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• News
  • Breaking News
    Lord Mandelson has announce that there will be an extra day’s public holiday in 2012 ...
  • Employer's Rights in the Bad Weather
    With the cold snap set to continue, employers are increasingly questioning what rights they have and what rights their employees have if they are unable to get to work because of inclement weather...
  • Climate Change Equals Philosophical Belief
    Under the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003, it is unlawful to dismiss somebody for their religious or philosophical beliefs.
  • High Court Upholds UK Retirement Age
    In the long running saga that readers of these pages will be familiar with, the High Court has upheld the UK’s retirement age of 65.
  • Minimum Wage Rises Today
    The minimum wage has risen today. The rate for those aged 22 or over increases to £5.80. For 18 – 21 year olds the rate is £4.83 and for 16 and 17 year olds it is £3.57
  • Attorney General Fined for Breaking Illegal Workers Laws
    
  • New Leave Rights for Fathers
    The Government is proposing a change to legislation which will allow mothers to transfer all or part of the second 26 weeks of their maternity leave to the father of their child.
  • Workers are due More Holidays if Sick While on Holiday!
    The European Court of Justice has suggested that workers may be entitled to compensatory holidays if they are sick during their period of annual leave.
  • Unfair Dismissal Cases On Increase Says ACAS
    The ACAS annual report, which has just been published, shows the number of unfair dismissal cases has increased by nearly one third from 33,352 in 2007/8 to 43,028 in 2008/9.
  • Are Government to scrap retirement age
    The Government has brought forward its wholesale review of the default retirement age which, despite age discrimination legislation, enables employers to require employees to retire at the age of 65.
  • When is a dismissal not a dismissal
    The effective date of termination can be crucial in a number of employment contexts such as whether an employee has sufficient qualifying service to bring the claim they are making or whether the claim has been made within the time limit for that particular case.
  • BERR to be Abolished
    
  • Redundancy Pay to Rise on 1 October 2009
    As announced in the recent budget, the Government has confirmed the increase in the limit on a week’s redundancy pay from £350 to £380 will take effect from 1 October 2009.
  • Government Consults on Agency Workers Directive
    The Government has launched a consultation on implementing the EC Temporary Agency Workers Directive.
  • Blacklisting to be Banned
    The Government has announced that it plans to legislate to prevent the use of blacklists which deny workers employment due to their trade union membership or activities
  • National Minimum Wage
    The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has announced the new rates of the National Minimum Wage will rise from October 2009.
  • Swine Flu: Advice for Employers
    With the rapidly changing situation surrounding swine flu employers are encouraged to look at practical steps to reduce risks to employees
  • Working time opt-out to be retained
    After five years of negotiations member states of the European Union have failed to reach agreement on revisions to the Working Time Regulations which contain the UK’s opt out to the 48 hour week.
  • Increase in Redundancy Payments
    The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, has announced that the maximum weekly pay for redundancy purposes will be increased from £350 to £380.
  • TUC Calls on Government to Reduce Qualifying Period for Redundancy
    The TUC has asked the Government to reduce the qualifying period for a redundancy payment from two years to one year. At present, no employee qualifies for redundancy payment unless they have been continuously employed for a minimum period of two years.
  • Minimum Wage to Be Frozen
    The Daily Mail has reported that the Low Pay Commission, which recommends changes to the National Minimum Wage to the Government is “seriously considering” advising ministers that the National Minimum Wage should be frozen in order to help businesses through the recession.
  • Tribunal Defaulters To Be Named and Shamed
    
  • Tribunal Claims Up 30 Percent
    Figures recently revealed show that employment tribunal claims were up 30 percent in the year 2007 to 08
  • UK AGE LAWS NOT ILLEGAL
    The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that Britain’s age discrimination laws that allow employers to retire employees at the age of 65 is not unlawful. The Court ruled that the policy as long as it had a legitimate aim in respect of economic or social policy
  • FACEBOOK DISMISSALS ON INCREASE
    There is growing evidence that an increasing number of employers are dismissing employees for unflattering comments made about them on ’ facebook’ and other social network sites.
  • Woolworth Staff To Sue For Protective Award
    The Union of Shop Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) is bringing employment tribunal proceedings against Deloitte, the receiver for Woolworth, for failing to consult properly over the redundancy of staff affected by the recent closure of the business
  • Snow and Ice Clearance
    Each year, many employees and members of the public suffer personal injuries as a consequence of slipping and falling on ice and snow
  • Snow Joke A guide to employers rights in bad weather
    Employers and employees alike are often confused about their rights when inclement weather prevents employees getting to work.
  • Workers Do Accrue Holiday Pay When Off Sick
    The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that employees do qualify for holiday pay whilst on long term sickness absence. The holidays cannot be taken whilst an employee remains off sick. The effect of this is that employees are effectively storing the holidays in a ‘bank’. An employee off on long term sickness absence will accrue up to 24 days holidays in a year (28 from 2009). An employee absent for 11 months and then ready to return would be able to take virtually the entire 12th month as holidays. If employment is terminated, then again, the employee will be entitled to accrued sick pay for entire period of absence.
  • New ACAS Code on Discipline and Grievance Approved
    
  • Tougher Penalties for Health & Safety Offences
    
  • Tribunal Advert Causes Outrage
    
  • Age Discrimination Cases Triple In A Year
    
  • Serial Litigator Found Out
    
  • Queens Speech Changes Announced
    
  • Compensation Limit Increases announced
    
  • Opt Out Under Working Time Regulations Again Under Threat
    
  • Tips to be Excluded from Minimum Wage
    
  • Employment Law Advice
    
  • Redundancy Advice for Employers
    
  • Tribunal Awards on the Increase
    
  • New ACAS Code of Practice Approved by BERR
    
  • Age Concern Loses First Stage of Discrimination Challenge
    
  • Flexible Working
    
  • Headscarf Woman Wins £4000
    
  • Unite Merges with American Trade Union
    
  • Schoolgirls Banned From Whistling at Builders!
    
  • Security Guard Due National Minimum Wage Whilst Sleeping
    
  • Details of New Equalities Bill Announced.
    
  • Tips Paid Through Tronc Are Not Part of Minimum Wage
    
  • Retirement Challenge Brought Forward
    
  • 48 Hour Opt Out
    
  • Employees To Get Time Off For Training
    
  • Belligerent Men Make Most Claims
    
  • Minimum Wage & Holiday Pay
    If you run a business you probably need a holiday!
  • Age Discrimination could cost 12 Million Pounds
    
  • Employment Reaches Record High
    
  • Gender Pay Gap Still Wide Says EOC
    
  • Paternity Leave to be Extended
    
  • Blog Writer Wins Tribunal Case
    
  • One in Eight Sick Notes Is Fake
    
  • Employees Expect to Work Past 65
    
  • New Paternity Leave Proposals - Consultation.
    The Government has published a consultation document on new paternity leave proposals, which would allow parents to share paid time off.
  • Age Discrimination Employment Tribunal
    In what is thought to be the first age discrimination case to go before an employment tribunal,
  • Flexible working for Carers
    With effect from the 6th of April 2007, the right to request flexible working will be extended to carers of adults.
  • ICE Regulations
    The scope of the Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Regulations 2004 has been extended
  • Employment Equality (Age) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2007
    These Regulations makes amendments to various pieces of existing legislation
  • National Minimum Wage Rates
    New National Minimum Wage Rates will take effect from October 2007.
  • Sexual Orientation
    Employers are reminded that sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace will not be tolerated
  • Expense Claims
    Research conducted for hotel group “Travelodge” shows that UK workers claim £1bn from expense claims.
  • Employers face fines for breaking EU worker restrictions.
    Employers who breach the rules regarding the employment of workers from Romania and Bulgaria face fines for recruiting staff from these countries.
  • Minimum Wage Penalties Rise
    The government has recently announced that employers who fail to pay workers the national minimum wage will face new financial penalties.
  • Agency Workers
    A Private Members Bill protecting the rights of Agency Workers has been introduced into Parliament.
  • New Rates for SMP, SAP, SPP and SSP
    The new weekly rates for Statutory Maternity, Adoption, Paternity Pay and Sick Pay have been announced.
  • Age Discrimination Claims
    Following the introduction of the Employment Equality (Age) (Regulations) 2006
  • Increase in Annual Holiday Entitlement
    It has been announced by the Government that the minimum holiday entitlement under the Working Time Regulations 1998 will increase from 20 days to 28 days per annum.
  • Flexible Working Regulations for Carers Published
    At the moment, the parents of children who are under 6 or disabled children under 18 have the right to request Flexible Working.
  • Challenge to Age Discrimination Regulations
    Not surprisingly, the High Court has referred a challenge to the Employment Equality (Age) (Regulations) 2006 to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
  • Review of Statutory Dispute Resolution Procedures
    The introduction of the Employment Act 2002 (Dispute Resolution) Regulations 2004 required that employers and employees comply with a statutory minimum disciplinary, dismissal and grievance procedure.
  • Pensions Bill
    The government has published its Pensions Bill, which outlines sweeping changed to the state pension system.
  • No smoking in the workplace
    From 1 July 2007, smoking will be officially banned in all workplaces and enclosed public places, the government has announced.
  • Employment Tribunal Awards 2007
    The annual uprating of compensation limits for tribunal claims has been announced.
  • Children in Need Update
    We are pleased to announce
  • Children In Need
    ELC Limited is pleased to announce that we are again supporting the BBC’s Children in Need Appeal.
  • DTI defines a 'Carer'
    From the 6th of April 2007, a “carer” will have the right to request flexible working, under the Work and Families Act 2006.
  • £24,000 awarded to apprentice dismissed before completing training
    An apprentice sacked before reaching the end of his apprenticeship contract has been awarded £24,000 for unfair dismissal.
  • NHS introduces new redundancy arrangements.
    NHS employees who are made redundant from the 1st October 2006 will receive a redundancy package which is no longer dependent on their age.
  • Government places restrictions on Bulgarian and Romanian workers.
    The Government has announced that there will be limits on the ability of Bulgarian and Romanian nationals who are entitled to work in the UK when the countries join the European Union (EU) in January 2007.
  • Government considers compulsory mediation
    Compulsory mediation looks set to become part of the rules for handling employment disputes.
  • We are often asked what entitlement do employees have to rest breaks.
    Under the Working Time Regulations which make provision for daily and weekly rest breaks, employees are entitled to a rest break of not less than 20 minutes away from their work station when working more than 6 hours per day. In addition, the Regulations also provide for a weekly rest period of 11 consecutive hours in each 24 hour period during which they work and an uninterrupted weekly rest period of not less than 24 hours.
  • British Jobfair in Poland
    As we see an increase in migrant workers entering the UK, a delegation from the TUC will attend a Jobfair being run by Jobcentre Plus in Warsaw, as part of the European Year of Workers Mobility.
  • Employers dispute government claims over mental health issues in the workplace.
    The launch last week of the government’s “Action on Stigma” campaign to improve employer’s attitudes towards the mentally ill has been met with dismay from employers groups.
  • Employment tribunals have become overly legalistic and do little to weed out weak and vexatious claims.
    The CBI report, Lightening the Load suggests that more than half of employers think the tribunal system is too adversarial, with one-fifth claiming the system was damaging to employee relations, with one in four companies feeling that they had to settle out of court.
  • ASDA Change Wage System
    ASDA has decided to abandon its two tier wage system in favour of an equal rate for all employees doing the same job.
  • Equal Pay
    In a landmark case, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that Companies can pay women less than their male colleagues if their length of service is shorter because of taking time off for childcare.
  • Age Threat to Minimum Wage Rules
    The British Chamber of Commerce suggests part of the new Age Discrimination laws may be unlawful.
  • National Minimum Wage Rates
    The rate of the National Minimum Wage increased from 1 October 2006.
  • Age Discrimination Challenge
    The Government faces a challenge to the New Employment Equality (Age) (Regulations) which outlaws discrimination on the grounds of Age.
  • Age Discrimination
    New Age Discrimination legislation was introduced on 1 October 2006.
  • Proposed Minimum Temperature at Work
    TUC calls for new maximum temperatures in the workplace:
  • DTI Consultation on Public and Bank Holidays.
    The DTI has launched a public consultation on proposals to extend the statutory holiday entitlement to include permanent bank and public holidays.
  • Government Plans to Extend Statutory Leave
    As the law stands, employees have certain rights to paid time off for the care of a dependent. In addition, working parents with children under the age of six also have a statutory right to request changes to their working hours in order to fit in with their domestic responsibilities.
  • Holiday Pay Update
    One of the most common topics on our advice lines is the vexed question of holiday pay. The Working Time Regulations have made this one of the most complex areas of law, and due to a number of recent higher court decisions, it is now a rapidly developing area. Below we bring you up to date with a number of recent developments. As you will see, the law is far from being settled yet.
  • Extended Rights for Fathers
    
  • Informing and Consulting - The Future Of Industrial Relations
    What are your hopes for your business over the next 5 years? For many small businesses employing 50 employees by 2008 may be a realistic ambition. However, achieving that goal may also cause you to fundamentally reassess the way you manage your relationship with your employees. Employment law has changed at a fast pace since Labour came to power in 1997.
  • Higher Damages For Unfair Dismissal
    Employment tribunals first heard cases of unfair dismissal in 1972. In that very year, the Industrial Relations Court , the appeal panel for tribunal decisions, decided that “the amount to be awarded by Tribunals is that which is ‘just and equitable in all the circumstances having regard to the loss' sustained by the complainant. ‘Loss' in this context does not include injury to pride or feelings”.
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