Although the UK is not technically in a recession (that requires
another quarter of zero or negative growth), you would be hard
pressed to find anyone with an optimistic view on the economy over
the coming months.

With UK unemployment hitting 1.825 million (5.8%) this means the
press is filled with talk of redundancy. Just yesterday,
household names including Virgin Media and Yell announced a total
of 5,000 job cuts.

In most businesses the wage bill is the biggest single cost, hence
redundancy is often seen as the only alternative. But this is not
necessarily the case – next week we will look to alternatives such
as varying contracts, reducing working hours, cutting bonuses and
overtime to avoid layoffs.

Getting the process of redundancy right

However, if redundancies have to be made then most companies will
need to start at least 30 days of employee consultation.

This should be carried out in line with the new Consultation and
Information of Employees Regulations 2004 and must include written
details of:
– reason for redundancies
– areas/ job functions where redundancies need to be made
– the selection criteria to be used
– calculation of redundancy payments

This sets out a summary of the minimum requirements to ensure you
are within employment legislation, but it is also important that
you have a fair and business focussed process. Most employers will
naturally want to do much more for their staff with help for
looking at their options, help with CVs, flexibility for attendance
at job interviews etc.

In the final article in the series we will look at how proper
planning can ensure your business is fit for the future.

If you need any help or guidance on this or any other HR matter,
please call our HR team now on 0191 460 1111.

We read about changes in employment benefits/law on a regular basis and know when
they are to take effect, but do we remember to change our employment contracts,
policies and procedures to reflect these changes?

Below is a brief overview of the current statutory benefits that employers must
provide, failure to do so could result in claims for breach of contract being filed
against you, in addition to automatic fines from the government.

To find out more on how Deminos can make sure your contracts, policies, procedures
and practices meet the statutory requirements ring us today – tomorrow may be too
late! 0191 460 1111 or e-mail at info@deminos.co.uk

Until the late 90’s it was often thought that so long as an
employee continued to be paid, the employer could place them on
garden leave, even if there was no clause in the contract allowing
for this.

In 1999 a piece of case law changed this (William Hill v
Tucker ([1999] ICR 291)), in which we were told that most
employees, if willing to work, had the right to do so. If they were
to be sent on garden leave, there had to be an expressed clause in
their contract, that stated the employer had the right to place the
employee on “Garden Leave”.

‘Project Chaos’

However, a recent case (SG & R Valuation Service Co v Boudrais
([2008] EWHC 1340(QB)) has put an important qualification on this
right to work. In this case, senior employees were planning to
leave and take confidential information with them with the
deliberate intent of causing mayhem (under the worrying title of
‘Project Chaos’).

They were placed on garden leave and then claimed this action from
the employer was a breach of the employment contract because there
was no expressed right for the employer to take this action against
them.

The Case was heard at the High Court, where it was held that they
had a right to work, but that their actions showed they were not
‘prepared’ to do so properly, in accordance with their contractual
duties of good faith, therefore they were in breach of contract!
As such, it was not possible for the employer to provide them with
work – the garden leave was upheld despite the lack of a clause in
the contract.

At Deminos we make sure that any work carried out compiling
contracts of employment or any other legal documentation for our
clients takes into consideration recent rulings from case law, in
addition to current legislation.

Our clients who have used our services to obtain contractual
documentation, such as employment contracts, have peace of mind and
can rest easy knowing their documentation is compliant with current
legislation, for example we can include a specific ‘garden leave’
clause which will prevent any problems arising in the future.

Those of you who are not currently using our services but would
like assistance with regard to the drafting of contracts of
employment and other compliance documentation please contact us now
on 0191 460 1111.