The Practical Lawyer

ACAS recommends that an employee should be told how long a written warning will remain live, and the consequences of further misconduct during that period of time. Moreover, a decision to dismiss ‘should not be based on an expired warning, but the fact that there is an expired warning may explain why an employer does not substitute a lesser sanction’.

Apparently, almost one in five new employees fail to get past their probationary period. Hence, probationary period clauses in employment contracts can help manage expectations, focus the mind on performance, and facilitate a swift exit.

An explanation of these abbreviations:

NMW = National Minimum Wage. For those of 21 or more it is currently £7.05 (increasing in April 2018 as a result of the Budget.

There is no doubt that the definition of ‘worker’ is the key employment law issue of our time. The Pimlico Plumbers case is due to be heard by the Supreme Court, and there is a fair chance that the Uber dispute will leap-frog the CA and be heard at the same time by the Supreme Court.

There is a distinction to be made between restrictive covenants in an employment contract, as opposed to restrictive covenants in a shareholders agreement (often called an investment agreement) when a business is sold under a sale and purchase agreement (SPA).

If an overseas employee has a ‘sufficiently strong connection’ with GB (and British employment law) then that employee may be able to bring an ET claim in this country.

The EAT has held that a ‘week’s pay’ must include employer pension contributions.

The Advocate General has given an opinion that the employment rights of pregnant women arise from the moment they become pregnant (ie even if the employee – let alone the employer – is unaware of the pregnancy!).

Major changes to the taxation of termination payments come into force on 6 April 2018:

If an employee registers a grievance against another employee then to what extent are the disciplinary processes confidential?