If you have had need to contact a solicitor in the last two or three years, the chances are higher than previously that you were seeking advice on redundancy law. With the current economic climate as it is, there have been a huge amount of redundancies announced in businesses across the UK within the last few years, but often firms make people redundant when they are not actually redundant. If you have any doubt in your mind about whether you have been genuinely made redundant or not, you should check with a redundancy solicitor.
One of the leading law firms specialising in redundancy issues is Employment SOS. They focus on all aspects of employment law, including unfair dismissal, constructive dismissal, age discrimination, sex discrimination, equality pay, disability discrimination, tribunal representation, harassment, race discrimination and sickness absence.
In order to have been made redundant you have to have been dismissed from your post, as redundancy is a form of dismissal. If you were not dismissed because you are genuinely redundant then you may be entitled to claim for unfair dismissal. Genuine redundancy occurs when your employers business or a part of their business has ceased to operate, or the business has relocated, or the need for a specific type of work has diminished or disappeared. Being dismissed on grounds such as you are pregnant is not a genuine reason for redundancy – it is unfair dismissal.
Also, if you are made redundant, there are various legal hoops through which your employer should have jumped first. So, you should have been selected for redundancy fairly, you should have been fully consulted and given the correct notice period, you should have received the correct amount of redundancy pay and your employer should have discussed all possible alternatives with you. If this did not happen, then take a further look at the Employment SOS website, and consider filling in their questionnaire on your redundancy. Don’t take it lying down – this is your livelihood and future, and there aren’t many jobs out there to move on to.
In this article, we will be using the solicitors Thomas Horton LLP as an example of the range of legal services provided by solicitors in England and Wales.
Thomas Horton LLP was founded over 150 years ago. The services they offer fall under two different categories: services for businesses and services for individuals. This article will be looking purely at services provided for individuals. Most individuals will at some point need one of the services listed under this category, whether it is buying and selling their home, criminal defence, family or divorce, wills, disputes or something to do with employment law. It is therefore important to have a brief overview of the types of legal services offered by services for individuals. Whilst Thomas Horton are a leading family law solicitor in Worcestershire, they also offer a wide range of other services.
First on the list for individuals is buying and selling your home, or conveyancing. Described on the Thomas Horton website as one of the most important decisions you will make, but a frustrating and time consuming process, conveyancers should manage your transaction from beginning to end to make it as straightforward and easy as possible. Services should include sales and purchases, re-mortgages, deeds of trust, equity release schemes, property disputes, stamp duty and land tax returns, buy-to-let and shared ownership purchases.
Next is criminal defence. You may at some point in your life find yourself in front of the police or the courts, and this will be quite a frightening experience if so. If you find yourself in this sort of situation then it is imperative that you have the best lawyer possible to represent your interests. This covers areas such as juvenile crime, theft, confiscation hearings, prison law, and most commonly motoring offences such as speeding, drink driving and dangerous or careless driving. However, this also covers serious crime such as murder and manslaughter. If you are taken in to a police station for questioning then you the right to free legal advice at the police station even if you have not been arrested. Thomas Horton LLP provides free independent legal advice, are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and are on the police station and court duty schemes. So, if you find yourself in trouble, the first thing to do is get free legal advice and not panic.
Family, children and divorce is another major area. This includes areas such as divorce and separation, disputes over the upbringing of children, domestic violence, drafting cohabitation agreements, civil partnerships, change of name, adoption, pre-nuptial agreements, and representing parents and children in Care Proceedings where child abuse is alleged. This is always an extremely sensitive and delicate area, and solicitors should work to achieve the best possible outcomes for all parties concerned.
Another area that everyone should have some contact with during their lives is wills, probates and trusts. However, many people don’t – they put off making a will, possibly due to a superstitious belief that making a will makes your death come quicker. Unfortunately, that means that many adults end up dying without having made a will, which means that their assets are distributed according to the law rather than how they might have wanted. So, for example, your partner does not automatically inherit your estate if you are not married or in a civil partnership. A will also ensures your dependants are provided for in the most tax efficient manner. As well as wills, solicitors should also be able to help with living wills, probate, lasting power of attorney and trusts.
Finally, there is employment. This should cover the mains areas of redundancy, unfair dismissal, contracts of employment, maternity rights and discrimination.
For details can be found on Thomas Horton’s website – www.thomashorton.co.uk
Employment law has previously been one of those subjects that only lawyers and “human resources” people have really needed to know about, but in today’s world and in the current financial climate with jobs being almost as rare a commodity as gold, whether you are an employer or an employee, it really is vital that you know a few basics about employment law at the very minimum.
There are many solicitors, employment law specialists and other legal or employment based firms out there that offer employment law training to companies and to individuals. However, to provide a brief overview, these are some of the key areas that both employers and employees should know about.
Discrimination
There are many forms of discrimination. Disability discrimination, sex discrimination and racial discrimination are the three key ones. Employers are prohibited from discriminating against disabled people under the 1995 and 2005 Disability Discrimination Acts. All size businesses are covered by these acts, and employers are required to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate disabled employees. Sex discrimination most commonly appears in the form of women employees being bullied, being sacked for being pregnant, or facing sexual harassment from male colleagues. The 1970 Equal Pay Act prohibits paying men and women differently for doing the same job.
Constructive Dismissal
Constructive Dismissal is when you leave your job because you feel you have been forced out because of the way you have been treated. It must be a genuine and significant reason and one which results in a fundamental breach of contract. However, rather than one big reason it can be a collection of more minor reasons which mount up. So, this could include:
· Not being paid
· Being bullied
· Being demoted without reason
· Having your role changed without consent, warning or reason
· Being forced to relocate at short notice
· Being falsely accused of misconduct or of being incapable of doing your job
Unfair Dismissal
Generally you need to have been employed for at least 12 months in order to make a claim for unfair dismissal. Employers need to have a valid reason for dismissing an employee and need to have acted reasonably. A claim for unfair dismissal needs to be made within 3 months of finishing your job, so you can’t suddenly decide years later to make a claim against a business as it will be too late.
Redundancy
If you are not dismissed because your post is genuinely redundant then you may have a case for unfair dismissal. Other issues arising from redundancy include whether you were selected for redundancy fairly, whether you were fully consulted, whether you were given the correct notice period and whether you received the correct amount of redundancy pay.
Just as employees should be aware of some of these key points so that they know if they are being wrongly treated at work, so should employers so as not to find themselves in front of a tribunal.
