Employment law

Reference replyIf you're asked to provide a reference to a future employer for an employee or ex-employee, consider providing a basic reference only using our reference reply. This limits your exposure to possible negligence claims.Provision of refere... Read more

Overtime and time off in lieu clauseIf you require an employee to work overtime hours from time to time, use our overtime and time off in lieu clause. It's then up to you whether you are going to pay overtime payments, grant time off in lieu or give n... Read more

Warning/final warning of poor performanceFollowing a review meeting, if you want to formally warn the employee about their performance, you will need to issue a performance warning. This should give the employee a reasonable period of time in which to... Read more

Staff handbook introductionWhere you put a number of our policies and procedures together to form a staff handbook, it's common for that handbook to have a short introduction covering what it is, its legal status and the provisions for varying its ter... Read more

Invitation to nominate as employee representative in redundancy situationsThe law imposes far-reaching obligations on employers to notify and consult with appropriate representatives about proposed collective redundancies. Where there is no recognise... Read more

Failure to return from holiday letterIf an employee fails to return from holiday on time and you're unable to make contact with them by telephone to establish what's going on, write asking them to clarify whether or not they have resigned and, if not, ... Read more

Letter advising of NMW rate increase (due to age)The national minimum wage (NMW) is paid according to an employee's age. So a birthday can mean that they're entitled to a present from you in the shape of a pay rise! You should always write to them abou... Read more

Fire safety policyA fire safety policy is a document that outlines how you intend to manage the risks associated with fire. It shouldn't be a complicated document and should be available for all staff and visitors to see.A statement of intentOur Fire ... Read more

TUPE employee liability information request letterOn a TUPE transfer, the transferor is obliged to notify to the transferee in writing the "employee liability information" of any employee who is assigned to the undertaking that is the subject of the tr... Read more

Long service awards policyOur long service awards policy enables you to reward your staff for their loyalty and experience. Extra annual leave is always a popular reward amongst employees. However, you will need to show that your business needs justi... Read more