Section 6(1) of the Equality Act 2010 sets out the statutory definition of disability. A person has a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day to day activities. Paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 to the Equality Act deals with recurring conditions. If an impairment stops having a substantial adverse effect, it will be treated as still having that effect if that effect is likely to recur. Likely here means that something ‘could well happen’. The Court of Appeal has looked at recurring conditions recently in a case called Sullivan v Bury Street Capital.
ACAS has issued updated guidance on dismissal and re-engagement, which can be accessed here.
What is dismissal and re-engagement?
Dismissal and re-engagement, also known as “fire and re-hire”, is a common (and legal) method that employers can utilise to implement changes to employees’ terms and conditions of employment. Where employees refuse to expressly agree to a change, or where employers do not have the contractual right to make changes, it is likely that terminating the existing contract on notice and offering continued employment on new terms is an employer’s best option.
We are looking for an experienced and enthusiastic Property Finance Paralegal to join our Property and Construction team. The existing team is friendly, welcoming and hard-working and we are seeking a like-minded individual.
Robin Hastings (pictured below), qualified as a solicitor in 2011 having trained in London and after a spell at a large regional firm in Manchester joined Bermans in December 2015. He is now a Senior Associate in the Corporate department.
Some of you may be aware that Jon Davage is head of our corporate team but did you know he has also contributed a chapter to a book?
Working with our clients, Guy Remond and Ian Brookes from The Start Up Factory, they developed an idea to share their experience of the journey from founder to exit in a tech-based business. They are also involved in Manchester’s first potential “unicorn” business Bankifi.
This is the latest article (and first since 2019) in our series, following the slow but inevitable progress towards a “fixed costs” regime for most civil court disputes involving businesses.
The world of insolvency has been becalmed over the last 18 months as a result of Government support and restrictions on creditor action as part of its response to the Covid 19 pandemic which removed a number of the typical pressure points on directors.
As we head into a new phase of ‘living with the virus’, the support and restrictions are being withdrawn. The furlough scheme ended and some of those restrictions expired on 30 September 2021. From 1 October, the heat was back on or at least partially. There are still some restrictions on creditor action.
Address labour market shortages by becoming an Employer Sponsor.
Bermans specialist Business Immigration team provides professional advice to UK and international businesses and investors.
Since the UK exited the EU there has been substantial changes to the immigration rules and there is an opportunity to recruit people from anywhere in the world.
Read more details about the new UK immigration system here.
The Government launched a consultation on 23 September 2021 regarding proposals to reform the Flexible Working Regulations 2014 to make flexible working the default position.
Currently, an employee has the right to request flexible working arrangements after 26 weeks’ service but the employer can refuse such a request for any of the following reasons:
extra costs that will damage the business
the work cannot be reorganised among other staff
people cannot be recruited to do the work
flexible working will affect quality and performance
the business will not be able to meet customer demand
there is a lack of work to do during the proposed working times
the business is planning changes to the workforce.
As we are moving towards the second anniversary of the pandemic it is worth pausing to reflect that, after some initial reluctance, technology has been quite successfully embraced both by lawyers and also by the courts to keep the system running.
Obviously meetings between lawyers and clients have largely been replaced by virtual contact through Microsoft Teams and Zoom, but virtual contact has now taken a firm foothold in relation to the litigation process.
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This is the latest article (and first since 2019) in our series, following the slow but inevitable progress towards a “fixed costs” regime for most civil court disputes involving businesses.