Posts from the ‘Unfair dismissal’ Category
The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order (Northern Ireland) 2012 has set new compensation limits for redundancies and unfair dismissals in Northern Ireland. The new limits came into force on 1 February 2013.
The limit on a week’s pay, used to calculate redundancy payments or for unfair dismissal compensation, has gone up to £450 from £430. The maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal claims has risen from £72,300 to £74,200.
Minimum basic awards have also been raised. They have risen to £5,500 from £5,300 for unfair dismissal or selection for redundancy on grounds related to union membership or activities, as well as dismissals for health and safety cases, and those concerning employee representatives and trustees of occupational pension schemes.
If the dismissal occurs before 1 February 2013, the old limit still applies even if compensation is awarded after that date.
Unlimited compensation continues to apply to discrimination claims, the compensatory award for whistleblowing and protected health and safety dismissals.
As a result of the current economic climate, the last few years have seen a sharp rise in redundancies. Only last week Ulster Bank Limited announced that they will be making a further 350 redundancies in Northern Ireland – see here for the story.
The rise in redundancies has in turn seen an increase in the number of people who need advice on a compromise agreement. Employers are increasingly using compromise agreements, especially in a redundancy situation, to avoid any potential future litigation as a result of bringing the employment to an end by offering some sort of financial settlement in return for the employee agreeing not to sue. It can be daunting when handed a legal document by an employer that looks complicated and full of legal jargon. Plus, if you’re being asked to enter into a compromise agreement, you’ll need to get advice from an independent solicitor to explain what the document means if it is to become legally binding. So what is a compromise agreement? Read more
The annual increase in Tribunal compensation limits and new rates of benefits…
12/01/2012
Mark Jackson
Industrial Tribunal compensation limits
The annual increase in Tribunal compensation limits will take effect for dismissals occurring on or after 1 February 2012. The maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal will increase from £68,400 to £72,300, and the maximum amount of a week’s pay (for calculating the unfair dismissal basic award and statutory redundancy pay) will increase from £400 to £430 per week.
Statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay and statutory sick pay
On 9 April 2012, the lower rate of statutory maternity pay, and the rates of statutory adoption, paternity and additional paternity pay, will increase from £128.73 per week to £135.45 per week. Statutory sick pay will increase from £81.60 to £85.85 per week.
In our last post, Social Media and Employment, we commented that if employers are to implement a social media policy then it needs to fit with their business. We finished off by saying that such a policy needs to be interpreted properly, and that the employer still needs to act reasonably.
We looked at the risks of not having a properly prepared social media policy, and in turn the reasons why employers should have such a policy, in our post Social Media in the workplace – do you have a policy?
However, simply having a policy in place isn’t necessarily going to avoid the risks identified in that post. Employers must still act reasonably in enforcing a policy. The case of Stephens -v- Halfords plc earlier this year demonstrates the point (see xPert HR for the summary) – a Facebook page criticising the employer was not held to justify dismissal. Read more
As we’ve just started blogging, an article on the use of social media and how employers should try to regulate it seems an apt place to start!
The use of social media has risen dramatically in the last few years. Not that long ago not many people had heard of Facebook, Linked In, Twitter and the like – but these sites are now used everywhere, 24/7, by very many people – more so as they are accessible all the time from mobile phones. Can you be sure your employees aren’t using such sites whilst at work? Do you know what they may be posting on such sites that could adversely affect your business? Have you taken any steps to regulate the use of such sites by employees whilst at work? Read more
Northern Ireland Law 