Employment

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.

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.

Any concern or complaint raised by an employee.

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.

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

The party who starts a Court/Tribunal claim.

Money paid to make up for damage or loss caused by the Defendant’s actions. In a medical negligence claim, the principal purpose is to put the Claimant back into the position they would have been in if the injury or had not occurred. In Employment law, compensation is the monetary award to which an employee is entitled when successful in a claim at the Employment Tribunal.

A situation where an employee is so badly in the workplace that they are left with no choice but to resign. This might be in the form of changes to their working hours, conditions or role. As a result, they can claim that they have been ‘constructively dismissed’.

A legally binding agreement between an employer and an employee specifying the terms under which that person is employed, entitlements to redundancy, period of notice etc.

A meeting arranged by an employer to discuss an employee’s performance, sickness, or absences and their capacity to carry out their role to the required standard.

The document used to commence a claim. It is usually supported by Particulars of Claim but this depends on the type of claim and the procedure which must be followed.

The process where a party applies to a higher Court to review and potentially reverse the decision of a lower Court where they have grounds to do so.

The person making the application to the court.

Acas (Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service) is the independent, government-funded public body that supports both employers and employees in resolving employment disputes and building better workplace relationships. Acas also produces guidance that is often referred to within an Employment Tribunal.

When a court hearing is cancelled and rescheduled to a later date.