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world cup 2014

With the World Cup set to kick off with this week, it’s not surprising that a recent statistic has suggested that nearly 1 in 10 employees would consider calling in sick during the tournament.

As a result, it should go without saying that such events can cause headaches for businesses, especially in the HR Department! 

Here are 5 of my top tips for businesses to consider during the excitement of a World Cup:

1.    Circulate the dates and times of scheduled matches and explain that any holiday requests will be approved on a ‘first come first served’ basis. Remember, employers are not obliged to accept all holiday requests, especially if there is a business need to turn it down.

2.    Due to the time delay between the UK and Brazil, most games don’t kick off until late. So employers need to be mindful that this may result in some employees turning up late for work or not at all. Remind staff of their duties and what’s expected of them. This should reduce the chances of lateness and unauthorised absences – and thus minimising the risk of disciplinary action taking place.More...

 

employment contract

How does your business deal with employment contracts? This essential part of employment law is often neglected or underused – particularly by busy, cash-strapped businesses.

But the right employment contracts, drafted in a way that’s specific to your company, can save you thousands.

The importance of contracts for employers and employees

For employees, contracts are very important. They will state many of the benefits to which they will be entitled, as well as the money that they can expect to earn. In the event of an employment tribunal, if a business is found to have not issued a complete contract then it could be fined up to a month’s pay.More...

 

covert recording

In recent years, the easy accessibility of recording devices has created a minefield for employers wishing to conduct grievance or disciplinary hearings with employees.

This has been caused in part by the wide discretion given to Employment Judges regarding the admissibility of evidence. The consequence of this is a body of case law allowing the introduction of evidence obtained by covert methods.

An early example is the case of Chairman and Governors of Amwell View School v Dogherty where it was held that while covert recordings from a disciplinary hearing were admissible, the recordings of the private deliberations of the disciplinary panel were not.

The distinction between the two seems to have been made on public policy grounds – specifically, to ensure their decision would not have a detrimental impact on the free deliberation of the facts by a panel. More...

 

holiday pay

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that employers must include commission in holiday pay.

The case of Locke v British Gas involved a sales consultant for the energy company who earned an average of 60% of his salary from commission payments. When he took annual leave in December 2011, Mr Locke was only paid his basic salary as part of his annual leave and so made a claim to the Employment Tribunal for the outstanding holiday pay he believed he was owed.

Commission should be included in holiday pay

The Advocate General of the European Court of Justice ruled that commission should be included in holiday pay. He deemed that the proper levels of holiday pay were required under the Working Time Directive in order for workers to enjoy their leave and not face the prospect of financial hardship. More...

 

early conciliation

This April, as well as all the usual changes to statutory caps within employment law, has also brought along the introduction of Early Conciliation, in an attempt to further reduce the amount of claims being issued within the Employment Tribunal.

The scheme is handled by ACAS (the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service) and became mandatory from 6th May 2014.

What is early conciliation?

This means that anybody looking to issue a claim through an Employment Tribunal will firstly have to go through early conciliation to see whether there is any possibility of reaching a settlement between the parties.

The short time limit to issue any employment claims within three months shall be put "on hold" for an additional month from when the individual first contacts ACAS. This also can be extended by a further 14 days.

More...

With effect from 15th February 2015 EU Regulations on Consumer Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) allow consumers who bought our services online to submit their complaint via an online complaint portal.

We are required under the regulations to provide our clients the following information:-
  1. Link to the ODR platform - please follow the following link for further information (http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr).
  2. Our contact email address in case of a complaint under the ODR regulation – Andrea Coombes andrea.c@howellslegal.com