Key Pieces Of Employment Legislation Relevant To The Legal Environment

HOW AN EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT MAY TERMINATE AT COMMON LAW

Not all persons who perform work for others are employees. It is critical for employers to identify which individuals who work for them are employees in order to be aware of the extent of their obligations towards their workforces.

A number of key pieces of legislation containing employment law rights apply only to “employees”, as defined in the relevant legislation. An example of this is the right to claim unfair dismissal. Other pieces of employment legislation apply to a much wider category of worker, who is generally referred to in the relevant legislation as “workers”. One example of this is the right to paid holiday under the Working Time Regulations 1998. Others who perform work

However, if an employee resigns in response to a fundamental breach of their contract of employment by their employer they will still be treated as having been dismissed. This is known as constructive dismissal. To establish a constructive dismissal, the employee will need to show that the employer has committed a serious breach of contract, that they resigned in response to that breach and that they did not waive the breach by delaying too long before resigning. Common examples of situations which could give rise to a claim for constructive dismissal are where an employer unilaterally reduces an employee’s remuneration package or changes their

A recent Court of Appeal decision gave important guidance on the use and effect of compromise agreements. The case held that in order to be effective in settling statutory complaints, the compromise agreement should contain a brief factual description as to the circumstances leading up to the compromise agreement, and also refer to the specific claims being compromised. Further, the waiver in this type of agreement will only be effective if the agreement complies with certain statutory requirements. The most important requirement is that the employee must take advice on the terms and effect of the agreement from an independent legal adviser (who must be identified in the agreement). In addition to the waiver of claims, it is possible to include a variety of other provisions such as a term requiring the employee to maintain confidentiality about the severance terms; a term prohibiting the employee from making critical or derogatory statements about the employer; a term requiring the employer to provide a reference in respect of the employee; and terms imposing restrictions on the activities which the employee can pursue after the termination of