Tag Archives: Philip Landau

This post is from our legal expert Philip Landau, as he looks at the serious and often delicate subject of harassment and bullying in the workplace. What behaviour fits the description, and what can you do about it?

“People may not automatically think of a football pitch as a workplace, however Luis Suarez’ recent violent conduct against an opposition Chelsea player in a Premier league game was “workplace violence” at its worse. Suarez received a 10 match ban for his conduct, the equivalent of a workplace suspension.

Whilst this is an extreme example of what many will have experienced as an employee, it is important to note that violence does not only amount to physical assault. There are other behaviours in the workplace such as bullying and harassment, which are still considered to be violence against a person, namely: Continue reading “Workplace Violence – it isn’t always Physical, so what can you do about Bullying and Harassment?” »

There are a lot of employment law changes coming into force this year.

Many of the changes are as a result of the implementation of The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill (the “Bill”), which has been championed by business secretary, Vince Cable and expected to be in force by this summer. The government’s aim was to “remove unnecessary business burdens and obstacles to growth”. So, how have they gone about this?

We asked our legal expert Philip Landau to tell us more about the changes…

Protected conversations

The Bill will provide that an employer, who commences a conversation with an employee with a view to terminating his or her employment under a settlement agreement, can do so without the employee being able to rely on the details of the conversation as evidence in an unfair dismissal claim. So, your employer will be able to take you to one side and “out of the blue” have an open discussion with you in which you are offered a sum to leave – and it is that discussion that becomes “protected” and not able to be used in future tribunal proceedings. It is different to the present position in that such protection only applies where a formal dispute has already arisen (such as a prior performance improvement plan, or disciplinary proceedings).

The aim of the new legislation is clear; it is to help employers facilitate an early exit of under-performing staff without the necessity of going through a lengthy process.

The provision will be limited to standard unfair dismissal claims only; it will not apply, for example, to discrimination cases or other types of claim. Continue reading “It’s all Change for Employment Law in 2013, But How Will You be Affected?” »

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.

The winter weather forecast is not good. Snow has already arrived in certain parts of the country and forecasters are predicting it could be a harsh winter.

The chances are that at some point this winter you may be struggling to get to work, and many workers will simply not be able to make it in – even though it’s through no fault of their own.

So what are your employment rights if you are unable to make it to work? Are you still entitled to be paid, and could you even be disciplined?

We put the questions to our legal expert, Philip Landau…

Do I have a right to be paid?

Some employers will have ‘bad weather’ policies so it is worth checking this in the first instance. A generous employer may provide for you to still be paid if bad weather genuinely stops you from making it into work, or there may be a collective agreement in place covering this position. In the absence of such a policy, you are at the whim of your employer as to whether your pay is docked if you do not turn up for work.

Can I suggest alternatives to my employer?

Yes. In fact the advisory conciliation service, ACAS has long recommended the following:

• You could offer to make up lost hours by working additional unpaid overtime or different shift-patterns.
• You could also offer to work from home which is especially feasible where you are able to log into computer systems remotely or where you work involves a lot of telephone use.
• If there is a faster direct route to work which is more expensive than usual, you could invite your employer to meet this additional cost if they insist you should be there.

Employers are not obliged to agree to any of the above.

What if I can manage to get to work, but school closures prevent me from doing so due to child care issues?

Although you would have the right to unpaid leave if you had to arrange emergency childcare arrangements, there is no right to actually be paid in these circumstances. Your employer may still be prepared to pay you for your time off if you can work from home or you agree to make up the hours.

Can my employer force me to take a day off as holiday?

Yes. The general position is that your employer may require you to take annual leave on particular days by giving the appropriate notice. The law states that you must be given warning that is the equivalent of twice the length of the leave. Such notice should specify the day or days on which leave is required to be taken and such notice must be at least twice the period of leave it requires the worker to take. Continue reading “Can’t get to work because of the snow? Your employer may decide not to pay you, so what are your employment rights?” »