With the Employment Rights Bill’s introduction expected next month, this blog will discuss the ways in which UK employment law could be changing in the not-too-distant future.
Read MoreIn this weeks blog, the Ergo team answers some of our most commonly asked questions, ranging from the client onboarding process to settlement agreements.
Read MoreIn this blog, we will discuss what legal barriers there may be to an extension of the policy to workers in any health or social care setting within the NHS.
Read MoreThis week’s question - is homeworking coming to an end? We look at the current guidance of the Scottish government and consider when employees might be expected in the office and what returning means for both employee and employer.
Read MoreThis is the second blog in our series on homeworking, inspired by our director Emma’s interview with STV.
Here, we focus on potential challenges for employers while staff are working from home and how to overcome these.
Read MoreThe recent decision by the UK government to require those working in the care sector in England to be vaccinated against Covid-19 has reignited the debate on the legality of ‘no jab, no job’ policies in other sectors
Read MoreThis is the first blog in our series on the future of homeworking, inspired by our director Emma’s interview with STV, where we look at the law on homeworking, challenges employers might face as a result, and its future in a post-covid-19 world. In this blog, we focus on employers’ legal obligations for home workers.
Read MoreEmployers, when informed of your pregnancy in writing, are legally required to update a risk assessment related to your employment. This blog explains risk assessments and addresses how COVID-19 may have impacted these.
Read MoreAfter receiving a lot of media attention in the news over the last month, this blog will discuss the new employment law measure which has been introduced in New Zealand, extending maternity leave support to bereaved families. The measure itself and the comparative position of the UK’s existing entitlements will be explored. TRIGGER WARNING: this blog discusses sensitive issues which may upset some readers Re. Miscarriage/Still-birth.
Read MoreThis is the sixth blog in our series ‘simplifying settlement agreements’ where we tackle these agreements clause by clause and give you the essential information in a nutshell. Our director Emma Reid explains how to calculate settlement agreement amounts what to look out for.
Read MoreThis is the fifth blog in our series ‘simplifying settlement agreements’ where we tackle these agreements clause by clause and give you the essential information in a nutshell. Our director Cathy Donald explains the key aspects of tax clauses and what to look out for in our second blog on tax.
Read MoreThis is the second blog in our series ‘simplifying settlement agreements’ where we tackle these agreements clause by clause and give you the essential information in a nutshell. Our associate solicitor Claire Henderson explains the key aspects of confidentiality clauses and what to look out for.
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Facing redundancy is a bewildering experience at the best of times, even more so if you are on maternity leave and may have been out of the workplace for some time. The law recognises that women on maternity leave can be particularly vulnerable to redundancy and offers some additional rights by way of protection. Our solicitor, Sacha Carey, addresses some of the questions commonly asked by women on maternity leave facing redundancy.
The short answer is yes. Contrary to popular belief, you can lawfully be made redundant during your maternity leave, provided the redundancy is genuine and your employer follows a fair redundancy process. If you are selected for redundancy because you are pregnant or on maternity leave, this will count as an automatic unfair dismissal, as well as discrimination.
Firstly, your employer must use non-discriminatory selection criteria to decide which employee(s) to make redundant. This could include skills, qualifications and disciplinary record. If using criteria such as attendance, absence or performance, your employer must discount any absence or performance issues that are caused by your pregnancy or maternity.
Your employer must also consult with you during your maternity leave about the proposed redundancies, giving you as much warning as possible. This will involve individual consultations, as well as collective consultations if your employer is making 20 or more employees redundant at the same time.
Your employer must talk to you about the reasons for the redundancies and the selection criteria that they will be applying. They should also let you know how your redundancy selection assessment was carried out and allow you to put forward any suggestions you might have for alternatives to redundancy.
Finally, your employer should give you a preferential right to any suitable alternative vacancy that might be available by offering the position to you first, before those who are being made redundant but are not on maternity leave or pregnant.
In order to be considered suitable, the vacancy must be no less favourable than your previous job in terms of location, status and terms and conditions. It is important to note that if you do unreasonably turn down an offer of suitable alternative employment, you will lose your right to a redundancy payment.
Find out more about your financial entitlement in the event of a genuine redundancy here.
If you qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), your employer is liable to continue paying this for the remainder of the SMP period, even if you are made redundant. However, any enhanced contractual maternity pay (in excess of SMP) is likely to cease when your employment is terminated.
If you are facing redundancy during maternity leave and your employer has not followed a fair redundancy procedure, or you have reason to believe that this is not a genuine redundancy, you may have a claim for unfair dismissal, automatic unfair dismissal and/or maternity discrimination.
There are strict time limits for bringing these claims in an employment tribunal, so it is important to act quickly. We are very experienced with advising employees who find themselves in this difficult situation and pride ourselves on our compassionate and straightforward approach. We would love to speak to you about how we can help, so please do get in touch.
Should you wish to know more about your rights during pregnancy and maternity leave, you may find the following link useful https://www.acas.org.uk/your-maternity-leave-pay-and-other-rights
We asked our employment law solicitors Emma Reid and Claire Henderson for their five key pieces of advice for anyone facing redundancy, this is what they said….
Read MoreA client's eye view of an employment tribunal claim
Read MoreAlthough parties may agree that a self-employed arrangement suits them both, on occasion the law may disagree...
Read MoreWhen surrounded by so much secrecy, it can be difficult to know whether the settlement agreement that you have been offered represents a good deal or not. We are specialists in negotiating settlement packages and are experienced at guiding our clients through the process of ending their employment with a settlement agreement. Here are our insider tips about how to approach a settlement agreement and to achieve the best out of negotiations.
Read MoreErgo Law, Edinburgh based employment law specialists. We specialise in advising both on the issues which arise in the workplace on a daily basis as well as on more unusual or complex situations.
Ergo Law Limited is a company incorporated in Scotland with company number SC517035, authorised and regulated by the Law Society of Scotland.
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Employers need to handle redundancies with sensitivity and of course, in accordance with the law. Here, we’ve put together a few key tips to help with managing this challenging task.