If you are an employee you may or may not be aware of a common clause within employment contracts titled ‘Restrictive Covenants.’ Many employees sign employment contracts without fully understanding what this means.
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If you are an employee you may or may not be aware of a common clause within employment contracts titled ‘Restrictive Covenants.’ Many employees sign employment contracts without fully understanding what this means.
Read MoreWhen an employee leaves, the focus is often on their entitlements. But what are your rights as an employer and what practical steps can you take to ensure a smooth exit?
Read MoreThere is a common misconception amongst employers that if a contract is signed by an employee then the clauses contained within it, will be enforceable, regardless of the fact that a revised version might be substantially different. Where post termination restrictions, which predominantly relate to non-solicitation, non-dealing and non-competition, are unilaterally imposed, they may not be enforceable unless some form of consideration is paid.
Read MoreThe inherent difficulties of operating a practice day to day are, of course, substantial. One area that can often be neglected in the pursuit of superior quality standards and patient care is HR and employment law.
While this question may present no problems when all is running smoothly, there is however a wealth of legal issues potentially lurking beneath the surface for the unprepared practice manager. So what can go wrong?
Well…
Read MoreMost businesses, will ensure that new employees receive an employment contract or at the very least some form of statement setting out their terms and conditions. Unfortunately not all businesses ensure that employee’s return a signed version of the agreement back.
On dispute, if the company have an unsigned contract in their possession, this begs the question as to whether the clauses contained in the contract/agreement are enforceable against the employee.
This question was examined by the High Court in FW Farnsworth Limited v Lacy. The court was asked to determine whether the employee was bound by the post termination restrictions contained within an unsigned version of his employment contract.
Read MoreWorkers under a zero hour contract are not guaranteed working hours yet some employers have used exclusivity clauses to prevent those engaged under such an agreement from working for another organisation, or to exclude workers from doing so without the employer’s consent. In May 2015 these exclusivity clauses were declared unlawful however there were no penalties associated with the ban and workers had no power to enforce it.
Read MoreQuite often employers contact me in respect of how they should deal with an outgoing employee, particularly if it is a member of their management team. So I have put together a short guide to help you deal with an exiting employee:
Read MoreThe inherent difficulties of operating a practice day to day are, of course, substantial. One area that can often be neglected in the pursuit of superior quality standards and patient care is HR and employment law issues.
While this question may present no problems when all is running smoothly on the ‘Good Ship Dental Practice’, there is however a wealth of legal issues potentially lurking beneath the surface for the unprepared practice owner and associate alike. So what can go wrong?
Well…
Read MoreIf you are an employer planning on imposing new restrictive covenants upon your employees in the New Year then you should take note of the recent high court decision in Re-use Collections Limited v. Sendall & May Glass Recycling Ltd. The court highlighted the risk that employers face when amending contracts of employment to include or increase restrictive covenants where there has been no specific consideration.
Read MoreHere are a few updates on previously reported cases:
Courts rewriting restrictive covenants
Some of you may recall that earlier this year in the case of Prophet plc v Huggett, the High Court held that courts could re-write badly drafted restrictive covenants in order to bring them in line with common sense. However, this decision has been overturned by the Court of Appeal.
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