What is an employment reference? An employment reference is meant to provide important information about the potential employee, that helps the employer in deciding whether the employee is suitable to be hired for the required job, or not. Does an employment reference have to be provided? Providing an employment reference is not legally binding; an employer can choose whether they want to provide a reference about a former employee, or …
What is Overtime? Overtime is defined as hours that an employee has worked for, over and above their regular full time working hours. If an employee works fixed working hours, any additional amount of time worked can be considered as overtime. An employer may request overtime to meet with increasing demand for their services. For example, a waiter may be asked to work for additional hours during peak holiday season …
In most cases, employees can file a claim for unfair dismissal against their employer only after completing minimum two years of service. Previously the claiming period was one year, however it was extended to two years in 2012. This gives the employers some flexibility when it comes to managing and dismissing staff with less than two years of service. Therefore, it is important for employees to be mindful of the …
Redundancy There are three common situations where an employer can make you lawfully redundant. You may lose your job due to redundancy because: The organisation you work with has permanently closed down The organisation moves to a new location and you cannot travel to the new place of work When fewer employees are required for work Making a female employee redundant because she is on maternity leave is a cause …
The Employer Appeal Tribunal in UK has recently made an announcement whether voluntary as well as non-guaranteed overtime will be taken into consideration, or not, when calculating the amount of holiday pay. The decision was made after a case came up involving a group of employees involved in an NHS trust, who brought in claims regarding unlawful deduction from their wages pertaining to voluntary and non-guaranteed overtime. The non-guaranteed overtime …
What is risk assessment? Every employee working in an organisation has the right to be protected from any potential harm. A risk assessment is an essential part of an organisation where a careful examination is conducted to check for potential hazards caused by a work activity. This can help the employers in taking appropriate safety measures and corrective action to prevent harm. Any important findings from the assessment must be …
A philosophical belief discrimination can be described as a situation where a person is treated differently because of their religion or belief. The biased treatment can be due to an individual choice or as a result of a policy. The treatment does not have to necessarily be intentional to be deemed as a discrimination. What the Equality Act says about religious or belief discrimination According to the Equality Act 2010, …
In the UK, employment law entitles older employees and workers to retire whenever they want voluntarily and draw any occupational pension that they are entitled to. Employers cannot force their employees to retire or set out age for retirement, unless they can objectively justify that, by doing so, there is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate business aim. Retirement Ages and Procedures The law entitles all employees to retire …
Can an individual be liable for dismissal on the grounds of whistleblowing along with the employer? Apparently, yes! A recent case in the court, Alexander Osipov was dismissed on the grounds of making protected disclosures. This was done by the recommendation of two directors Mr Timis and Mr. Sage. An appeal was made that he had been unfairly dismissed as per the Employment Rights Act. The employer in this case …
What is banter? Banter is defined as a playful and friendly exchange of teasing remarks, all done in a good humour. Banter is common in many workplaces, and in fact, healthy banter can be good for the organisation, as well as the employees. Therefore banter is considered acceptable in many workplaces. But, can there be a situation where banter may legally be unacceptable, or considered harassment of an employee? What …