Age and Retirement

Since the default retirement age was abolished in 2011, there have been several cases involving disgruntled employees. The main reason for this relates to employers now being able to set their own retirement age subject to justification, although there are some employers who have chosen to not set a standard retirement age at all. Another reason may be that managers and employees clash on their views of when the employee should be planning to retire.

The solution here involves both managers and employees working together with regards to retirement plans, and ensuring they abide by ACAS guidelines and other procedures. Readers looking for additional information regarding recent cases should look at HM Land Registry v Benson (2012), Woodcock v Cumbria Primary Care Trust (2012) or Seldon v Clarkson Wright and Jakes (2012).

It must also be acknowledged that age discrimination spans outside of older workers and the retirement age, it also applies to younger workers. Often referred to as ‘ageism’, this usually affects employees in their late teens/early 20s and can have the same effect as age discrimination for older workers, for example, not being offered the same opportunities as older workers, being treated differently at work compared to older workers (it may be assumed that younger workers lack the knowledge and skills required to do the job), or even during the initial recruitment and selection process.

Religion and Belief in the Workplace

The religious beliefs of employees in the workplace may not seem to be as much of a priority compared to other issues when it comes to employment law. However, over the last 2-3 years there have been a handful of cases within this area which have had a significant impact.

The cases of Ladele and McFarlane v UK, and Eweida and Chaplin v UK are key here; particularly the Eweida case involving a British Airways employee who was told to cover up a necklace she was wearing which displayed a Christian cross. Eweida, along with the other three cases, have been very influential in changing how discrimination in this context is dealt with in the workplace, and it is likely that employers will have to be much more diligent in future.

TUPE

TUPE refers to the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, and concerns the protection of employees and their employment contract in cases where the business is being transferred from one owner to another. The reason TUPE has been selected for this article is due to the current economic climate; changes in business structure and the selling off of businesses means that the TUPE process has been undertaken more and more in recent years.

Understanding and abiding by the procedures involved with the TUPE process is crucial for the organisations involved, as loss of employment benefits and/or even employment for the individual altogether can result in unnecessary conflict or even a court case. For example, the case of Spaceright Europe Ltd v Baillavoine (2011) involved an employee being dismissed prior to a transfer even though no actual requirement for a transferee was identified. The claimant asserted that they had been dismissed in order to help facilitate a transfer by cutting costs. Her dismissal was therefore transfer-related and unfair in law.

A Final Thought

Here I have provided just a small selection of areas of employment law which have been increasing in relevance over recent years. There are many others, for example, redundancy and unfair dismissal, pensions, the National Minimum Wage, etc. What is important for employers is that they are aware of such changes or cases in the media, ensure that they are doing what is required according to guidelines and legislation, and seek professional advice if needed.

Additional updates and/or experiences from readers are welcome!

Your Staff and the Law

Unless you are operating as a sole trader, you may need to take on some staff. With this process comes many different laws and legislations to take into account. For example, during the actual recruitment and selection process you must remember The Age Discrimination Act, Equal Opportunities, etc. Once you have taken on your staff it does not end there, you must consider the National Minimum Wage, The Employment Act, etc. In particular, The Equality Act recently changed in 2010. It is very important that you keep up to date with changes to laws and legislations affecting your business; you don’t want to be caught out! Finally, there will be legislation involved with redundancy, which is rather significant during the current economic climate; for example, ensuring fair dismissal, statutory redundancy pay, etc.

SMEs and the Law

In the business world today we are seeing an increase in the number of small / medium organisations emerging (SMEs). When it comes to associated laws and legislations, sometimes SMEs can overlook some responsibilities they have despite being small in size. For example, small/medium businesses still have responsibilities to the environment, and are under obligation by such legislation. Small businesses must also consider what new laws and regulations will come into play should they decide to expand or go international. For example, international trading law, competition law, corporate governance, etc.

IT / Online Businesses and the Law

When it comes to IT businesses we see a whole new collection of laws and legislations come into play. It is important that we mention this particular type of business here due to the rapidly increasing use of the Internet and IT in business. A key piece of legislation here is The Data Protection Act, 1998. This is particularly relevant for businesses which may store large quantities of customer details on electronic databases. The Computer Misuse Act, 1990, is also important here for obvious reasons, especially for larger IT firms. We also have intellectual property law come into play here, for example copyrights and patents on computer software.

A Final Thought

The main point which I want to get across here is that although there are different laws and legislation applicable to different businesses, all organisations must recognise their responsibility to keep to do date with changes in the law, and how different laws will be relevant to them should they change their structure or mission.

If you have any tips on key laws / legislation for a particular industry, please let us know!