The Equality Act 2010 protects individuals against discrimination in relation to their protected characteristics these are: sex; race (e.g. race, ethnic or national origin); age; disability; pregnancy or maternity; status as a married person or civil partner; gender reassignment; sexual orientation; religion or belief (which includes philosophical belief). It is unlawful to discriminate against or…

Employees with two years’ service have the right not to be unfairly dismissed. Where an employee has two years, or more, continuous service, an employer must have a fair reason to dismiss. The fair reasons to dismiss are: Misconduct at work; Lack of capacity (or qualifications) to do the job; Redundancy; A statutory requirement; Some…

Employers frequently have employees whose role requires them to build relationships with customers and clients and suppliers and colleagues. An employer may want to prevent its former employees (and consultants or workers) from, for example, acting in competition, soliciting customers, dealing with customers, interfering with suppliers, disclosing confidential information or damaging the employer’s intellectual property…

In order to avoid the possibility of a claim for unfair dismissal, the dismissal of an employee must be for a fair reason and must be done by the employer following a fair procedure. Where an employee has two years, or more, continuous service, an employer must have (1) a fair reason to dismiss them…

An employment contract is an agreement between an employer and an employee and is the basis of the employment relationship. The Employment Rights Act 1996 requires employers to provide their employees with a written statement of the main terms of their employment within two calendar months of starting work. The easiest way of complying with…

The ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures (the ACAS Code) applies to circumstances where an employer disciplines or dismisses an employee or where an employee raises grievances with an employer. Employers should have in place an up to date disciplinary and grievance procedure and it should be readily accessible to employees. Where…

The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) provides for when and how personal data can lawfully be processed. Personal data can be found in numerous places including databases, manual filing systems, word processing programs, e-mails, CCTV records, telephone records, internet logs, automated payroll systems and records of automated door entry systems such as swipe cards. Employers…

Consultancy agreements are common where a business appoints a self-employed individual or a service company to undertake a particular project, activity, service or task for the business. If a consultancy arrangement is being entered into, it is important for both the consultant and the business to ensure that an appropriately worded agreement is put in…