Common Misunderstandings About Employment Law in England

Given employment law is prone to change, it is easy for employers to misunderstand the law. For example, employment law covers unfair dismissal, unlawful discrimination, employee leave entitlements, and the national minimum wage. Nevertheless, you must be clear about employment law. Otherwise, you could face a claim in an employment tribunal. This article will explain to you, as an employer, some common misunderstandings employers make in employment law in England. 

1. Employers Must Give Their Staff Written Contracts

It is a common misunderstanding that employers must provide their staff with a written contract. However, giving your staff a written employment contract is not a legal requirement. Instead, the law requires you to give your staff a written statement of employment particulars within two months of an employee beginning their employment. 

Under the law, a written statement of particulars has to detail specific information. This includes an employee’s:

• job title;
• hours of work;
• rate of pay;
• entitlement to holiday and how this is calculated; and
• length of notice.

2. Employers Can Easily Dismiss Employees Who They Have Employed for Less Than Two Years

Unfortunately, some employers think they can dismiss their staff without thinking about how they can lawfully do so. However, any employee can claim discrimination regardless of their length of service. Therefore, you should ensure you do not discriminate when dismissing staff.

Unlawful discrimination is when you treat someone less favourably based on either:

• race;
• age;
• disability;
• religion or belief;
• sex;
• sexual orientation;
• maternity or pregnancy;
• gender reassignment; or
• marriage or civil partnership.

When you discriminate based on one of these characteristics when dismissing a staff member, they may have a claim against you for discrimination. Therefore, you must think carefully whenever you dismiss any employee. 

3. No Reasonable Adjustments Are Necessary Unless an Employee Tells Me About Their Disability

Another common misunderstanding amongst employers is that they only have to make reasonable adjustments for their employees when they disclose their disability. However, the law requires you to consider and potentially make reasonable adjustments for your employees where you know or reasonably should know they have a disability. 

Reasonable adjustments are where you make changes to how your employee works. Such adjustments can help reduce or eliminate the disadvantage their disability creates for their job role. 

4. An Employee’s Post-Termination Covenants Fully Protect Their Business 

It is a good idea to consider the need for post-termination covenants in your employees’ employment contracts. These terms help protect your business when your employee leaves since the covenants restrict what your employee can and cannot do to prevent harm to your business. 

However, you must draft restrictive covenants carefully to ensure they are valid and protect your business. This means that they need to be:

• reasonable in the circumstances;
• have a period for the restriction; and
• do not restrict more than is needed to protect a legitimate proprietary interest for your business.

Key Takeaways

Employment law is a vast area of law, so it is easy for you to make mistakes. Nevertheless, rectifying any misunderstandings you have is important to avoid facing an employment claim in an employment tribunal. For example, you should avoid thinking there is a requirement to give every employee a written contract. 

If you need help understanding your obligations as an employer in England, our experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents for a low monthly fee. So call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.

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