Harold Benjamin. employment pocket guide

Transcription

1 Harold Benjamin employment pocket guide

2 did you know? Employees accrue holiday entitlement when they are on sick leave and maternity leave. There is now no set retirement age. If they have 5 employees or more, an employer is required to offer its employees a stakeholder pension and can be fined by the Pensions Regulator if a pension is not provided. Full time employees are entitled to 5.6 weeks paid holiday (28 days) but this can include the normal 8 days bank holidays. Employees are entitled to minimum notice periods of 1 week for every full year worked up to a maximum of 12 weeks notice for 12 years or more employment. useful websites (Link to Employing People) (Link to Employers) (Link to Tribunals Employment)

3 the employment team Between them Cyril Dennemont and Marina Vincent have over 45 years experience in employment and litigation and cover all aspects of Human Resources. Their advice ranges from the start of the employment relationship, regarding recruitment, employment contracts and policies, and through the employment relationship, advising on matters such as restructuring, varying contracts, redundancies, managing sick leave and disciplinary and grievance procedures. In the event the employment relationship ends in dispute, they provide advice and representation through all stages in Employment Tribunal or High Court or County Court claims. They take a commercial view and advise on settlements, where appropriate, while also robustly defending their clients at the right time. They handle high value termination contracts for senior executives and advise both employers and employees regarding Compromise and Settlement Agreements used to settle disputes. Cyril Dennemont cyril.dennemont@haroldbenjamin.com Marina Vincent marina.vincent@haroldbenjamin.com

4 facts and figures Compensations Limit Complaint Unfair Dismissal: - Basic Award - Compensatory Award Discrimination A week s pay used to calculate basic awards and statutory redundancy payments Maximum Award 13,920 1 year s net pay or 76,574 (whichever is less) Unlimited 464 Statutory Redundancy Pay 13,920 Dismissal for Health and Safety reasons: - Basic Award - Compensatory Award 13,920 Unlimited Dismissal for making a protected disclosure: - Basic Award - Compensatory Award 13,920 Unlimited Breach of Contract Failure to inform or consult over a TUPE transfer 25,000 in the Employment Tribunal (no limit in the High or County Courts) 13 weeks actual pay Breach of Right to be Accompanied 2 weeks pay (up to 928) Failure to give statement of employment particulars 928 to 1,856

5 facts and figures Qualifying Periods and Time Limits Complaint Qualifying Period Time Limit Discrimination None 3 months from the date of the act complained of Written Reasons for Dismissal Unfair Dismissal Automatically Unfair Dismissal e.g. Pregnancy, Health and Safety, Whistle Blowing Statutory Redundancy Payment Written Particulars of Employment Contract Claim 2 years (1 year if started work before 6 April 2012) 2 years (1 year if started work before 6 April 2012) None 2 years 1 month None 3 months starting from EDT* 3 months starting from EDT* 3 months starting from EDT* 6 months from relevant date 3 months from the date employment ceased 3 months from EDT* in the Employment Tribunal (6 years from breach in the High or County Court) Fees Fee Type Issue Hearing Type A Claim Type B Claim (most claims) *Effective Date of Termination

6 I wrote a letter to my Employee offering them the job and confirming their pay and working hours. Is this enough or do I need to do something else? Employers are required to give Employees a Statement of Terms and Conditions which satisfies the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA), and they must give this to the Employee within 8 weeks of them starting work. The letter above would not be sufficient, and there are several matters which need to be covered in the Statement, including start date, holiday entitlement, notice period, and others. Also, there are various contract terms, which although not required by the ERA, would be beneficial to the Employer to include. I have an Employee who joined me 3 months ago. His wife is pregnant and he says he intends to take Paternity Leave. Is he entitled to it and how long for? To qualify, an Employee must have worked continuously for the Employer for 26 weeks ending with the 15th week before the baby is due. Accordingly, you will have to check when the baby is due to be born and whether your Employee will have been with you for 26 weeks by then. I dismissed an Employee last week because they were not performing well enough. Can they claim they have been unfairly dismissed? This will depend on the length of employment. If they started work for you before 6th April 2012, they will have been employed for more than a year and they may be able to claim unfair dismissal. If they were employed by you on or after 6th April 2012, they must have worked two full years before they claim unfair dismissal. Compensatory Awards at the moment can go up to a year s net pay or 76,574, whichever is less, and Basic Awards up to 13,920. If Employers fail to follow a fair dismissal procedure, an Employment Tribunal can increase Compensatory Awards by up to 25%.

7 frequently asked questions I dismissed an Employee for gross misconduct for falsifying his travel expenses. He has now claimed race and disability discrimination against the company but it was not. Can he do that? The Employee must have one or more of the protected characteristics, these are: sex, gender reassignment, being married or in a civil partnership, being pregnant or on maternity leave, race (including ethnic or national origin, nationality and colour), disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, and age. Discrimination occurs if an Employee is treated less favourably than another person in the same or similar circumstances (the comparator ) because of one of the above characteristics. As long as you would have dismissed anyone in the same circumstances, irrespective of the protected characteristic, it will not amount to discrimination under the Equality Act My Employee and I agreed to part company and I gave them some extra money in their final salary on the basis that they would not bring any claim against me. Is that enough to protect me from a claim? Unfortunately, no. The only way an Employee can sign away their rights to bring a claim against an Employer is by way of a Settlement or Compromise Agreement. Such an Agreement must set out exactly the terms of the settlement and that the Employee fully understands that it is in full and final settlement of all claims. There are certain statutory requirements the Agreement must fulfill, which include that the Employee must receive independent legal advice on the terms of the Agreement and it must be in writing and signed by both parties and dated. As long as the Agreement is properly drawn up, the Employee has received advice and both parties and the Independent Adviser have signed it, then the Employee has settled their claim.

8 where we are We are in the centre of Harrow right next door to Harrow-on-the-Hill station serving both underground and overground train services in and out of central London. Further information about how to find us together with a detailed location map can be found on our website. Connect to our mobile website Harold Benjamin Hill House Lowlands Road Harrow HA1 3EQ Telephone +44 (0) Facsimile +44 (0) DX 4243 Harrow employment edition