Employment law

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

Unauthorised absence policyOur policy statement makes it clear that unauthorised absences will not be tolerated and will be dealt with under the disciplinary procedure. Whilst this may seem obvious, including it in the staff handbook makes the posit... Read more

Season ticket loans policyTravelling to work by public transport is costly and therefore many employers provide season ticket loans. This enables the employee to buy an annual travel ticket paid for by their employer but with the cost then deducted f... Read more

Shift work clauseAs we move towards a 24-hour a day culture, it will become more and more common for employees to undertake shift work. Shift workers don't usually have normal hours of work. Rather, they work hours according to a shift rota and these ... Read more

Retirement clauseOur retirement clause states that you do not operate a normal retirement age and therefore employees will not be compulsorily retired on reaching a particular age. Instead, employees can choose to voluntarily retire whenever they wis... Read more

Flexitime clausePermitting employees to work flexitime boosts morale and commitment and can result in increased productivity and better performance. However, it won't be suitable for all businesses and, even if you do want to introduce such a system, ... Read more