Guest Post
Being made redundant is undoubtedly a difficult and distressing time. Many people often feel unsupported and alone when trying to navigate through the process of identifying a possible alternative to replace lost income and work.
However it’s important to know that you’re far from powerless in the face of redundancy and in fact there’s plenty you can do to fight your corner.
Your legal rights
I haven’t seen Skyfall yet, but James Bond came to mind when I read about the latest round of redundancies at UBS. Employees at the troubled Swiss investment bank got a rude awakening on Tuesday when they found their security passes wouldn’t let them into the office. Instead, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph, “the traders were whisked to offices on the fourth floor where they were handed an envelope containing details of the redundancy process”. I love the way that is written – “whisked” to the fourth floor, no doubt to meet a villainous-looking HR “Business Partner” perhaps sitting by a large water feature, stroking a long haired white cat – “ahh, Mr … we’ve been expecting you”. Having been handed an envelope telling them they were on “special leave” and if they escaped an early bath with the piranhas as they left the fourth floor they went out and got drunk in a nearby pub. And why not?
Will we now see a flood of equal pay claims?
On Wednesday the Supreme Court gave its Judgment in the case of Birmingham City Council v Abdulla [2012] UKSC 47 SC. The appeal was concerned with applicable time limits for issuing equal pay claims.
If an employee doesn’t sign an employment contract containing restrictive covenants can he be held to them subsequently? The answer is yes, but it will depend on very particular circumstances. The general rule is that an employee must expressly consent to be bound by restrictive covenants for them to be effective. However, in the case of F W Farnsworth Foods Ltd (1) Northern Foods Ltd (2) v Lacy and Ors [2012] EWHC 2830 the First Defendant, Mr Paul Lacy was held to have impliedly consented to the imposition of restrictive covenants (such as a non-compete, non-dealing and non-solicitation clauses), despite the fact that he had never signed the new contract provided to him upon his promotion to a senior management grade in 2009. The Claimants had obtained an injunction against Mr Lacy and this hearing was held to decide whether it should continue pending a full trial of the dispute.
Photoshop Politics by Dylan Jeavons
Just as you thought it was safe to go out, along comes the Tory party conference with the Chancellor of the Exchequer looking to grab the headlines – and succeeding.
Guest post
It’s a dilemma for any employee – your boss or another senior member of staff asks you to do something which you are not contractually obliged to do. In most circumstances it might be a bit of extra overtime, assistance planning an office party, or dealing with an unfamiliar client – not that big an issue. But what happens when someone asks you to perform a task which is not only above and beyond your employment terms, but could actually put you at risk of serious injury?
Take Five – Dave Brubeck
The pattern in the last ten UK BlawgRound Ups has been to take a look at the UK blawging scene, writing about the bloggers blog blog blogging away. In UKBR#10 Charon QC wrote the most comprehensive review of UK blawgs that we’ve had so far, comprising four episodes and podcasts and covered just about every Blawg that there is or ever has been. There would be little point in trying to repeat the exercise after such a short period of time or hope to do so with Charon’s level of thoroughness and care. Instead, in this my third UKBR, I want to take a more in-depth look at just a few blogs that I particularly like. Take Five, and it gave me an excuse to link to the first jazz album I ever bought.
Guest post
The bill
After the recent controversial Beecroft Report on employment law reforms, which planned to make it easier for firms to sack under-performing staff, the Government has decided to bring forward the release of its Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill.
The Bill contains a number of employment-related measures aimed at creating strong, sustainable and balanced growth in the UK economy. While the proposed changes to compromise agreements, dispute resolution, fines on employers and whistle blowing claims have been widely reported, arguably the most significant measure in the Bill is to give the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills the power to change the compensatory award for unfair dismissal.
In my last blog I wrote that the business lobby was unlikely to be impressed by the Government’s reforms of employment law. Then today I came across a report in Xpert HR, the online HR website and journal, stating that 62% of members of the Institute of Directors (IoD) believe that the government has been “ineffective” in its attempts to “simplify” employment law. Coincidentally another survey, this time on behalf of Brook Street was also published, in which only 9% of those polled thought UK employment law was “fit for purpose”.
The Government today announced reforms of employment law. After all the consultations, leaked reports and speculation we finally know what the government intends to do to reform employment law so as to stimulate the economy and “give firms more flexibility and confidence in managing their workforce and to reduce employment law red tape.”
So, to try and reach this state of nirvana the government proposes to consult on (yes, consult, not introduce)