Stroud Employment Law Advice

29/04/2020

Furlough is a new word in UK Employment Law and in broad terms means being temporarily laid off.
Under the scheme, administered by HMRC, an employer can furlough staff and the government will pay 80% of their wages.
Initially, this only covered employees on the PAYE system as at 28th Feb, this has now been extended to 19th March.
The employer can make up the missing 20% but is not obliged to.
If you have recently moved jobs and were therefore not on your new employer's payroll on the 19th of March, you can approach your old employer to ask if they will place you on furlough. This is at the employer's discretion.
An employee cannot register themself onto the scheme, it is the employer's decision.
Your employer should consult with you and confirm you are placed on furlough in writing. These records need to be kept for 5 years.
You must be furloughed for a minimum of 3 weeks but can come on and off providing it is for a period for 3 weeks.
There is therefore the flexibility to rotate staff. It is also possible that only some staff will be furloughed and questions around this should be discussed with your employer.
You cannot undertake any work for your employer during furlough even in a different role.
Your employer can permit you to work elsewhere but you should get this in writing and be available to return to work when requested.
You are allowed to volunteer.
Shielded employees can be furloughed as can employees who are carers to someone who is shielding.
The portal will be up and running on the 20th and is accessible 24/7. The hope is that payment will be made by the end of the month to meet payroll.
The scheme has been extended to the end of June.

I hope this provides some clarification. If you have any questions or require further information, I am happy to have a free chat and can be reached on 01453 763384

12/08/2017

Supreme Court says Employment Tribunal fee are unlawful.

From July 2013 if you wanted to bring a tribunal case you had to pay two fees: one for starting a claim and one for the hearing.
The total you had to pay depended on the type of claim. For the simplest cases you'd have to find £390.- and for more complex cases (including unfair dismissal and discrimination) you'd have to pay £1200.-
As the government no doubt intended, claims plummeted: people who had claims against their employers couldn't afford to bring their cases to the tribunal.
The trade union Unison challenged the fees structure regime in the High Court, arguing that it amounted to unlawful interference with access to justice. The Supreme Court eventually ruled earlier this month that the regime was unlawful.
This is good news if you're thinking of bringing a claim now or if you have brought a claim in the past and paid a fee.
All the fees that employment tribunal claimants have paid for bringing their cases since 2013 will have to be repaid.

14/07/2017

Put off by the expense of legal matters?

During your employment you can be faced with many complex issues, so it is essential to know what your rights are.
This may take the form of bullying and harassment, disciplinary proceedings, performance allegations, sickness, gross misconduct and discrimination. When a difficult situation arises with your employer you will want urgent advice.
We are a small team of paralegals specialising in Employment Law.
We provide a low cost service with includes an initial assessment and flexible out-of-hours advice.
Contact us by phone or email to take the first step to resolving your Employment issues.
[email protected] www.stroudemploymentlaw.co.uk

We are a small team of paralegals specialising in Employment Law. Based in Stroud we provide a low cost friendly affordable service.

15/06/2017

When you are in work, you can be faced with many complex issues so it is essential to know what your rights are.When a difficult situation arises with your employer you will want urgent professional advice.
We can assist you with all types of Employment claims including Unfair Dismissal, Constructive Dismissal, Discrimination and Redundancy. Employment issues can take the form of bullying and harassment, disciplinary proceedings, performance allegations, sickness, gross misconduct and discrimination.
We are a small team of paralegals specialising in Employment Law. We provide a low cost service tailored to your needs and with flexible out-of-hours consultations. Contact us to take the first step to resolving your Employment issues.