Specialist Employment Law Solicitors in Abingdon
For Oxford, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, London & the Thames Valley

Why compromise on anything less?

A fresh approach to legal services - based on understanding your needs, being straight with you and giving down to earth advice. We give practical, commercial support.

Our next meeting is on 25 February 2020 and will cover the new IR35 rules and having difficult conversations at work. Click here for more details

• From 6 April 2020, employees who lose a child under the age of 18 will have the right to two weeks' leave with bereavement pay. This includes an employee who suffers a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy. The leave must be taken in one block or as two separate blocks of a week. The leave will be paid for employees who have at least 26 weeks’ service and who meet minimum earnings criteria. Statutory parental bereavement pay will be paid at the same rate as statutory paternity pay, i.e. £151.20 per week (from April 2020) or 90% of weekly earnings if lower
  
  
• The Government has introduced various laws aimed at supporting non standard workers and workers generally. From April 2020, all workers will have the right to a written statement of employment particulars from the first day they start work. The scope of work particulars which must be provided is being increased so there is more information on hours of work and rights to paid leave, plus new information on any probationary period, training entitlements and any benefits available.
  
  
• From April 2020, employees with non standard working hours will have their holiday pay calculated by averaging what they earned in the 52 weeks before the holiday, instead of the 12 weeks.
  
  
• From April 2020, the so called “Swedish derogation” will be repealed. It excludes agency workers from the right to the same pay as directly recruited workers if they have a contract of employment with the agency.
  
  
• From April 2020, all employment termination payments above £30,000 will be subject to employer's NIC
  
  
• In the Queen's Speech in December 2019, the Government announced various new employment laws including: The right for workers to request a more stable contract; Extended redundancy protections to prevent pregnancy and maternity discrimination; Extended leave for neonatal care; One week's additional leave for unpaid carers; Flexible working by default, unless employers have a good reason not to allow this.
  
  
• The Government has published guidance for employers on addressing gender pay gaps: 'Eight ways to understand your gender pay gap' and 'Four steps to developing a gender pay gap action plan'.
  
  
• The Government has published 'Protecting and Enhancing Worker Rights after the UK Withdrawal from the European Union' to put into effect its commitment "not to reduce the standards of workers' rights from EU law retained in UK law'.
  
  
• The European court has decided that employers must keep records of hours worked by their workers in order to meet their obligations under the Working Time Directive. The Working Time Regulations do not require employers to do this, so they are going to have to be changed to introduce this obligation, which is new for businesses and may involve changes for their business practices
  
  
• Employers who need to support employees who are pregnant or have recently returned to work after giving birth will find Guidance from the TUC and the charity, Maternity Action, helpful, called 'Pregnancy, Breastfeeding and Health and Safety" Click here to access.
  
  
• Commons Select Committee says Government must end cover-up culture over discrimination and harassment cases Click here for more details. It has also proposed radical changes to the way in which rights under the Equality Act 2010 are enforced. It says the burden of enforcement should shift from individuals to the Equality and Human Rights Commission Click here for more details. Related to this is new guidance on non disclosure agreements issued by the Law Society. Find it here
  
  
  
  
  

Settlement agreements and compromise agreements, grievances, age discrimination, employment tribunal claims and defences, disciplinaries, redundancy, unfair dismissal, maternity rights, race discrimination, employment contracts, victimisation, disability discrimination and adjustments, transfers of undertakings, sex discrimination, policies and procedures, sexual orientation discrimination, pay problems, working time and holiday entitlements, equal pay, restrictive covenants, Equality Act... Employment solicitors Abingdon. Employment solicitor Didcot. Employment law solicitor Oxford and Oxfordshire.