Bristol Solicitors

BRISTOL EMPLOYMENT LAWYER FAQS

What information must an Employer provide when employment commences ?

The employer must legally provide a “statement of employment” within 2 months of the employment starting. This is not an employment contract, which can be verbal or written, but does contain the main terms of employment. If the employer has not provided a statement this gives the employee the right to complain to the Employment Tribunal and for an order to be made to determine the details.

Can an employer change the employment statement?

The employer must consult with the employee for one month before making any changes.

What are the qualifying conditions for claiming Unfair Dismissal ?

In order to make a claim for unfair dismissal, certain technical criteria must be satisfied, which are :-

• You must be an employee and work either full-time or part-time
• You must have at least 1 year’s continuous employment.
• You must be under 65 years old or if your employer allows staff to work beyond 65 the normal retirement age for your job at the date of dismissal.
• You must not be in an excluded category, e.g. the armed forces or police

What is the difference between non-competition and  non-solicitation clauses ?

A non-competition clause prevents an employee from competing with the employer after the employment is terminated. This means that when the employee’s employment comes to an end, he or she cannot take a job at a business which is in direct competition with the Employer.

A non-solicitation clause prevents an employee from encouraging colleagues or contractors to leave the employer and join with the leaving employee in a new venture or that employee’s new employers.

Both a non-competition and non-solicitation clause are forms of employment restrictive covenant. There have been many court disputes as to whether such clauses are enforceable, and the position is that each clause is considered by the Tribunal or court on it’s own merits, but the written contract is not conclusive and can be interfered with and/or overturned by the Tribunal or court.

Criteria which are applied include :-

• whether the clause is broader than necessary to protect the Employer;
• whether the clause would cause undue hardship on the Employee (e.g. it would make it difficult for the Employee to find new employment); or
• whether the clause is unreasonable in relation to time or geographic restrictions.

Are claims available based on bullying at work and/or harassment?

Your employer is responsible legally for the actions of staff, sometimes even if the employer was unaware of such actions, . This is known as vicarious liability. An action is also possible against the individual(s) who may have been harassing you.

The employer may also be liable if appropriate action has not been taken once a complaint has been made.

Bullying and harassment can be physical and/or verbal behaviour and can be communicated in a number of ways such as text messages, emails, verbal and physical communication. The following are examples of bullying and/or harassment:

• verbal abuse or comments
• staring, touching  comments or leering in a sexual way
• offensive gestures
• aggressive physical behaviour

Do I qualify for redundancy?

If you have over two years’ continuous employment, the company is closing down a place of work, or ceasing or diminishing the particular work undertaken by you, then you have a right to redundancy payment if made redundant.