Haworth Holt Bell Commercial and Domestic Solicitors - FAQ

Employment

Employers

How Do the New Age Discrimination Regulations Affect My Business?

From the 1st October 2006, the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations have made it unlawful to discriminate against workers, employees, job seekers and trainees because of their age, and will have a significant effect on employment practices, particularly on the way employees are recruited.

An advertisement for a post will have to be worded carefully, so as not to imply age discrimination (this would include requiring a number of years’ experience).
Application Forms should not require any age-related information.

The payment of benefits for long service may also be discriminatory.

How retirement is dealt with will also have an effect on a business. There is however a default retirement age of 65, so an employee can be retired at 65 and this will be a fair reason for dismissal. However, the employee must be notified of the compulsory retirement date and be informed of their right to request to work beyond that date, between 6 and 12 months before the due date. There is no obligation on the employer to grant the request, if made.

How Do I Make an Employee Redundant ?

In order to make an employee or employees redundant the following procedures should be followed:-

The jobs at risk should be identified and the selection criteria should be applied;
The people whose jobs are at risk should then be notified that they are at risk of redundancy;
There should then be a period of consultation :-

the employees at risk of redundancy should then be called to a meeting;
the position should be explained to them, including details as to why their job is at risk, and what payment they would receive if they are selected;
they need to be advised that they have entered a consultancy period;
alternatives to redundancy need to be considered (to include whether there are other positions within the organization);

A further meeting should then be set up;
At the end of the consultion period a decision must be notified to the employee as to whether or not they have been selected for redundancy. This should be confirmed in writing and state when it will take effect from and how much they will receive by way of a redundancy payment.

An employee is entitled to request reasons as to why he or she has been selected and to see the selection criteria.

What are the Entitlements on Redundancy?

On redundancy an employee who has been employed for two years or more is entitled to the following:-

Full notice pay in accordance with their contract of employment and/or statute, being the greater of the two;
All benefits up to the date of termination (subject to usual deductions);
All accrued holiday pay up to the date of termination (subject to usual deductions); and
Statutory Redundancy Pay.

Some Businesses will also pay an additional payment on redundancy (an ex gratia payment).

How do I Conduct a Disciplinary Meeting?

If an employee is to be the subject of disciplinary action, the following procedure should be followed:-

The employee should be notified in writing that they are to attend a disciplinary meeting.

The letter should include the following details:-

The date and time of the meeting;
That it is a disciplinary meeting;
The conduct or incident that is the subject of the meeting;
Inform of right to be accompanied by a work colleague or trade union representative.

The letter should also enclose the Business’ Disciplinary Policy and Procedure;

The meeting should be conducted by the employee’s immediate line manager (unless he or she was involved in the incident);
Notes should be taken at the meeting and the employee has a right to receive a copy of those notes;
After the meeting the employee should be notified in writing of the outcome

Verbal Warning; or
First Written Warning; or
Second Written Warning; or
Dismissal.

The outcome will depend on factors such as the seriousness of the incident or conduct, and whether it is a first offence or not.

The notification of the outcome should also include details of the employee’s right to appeal, including date by when this should be done and to whom the appeal should be addressed;
If an appeal is received (which should state they wish to appeal and their reasons), a date for the appeal hearing should be set and the employee notified in writing in the same way as the first meeting;
The appeal should not be heard by the person who initially dealt with the disciplinary hearing;
The outcome will then again be notified to the employee in writing. This will state whether the outcome of the disciplinary has been upheld or not;
If the appeal is successful, the employee must be notified of the removal of any warnings or of re-instatement.

How do I Conduct a Grievance Meeting?

If an Employee raises a Grievance, the following procedure should apply:-

A full investigation should be undertaken in respect of the employee’s grievance;
A meeting should take place;
The employee should be notified in writing that they are to attend a meeting to discuss their grievance.

The Letter should include the following details:-

The date and time of the meeting;
That it is a meeting to hear their grievance;
The details of the grievance should be confirmed;
Inform of the right to be accompanied by a work colleague or trade union representative.

The letter should also enclose the Business’ Grievance Policy and Procedure;

The meeting should be conducted by the employee’s immediate line manager (unless he or she is the subject of the grievance);
Notes should be taken at the meeting and the employee has a right to receive a copy of those notes;
After the meeting the employer should make any further investigations required as a result of the meeting, and then the employee should be notified in writing of the outcome

That the grievance has been proved and the action which will be taken as a result or
That the grievance has not been proved, and the employee’s right to appeal the decision, including date by when this should be done and to whom the appeal should be addressed;

If an appeal is received, a date for the appeal hearing should be set and the employee notified in writing;
The appeal should not be heard by the person who initially dealt with the grievance hearing;
The meeting will be conducted in a similar manner;
The outcome will then again be notified to the employee writing. This will state whether the original decision has been upheld or not;
If the appeal is successful, the employee must be notified of any subsequent action that will be taken.

Why Do I need to give My Employees a Contract of Employment?

An employee, regardless of the number of hours they work per week, is entitled by Law to receive written terms of employment within 2 months of commencing employment.

The Contract should describe the main terms of the employment and must by Law include the following:-

the names of the employer and the employee;
the date the employment commenced;
the amount of pay and how often payment will be made, for example, weekly or monthly;
the hours of work;
holiday entitlement, including how many days off the employee is entitled to and what the holiday pay will be;
how much notice an employee is entitled to if dismissed, and how much notice an employee must give the employer if they want to leave the job;
the title of the job;
where the job is based, for example, whether the employee will have to work in more than one location
what the disciplinary, dismissal and grievance procedures are in the workplace
what sick pay the employee is entitled to
whether the employee can join the employer’s occupational pension scheme, if there is one.

Employees

How Long Do I Have to Make a Claim in the Employment Tribunal?

Most claims to Employment Tribunals must be made within very strict time limits. In most cases the tribunal must receive your claim within three months. This three months begins with the date your employment ended or when the matter you are complaining about happened.

This means that if it happened on the 1st June, the tribunal must receive your claim on or before the 31st August. If it happened on 15th June, the tribunal must receive your claim on or before the 14th September.

In certain circumstances, for example, when you write to your employer within the original time limit raising a grievance, these limits will be extended by three months - in other words, in most cases to six months.

The circumstances in which the time limits are extended are few, so it is advisable to seek early advice.

Can You Advise Me During the Internal Disciplinary/Grievance Procedure?

You can take advice at any time. However, it is unlikely that we would be able to attend any of the meetings with you, as whilst you are entitled to be accompanied, it is usually limited to a work colleague or a trade union representative.

Do I Need To Tell My Employer That I am Taking Legal Advice?

You are not obliged to tell your employer that you are taking legal advice.

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