today's advice
"Spare some change?" Recent case law on amending terms and conditions
Dear Aunty, Back in 2008 our business was struggling and we had to cut everyone’s pay by 10% to avoid making redundancies. This was quite a painful process but in the end most staff accepted it. Unfortunately, it now looks like we are going to have to do the same again as the past six months have been particularly bad for us as customer orders have plummeted as a result of the crisis in the Eurozone. We would still rather cut pay than make redundancies. To complicate matters, six months ago we acquired another business under a TUPE transfer. I know there have been some cases over the last year or so about changing terms and conditions of employment but I am not sure how they have affected what we intend to do. Please can you give the low down so I am up to date for when we do this in the spring?
more ...

today's top tips
Third party harassment: more than just a nuisance claim?
Many employers face allegations of harassment after the Christmas period. Recently we have seen a trend of employers facing complaints that they have not done enough to prevent harassment by third parties, such as clients or contractors. If one of your staff is harassed by a client, are you liable?
more...

today's news
Cases to watch our for in 2012
In December, employment partner Mark Watson spoke at the last Fox Williams hrlaw seminar of the year about some important court and employment tribunal decisions to look out for in 2012. This article summarises the main cases to watch out for this year covering:

• Age discrimination
• Disability discrimination
• Transfer of undertakings
• Holidays
• Vicarious liability

more...

hr focus
Government proposals on employment law reform: Has Vince Cable snapped?
Many employers feel that it is all too easy for an unhappy employee to bring a claim in the Employment Tribunal. It is free to start proceedings in the Tribunal, the claim form is available online and is relatively easy to complete, there is an abundance of free employment law advice for claimants, and even if the employee eventually loses his claim he doesn't need to worry about paying the other side's legal fees. The effect is particularly damaging for SMEs because claims often require senior management to give up large amounts of time preparing for and then attending the Tribunal hearing.
more...