statute and jurisdiction.
Protected characteristics
The term used to describe the nine statutory forms of discrimination that are protected by employment discrimination legislation: Race; Sex; Disability; Religion or belief; Sexual Orientation; Age; Marriage and Civil Partnership; Gender Re-Assignment; Pregnancy and Maternity.
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