Our Guides & FAQs

Yes, in most instances your employer will pay your legal fees for a settlement agreement.

It is rare for costs orders to be paid in the tribunal and usually each party will be responsible for their own legal fees. In some limited cases the judge can make a costs order however these are rare and reserved for vexatious liability.

It is rare for costs orders to be paid in the tribunal and usually each party will be responsible for their own legal fees. In some limited cases the judge can make a costs order however these are rare and reserved for vexatious liability.

This depends on a number of factors including why you want to return to the office. As a starting point you must comply with any lawful order provided by your employer however other factors may need to be looked at to see whether you might be able to continue working from home.

Redundancy is usually paid on your usual pay date after your termination date however you and your employer can agree a date.

You should carefully consider any settlement agreement offered to you to ensure that you are happy with the same. It is a legal requirement for you to receive legal advice before signing a settlement agreement and if legal advice is not received then the settlement agreement will not be binding. Whether you should accept the offer that your employer has provided is a personal decision for you to discuss with your legal advisor.

As a general principle an employer can require you to take holiday provided that they give you at least twice as many days’ notice before the number of days that they require you to take. You should check your contract to see whether there are other provisions that may affect when you can take your holiday (such as if you are only able to take holiday during school holidays or are not able to take holiday during certain parts of the year)

In the first instance you should discuss the matter with your employer as it might be that they have made a genuine mistake. If you have discussed the matter with your employer and they have not corrected the error you may wish to file a grievance.

Yes. In all instances you should contact ACAS and commence early conciliation before proceeding to a tribunal. You may be concerned about the time limit to bring a claim in the Tribunal however ACAS stops the clock in respect of such time limits and you should be awarded at least one month to bring your claim after you have received an early conciliation certificate from ACAS. If you have any concerns in respect of the time limits for bringing your claim you should seek legal advice.

Your first step will be to raise the issue informally with your employer. If your employer is not aware that there is an issue they cannot fix it. If this does not work you may wish to see whether your employer has a grievance procedure, if they do you should follow the steps of the same, if they do not you should consider the grievance procedure provided by ACAS and follow the steps in that.

There is no fee for bringing a claim in the Employment Tribunal however if you require legal advice and assistance with your claim then your legal team are likely to charge you for their time.

Not necessarily. You are entitled to receive a written statement of employment if you are an employee (or a worker who has commenced work after the 6th April 2020). This statement should be provided to you on or before your first day of work and should include your name, your employers name, your start date, the date of your continuous employment, your job title, your employers address, your place of work, your pay, your working hours, your holiday entitlement, the amount of sick leave you are entitled to, any other paid leave, any other benefits, your notice period, how long your job is expected to last (if it is for a fixed term or a temporary job) and probation period, if you are required to work abroad and any training that you must complete. The rules relating to written statements of employment changed on the 6 April 2020 and owing to the amount now required to be included within the same most employers now provide a full contract.

If you have a company grievance procedure you should follow the same and deal with the grievance in line with that policy. If you do not have a company grievance procedure you should consider the ACAS grievance procedure which is the minimum standard expected of employers.

A grievance is a letter or complaint from an employee or worker against their employer.

You must first ascertain whether your employee has been employed for more than two years. If they have they may be able to bring an unfair dismissal claim against you if you do not have a fair reason or a fair procedure. You will also need to consider other matters such as discrimination before proceeding with a dismissal as these could give an employee who has not been employed for two years the right to bring a claim against you.

If your employee has been employed for more than two years then you must have a fair reason to dismiss them. The  fair reasons are set out in the Employment Rights Act and are:

• Illegality
• Capability
• Conduct
• Redundancy
• Some other substantial reason

You should check your contract in the first instance to see whether there are specific requirements in relation to notice. If there are not then employers are required to provide employees with the following notice:-

• If they have been employed for less than a month no notice is required
• If they have been employed for one month to two years then one weeks’ notice
• After two years an employee is entitled to one weeks’ notice for every year that they have worked for you capped at a total of 12 years.

For employees, if the contract does not provide specific requirements in respect of notice you will only be required to provide one weeks’ notice.

You should give your employer a time limit to respond to your grievance (usually 14 days) and if they do not you may wish to contact ACAS to commence early conciliation.

It is good practice to allow an employee the right to appeal and in most cases it is a legal requirement. Not providing your employer the right to appeal can increase any award they may be entitled to in the employment tribunal.