Advice for employers with staff caught up in holiday travel chaos
August 2nd 2022A LEADING employment lawyer has issued advice for businesses with employees caught up in the current international travel chaos. The first week of the school holidays has seen lengthy queues at the Port of Dover, with the chaos at the ferry port mirrored by delays at international airports, with many holidaymakers left stranded abroad with flights either postponed or cancelled. The delays are expected to intensify over the next six…
Water company granted injunction against former business manager
July 28th 2022A water company has been granted an injunction against its former business development manager after he breached post-termination restrictive covenants in his employment contract. Mark Aspin Director and Head of Dispute Resolution reports on this recent case. The case involved ATAC Solutions, which provides water and waste services to commercial and domestic customers, and its former manager Mr Crotty. Crotty had started working for ATAC in 2017. He was the principal contact for…
Do your employees have permission to work, and do you know how to conduct Right to Work Checks?
July 20th 2022One of the basic requirements on all employers is to ensure that the people they employ have permission to work in the UK. From April 2022 the process that employers need to follow when conducting right to work checks changed – you can no longer accept physical cards or permits, you must undertake digital checks. Civil penalties are imposed on organisations that have employed an individual who does not have…
No fault evictions to be banned in ‘New Deal’ for renters
July 15th 2022No-fault evictions are to be banned as part of government plans to “end the injustice of unfit homes and help protect renters from the rising cost of living”.
Recruitment specialist ordered to comply with restrictive covenant
July 7th 2022An IT recruitment specialist has been ordered to deliver up confidential business information belonging to her former employers in line with the post-termination restrictive covenants in her contract. Selina Gonzalez Solicitor in our dispute resolution team reports on this recent case. The case involved IT recruiter Ms Chadli. She had worked at the London office of Technology Sourcing Ltd since October 2020. Chadli led a team that sought out specialist IT…
Ban on employment exclusivity clauses to be widened to help low paid
June 21st 2022The government is to widen the ban on employment exclusivity clauses, which restrict staff from working for multiple employers. Joanne Stronach Director and Head of Employment and HR provides an update. In 2015, exclusivity clauses were banned for workers on zero hours contracts, where employers are not obliged to provide any minimum working hours and the worker is not obliged to accept any work offered. The change provided more workers with…
Managing Economic Uncertainty
June 20th 2022“As we continue to emerge from the pandemic, the local, national and global economies are facing a challenging future with rising inflation and interest rates. Global stock markets are in decline after having done well since the pandemic first began. Closer to home, households are facing significant price rises in pretty much everything from fuel to tomatoes. This has inevitably started to impact businesses, many of which have little, if…
British Gas dismissed and discriminated against mother of triplets
June 1st 2022The Employment Tribunal has ruled that British Gas discriminated against and unfairly dismissed a mother of triplets after a performance review was “stacked against” her following her return from maternity leave. Joanne Stronach Head of Employment and HR reports on this recent case. The case involved Gemma Long, who started work as an intellectual property solicitor for British Gas Trading in 2012. Long went on maternity leave on 29 May 2016…
Insurance company wins £80m contract dispute with IBM
May 23rd 2022IBM has been ordered to pay an insurance company £80m following a contract dispute. Stephanie Johnson Senior Associate Solicitor in our dispute resolution team reports on this recent case. It had agreed to provide Soteria Insurance Ltd with an IT system over a 10-year period. After a series of delays, Soteria refused to pay a “milestone” invoice presented by IBM. Relying on the non-payment, IBM terminated the contract, and the IT system…
Family Business Awards crowns regional champions in front of capacity crowd
May 17th 2022Family businesses from across the North West celebrated in spectacular style at The North West Family Business Awards on Friday night at the Rum Warehouse in Liverpool’s iconic Titanic Hotel. The city’s historic Stanley Docks was the setting for the sell out 2022 Awards, organised by The Family Business Community. The North West Family Business Awards celebrate family businesses of all sizes and sectors covering Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester…
