Indirect age discrimination is where a policy that is applied to all employees negatively affects people in a certain age group. An indirectly discriminatory policy can be justified if it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. A legitimate aim of saving costs, on its own, is not enough to justify a discriminatory policy.
If an employee wins their unfair dismissal claim, a tribunal can order compensation. They also have the power to order reinstatement (to the old job) or reengagement (to a comparable job). A tribunal might not make such an order if it is not ‘practicable’, for example if the relationship between employer and employee has broken down completely. But what happens when a tribunal orders reengagement but the employer refuses – can the employee force the employer to reengage them?
Discrimination arising from disability happens when an employer treats an employee unfavourably because of something that arises because of their disability (and which cannot be objectively justified). However, an employer will not be liable if they didn’t know the employee was disabled and could not reasonably have been expected to know.
Our lives are moving more online and sadly this has resulted in a rise in financial scams. A recent poll of over 2000 individuals by YouGov and Lloyds Bank found 10% of them had been the victim of a financial scam. Property transactions are particularly vulnerable, with high values involved and often time is of the essence. There are numerous cases where solicitors and sellers have been duped into sending the sales proceeds to fraudsters, or buyers have paid the purchase money to someone who was not the real owner.
Locking in your key employees is always a balancing act between work life balance, remuneration packages and showing employees they are valued and part of the very fabric of the organisation.
One of the most effective ways of imbedding employees into your business is through capital ownership, which provides a shared goal towards exit and increasing value.
This is a powerful way to tell a key employee of their value to the business and can create an “in this together” attitude.
Such a structure creates rewards for all on a fair basis through the eventual sale of the business.
One of the most popular types of employee share option schemes with SMEs is enterprise management incentives (‘EMI’).
EMI schemes are a popular way of attracting and retaining employees and they can provide significant tax benefits.
Continue ReadingBack in 2000, legislation was introduced to ensure individuals who operated as independent contractors but who worked like employees, paid broadly the same tax and national insurance contributions as employees. The ‘off-payroll working rules’ are commonly referred to as IR35. With around 900,000 contractors operating in this way, this legislation affected a not insignificant part of the workforce.
What do Riverford, the organic vegetable box company, Richer Sounds, the hi-fi chain and Turleys, the planning consultancy have in common? Well, as from May 2019, they are or are about to become employee owned businesses with Julian Richer being the latest business owner to announce he is transferring 60% of his shareholding into an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).
Proselytising is where someone preaches about religion with a view to converting other people to that religion. The Court of Appeal has recently examined when a dismissal for proselytising can be fair.
The Court of Appeal has decided that it is not discriminatory for an employer to pay men on shared parental leave less than birth mothers on statutory maternity leave. The Court of Appeal looked at the issue in a series of joined cases, including Hextall v Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police. In all the cases, men claimed direct or indirect discrimination for being paid less for shared parental leave than a woman on maternity leave.
A company voluntary arrangement (CVA) is a process that allows a distressed company to pay back its creditors over a fixed period of time. The company may negotiate to pay a proportion of the debt owed to the creditors as opposed to the whole amount thereby reducing its debts.
In order for a company to enter a CVA, 75% of the company’s creditors who vote at the creditors’ meeting must approve the CVA. Once in place, all unsecured creditors are bound by the terms of the CVA.
Is a CVA right for my business?
As with all insolvency processes there are advantages and disadvantages to a CVA.
A successful CVA can allow a company to restructure its cost bases or make any other necessary changes to improve its financial position while continuing to trade.
It is important to note that CVAs are not binding on secured or preferential creditors (such as employee wages or banks with security). There is also no automatic moratorium preventing creditors from taking action during the application process (unlike with Administration), so a CVA proposal may prompt creditors to consider a more formal insolvency process.
It is important to seek advice to see if a CVA is right for your business.
The process
There are strict procedural requirements and time scales that must be complied with when applying to enter into a CVA. The CVA must be supervised by an insolvency practitioner (IP). The IP plays a key role in the application process.
For a proposed CVA to stand a chance of success it is essential that you seek early professional advice.
Get in touch if your business is experiencing financial difficulties and you would like to explore whether a CVA could assist. We regularly advise companies and IPs in relation to CVAs including, drafting documentation, attending creditors’ meetings , advising on any modifications put forward by creditors or any objections. We also assist clients where a CVA proposal has been unsuccessful or where a CVA has failed.
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