Bribery law heralds caution over corporate Christmas gifts

Posted by Roger Spence Dec 19th, 2011, in Business Protection, Employment Law

Employers should beware of tough new anti-bribery laws when giving or receiving corporate gifts this Christmas.

The Bribery Act affects everyone from global businesses to individuals, prompting the Royal Mail’s recent warning to postal workers to refuse Christmas gifts worth more than £30.

Roger Spence, head of Employment law at Preston-based Harrison Drury Solicitors, commented: “This will be the first festive season to be affected by the Act, which makes it illegal to offer or receive bribes, and to fail to prevent bribery.

“Christmas is high season for corporate hospitality and giving. Despite the downturn, some businesses might be tempted to splash out to keep key customers on board, and a number of grey areas make this a risky undertaking.” (more…)

Using restrictive covenants in employee contracts

Posted by Roger Spence Nov 4th, 2011, in Employment Law

Seeing one of your former employees set up a business in direct competition to yours can be a frustrating experience and one that is damaging to your interests.

If your business isn’t protected by adequate restrictive covenants, it can be disconcerting when that former employee begins approaching your clients with phone calls and e-mails, schmoozing them at networking events, even trying to entice your staff members to join their new venture.

All businesses can protect their legitimate business interests by using employment contracts to bar key employees from dealing with or soliciting work from customers and suppliers for a period of time. (more…)

Do your employment contracts cover unforseen events?

Posted by Roger Spence Sep 6th, 2011, in Employment Law

Last month’s English riots served as a reminder of the huge disruption and upheaval such unforeseen incidents can cause to businesses.

The disturbances left many business owners having to make claims to their insurers for damage to stock and premises, with some losing their businesses entirely.

This brought employee rights into the spotlight, in particular the issue of employee pay and redundancy when a business is unable to trade normally, either because of damage caused by the rioting, or early closure on police advice. (more…)

What you need to know about Agency Workers Regulations

Posted by Roger Spence Jul 13th, 2011, in Employment Law

A number of changes are coming into force on October 1 2011 when the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 is implemented. The regulations are intended to offer better treatment to agency workers and offer a form of equal treatment in line with permanent members of staff.

The new regulations will apply to all ‘temp agencies’ who supply temporary staff to businesses.

The agency worker will, after a qualifying period, be entitled to equal “basic working and employment conditions”. Basic conditions are restricted to pay, working time, night work, rest periods, rest breaks and annual leave. However, they will only apply if they would have been ordinarily included in the contract had the person been recruited permanently.

The qualifying period is 12 continuous calendar weeks in the same role for the same business. There are anti-avoidance provisions in place to prevent businesses moving workers to marginally different roles before the twelve weeks expires. (more…)

Does your business need a social media policy to prevent misuse?

Posted by Roger Spence Jul 6th, 2011, in Business Protection, Employment Law

Social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs have become an excellent new tool for businesses to market their products and services.

Many businesses now use social media to engage with customers and it is now commonplace for individual employees within businesses to log onto social networking sites at least once a day.

However, in recent months there have been a number of high profile cases where employees have been the subject of disciplinary investigation due to inappropriate comments on, or general misuse of, social networking sites. This throws up a number of employment law issues. (more…)

Are you ready for the Bribery Act 2010?

Posted by Roger Spence May 6th, 2011, in Employment Law

The Ministry of Justice has recently published new guidance on the procedures commercial organisations should put in place to ensure they fully comply with The Bribery Act 2010, which comes into force on July 1 2011.

One of the main issues for commercial organisations is to ensure they have an adequate anti-bribery procedure in place that all employees and associates should follow. This procedure, if adequate, will provide a defence to the company if it is charged with failing to prevent bribery.

The guidance sets out six guiding principles commercial organisations should follow in order to prevent persons associated with them from committing bribery. (more…)

When does workplace banter become unacceptable behaviour?

Posted by Roger Spence Jan 27th, 2011, in Employment Law

This issue has been the subject of much debate in recent days following the very public sacking of Andy Gray by Sky television.

Many people view office banter as a bit of fun which is good for morale. However, banter can easily cross the line and become unacceptable harassment. In that case the employer is obliged to deal with the matter as a disciplinary issue. Read my Q&A for more details.

What’s the legal position?

Employees who have been the subject of ‘banter’ from colleagues or superiors may complain about it, before going on to indicate this is because the individual just doesn’t like him/her or, that they have never got on, perhaps due to a clash of personalities.  In those circumstances the individual will have no legal claim.

However, if the employee is able to point to workplace ‘banter’ which is linked to his or her sex, race, age, disability, sexual orientation or religious/belief, the employer will have a problem.

What legislation does this fall under?

The Equality Act 2010 prohibits harassment on the grounds of race, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation and religion/belief. The legal definition of harassment is: “Unwanted conduct that violates a person’s dignity or creates an intimidating hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment”. Essentially, the legislation provides a means for the employee to bring formal tribunal complaints arising out of harassment. (more…)

Remove the burden and risk of employment claims

Posted by Roger Spence Dec 2nd, 2010, in Employment Law, In HD enewsletter

Written by Roger Spence, head of employment law and partner

Harrison Drury has recently launched a new service called HR Compass which aims to protect businesses against increased employment claims.

Why have we done this?

The facts speak for themselves. In September 2010, new statistics revealed the number of employment tribunal claims in the first quarter of this financial year rose by 24 per cent. In these difficult economic times, businesses require concise and practical advice on how best to deal with employment issues which may include redundancy programmes, disciplinary action or long term sickness absence.  However, due to recent legislation and increased awareness of their rights, employees are more likely to pursue claims against their employers than ever before.

How our scheme works

HR Compass comprises three core components that have been designed to offer seamless financial and business continuity protection.

They include:
- The audit (health check)
- Expert advice (ongoing support and dialogue)
- Insurance policy (financial security)

The latter insurance component covers our legal fees, settlements and any compensation awards made again your business. This radically minimises your exposure to unexpected financial loss and caps all your employment law and HR costs giving you peace of mind that employment disputes (which happen to all businesses) won’t have a catastrophic impact on your business.

The price of HR Compass varies according to the size of the business but it is a fixed annual cost and can be spread over instalments.

Our HR Compass brochure can be downloaded here.

If you would like us to provide a proposal and a quote, please call me on 01254 258321 or on roger.spence@harrison-drury.com

In HD news articles:
Welcome to our enewsletter, In HD, issue one
Remove the burden and risk of employment claims
Case study: contract guards against unfair competition
Don’t let boardroom disputes become a turf war
Delivering results: testimonial

Case study: contract guards against unfair competition

Posted by Roger Spence Dec 2nd, 2010, in Business Protection, Case studies, In HD enewsletter

A client in the North West automotive sector approached us after a disgruntled employee resigned and set up in competition, while also pursuing a legal claim for constructive dismissal.

How your key players can become arch rivals

The former employee’s lawyers were threatening to go to an Employment Tribunal following allegations he had been unfairly treated in a number of ways, which included the level of bonus payment awarded to him.

Although our client had a robust defence, the prospect of having to defend an Employment Tribunal claim represented a major management headache. However, the former employee had signed a post-termination restrictive covenant, drafted several years earlier which barred him from competitive activity for a specific period.

Why restrictive covenants are crucial for safeguarding a business

We countered the move to bring a constructive dismissal claim by threatening to seek an injunction at the High Court to enforce the post termination restriction. Almost immediately, the other side hoisted the white flag.

Not only did the ex-employee drop his constructive dismissal claim, but also agreed to sign binding and enforceable undertakings that he would immediately cease trading and would respect the post termination restrictions.

The restrictive covenant was so tightly drafted in favour of our client that the issue was settled quickly and efficiently, avoiding the need for an expensive and time-consuming Employment Tribunal.

Vital steps you should take

All businesses can protect their legitimate business interests by barring key employees from dealing with or soliciting work from customers and suppliers for a period of time. This can be done within the employment contract. However, it is vitally important that such restrictions are drafted on a bespoke basis to avoid the risk of the courts determining they are too broad to be enforceable.

When recruiting key members of staff who will soon have the ear of your customers and suppliers, it is crucially important to ensure restrictive covenants are added to their employment contracts. An audit of your existing key employees is also highly advisable to ensure that they too are covered.

By taking this cost-effective action, a business will gain a set period when it can focus on strengthening relationships with customers or suppliers who might be tempted to move to a competitor or a new business set up by an ex-employee.

If you require advice on post termination please call Roger Spence on 01254 258321 or email roger.spence@harrison-drury.com

In HD news articles:
Welcome to our enewsletter, In HD, issue one
Remove the burden and risk of employment claims
Case study: contract guards against unfair competition
Don’t let boardroom disputes become a turf war
Delivering results: testimonial

Alarming facts about redundancy during maternity leave

Posted by Roger Spence Nov 24th, 2010, in HD comment

A case that hinged on whether a woman who became redundant while on maternity leave should have been offered an alternative job underscores the importance of a cautious approach from employers. (more…)