Legal Jargon

Unwanted behaviour of a discriminatory nature that an individual finds offensive and which has the purpose or effect of making them feel intimidated/humiliated or violating their dignity. This behaviour can be spoken, written, or physical abuse.

An action by an employee that is so serious it triggers a termination of their employment contract and removes the need for the employer to give or pay notice. The type of termination is referred to as a ‘summary dismissal’. Gross misconduct could include actions such as theft, sexual or physical assault, or harassment.

Any concern or complaint raised by an employee.

Garden or gardening leave is a workplace practice whereby an employee who is leaving an employer, having either resigned, been made redundant or been dismissed, is required to complete a period of notice but not attend the workplace or fulfil their normal duties. Garden leave is typically used to prevent the employee from immediately taking up a position with a commercial rival or starting their own business and may often be used alongside restrictive covenants barring the employee from approaching the employer’s clients/customers or sharing time-sensitive or strategic information with a new employer. While the employee is on garden leave they are still technically employed by the employer, bound by the terms of their employment and may be required to perform job-related tasks. The right to put an employee on garden leave, and any restrictive covenants, will be outlined in their employment contract.

Set out in the Equality Act 2010, men and women are entitled to equal pay in the same employment and performing the same work, unless there is a reason a difference in pay can be justified.

A type of court that will hear most claims from employees such as discrimination or unfair dismissal. The majority of employment disputes are brought to an employment tribunal by the employee.

From a legal perspective, discrimination occurs when an employee is treated unfairly on grounds such as sex, race, disability, or age. These are known as Protected Characteristics.

A formal meeting that is arranged by an employer to address any conduct issues they have with an employee.

A physical or mental impairment that affects an employee’s day-to-day activities, which may be deemed a disability under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

A DBA is a type payment arrangement between a client and their lawyer in which the lawyer agrees to receive a proportion of the damages awarded if the case is successful rather than charging an hourly rate for their time. Under a DBA, the lawyer’s legal fees are only payable if the instruction is successful.