Adrian Fryer
Employees do not have a free choice of companion. Section 10 ERA 1999 limits the statutory right to:
Adrian Fryer
In most cases, employees continue to accrue statutory holiday entitlement while on sick leave, even if they are off work for long periods.
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A recent Employment tribunal judgment provides a good case study for employers of what not to do when dismissing an employee for gross misconduct. In Langton v Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue, Mr Langton, an experienced firefighter, was summarily dismissed for gross misconduct after making a “misogynistic” comment saying a woman he rescued looked ‘haggard for her age’. The employment tribunal found that the dismissal was unfair.
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Handling appeals can feel like revisiting ground you would rather leave behind. However, from a legal perspective, offering an appeal is not optional in most cases – it is a fundamental part of a fair dismissal process.
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Last month, the Government released its latest ‘name and shame’ list of employers who failed to pay national minimum wage to their workers. On the list were high profile names including Costa, Bupa, and Hovis. This potentially reputationally damaging naming and shaming process sits alongside fines of up to 200% of the value of the underpayment. Paying national minimum wage incorrectly can be costly in more ways than one.
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April marks the month each year where changes to statutory rates come into force. Most rate changes take effect from 6th April (to align with the start of the new tax year).
The statutory rates for family leave, sick pay, redundancy and the cap on unfair dismissal compensatory awards are, from 6th April 2026, as follows:
Continue ReadingWork has started to create a new five-court padel venue in Southport which is scheduled to open in June.
Site clearance and groundworks are under way at the six-figure Birkdale Padel Club development in Victoria Park, which is the first project by Sefton Padel.
Continue ReadingThe Renters’ Rights Act introduces the most significant tenancy reform in decades, with major changes coming into force from 1 May 2026.
For landlords, understanding these reforms now is essential to staying compliant, protecting assets, and avoiding costly pitfalls.
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Charlotte Mills (pictured), joined Bermans in March 2024 and is a partner in our Corporate team. We spoke to her to learn more about her and her work.
Continue ReadingExperience suggests that the issue of fraud in invoice finance remains a persistent problem. Inherent in the operation of the sale of receivables is the temptation for unscrupulous or desperate directors to create ‘fresh air’ invoices, which do not represent the product of any genuine trading (or sometimes which exaggerate the extent of otherwise genuine trading), whether from the start of the facility or during times of poor trading.
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