Employment Tribunal – L2 Native Business

Employment Law – Dealing With Employee Absence

Posted on August 29, 2019 by admin

It is your duty as an employer to keep a close eye on your employee’s absences from work. This is for two main reasons; firstly, to ensure that your business does not suffer due to staff absence and secondly, to ensure that your staff are well, healthy and happy.

Every company should keep a record of employee absence. Keeping this record will help you identify any emerging patterns of absence or alert you to a member of staff suffering from a long-term illness. Each department within your business should keep its own records, you are then able to compare company absence from sector to sector. Employee absences records should always be managed in light of the Date Protection Act (1998). Any records of employee absence should then be destroyed after 3 years (of the financial in which it was made) and if you are monitoring any statistics then employees should be made aware.

If a pattern of absence appears which is inter-departmental, i.e. one department has a considerably higher level of absence, then you should take the appropriate steps into looking at that departments working environment. Not only this but you should look to your senior members of staff to report on issues within the department, which could be causing the higher levels of absence.

Another good procedure to implement is the ‘return to work interview’. This face-to-face meeting should be done in private with the relevant line manager for that employee. The interview has several purposes; it details why the employee was off work, if they are suffering from something which may cause further absence and most importantly if they are well enough to come back to work. It can also provide the employee with a private outlet to complain about their working environment and/or fellow staff members, which incidentally could be causing their absence.

If you do not deal with employee absence at an early stage you run the risk of the following occurring:

– Low staff esteem due to increased workloads in covering the absent colleague

– Agency staff bills being extraordinarily high

– The company failing to reach targets or provide a good service due to a lack of consistent staffing

In order to deal with an emerging absence pattern there are some steps you can take to ensure that you investigate the problem scrupulously. Firstly, you should compare the employee’s absence over your last 3 years of records to establish any recurring pattern. Secondly, compare the employee’s absence record to that of the other employee’s within the same department, this may identify a work related issue. Lastly, check that the employee does not have an illness which fits the criteria of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The area of disability discrimination is particular complex — don’t risk being grounds for a potentially highly expensive disability discrimination claim — take advice from expert employment solicitors first.

For the first few absences the employee needs to be dealt with amicably. Discuss with the employee the reasons why they have had continued absences or absences which form a pattern. Solutions such as flexible working arrangements, changing work location or job description can offer lower cost results for you and the employee.

If no solution can be found or the problem is merely unauthorised absence, then you have the option of disciplining the employee under capability and/or conduct. An approved disciplinary handling procedure should be used at this time.

If you are in any doubt as to the reason for the employee’s absence or the grounds upon which you are starting the disciplinary procedures, then you should seek legal advice immediately from specialist employment solicitors. A dismissal based upon an employee’s absence has to be legal and if it is not you could face claims of an unfair dismissal via the Employment Tribunal.

Perhaps the very simplest step is to make sure that you have clear policies on employee absence. If you don’t and you are not sure where to begin, contact specialist Employment Solicitors who should be able to provide you with appropriate policies dealing with employee absence at a relatively modest cost.

Liability for Bad Reference, Employment Tribunal Case

Posted on July 24, 2019 by admin

Employment Solicitors Trethowans look at a recent Employment Tribunal case regarding Employment references.

A case this month considered whether a past employer could be liable for the future loss of earnings caused by providing a bad reference.

The Claimant in the case of Bullimore v Pothecary Witham Weld Solicitors and Another had previously brought a claim for sex discrimination against her past employer. A prospective employer requested a reference from the previous employer, who provided a reference which referred to the sex discrimination claim and stated that the employee had a “poor relationship” with the firm’s partners and could be “inflexible in her opinions”. As a result of this reference, the prospective employer did not employ the employee.

The employee brought a claim against the prospective employer, as well as the past employer. The prospective employer settled prior to the hearing. The Tribunal considered that the prospective employer’s unlawful action of rejecting the employee on the basis of the reference broke the chain of causation so that the past employer was not liable. The EAT reversed the Tribunal’s decision and considered that it was foreseeable that the prospective employer would react as it did. As a matter of fairness, the past employer should be liable for the result of its actions. The case has now been re-submitted to the Tribunal to consider the level of damages to be awarded.

Many employees now have a policy of only providing factual references. The above case is a classic example of the dangers in going beyond a purely factual reference. In our view, the risks are not worth running.

How To Change An Existing Employment Contract

Posted on March 30, 2019 by admin

If you want to change an employee’s terms and conditions of employment, you will need to get their agreement first. Otherwise, the employee may be entitled to sue for breach of contract, or resign and claim constructive dismissal. You must tell the employee in writing about any changes no later than one month after you have made the change. Do changes have to be in writing? Agreed changes don’t necessarily have to be in writing. However if they alter the terms in your ‘written statement of employment particulars’,

Your employer must give you another written statement showing what has changed within a month of the change. Employee Enforcement of the Right Employees have certain rights. These rights are enforceable by law: The right of fair treatment regardless of age, race, religion, gender, disabilities, or sexual preferences The right to equal treatment, also with regard to wages The right no be dismissed without proper cause and the correct procedures The right not to get fired for giving birth to a child Employees also have the right to a proper written notice time for termination of their work agreement in relation to the period employed Employees have the right for compensation when they are retrenched Safe workplace Terminating the Employment ContractBoth employer and employee can terminate the employment contract according to the terms contained within it. Either side can make a complaint against the other.

Breach-of-Contract Claims Both employers and employees can be in breach of a contract of employment. A breach of contract happens when either employee or your employer breaks one of the terms. If an employee continues to work under these changes without objecting, they may be regarded as having accepted the changes. Not all the terms of a contract are written down. A breach may be of a verbally agreed term, a written term, or an ‘implied’ term of a contract. Employer would normally use a county court for a breach of contract claim. The only way an employer would be able to make an application to an Employment Tribunal is in response to a breach of contract claim that an employee has made. The most common breaches of contract by an employee are when they quit without giving (or working) proper notice, or when they go to work for a competitor when their contract doesn’t allow it. Our Employment Law DocumentsAvailable documents include employment contract templates, as well as a director contract template and a range of employment policies. Our documents are designed for use in England and Wales. Our Contract of Employment Template is easy to customize to your business’ requirements.

They provide comprehensive legal protection, whilst avoiding excessive legal jargon. They have been designed with ease-of-use in mind. To this end, they include guidance notes. They are excellent value and available for immediate download. All the templates have been drafted by a team of Solicitors and Barristers who are expert in the field of employment.

If you want to change an employee’s terms and conditions of employment, you will need to get their agreement first. Otherwise, the employee may be entitled to sue for breach of contract, or resign and claim constructive dismissal. You must tell the employee in writing about any changes no later than one month after you have made the change. Do changes have to be in writing? Agreed changes don’t necessarily have to be in writing. However if they alter the terms in your ‘written statement of employment particulars’,

Your employer must give you another written statement showing what has changed within a month of the change. Employee Enforcement of the Right Employees have certain rights. These rights are enforceable by law: The right of fair treatment regardless of age, race, religion, gender, disabilities, or sexual preferences The right to equal treatment, also with regard to wages The right no be dismissed without proper cause and the correct procedures The right not to get fired for giving birth to a child Employees also have the right to a proper written notice time for termination of their work agreement in relation to the period employed Employees have the right for compensation when they are retrenched Safe workplace Terminating the Employment ContractBoth employer and employee can terminate the employment contract according to the terms contained within it. Either side can make a complaint against the other.

Breach-of-Contract Claims Both employers and employees can be in breach of a contract of employment. A breach of contract happens when either employee or your employer breaks one of the terms. If an employee continues to work under these changes without objecting, they may be regarded as having accepted the changes. Not all the terms of a contract are written down. A breach may be of a verbally agreed term, a written term, or an ‘implied’ term of a contract. Employer would normally use a county court for a breach of contract claim. The only way an employer would be able to make an application to an Employment Tribunal is in response to a breach of contract claim that an employee has made. The most common breaches of contract by an employee are when they quit without giving (or working) proper notice, or when they go to work for a competitor when their contract doesn’t allow it. Our Employment Law DocumentsAvailable documents include employment contract templates, as well as a director contract template and a range of employment policies.