Lawyers International Network for Employees and Executives (LINEE)

Slater & Gordon UK

Redundant Whilst Pregnant or on Maternity Leave: The UK Government Has Agreed to Extend Protections But Is This Enough?

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We regularly receive calls from women who have been posted to the UK and have been informed that their role is ‘redundant.’ Within a short call, it becomes apparent that there is no real redundancy situation. The reality is these women have been unfairly dismissed and discriminated against either because they are pregnant or because they have, or are planning to, take maternity leave.

Women are at particular risk of unfair redundancy during pregnancy and on return from maternity leave.”

The current legal framework is insufficient to protect these women from such unfair redundancies during pregnancy and maternity leave, and shortly after they return to work. The Government has recognised this. It has consulted on extending protections and has now announced that it will indeed do so. See further below. Read more.

Advice on How to Approach Difficult Performance Reviews At Work

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What motivates you at work? For some, it is their salary, for others getting on with work colleagues. A recent survey held the biggest single motivator is people’s enjoyment of their role. However, that same survey carried out by the Institute of Leadership and Management, revealed that 25% of employees think their appraisals are performed poorly by management.

Appraisals and performance reviews are an important part of your professional development. Recognition for work done and constructive, supportive feedback on improving performance can be key motivators. If you feel that that you are failing to meet the standards required but you are not being helped to achieve them, you are likely to feel demotivated very quickly. Equally, if you work hard and perform well you will feel frustrated if your efforts are never recognised or rewarded.

When things aren’t going well at work and you are struggling to meet expectations but feel unsupported you need to know what to do to turn things around. You need to know where to turn if you feel that management is failing to properly manage your performance and motivate you in your role. Read more.

How Do You Go about Challenging a Bonus? Top UK Employment Lawyers Explain

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“I believe I was promised a bigger bonus than I was actually paid. How do I go about claiming what I believe I was promised?”

What can you do if you believe your bonus was not as you had been led to believe? It is not always something easy to prove but will depend on the nature of the bonus, how you were promised the bonus and what was said. You may have a claim for breach of contract or your lack of bonus may be linked to a discrimination or whistleblowing claim.

We have set out below some advice our top ten tips on how to make your challenge your bonus: Read more.

Despite Royal Pregnancies, Maternity Discrimination Is Still Common in Britain

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We will soon have the birth of another Royal baby, but while The Duchess of Cambridge won’t need to worry about how her new arrival is likely to impact on her career, millions of women across the UK are still facing archaic attitudes and policies from the workplace during and post pregnancy.

More than a quarter of mothers feel they have been actively discriminated against in the workplace whilst pregnant or on their return to work after having a baby, while two-thirds of mothers would advise pregnant women to wait until the last possible moment to tell their bosses they are expecting.

New research we have released questioned mothers on how they were treated both pre and post the birth of their children in the workplace and saw more than half of women say their boss’s attitude towards them changed when they got pregnant. Read more.

Compromise Agreements for International Executives in the UK

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Many international executives will be asked to sign settlement or release agreements when their employment terminates in order to receive any enhanced severance pay. Even if you are not based in the UK, you may be asked to sign a compromise agreement waiving any claims in the UK, and you will, therefore, need to take advice from a UK lawyer.

This information will assist you if you are leaving or have left employment and you have been asked to sign an agreement to cover the terms of your departure.

What is a Compromise Agreement?

A compromise agreement is a legally binding settlement agreement between an employer and an employee. Usually, the employee accepts a sum of money in return for agreeing not to bring certain legal claims against the employer. In this way, the employees’ rights are ‘compromised.’ Read more.

Bonus Pay for International Executives: Your Rights & Issues Surrounding Them

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For many international executives bonuses form a significant part of their overall employment package. If your contract is governed by UK law or if your employment has a sufficient connection with the UK, you may be able to deal with any dispute arising in relation to your bonus in the UK.

So what are your rights and what can you expect from your employer?

Guaranteed or Discretionary?

Bonus schemes are either guaranteed under contract or discretionary. Many schemes are a mixture of both, which means that while you have the right to be considered for a bonus, the employer has the final say as to whether to pay out or not. Read more.

Employment Solicitor: Why Employers Should Be Taking Stress at Work Seriously

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Britain may be clawing her way out of an unprecedented economic downturn but the cost of the crash is far more than just financial.

Stress is now the biggest cause of long-term absence from work in the UK according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development; an entire workforce is sat at home, unproductive.

According to the Health & Safety Executive, in the midst of the economic crash an astonishing 400,000 people a year were absent from work due to stress. In 2010 and 2011, 1,152,000 people were absent due to work-related illnesses – stress is by far the biggest danger at work. Read more.

Will Obesity Qualify as a Disability under Disability Discrimination Law?

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You may have seen news reports this week about an obese Danish child-minder fighting for his employment rights in the European Courts. Mr Kaltoft believes that he was sacked by his employer because he was fat.

The European Court of Justice will decide whether obesity should qualify as a “disability” under Equality legislation, a decision that has potentially far-reaching ramifications for both employers and employees alike.

Under UK employment law, a disability is a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long term adverse affect on an individual’s ability to carry out normal day to day activities. Read more.

What’s Age Got to Do with It? Asks Employment Solicitor

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New research Slater & Gordon conducted into the experiences of over-40s in the workplace shows they believe their age is often a factor in decisions made about them at work, sometimes to their detriment.

What is surprising is that 60% of those surveyed were unaware that detrimental treatment because of age could be unlawful and give rise to a claim for age discrimination against their employer. This is worrying as it indicates that employers are not educating their staff on the issue and employees believe they have to put up with treatment that is not only unlawful but also unacceptable in a modern workplace.

According to our survey, 54 is the age at which people believe their age really starts to have a negative impact on their career. Employees who are dismissed around that age face a double-whammy because it’s also more difficult to find a comparable new role. Many of my clients over the age of 55 have told me that they will never find another full-time permanent job in their chosen fields, and opt to take on consultancy, part-time or contract roles instead. Read more.

The Dangers of Social Media in the UK Workplace

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Most people will, I suspect, have had little sympathy for the Wandsworth Prison officer sacked and others that faced disciplinary action after photos of them wearing T-shirts saying ‘We Have Madeleine McCann’ during a drunken night out were posted on Facebook. It was a story that provokes a visceral response of incomprehension and repulsion, but that obscures a far more subtle point which concerns the rights and wrongs of action against employees where they have done something wrong in their private lives or online explains Employment Solicitor Ivor Adair…….

I sometimes wonder if Don Draper from Mad Men (if you don’t know the show, most of his colleagues know little about him or his private lifestyle), lived and worked in 2014 could ever have been the subject of the remark, “No one’s ever lifted that rock. He could be Batman for all we know.” I doubt it.

TOWIE suggests that there are more than a few UK employees who have degraded themselves in some drunken act whilst on holiday with friends. Should every employer be free to dismiss or discipline when it discovers through social media that an employee has done something wrong outside work? Of course not and the law recognises that – but there is a balance to be struck between having a private life (assuming there is an expectation of privacy) and a justified inference with that. Read more.

Why Non-Executive Directors in the UK Should Speak Out

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Non-executive directors of companies can and often do add real value to businesses. They are there to give an independent perspective, using their particular skills, experience, and knowledge. They have a prime role in appointing (and removing) board members. They must also operate within a framework of prudent and effective controls, which enable risks to be assessed and managed.

That is the theory. What of the practice?

Events at the Cooperative Bank may yet be another example of what can go horribly wrong for Board Members. We are told that the regulator approved the appointment of Paul Flowers as Chairman, despite his limited banking experience. But what did the non-executive directors think? What due diligence was done and what discussions took place? Or was the appointment rubber-stamped because of the regulator’s approval? Read more.

New Study Reveals Sexual Harassment Is Rife in the UK Workplace

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Six in ten working women have had a male colleague behave ‘inappropriately’ towards them, new research has revealed.

The study showed that women were still subjected to sexist attitudes at work with the old clichés of men slipping a hand up their skirt or patting them on the bum still a regular occurrence for some women.

While nearly a quarter of women have experienced a senior colleague making a pass at them at some point in their career.
When it came to inappropriate comments and touching more than half of the offenders were more senior members of staff and two-thirds of women said the inappropriate behaviour came from a married man. Read more.

Post Termination for International Executives – Restrictive Covenants

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International executives frequently seek our assistance in circumstances where they are
negotiating the terms of their contract or where their employment is about to terminate
or has terminated. Many of the contracts we see contain post-termination restrictive
covenants. Restrictive covenants often restrict your right to conduct activities in
competition with your former employer after the employment relationship has ended.
Such clauses may also be contained in other contractual documents, such as a
shareholders agreement or collateral contracts.

Post-termination restrictive covenants are particularly important in the contracts of
employment of senior employees, who will be in possession of confidential information,
have good relationships with key customers and will have influence over other members of
staff. As a senior employee, you would potentially be able to use that knowledge and
customer loyalty for the benefit of a competing employer.

It is, therefore, important that you are aware of the effect of any post-termination
restrictions affecting your employment. Advice should be sought either when negotiating
a new contract, when you are thinking of moving on, or upon the termination of your
employment. Read more.

Dismissal of International Executives (UK) – Wrongful Dismissal, Unfair Dismissal, Discrimination & Redundancy

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International executives frequently seek our assistance in circumstances where their employment has terminated or is about to terminate. For executives who have a sufficient connection with the UK, you may have rights which you can pursue under UK law.

Dismissal from your job as a Director or Executive can be a distressing experience. What rights do you have to compensation if this happens? It is important to note that in general terms any employment rights you have will derive from your contract of employment (sometimes called a ‘service agreement’) not from being a director or shareholder per se.

Wrongful Dismissal & Breach of Contract

Wrongful dismissal is a contractual claim. This arises where you have been dismissed and your employer has failed to fulfill their contractual obligations. For example, if you are not guilty of gross misconduct, but your employer has failed either to allow you to work out your notice or make a payment in lieu of notice (usually to include all benefits due like pension payments, company car benefits etc). Read more.

Discrimination Claims in Great Britain

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Discrimination claims in Great Britain usually concern a claim for less favourable treatment because of a prohibited characteristic, such as race, nationality or national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, religion, and belief.

There are additional claims available under discrimination law, such as indirect discrimination, harassment, victimisation, and particular disability discrimination claims such as a failure to make reasonable adjustments.

Claims can include both treatment suffered during employment and after termination. Read more.

Statutory Claims by Executives in Great Britain

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There are two key questions to answer to establish if an executive has the right to bring a claim for breach of employment legislation: 1) Does the individual have rights under British legislation? 2) Can she enforce the rights in an Employment Tribunal?

This is not as simple as it sounds. Whether the Employment Tribunal has jurisdiction to hear a claim depends on the statute in question and whether the right comes from English or European Union (EU) law. The following sections cover the position on some of the key claims within Great Britain.

Unfair Dismissal Claims in Great Britain

Unfair dismissal law generally provides that in order to dismiss an employee fairly, an employer must have a potentially fair reason to dismiss and provided they do, the dismissal must still be fair in the circumstances of the case. Potentially fair reasons to dismiss include redundancy, capability and conduct. Read more.

Employment Contract Rights of International Executives in Great Britain

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If you are an expat executive working in Great Britain, at some point you will want to know the answers to two questions: When will the laws of England and Wales govern my contract, and when will the English courts have the power to hear my claim?

The first issue is to consider what the applicable law of your contract is. This is often set out in your contract.

Generally, the parties to a contract have the freedom to choose the applicable law, but in reality it is often the employer that chooses. That choice will often be the country’s laws that are most favourable and convenient to them. Read more.

Contract Reviews for Internationally Mobile Executives in the UK

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For international executives who work in or have connections with a number of different countries, it can be difficult to work out which country’s laws and Courts offer you protection in an employment matter. In some cases, you may even have a choice between a number of different legal jurisdictions. If you are looking to take up employment, working wholly or partly in Great Britain, we can help you check your proposed new contract and ensure that the deal you strike is a sensible one.

Example issues to consider are:

  • Does the contractual notice period give you adequate protection?
  • Are the place of work and duties clauses suitably defined?
  • Are the bonus or share right clauses adequately worded?
  • Is the summary dismissal clause reasonable?
  • Are the post-termination restrictions reasonable and enforceable?
  • Can you accept this offer without acting in breach of any current contractual restrictions?

What Are Your Rights During Employment?

Before you engage in any discussions with your employer it is helpful to get a basic understanding of your legal rights. These rights could exist under one or a number of legal jurisdictions. In Great Britain, your rights can come from a number of different sources. Read more.