Employment

flexible working

When Flexibility is not Working

  The pandemic forced many organisations to work in different ways. Some had to largely reinvent their product and service range whilst others dropped into entirely remote working. Fortunately, we seem to have emerged from the worst of the pandemic, but some employers are reporting that there are challenges in finding optimum ways of working….

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Employment considerations when closing your business

Employment considerations when closing your business

  Are you thinking of closing your business? What are the options and what are the employment considerations? The number of firms getting into financial difficulty remains high, no doubt impacted by a global pandemic, the war in Ukraine, interest rates and the cost of living crisis. So, what are your options if you decide…

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recession and employment

Recession and Employment

  The Autumn statement covers a lot of ground but one thing that is built into the projections is a sustained recession for the UK economy, set against a backdrop of inflation driven by energy cost inflation and the uncertainty associated with a war in Europe. Seemingly iron clad young organisations, such as Amazon, have…

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staff handbook

When did you last update your Staff Handbook?

  As an employer, you must provide a new employee with a Written Statement of the main terms and conditions of employment. Within that written statement, an employer often refers the employee to the firm’s Staff Handbook for information on the specific terms of policies such as Disciplinary & Grievance. The advantage of the Staff…

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Settlement Agreements – employers increasingly see the benefits

Settlement Agreements – employers increasingly see the benefits

  When the furlough scheme came to an end in October this year, significant redundancies were anticipated. Whilst this has not been the case thus far, we have seen in its place a significant rise in enquiries about Settlement Agreements. Many employers are still facing considerable difficulties with loss of revenue, changing working practices and,…

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Intellectual Property

Restrictive Covenants and Intellectual Property

  Perhaps one of the least expected outcomes of the recent pandemic has been a surge in new business formations. Some of this has been forced through redundancy, others have acted quickly to fill a new market need, whilst others have restructured their business. Given a more fluid fast-moving marketplace we have seen a trend,…

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contracts of employment

Contracts of Employment – Time for a Lockdown Spring Clean?

  The word unprecedented has rightly been used to describe the last year. Businesses of all sizes and sectors have had to confine their forecasts, budgets and wider planning to the deleted box. Whilst some sectors have been hit very hard others have flourished, but the impact across the wide economy has obviously been detrimental….

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Reducing the size of your workforce

Reducing the size of your workforce

  Sadly the current economic squeeze created by the pandemic is resulting in a lack of demand for the products and services of some businesses. Inevitably to survive this businesses are having to reduce their cost base – including employee costs. The actions that SME owners take needs careful consideration and all options should be…

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settlement agreement

What is a ‘settlement agreement’ and why are they being talked about?

  Most commentators now see us heading into a toughening economic climate which may well result in reduced demand for goods and services. This is compounded by the strains placed on many businesses who have had to restrict activities due to the recent virus outbreak. We have seen the Government take action to keep people…

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checklist

Return to work – employer considerations

  The Prime minister recently outlined a change in status from ‘stay at home’ to that of ‘stay alert’. This represents the first step in the easing of restrictions, a process that we are told could be halted or reversed depending upon the control of COVID-19 within the general population. Further details are expected and…

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