May 27th, 2010
by Chris Sherliker.
HR Expert, David Thompson, has joined Silverman Sherliker to head up Silverman Sherliker Specialist HR Services, a dedicated HR Specialist service
The service will provide front-line HR advice and resources to complement the legal services offered by the firm’s extremely busy employment team.
Innovative Client Benefit
Senior Employment Partner, Nicholas Lakeland, explains how this innovative step will benefit clients:
“Silverman Sherliker can now provide an integrated and complete HR Service thus assisting clients with practical advice and on site assistance whilst also being able to offer Employment Law advice as and when required. Our HR consultants are available to undertake regular weekly or monthly first-line human resources support on a retained basis or to deal with on one-off projects as may be required. The services are flexible and can readily be tailored tosuit a client’s requirements.”
Apr 21st, 2010
by Victoria Russell.
Volcano alert!
All hands to the pump!
etc, etc ……but can travel businesses suddenly ask their staff to work around the clock to cope with the huge upsurge in business?
As the ash clouds from the Icelandic volcano slowly disperse, the rail, road and sea ferry industries have been working at full steam (pun intended) to take advantage of the extra business. This means that employees are suddenly being asked to work greatly extended hours with inevitable legal implications under current employment law.
Nov 4th, 2009
by Chris Sherliker.
Not anymore. Yesterday, Sir Michael Burton made a ground-breaking ruling in the UK Employment Tribunal that the claimant’s “green beliefs” deserved as much protection in the workplace as that accorded to religious views.
But when does a belief become ‘a philosophical belief’ of the kind that may give rise to a discrimination claim?
Nick Lakeland was interviewed live recently on Candian Radio(the Dave Rutherford Show) and you can hear the entire interview here.
Tim Nicholson claimed that he was unfairly made redundant from his position as Head of Sustainability at Grainger (apparently the UK’s largest residential landlord) and that he was discriminated against because of his beliefs about man-made climate change.
Oct 10th, 2009
by Chris Sherliker.
This is a non-exhaustive 50 point checklist designed to help you avoid some very common legal pitfalls and maximise the legal security of your business.
- Make sure that legal ownership assets used in the business are actually owned by the business.
- Get written copyright assignments from designers, authors, software and web developers and appropriate warranties of originality.
- Check the terms and conditions of third party suppliers of services to ensure you legally own any deliverables they create.
- Do not rely on a terminable licence for key business assets; take an assignment or a perpetual royalty-free licence.
Sep 30th, 2009
by Chris Sherliker.
As of Monday, injured feelings will cost UK employers a lot more!
Employees who are unfairly dismissed, particularly in discrimination cases, often get an ‘injury to feelings’ award.
The case establishing the principle was the well-known 2005 case of Vento -v- Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police.
There has been considerable debate since 2005 as to whether an ‘injury to feeling’ award should be index-linked to allow for inflation. Employment Lawyers have assumed they should be and their views have been confirmed in the Employment Appeal Tribunal case of Da’Bell -v- NSPCC which has just been decided in past 2 days.
Sep 16th, 2009
by Chris Sherliker.
Employers should beware.
The compromise agreements they are currently handing out like confetti to departing employees may well not be valid, particularly if the Employee has not had proper independent legal advice.
Compromise agreements are part of everyday life for Employers in this era of mass redundancies because getting the Employee to sign one means that the termination payment is accepted in full and final settlement and the Employer cannot be sued later. In this sense they are there to protect the Employer.
