Important Changes to Employment Law through 2013, You Absolutely Need to Be Aware Of

Important Changes to Employment Law through 2013, You Absolutely Need to Be Aware Of

Many don’t know their rights in the workplace, and so can easily become victims of unfair treatment. To prevent this, we have prepared this handy guide to what we think are the most important changes to employment law occurring in the UK during the year ahead.

Read on to know what you will be entitled to when the year is out.

An Expansion of One-Month to Unpaid Parental Leave:

This is a very important change to employment law, and one that will massively affect any who have children, or are considering having children. In March, the length of time an …

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Be your own boss: the pros and cons of self-employment

Be your own boss: the pros and cons of self-employment

Do you have dreams of being your own boss? Making decisions whenever and wherever you want to? There’s a lot to think about before taking the leap from being an employee to the employer, so PassSmart have created this guide to help you on your journey. We’ve created a guide to the good and the bad sides of being your own boss in order to help you decide.

Whether you want to go freelance or start your own business, there are different challenges to face. Make sure you’re making the best decision for you, and get prepared!

The business start …

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Personal injury in the workplace

Personal injury in the workplace

Workplace injuries have fallen notably over the past ten years, according to statistics recently published by the Health and Safety Executive - but with almost 600,000 workers having an accident in the workplace in 2011/2012 there is clearly still work to be done to tackle injury to employees.

Figures from the HSE show that numbers of both self reported injury and injuries reported by employers have dropped by significantly over the past decade, but despite this, 212,000 injuries in 2011/2012 led to an absence of three days or more.

Of the 591,000 accidents recorded, 156,000 caused the employee affected to …

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How to avoid unfair dismissal claims

How to avoid unfair dismissal claims

An employee who believes that they have been dismissed unfairly can choose to take legal action and make an unfair dismissal claim against their employer.
If a situation has arisen which means that you need to dismiss an employee, it is important to do so in a way that is completely fair. Through taking the time to follow the correct procedures, you can reduce your risk of becoming embroiled in a time-consuming and costly unfair dismissal claim.

Underperforming staff members

Employers can choose to let an employee go if they are not performing their job to an adequate standard. During …

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Sustaining a strong business partnership

Sustaining a strong business partnership

While a strong business partnership is extremely rewarding and can deliver excellent results, there are a number of challenges that are likely to be faced along the way. Ensuring your working relationship with your business partner remains strong is the ideal way to guarantee the continued success of your business partnership.

It is important that all members of a business partnership work together as a unit from the very start. A business partnership agreement ensures that the expected responsibilities of each member of the partnership are pre-determined, leaving no opportunity for confusion over the role of one or more partners. …

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The importance of employment law for businesses

The importance of employment law for businesses

The complexity of employment law can make it hard for businesses to keep up with their responsibilities. Such is the ever-changing nature of the law, it can be difficult to know what you should be doing in order to make sure your company is protected against any legal action.

However, it is imperative that you do, as an employment solicitor representing an employee will quickly spot any gaps in your procedures. This could of course result in a great deal of expense for your business, as you are more likely to lose at an employment tribunal and have to pay …

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UK Government’s ‘Shares for Rights’ Proposal Will Help No One

UK Government’s ‘Shares for Rights’ Proposal Will Help No One

The UK Conservative Government announced in a party conference its measures to continue deregulating business and cutting red tape.

The proposal revealed by Chancellor George Osborne includes plans to implement a new form of employment contract enabling staff to effectively give up a large majority of their statutory employment rights in return for shares in the company they work for. The scheme has been dubbed ‘rights for shares’ or more formally, the ‘owner-employee contract’ and is to be implemented by April 2013.

Present laws in the UK ensure employees have access to a significant number of employment rights to protect …

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