Redundancy/Unemployment

Social media lends itself to people making comments on the spur of the moment, some of which may be intended as a joke, but are later regretted. But when it relates to your workplace, it can cost you dearly.

It is increasingly becoming a source of friction in employment law, with some recent decisions shedding light on how employees can be caught out.

We asked our legal expert Philip Landau to explain more…

“You may have read about the general issue before – how the posting of adverse comments relating to your work can get you into trouble.

But with a string of recent cases, some of which have reached the employment tribunals, there is a potent reminder of the perils of posting about your workplace or colleagues on Facebook and other social media sites, especially where this is in clear breach of your employer’s social media policy. Continue reading “Could You Lose Your Job Because of Something You Post on a Social Media Site?” »

This guest post comes from experienced career consultant Simon North, Founder of Position Ignition and creator of the Career Ignition Club. Here he looks at the range of thoughts and emotions that come with being made redundant.

“Redundancy is horrible; it is also a fact of life and it’s happening to more and more people with more and more regularity. It’s just a part of our changing world and it is the acceleration of change that is impacting on employment. So what is it that we can do to help ourselves if we’re affected by redundancy? These 10 steps will help you to deal with redundancy.

If redundancy is a shock to you, you are going to recoil from that, and dip into the classic stages of change, which will mean that you move from shock to denial. Whether your redundancy has been quick and came out of the blue, or whether it’s been a slow burn through a long period of time, you are likely to go through those emotions. You have to get through it. We always do but the sooner you can focus on what’s important to you, the sooner you will move on. Continue reading “10 Steps to Dealing with Redundancy” »

It is usual for employers to insert clauses (especially into senior employees’ contracts) which seek to restrict an ex-employee’s conduct post-termination. It is also, however, becoming more and more common for employers to put these into the contracts of junior employees. But what are they?

We asked our legal expert Philip Landau to explain…

“The types of post termination restrictive covenants which you may find in your employment contract are:

• Non- Competition Clause – This seeks to prevent you from working for a competitor in a similar role to the one you previously held, and also prevents you from setting up a competing business.
• Non-Solicitation Clause – This imposes a duty not to approach your ex-employer’s customers or prospective customers. Usually, this is with specific reference to those customers you had direct dealings with for the 12 month period prior to your termination date.
• Non-Dealing Clause – This is more onerous than a non-solicitation clause in that it prevents you from dealing with your ex-employer’s customers whether you encourage them or not. So if they approach you, the restriction would bite in the same way as it would by you soliciting them.
• Non-Poaching Clause – This aims to prevent you from taking key employees with you to your new employment or business

In order to be enforceable, the restrictive covenants will need to prevent you from one of the above activities for a set period of time after termination of your employment (usually 6, but sometimes 3 or 12 months).

Whether such clauses are actually enforceable against you will depend upon the particular circumstances of the case. However, the following principles will usually be taken into account:

• The clause must not be any more restrictive on the employee than is reasonably necessary in the particular circumstances to protect the employer’s business. If the clause is too restrictive then it is likely to be struck out as unenforceable by the Courts. For example, if a clause seeks to restrict your dealing with “all clients”, this is likely to be too wide and therefore unenforceable. If the clause, however, only seeks to restrict those clients that you have had a “material” dealing with in the 12 months prior to your termination, then this is likely to be upheld.
• Your employer must be able to show that they have a legitimate business interest which requires protection. They cannot simply seek to restrict an employee competing against them just for the sake of it after they have left. They need to be able to show the employee’s potential actions could have a detrimental effect on their business.
• What is reasonable will depend upon the employee’s position within the business. For example, it will be more reasonable to seek to restrict the actions of senior employees who are regularly in contact with the customers and contacts of the business than it will be to seek to restrict the actions of the office junior.

If you do have restrictive covenants in your contract, your options post-termination can be severely limited. This could leave you unable to start work with a new employer for the period of time set out in the agreement. This is usually six months but can sometimes be for a period of up to 12 months.

You may decide to ignore the restrictions when you leave and go and work for the employer of your choice, and taking your clients and contacts with you. You would, however, run the risk of your old employer issuing legal proceedings against you to enforce the restrictive covenants. They could even have grounds for seeking an injunction restraining both you and your new employer from being in breach of the covenant.

Such applications are rare, but you should nevertheless not recklessly breach your covenants without first taking professional advice. It could otherwise prove very costly.”

Jobsite have partnered with specialist employment law solicitor Philip Landau, to bring you expert advice on your rights in all key areas of your working life. As a Jobsite user you are also entitled to receive a free initial consultation on all employment law issues from Philip. Philip can help with a number of legal problems; perhaps you feel your employer isn’t following their legal responsibilities, you believe you have been dismissed unfairly or you are unsure about clauses in your contract. Once he knows your specific situation he can let you know what your rights are and what action you can take. To get in touch with Philip, click the link below and he will contact you to discuss your situation in more detail. Philip Landau is a solicitor and partner, specialising in employment law, in the London legal firm Landau Zeffertt Weir.

Click here to here to contact Philip

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The information and any commentary on the law on this web site is provided free of charge for information purposes only. Every reasonable effort is made to make the information and commentary accurate and up to date, but no responsibility for its accuracy and correctness, or for any consequences of relying upon it, is assumed by either Jobsite or Landau Zeffertt Weir. The information and commentary does not, and is not intended to, amount to legal advice to any person on a specific case or matter. You are strongly advised to obtain specific, personal advice from a solicitor about your case or matter and not to rely on the information or comments on this site.

With an in-tray full of applications an employer will spend approximately 20 seconds casting an eye over each one. You have to be sure that in those 20 seconds your cover letter has sufficient impact to make the reader want to know more about you.

A covering letter builds upon the information you provided in your CV, it is a focussed sales pitch stating clearly in simple language just why this company should employ you. All of its contents should reaffirm to the reader that you are the right person for that job.

Do your research

Before you sit down to write your letter do some research on the company and into the role to which you are applying. The easiest way to do this is on the Internet. Be sure you know exactly what the company does and how they are placed amongst their competitors.

Try to gauge what the company’s business plan is. For example if they have spent a lot of money on a flashy website they could be hoping to expand more into online sales. As accurately as you can try to, know exactly what will be expected of you should you get the job. For example what are the duties of a marketing manager and what qualities they should posses?

Carrying out research shows to the employer that you have initiative and that you are genuinely interested in the company, it will also allow you to use style and terminology that is appropriate to the audience. For example the company may be relaxed or very formal, new or established, rapidly expanding or in the doldrums.

If you are applying for an advertised position make sure that the job advert is in front of you and refer to it frequently.

Addressing your covering letter

It is imperative that you address your letter carefully. After spending time wording it to perfection you do not want it to be directed to the wrong person or to go astray.

If you are applying for an advertised vacancy there is probably a contact name on that advert, and so address your letter to that person.

If you are writing to a company for a job when they have not advertised a vacancy, the chances are that unless you have contacts on the inside you will not know the name of the person you need to write to. In this case you can address your letter to the manager of the specific departments to which you are applying, for example Marketing Manager, Sales Manager, otherwise you can send it to the Human Resources Manager or Recruitment Manager. Visit the company’s website and see if you can track down the name of a relevant recipient. Alternatively give the company a call and ask for the name of the head of department to which you are applying.

You should make sure that the recipient’s name, department and address details on the envelope are the same as at the top of the letter.

Beginning the letter

• Dear Mr Coxon – If you know the name of the person to whom you are writing
• Dear Ms Chambers – If you are not sure of the marital status of the female recipient
• Dear Sir/Madam – If you are in totally in the dark as to the name of the recipient

What content to include in your cover letter

The opening paragraph should be short and hard-hitting. Begin with an arresting sentence in which you explain why it is you are writing, for example ‘I would like to be considered for the position of Marketing Manager’.

If you are applying for an advertised position then say where you saw the advert, ‘ In response to the Marketing Manager job vacancy advertised in ‘Marketing Weekly’. If someone referred you to your contact, mention your friend’s referral in this section. Continue reading “How to Write a Covering Letter” »