I’ve been dismissed, made redundant, accused of misconduct at work, been bullied/harassed/discriminated against. I need help: what do I do?
Your first step should be to get some legal advice from someone who knows what they’re talking about. There are numerous sources of legal advice around – just look on Google for instance. You may have access to a legal helpline via an insurance policy, or you could go to your local Citizens Advice Bureau or Law Centre. Failing all that you could go and see a solicitor. The best option is to ask friends, family or colleagues for a personal recommendation but make sure that the solicitor they recommend specialises in the type of law you’re concerned with. A solicitor who specialises in property work may not know that much about employment law (and vice-versa).
Yesterday I spoke at a workshop arranged by Gateway Media on the theme of “Combating Tesco Law: Preparing your Brand Presence”. I tried to explain what the LSA does in about an hour – it was a bit of a rush but no one fell asleep and I hope I got the main points across. As promised I have loaded my Powerpoint presentation onto Slideshare and you can view it here;
I’m not referring to the five inches of snow outside as I write this, and the inevitable disruption caused to roads and railways for the next week, but instead I am considering what the main statutory changes affecting employment law issues in 2010 will be.
January
Not much will happen this month while everyone looks in astonishment at their credit card bills, but just a reminder that the Vento guidelines on awards to be made in cases of injury to feelings in discrimination cases look to have been increased late last year in the case of Da’Bell v NSPCC. The Court of Appeal case in Vento v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police in 2002 set three main bands for ETs to consider when making awards for injury to feelings;
A couple of weeks ago I was “twitterviewed” * by Lance Godard of 22Twts fame. It covered both professional and personal stuff and, if you haven’t got any paint drying and don’t feel the need for root canal surgery, why not read the interview by clicking here?
* A Twitterview is a live interview on Twitter in 22 questions. It’s a great thing to do – thanks for inviting me Lance.
For those of you on Twitter I am being twitterviewed tonight by 22Twts. If you haven’t come across one yet, a Twitterview is a series of (22) questions posed by Lance Godard and my responses, in real time, on Twitter. Lance asks some really interesting and high-profile people to do his Twitterviews so I’m delighted to be asked to take part and be in such august company.
It starts at 20.00 GMT and please take a look when I will be revealing my deepest darkest secrets, or something, as well as talking about Dale Langley & Co and employment law. I don’t think Hello or Ok magazines will be terribly interested though.
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One of the side-effects of blogging that isn’t often mentioned is the effect it has on one’s IT knowledge. I think I’m beginning to understand what’s going on “under the bonnet”, as it were.
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The excellent employment law website Emplaw informed me that the House of Lords was only around as the final court of appeal for a mere 610 years. Labour’s Constitutional Reform Act 2005 did away with the House of Lords as a Court, with the intent of trying to ensure there was a proper separation of powers between legislature and judiciary. Apparently the last Law Lord to meddle in politics was one William Le Scroope, who was beheaded for his trouble. I don’t suppose there is any chance of a similar fate befalling those politicians who try and interfere in legal matters for a cheap headline: I’m particularly thinking of Harriet Harman who weighed into the dispute over Sir Fred Goodwin’s enormous pension by threatening to “take action”. No such luck I suppose.
Statutory redundancy pay (SRP) increases by the rate of inflation every February and this year’s increase saw it rise to £350 per year of service. However, unusually, in the last budget the Chancellor increased it again to £380 per week, although he did not specify a date for the implementation. He has now done so and, from 1st October next, the increase will take effect. The measure was introduced to provide greater support to those people made redundant; whether it will do that seems unlikely in most cases, whilst increasing the burden on employers.
Michael Scutt
Solicitor
Dale Langley & Co
(t) 0207 464 8433
michaelscutt@dalelangley.co.uk
About Me
I am a Partner in Dale Langley & Co of 60 Lombard Street London EC3V 9EA. Please call me if you would like advice on any issues relating to employment law or litigation. I only give legal advice on specific matters through the firm, not this blog
I also write a blog on legal services deregulation called "There may be Trouble Ahead" - see link below
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