While it is established that employment contracts contain an implied term that employees will serve their employer with good faith and fidelity, it is also true that deciding to set up a competing business in the future and even discussing that idea with friends and family is not sufficient to breach these implied terms.  The case of Customer Systems Plc v Ranson & Others is an example of taking too many preparatory steps.

Mr Ranson incorporated a competing company in 2007 but did not do any real business until he resigned from Customer Systems in 2009.   However, before he left Mr Ranson, in the name of his new company, had pitched for opportunities at a number of Computer Systems’ customers instead of passing on the information to his employer. Mr Ranson had also taken business contact numbers from his company mobile phone and emailed them to himself.

The High Court decided that, even though there were no specific restrictive covenants in Mr Ranson’s contract of employment, these actions were in breach of his implied duties to the company. The Court felt that, even once Mr Ranson had handed in his notice, as he continued working in a sales capacity for Computer Systems, he was obliged to bring sales opportunities to their attention. He was not in a position to use the information that he gathered for his own benefit or the benefit of his new company.

Mr Ranson had also discussed his plans with a colleague, Mr Offland and offered him a job with the new company. The Court felt that if Mr Offland was not obliged to pass on this information and had he done nothing more then he would have been safe from any breach of contract. The court held that an employee who becomes aware of confidential matters relating to competition from a potential new employer is under no obligation to pass this information to his existing employer, as this would mean he would be in breach of confidence to his new employer.  A duty of fidelity to an existing employer would not necessarily defeat a duty of confidence to a new employer.

However, Mr Offland had assisted Mr Ranson in preparing tenders and the Court felt that this breached his contract.

This case illustrates the importance of having effective restrictive covenants in place. Relying on implied conditions is not straightforward.  It is much easier if the contract is clear about what the employee can and cannot do.

Hardwick HR can provide suitable employment contracts for you.

Around 30,000 workers were dismissed when the Woolworths went into administration, but only those working at stores with 20 or more staff will receive an award.  The employment tribunal decided that each shop was a separate establishment for the purposes of the collective consultation provisions and so the obligations to consult were not triggered for the 3000 or so staff employed at the smaller shops. There is likely to be an appeal against this element of the decision.

The tribunal ruled that, despite the scale and urgency of the situation, the administrators left it too late to involve the unions and other workforce representatives. When they did call a consultation meeting insufficient time was allotted and the practical arrangements – with over 50 people joining the meeting on the phone – made it very difficult for proper dialogue to take place.

Since the company is insolvent, the National Insurance Fund will be picking up the bill, and there is statutory cap on payments out of the Fund, so workers are unlikely to receive the full amount due to them.

The government says it is taking things more slowly because economic conditions have made contributions less affordable, but the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) insists it will adhere to the latest timetable regardless of whether the economy improves.

Employer obligations

Under the new laws, employees will be automatically enrolled into a pension scheme with employer contributions if they are aged between 22 and the state pension age, earn at least £8,105 a year, and are not already in a scheme that meets minimum standards.

Once enrolled, employees can opt out. But saving in a pension will be the new default setting for anyone who does not express a choice.

Eventually, the automatic level of contributions must be at least 8% (including 3% from the employer) of the individual’s “qualifying earnings”.  This is earnings, above £5,564 and below £39,853, including overtime and commission.  This means that. The 8% required will always be less than7% of total earnings.

These minimum rates are being phased in from initially 2% to the full amount in October 2018.  Employers can set higher contribution rates if they prefer.

Big employers first

The automatic enrolment regime applies to the largest employers from October 2012.

Progressively smaller employers will then be brought on board month by month until February 2014, when all employers with 250 or more staff will be within scope.

Employers with between 50 and 249 staff will have compliance dates ranging from April 2014 to April 2015, and firms with fewer than 50 employees between June 2015 and April 2017.

The full timetable for auto-enrolment is as follows:

Further information is available on the Pensions Regulator website.

One GP in seven of 250 responding to the survey said they planned to make reception or administrative staff redundant, while others said they would be losing practice nurses, practice managers, specialist business managers and healthcare assistants. Of the two-thirds of GPs who said their practice employed salaried GPs, one in 10 said they would have to make at least one position redundant.

The findings expose severity of the actions required by continuing financial pressures as GPs prepare for a sixth pay squeeze in seven years.

Some practices have replaced nurses with healthcare assistants, reduced staff through natural wastage as people leave or retire, and have partners doing admin work.

PMS practices are being hit particularly hard, with some forced to shed salaried GP posts to cover shortfalls in funding following contract reviews.

The GPC said the findings showed the extent of the strain being placed on practices, and called for more investment in primary care to protect services.

On 6 March Plympton Chamber of Commerce will be meeting at Boringdon Park Golf club, and will be pleased to welcome new members and guests.

Contact the Secretary, Stella Goodman, for further information: Stella@excaliber-ifa.co.uk

Employers have a statutory duty to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees, as far as is reasonably possible, and to create safe working conditions. This duty includes mental health, and an organisation with five or more employees must have a written health and safety policy, including policies on stress, bullying and harassment.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defines stress as an adverse reaction to “excessive pressure or other types of demand”. Stress can turn into acute anxiety and depression, which are clinically recognised medical conditions.

There may be underlying factors such as drugs, alcohol and other conditions such as eating disorders, which may be defined as ‘impairments’ (ref. WHO) and so could be considered a disability under the Equality Act 2010.  In these circumstances, in order to avoid disability discrimination, an employer may need to make reasonable adjustments, such as reducing an employee’s working hours, or re-allocating excessive workload.

The HSE provides guidance on the management of stress.

The government has recently suggested that employment issues should go through mediation channels first, before tribunal claims are made. Mediation, coupled with an early appreciation of stress, its impact and causes, can alleviate a problem without the expectation of an ET award.

I am delighted that the Government is putting so much time and funding into creating real job opportunities for young people. I am not naïve to the political implications of this, but I hope that organisations are using this opportunity to maximise the chances for genuine experience that they give young people, which combined with a related qualification should start them on their chosen road to a career. I fear that some companies see this is a chance to have cheap labour. Clearly for some industries, apprenticeships have never gone away, they just change their name (e.g. hairdressing), but to have legitimate opportunities in such a wide variety of careers is very encouraging.

I am also pleased that apprenticeships are open to everyone, at any age. How many of us have thought about a career change, or have had to consider this following a change in employment circumstances?

I am really encouraged by the possibilities that arise from an increase in apprenticeships, I just hope that education providers and companies see the opportunity for this to redefine the workforce and manage the skills gaps that have been reported in recent months despite the unemployment statistics.

Finally, The CIPD has just released a document about making the most of apprenticeships.

I have also Tweeted some recent links to this topic:

Banks leading the way on apprenticeships.  Makes a change from the bonus discussion!

The Prime Minister is spreading the word for Apprenticeship week.  Are you finding apprentices are working well?

I’m interested in what others think………..

1. Check your employment contracts are up to date. Do they have the correct job titles, salary and holiday entitlements, and also comply with the current legal requirements?
2. Introduce a probationary period for new starters to help you assess a candidate’s suitability for a role. During this period monitor their performance closely and subject them to a shorter notice period during that time.
3. Introduce a social media policy.  Make sure that you have adequate guidance in place to ensure employees understand what you consider to be acceptable use of social media and the penalties they might face if they abuse social networking tools.
4. Review sickness absence policies, particularly if you have an employee on sick leave.  Perhaps it’s time to get medical advice or a new report about their condition.
5. Check the status of your fixed term employees. If you have missed the end date of the fixed term and they are still working for you, there is a risk that they will have become permanent and lost their fixed term status. Also fixed term employees can automatically become permanent employees if they have been employed on successive fixed term contracts over a period of four years.
6. Use your performance management process to support those who need it and carry out a fair dismissal if necessary.  Make sure that you implement the process fully, and follow through with agreed actions.
7. Check your equal opportunities policy is up to date.  Although the length of service required for employees to bring an unfair dismissal claim will increase from one to two years In April 2012, discrimination claims can be brought without a minimum length of service.  You might also consider including training on equal opportunities or anti-bullying and harassment as part of your induction programme or as refresher training for existing employees so they are aware of the implications for them all..
8. Make sure your sickness and holidays policies reflect changes to case law that have allow employees to claim back historic holiday.  Also check your contracts are up to date to ensure you have the most robust wording to defend such claims.
9. Check your arrangements for agency workers are in line with the Agency Worker Regulations (AWR) which came into force in October 2011.