New regulations designed to improve standards in business could lead to more directors being disqualified. The measures, which came into force on 1 October, state that the Secretary of State can seek to have a director of a limited company disqualified if they: • breach laws or regulations • have been convicted of a company
Temporary workers have the right to be informed of vacancies at the company employing them but that doesn’t automatically entitle them to be interviewed for any particular post. Employers are also justified in giving preference to permanent employees who are facing the threat of redundancy. Those were the findings of the Employment Appeal Tribunal in
Machins Solicitors LLP are pleased to announce that they have been recommended in The Legal 500 2015 United Kingdon in the following eight practice areas: South East Corporate and commercial – Corporate and commercial – Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx South East Dispute resolution – Commercial litigation – Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx South East Dispute resolution
A woman who said she earned less than male colleagues at a boarding school and was verbally abused by pupils has won her claim of sex discrimination. Hannah Miller worked as a science technician at Tonbridge School in Kent. She claimed that a man doing the same job as her was paid more yet she
A firm that entered into a contract before the final details were agreed has ended up losing all its assets. The case involved a firm that wanted to buy a property but could not raise the purchase price. It entered into an agreement with a company that would lend it both the deposit and purchase
A company that sacked an employee who made abusive comments on Facebook and claimed he’d been drinking on duty had not acted unfairly. That was the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal in the case of Scottish Canals and one of its employees. The issue arose after the employee posted comments that he had been
The government is planning to appoint a Small Business Commissioner to help firms tackle late payment problems and unfair practices carried out by larger companies. The move comes after research by Bacs showed that small and medium-sized businesses are owed a total of £26.8 billion in overdue payments and that £10.8 billion is spent per
A businessman has failed in his attempt to overturn an injunction preventing him from competing with his former company and trying to poach its customers. The court heard that the businessman had been both a director and a shareholder of the company until 2013 when his employment was terminated. He sold back his shares and
The summer holiday season is drawing to a close. Employees have exhausted their holiday entitlement and are counting down to Xmas. Employers finally get a break from juggling workloads and arranging cover – but what about the employees who could not take their holiday because of sickness? Two scenarios that employers can face: 1. Your
A hotel chef has won £11,000 compensation after he was “unfairly dismissed” for biting two police officers during a drunken row. The Employment Tribunal heard that James Harvey was the head chef at a hotel in Guernsey. Last March, he got into an argument with his girlfriend at the hotel and was accused of assaulting