Nockolds LLP Solicitors are providing weekly “Legal Surgeries” on a Saturday morning to help make their clients and prospective client’s lives easier.
The first Saturday of every month is an “Employment Law Surgery” providing 30 minutes of free advice, which is proving to be extremely popular.
Life is very busy for most of us, so providing access to legal advice on a Saturday morning helps to relieve the pressure. Saturday morning opening means that people who work Monday to Friday don’t need to take time off work to visit an employment law specialist.
Although many people are aware that they need to speak to a solicitor they are worried about the cost implication at a time when they are facing or have recently lost their jobs.
Since offering this service advice has been provided on a variety of issues including redundancy, unfair dismissal, and inappropriate behaviour in the work place.
The Nockolds Employment Law Team have advised individuals about the practicalities of bringing a claim and the strict time limits that need to be observed should Tribunal proceedings prove necessary.
Bev Moseley, employment solicitor said:“In the current economic climate many employees are facing considerable pressures at work and may just need to discuss their situation to clarify their employment rights.”
In response to this Bev Moseley, Nockolds employment solicitor, will be providing an online question and answer forum on employment issues through the Herts and Essex Observer website.
All questions will remain completely anonymous and answers to questions will posted on the blog, so please send your questions to Bev on employment@nockolds.co.uk
Not all questions will be featured on the blog therefore if you require urgent advice please make an appointment to see Bev Moseley at Nockolds Monday – Friday 9 – 5:30pm or during the Employment Legal Surgeries on 01279 755 777.
Bev Moseley (profile) 
Monday 30th April 2012
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Extending Qualifying Periods for Unfair Dismissal from One to Two years
At present during the first year of a person’s employment they have very limited protection. Save for limited protection under discrimination and whistleblowing legislation there is very little protection given to employees and employers can by and large just dismiss for any reason they wish providing they pay notice.
In contrast after the first year the employee gains protection from unfair dismissal. Any employee with this protection can only be dismissed for one of 5 potentially fair reasons and a fair process must be followed.
The Government proposes to extend this one year qualifying period to two years therefore making it easier to dismiss employees during that first two year period. The hope is to encourage employers to employ more people on the basis that removing them if things go wrong is easier.
We wait to see what the final law will look like and how the Government intends to grapple with issues such as what to do with those who fall between the one and two year periods when the law comes in to effect. The current intention is however for this change to take effect in April 2012 so we must hear something soon!
Protected Conversations
The Government is to consult this year on the interesting idea of ‘protected conversations’. Although the detail is yet to be confirmed these conversations would allow employers and employees to have full and frank discussions with one another on issues such as performance or intentions for retirement without those conversations being admissible at an Employment Tribunal.
This effective extension of the legal ‘without prejudice’ rule is laced with technical difficulties such as how would such a conversation commence, how would you have to document such a conversation and how to deal with the issue of damage to trust and confidence between employer and employee that may give rise to a constructive dismissal claim.
It is however an interesting concept and may be welcome by many employers as a way to deal with matters ‘straight down the line’ without having to carefully tip-toe around employees for fear of an Employment Tribunal claim.
Payment of Deposits to Bring a Claim to the Employment Tribunal
This proposal has been bandied around for a little while and although the Coalition Government seems determined to introduce it we are unlikely to see it’s introduction until April 2013 at the earliest.
One of the biggest criticisms of the Tribunal process we experience acting for employers is the feeling that the employee has nothing to lose in bringing an entirely frivolous claim as costs awards are very rarely granted. Balanced against this is of course the concern not to deter genuine claimants from bringing genuine claims just because of the threat of costs from an employer. They have in most instances just lost their job after all.
The Government is currently proposing a two pronged approach. Firstly a relatively modest deposit of £500 must be paid by a disgruntled employee when submitting their claim. A further deposit of £1,000 would then have to be paid the day before the Final Hearing. Both deposits would be paid back to the employee if they win but would be forfeit if they lose and retained by the state (not you will no doubt have realised by the employer who has been put to time and cost of successfully defending a claim!),
This is we suspect going to change quite considerably before implementation but the basic structure is likely to be retained. Although unlikely to financially benefit employers it is likely to be welcomed as a means of flushing out those claims that are completely frivolous.
Alterations to the Employment Tribunal Process
There are also plans afoot to change Employment Tribunal processes. Current proposals are;
1) to allow Judges to hear unfair dismissal claims alone and not require a full panel
2) to allow witness statements to be ‘taken as read’ rather than requiring witnesses to read their statements to the Tribunal
3) increase maximum costs awards from £10,000 to £20,000
These changes are likely to come in during the next year if sufficient support can be generated amongst Parliament, lawyers and the public.
Other Developments
We are also likely to see developments in many other areas including the first cases to be brought against companies under the Bribery Act and developments in the law of unfair dismissal and redundancy as the economic difficulties continue well in to 2012. Plans are to increase unpaid parental leave to 4 months during the first 5 years of a child’s life and pension auto-enrolment is due to come in to effect in October for larger employers.
Summary
2012 is likely to prove a very exciting year for employment lawyers across the country but we suspect less so for employers who have to manage their business at this difficult time whilst keeping abreast of all of these changes. Nockolds Employment Team are more than happy to assist any business or employee who would like advice or guidance on these or any aspects of employment law. Please call 01279 712549 to speak to one of our specialists or to arrange an appointment.
Gary Smith (profile) 
Thursday 5th January 2012
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If an employer refuses a holiday request and the employee takes time off without permission then disciplinary action can be taken against the employee. If the employee takes sick leave having had the holiday request denied then the employer may require a medical certificate to be provided to confirm that the employee was genuinely sick.
However all is not entirely lost as employees who are parents with children have the right to take a ‘reasonable amount’ of time off during their working hours in order to take ‘action which is necessary’ because of the ‘unexpected disruption……of arrangements for the care of a dependent’. In these circumstances the employer can only refuse
1) where it is not necessary for the employee to take time off and
2) where the amount of time off work requested by the employee is unreasonable.
When considering the issue of whether or not ‘it is necessary to take the time off’ an Employment Tribunal would consider the nature of the request, ie school closure, the relationship between the employee and the child that is to be cared for and the extent to which anyone else can provide assistance, for example another relative or friend.
Another consideration for the Employment Tribunal is whether or not knowing a school is to be closed in a week’s time would be classed as ‘unexpected or sudden’. In a recent case a mother was given 2 weeks’ notice of the unavailability of her child-minder. Unable to find alternative arrangements she stayed off work and was subsequently disciplined by her employer. The Employment Appeal Tribunal found in her favour confirming that her circumstances were sufficiently ‘unexpected’.
Each case should be treated individually and whether or not a particular employee would be protected by Employment Legislation is dependent on the specific circumstances. If you would like any further advice on this or any employment issue contact Bev Moseley on b.moseley@nockolds.co.uk or 01279 712501
Bev Moseley (profile) Monday 28th November 2011
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Following the Governments review of Employment Legislation, Vince Cable yesterday outlined a ‘package of measures’ which could lead to radical changes in Employment Law in an attempt to reduce the number of Employment Tribunal Claims which has risen 44% since 2008-2009.
Mr Cable set out 17 proposals. The main ones being:
1. Increasing the qualifying period for an employee to bring a claim in the Employment Tribunal to increase from 1 to 2 years in April 2012.
2. The introduction of fees for bringing an Employment Tribunal claim.
3. For all claims to be lodged through ACAS for an attempt at conciliation before claims are lodged with an Employment Tribunal.
4. Financial penalties for employers who breach employment rights.
5. Consultation on the introduction of ‘protected conversations’ which would allow discussions with respect to issues such as retirement without the discussion becoming evidence at any future Tribunal Hearing.
6. Consultation on the reduction of time for consultation on Collective Redundancies
- Mr Cable also set out a number of proposals in his speech that had previously not been disclosed. These include:
- For CRB checks to become ‘portable’ from 2013
- Consultation on a ‘no-fault’ dismissal for businesses with 10 or less employees making it easier for small business to deal with dismissals.
- A ‘Slimming down’ of the current dismissal process to provide a simpler quicker process for small businesses
- A proposal to extend the right to request flexible working and parental leave.
Mr Cable also announced that there is to be a fundamental review of the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure which currently determine each step of the procedure of bringing a claim from starting the claim through to a full Hearing or the withdrawing of the claim.
In the drawing up of these proposals the Government has considered 159 Employment Law Regulations and is looking to either merge, simplify or indeed ‘scrap’ 40 % of them, however some of the proposals will lead to requirement of new Legislation and the interpretation of such new laws.
If you would like any further information with respect to any of the proposals or on any employment issue contact our employment team on: 01279 712 501 or email Bev on bmoseley@nockolds.co.uk
Bev Moseley (profile) Wednesday 23rd November 2011
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With the number of employment claims rising by 56% during 2009/2010 compared with 2008/2009 and Tribunal awards increasing year on year, never before has it been as important for employers to ensure that they can do all that they can to protect their business and to minimise financial risks. Nockolds Employment Insurance is an all-inclusive package offered to clients to do just that.
Under the scheme the Employment Team is on hand to provide expert employment law advice and support in connection with all employment matters.
The package is tailored to the size and needs of the business and provides effective management of employment law claims allowing you to minimise financial risk to the business.
The cost of the package is determined by the number of employees and the wage role.
Under the scheme for a fixed cost clients benefit from:
- An initial audit of all your contracts of employment, employment documents and policies and procedures either in our offices or at your place of business to ensure all documents are fully up to date.
- 24/7 advice and assistance from specialist employment solicitors on any aspect of employment law.
- All legal costs of defending Employment Tribunal claims are covered along with any Employment Tribunal award up to £250,000 per claim (and £1,000.000 per year). The Insurance also covers settlements.
- a fixed cost, paid monthly aiding cashflow - no hourly rates and estimated costs.
The insurance is underwritten by a specialist underwriter, Temple Legal Protection. If you would like a member of our expert employment team to come and meet with you to discuss the package and the benefits to your organisation, please contact Gary Smith 01279 712502 or gsmith@nockolds.co.uk
Bev Moseley (profile) Darren Hayward (profile) 
Gary Smith (profile) Thursday 11th August 2011
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