Compromise agreements If you believe that your working relationship is coming to an end but who do not wish to resolve grievances with your employer in the Tribunal, you can enter into a compromise agreement. What is a Compromise Agreement? A compromise agreement is a legally binding agreement, usually...

Sexual Orientation Discrimination Although there are no accurate statistics for the number of lesbians, gay men or people who are bisexual - it is believed that they make up ab out 7% of the UK population. Despite this there continues to be a considerable prejudice against those with different sexual...

Religious Discrimination Few areas of life are more likely to lead to differing views and firmly held opinions than that of religion or belief. It has been the cornerstone of civilisation for so long that, even in today’s increasingly materialistic world, it still manages to underpin an enormous range...

Holidays and holiday pay Most employees (subject to certain exceptions dealt with below), whether they are full-time, part-time, agency or casual workers, are entitled to take a minimum amount of paid holiday every year.  This is called statutory holiday.  The right to take statutory holiday applies...

Employee applications to an Employment Tribunal The function of an Employment Tribunal is to resolve disputes between employers and employees in relation to employment rights such as the right not to be dismissed unfairly, the right not to be discriminated against or the right to be paid fairly. However,...

Contracts of employment A contract of employment is an agreement between an employer and an employee and sets out the rights and duties which exist between them. All employees have a contract of employment, although it might not be in writing. Here we explain how contracts of employment operate and...

Making an employee redundant Businesses today operate in an environment which is very different to that of ten or twenty years ago and those which are not able to respond to changes in the marketplace and deploy their services in new and innovative ways will inevitably fail to succeed and grow. The...

Employment Appeal Tribunal The Employment Appeal Tribunal´s main purpose is to consider appeals from decisions made by Employment Tribunals, although it also hears, less frequently, appeals from (and applications relating to) decisions made by the Certification Officer or by the Central Arbitration...

Confidentiality and trade secrets Where a person receives personal, sensitive or commercially important information in circumstances which are confidential or are in relation to the work which a person undertakes, then that person owes a duty of confidence to the owner of the information. The person...

Benefits in kind Benefits in kind are any form of benefit or consideration offered by an employer to an employee which is in lieu of the monetary part of their pay or salary. Often it will take the form of something such as a company car, insurance such as private medical insurance, gym membership or...