News & Legal Updates

I overheard a discussion in the office kitchen the other day which got me to thinking about the legal implications of temperature.  Two of my colleagues were chatting about the temperature and asking why the central heating hadn’t yet been fired up… in September.  We were indeed spoiled by an unseasonably hot summer.   Now that … Continue reading "Four Seasons in One Day – Legal implications of being cauld at work"

The recent news story of Serena Williams wearing a catsuit at the French Open, and the subsequent response by the President of the French Tennis Federation, raises the interesting question of whether an employer can mandate what its employees wear to work.

Blackadders Employment Lawyer Jack Boyle discusses what can happen if you make inappropriate, discriminatory or offensive posts on social media in his latest blog.

Here are the seven deadly sins of employment law for business owners and HR professionals.

Companies like Apple, Nike and Nestle heavily rely on their logo and products to differentiate themselves from their competitors within the market. These logos and brands are a type of intellectual property known as trademarks which offer certain protections to the owners of the trademarks. 

Companies House have recently been successful in prosecuting the first person for deliberately providing false information to them.  Leaving aside any questions of whether Mr Brewer was right to exploit a loophole, or if Companies House has been overzealous in prosecuting, it serves as a timely reminder to those involved in companies that filings should … Continue reading "Not Such a Cleverly Clogs Ltd"

Employers will be aware that they cannot dismiss or subject to detriment any worker who has made a protected disclosure (a whistleblower).  Since the 12-month cap on unfair dismissal compensation was introduced, many employees are including whistleblowing elements to their unfair dismissal claims.  The reason for this is that there is no cap on the … Continue reading "I’ve got 99 problems…but a SNITCH ain’t one! Whistleblowing – meaning of protected disclosure."

The foursome are back for the finale of Season 3! Duncan, Jack, Ruth and Simon all answer a question from Bruce Clark Printers "How do I stop employees from swearing?"...

Simon, Jack and Duncan are in "high spirits" as they answer a question from DM Roofing "Tell me how you deal with an employee who prefers gin to their job?".  The employment lawyers discuss what an employer should do and how to differentiate between sickness and misconduct. They use real case examples and give their  3 essential take away tips.

I often ponder the value of job references that state the bare bones: – “Joe Bloggs worked for us between 2009 and 2018.  He was employed as a magician.  Our company policy is to say nothing more than this, though this is not to be construed as any negative inference against the candidate.”  How useful … Continue reading "Check-ity check yourself before you wreck your reference. Job references and negligent misstatement."