The Employment Law minefield

If your company employs any staff then you’ll need to be aware of the many laws and regulations there are surrounding this area. Of course if you’re trying to run your business then you won’t have the time to learn everything you need to know, which is where your law firm comes in.

 

 

The following list is just some of the key areas of employment law that could arise in the workplace and cause you to seek professional legal advice:

Lawyers for Businesses can advise you and keep you up-to-date with changes in employment law which are fairly common. Both the UK Government and the E.U. are continuously looking at employment law and coming up with new legislation that you need to be aware of.

 

Significant problems can arise when your employees are better informed of the laws than you are as a company as the following case studies demonstrate.

 

Employment law case studies

 

 

A female worker who had just been in her new job for one week was subjected to groping and had a number of sexual comments made to her. Medical evidence at her employment tribunal stated that the ordeal had been so awful that the employee would not be fit to return to work for 2 years. As a result, the tribunal awarded the woman the sum of £178,000.

 

 

A council was ordered to pay one its employees £82,000 in a race discrimination case in England back in 2005. The employee had complained that an Asian family had been overlooked for a vacant council house in favour of a white family. As a result of her complaint she was overlooked on numerous occasions for promotion and shunned by her colleagues. The tribunal ruled that she had been racially discriminated against and awarded her the significant sum.

 

 

In 2006, an apprentice maintenance technician in Coventry was awarded £24,000 by a tribunal for wrongful dismissal. He has signed an apprenticeship pledge that was due to last for four years but his employers terminated the agreement after three years and said they’d let him go due to his allegedly poor attendance record. The company’s policy on absence was found to be unfair and they had also failed to conduct the man’s disciplinary hearing in a fair manner.

 

When employment contracts are signed it’s vital that your company’s policy is communicated clearly and effectively, leaving no room for ambiguity.  We are well versed in all aspects of employment law and can assist with the drawing up of employment contracts.