In association with Clay Shaw Butler, I will be presenting a seminar on recent and upcoming employment law changes on Wednesday 28 September from 2 to 4.30pm in the Cothi Suite, Halliwell Centre, Carmarthen.  Throughout the afternoon there will also be presentations on Sage 2012 and Financial Planning.

Click here to read more or to book your place.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal has decided that a worker who had been on sick leave for an entire leave year and had not taken any holiday was entitled to be paid the full year's unused holiday on the termination of her employment. The employee had not requested holiday during the leave year but that did not mean that she lost the right to payment.

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The Supreme Court has upheld a decision that car valeters, whose contracts described them as self-employed and contained a substitution clause, were in reality employees. It confirmed that, when determining an individual's employment status, employment tribunals may disregard terms included in a written agreement where they do not reflect the genuine agreement of the parties. The focus should be on the "actual legal obligations of the parties".

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The Employment Appeal Tribunal has recently decided that it was not a reasonable adjustment for an employer to have to offer a career break to an employee who was on long term sick leave. Neither was it a reasonable adjustment to require the employer to put forward a proposal for rehabilitative non-productive work that the employee could put to her GP in order to get signed back to work.

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Acas has published guidance for employers on the use of social media in the workplace. It advises employers to introduce a policy on social networking, treat "electronic behaviour" in the same way as "non-electronic behaviour" and to react reasonably to social networking issues by thinking about the likely impact on their business.

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The EAT has recently decided that "lay-over" periods during which a casual driver was required to stay in overnight accommodation between drop-offs and pick-ups was not "time work" for the purposes of the National Minimum Wage Regulations and so did not have to be taken into account when assessing entitlement to the national minimum wage. The driver was not actually working during that period: he was neither "available for work" nor "awake for the purpose of working". This will be good news for haulage companies.

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With another two Pembrokeshire businesses recently investigated for employing illegal immigrants, it is important that businesses are aware of the immigration rules.  The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has launched an improved version of its website, and offers extensive information to employers.  Red Kite Law can assist employers in this respect, to ensure that the right documentation is obtained before employment begins.

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