Legal Alerts
Round-up of new rules in force from April 2010
26/02/2010 08:42
A number of new measures apply from April
‘Fit notes’ introduced to replace sick notes
26/02/2010 08:41
Employers may need to make changes to their risk assessment, sickness and disability discrimination policies and procedures to accommodate new ‘fit notes’, which replace sick notes from 6 April 2010.
Businesses in England & Wales prepare for new waste regulations in 2010
26/02/2010 08:40
English and Welsh businesses handling, transferring and transporting waste are preparing for new waste regulations due to come into force, partly in April 2010 and partly later in the year.
Case law: employer can change pay conditions for employees without their express consent
26/02/2010 08:40
Employers will welcome a recent ruling that confirms their right, where appropriate contractual provisions exist, to change employees’ pay and work conditions without the need to obtain their express consent.
Case law: employee loses holiday entitlement for failing to give required notice
26/02/2010 08:39
Employers can deprive an employee of annual leave entitlement where notice requirements are not complied with, following a recent ruling.
Have your say: Codes of Practice and other guidance to support new Equality Act
26/02/2010 08:38
Employers have the opportunity to shape employment and equal pay guidance that will accompany the forthcoming Equality Act.
New HSE guidance on protecting migrant workers
26/02/2010 08:37
Businesses that employ migrant workers will welcome new guidance on complying with health and safety legislation.
Monetary penalties introduced for data protection breaches
26/02/2010 08:37
Businesses are reminded that they have a duty, when processing personal information, to comply with the data protection principles, or risk having a civil monetary penalty of up to £500,000 imposed on them for the most serious contraventions, with effect from 6 April.
New guidance on preventing workplace harassment and violence
26/02/2010 08:36
Businesses will welcome new guidance designed to help them comply with their legal obligations to prevent harassment and violence in the workplace.
Official recognition for Workers’ Memorial Day in the UK
26/02/2010 08:35
Employers are being encouraged to hold events on 28 April to commemorate people who have died, been seriously injured or made ill through their work.
New rules for company annual returns
29/01/2010 10:18
New company law in force means company officers and their advisers now need to supply more information when filing annual returns for companies limited by shares at Companies House.
Have your say: new guidance on the legal definition of waste and its application
29/01/2010 10:17
Businesses must comply with the continually developing obligations on waste management, and will welcome the opportunity to comment on new guidance in this area.
Case law: asking a male worker to get a haircut is not sex discrimination
29/01/2010 10:16
Employers will welcome a recent court decision that clarifies sex discrimination rules.
Case law: illnesses can be added together for disability discrimination purposes
29/01/2010 10:15
Employers need to be aware that an employee who suffers two different impairments, each lasting for less than 12 months but together lasting for more than a year, is protected by the disability discrimination rules, following a recent ruling.
Case law: pregnant worker not automatically entitled to risk assessment
29/01/2010 10:15
Employers will welcome guidance on when a risk assessment should be carried out for a pregnant worker, given in a recent ruling.
Guidance on employees’ right to request time off for training
29/01/2010 10:13
Employers will welcome new guidance on the upcoming legal right of employees to ask for time off for training, although smaller businesses have longer to prepare for introduction of the new law.
Waste rules and guidance for portable batteries
29/01/2010 10:12
New rules are in force for businesses that distribute, sell, recycle or export batteries or products that contain them.
New plain English guide on data protection available
19/01/2010 00:01
Businesses will welcome new guidance published by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to help them safeguard personal data and comply with the law.
Online service launched to help employers dealing with a serial litigant
19/01/2010 00:01
Help is at hand for employers who suspect that someone making a claim against them may be a serial litigant.
Case law: act promptly, or dismissal for gross misconduct will be unlawful
23/12/2009 15:07
Employers must start disciplinary action promptly, or expressly reserve the right to, even if the employee is off sick, following a recent Court of Appeal ruling.
Case law: contract clauses to be interpreted in the overall agreement
23/12/2009 15:06
Businesses must be aware that unclear parts of a contract may be interpreted within the overall scheme of the agreement, following a decision by the UK's top court.
Case law: ‘Subject to contract’ no longer effective once agreement reached
23/12/2009 15:05
Businesses should take note of a recent ruling that, once the parties in a dispute have agreed terms to settle it, any previous 'subject to contract' correspondence becomes admissible in court, stopping either of them from changing their minds.
New plain English guide on data protection available
23/12/2009 15:04
Businesses will welcome new guidance published by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) to help them safeguard personal data and comply with the law.
Have your say: code of practice for personal information online
23/12/2009 15:03
Businesses have the opportunity to shape a proposed new code of practice for collecting and using personal data online.