Articles by ‘Richard White’

The Good Work Plan outlines some “progressive” proposals to reform employment law within the UK. A number of the recommended policy changes would introduce laws that should afford employees and workers additional and extended protections during their working lives.

In April 2017 the public sector became subject to new “off-payroll working rules”. The government intends to extend these rules to the private sector with effect from 6 April 2020, and has recently entered into a period of consultation.

One of a company’s biggest assets is its knowledge, including secret formulas, bespoke selling methods, customer lists, software algorithms and designs.

25 May is nearly upon us, and there are only 3 working days left for you to finalise your preparations for GDPR, which will affect all businesses, including organisations in the health and social care sector. But what are the key points that you should be thinking about if you are in the care sector?

The reality is that all employees are likely to suffer with their mental health during the course of their working lives; as they juggle work alongside their ever changing personal and family commitments.

In an important decision this month, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has confirmed that calculating holiday pay for part-time or term-time workers based on the established calculation of 12.07% of annualised hours is not correct. Going forward, this ruling could also affect the way holiday pay is calculated for casual and zero hours workers, as well as employees with variable or irregular hours.

Employers are by now aware of the Supreme Court’s judgment of 26 July 2017, which declared employment tribunal fees unlawful. However, the Government’s plan to repay all Employment Tribunal and Appeal Employment Tribunal fees since their introduction in 2013 has remained unreported until now.

10 October 2017 marks World Mental Health Day. This year’s theme is workplace wellbeing; in that spirit, we wish to highlight why mental health awareness in the workplace is important and what you can do to support workplace wellbeing.

In an eventful week for UK employment law, the Government’s press release on sleep-in shift pay in the social care sector comes hot on the heels of Tribunal fees being scrapped. This announcement marks a significant step to protect the viability and sustainability of the social care sector.

A manufacturing company consulted RWK Goodman in relation to a restructuring of its production process. We supported the company through the restructure, from the planning stage through to the end of the implementation process.

Withy King prepared employment contracts for a pharmaceutical business. An employee of the business suffered a nasty injury when she was on holiday and had to take several months off work. During this period of time the business paid the employee her full sick pay, and also paid an agency to cover the employee’s absence. The employee was able to bring a personal injury claim against the holiday company in respect of the injury that she suffered.

Our client is a specialist veterinary practice. A senior vet left his employment and joined a competing business. He tried to take several high value clients with him.