The new boy!!

Well today is Friday and I have been at Kidwells for 2 weeks now. I joined earlier this month as Head of Marketing and haven't looked back!! The staff are great and Hereford is a wonderful place to work.

There is a lot to do on the marketing front, plus we are moving to new offices soon. I think I have settled in well and my honeymoon period has gone by quick!! Its always stressful when you start a new job but I have to say Kidwells have made me feel part of the family. 

Neil Canning - Kidwells Law Solicitors

Herefordshire Council agrees budget which reflects priorities and freezes council tax.

A budget which includes extra cash to pay for services for older people and means council tax levels will remain frozen for the second year has been approved by Herefordshire Council.

At the meeting of Council, on the 3^rd February 2012, councillors agreed that the authority should take advantage of a one-off £2.16 million government grant offered to councils willing to freeze council tax in 2012/13.

“This is good news for local people,” said Cllr. John Jarvis, leader of the council.  “We know that many families in the county are struggling to make ends meet and just like them, we have to reduce our spending and work better to continue to provide the quality services people in the county expect from us.”

Council members heard that, by using the government grant wisely, the authority will be able to secure savings year on year.

The agreed budget includes an extra £1.4 million from central government to be put into the adult service budget for the next financial year.

However the scale of the challenge arising from the government’s deficit reduction programme means that all departments of the council will make a contribution to meeting the savings requirement.

A final decision to freeze council tax at the current level will be taken when council meets in early March.

(Source: Herefordshire Council News Update)

As an employer do I have to provide an employment contract?

Section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 refers to an employee’s entitlement to a Statement of Initial Employment Particulars. Such a Statement shall be issued to the employee by no later than two months from their commencement date.

 Employers must ensure that the particulars contained within the contract, given at a specified date, include:

• Pay
• Intervals
• Hours of work
• Holiday, sick pay and pensions
• Notice
• Job title and description 
• Period of employment
• Place of work
• Collective agreements

For full details please see The Employment Rights Act 1996.

 In connection with the above, a Statement of Initial Employment Particulars should include applicable disciplinary rules and procedure.

The above only covers the basic rights employees have to a Statement of Employment Particulars. It is however good practice to include the above information into a Contract of Employment inserting additional clauses giving both the employer and the employee additional rights and obligations. 

Employers must remember that if there is not any form of written Contract in place, a contract still exists as soon as the employee agrees to work for the employer in return to pay for works performed.

Issuing a Contract of Employment is not however as simple as making sure the statutory entitlements are included, it is looking into the future to ensure that should the relationship break down, the clauses within the contract must be reasonable to enforce. If the employment contract includes specific restrictive covenants and confidentiality clauses that are completely unenforceable they will become dormant and you leave your Company open to risk that you could potentially forecast.

Another factor employers should consider is that failure to provide Statement of Initial Employment Particulars (after two months continuous service) can lead to an award of 2 – 4 weeks’ salary in the Employment Tribunal.

At Kidwells we offer a no obligation Health Check for businesses wherein which a specialist employment lawyer will review your contracts of employment, policies and procedure to ensure compliance with employment law and enforceability.

Kidwells can save you time and potentially costly mistakes by assessing how employment law changes affect your businesses and make recommendations for how to incorporate the developments into your policies and procedures. 

Should you require any additional information or wish to discuss the Health Check for your business please contact Rebecca Hardy on 01432 278179 or email rh@kidwellssolicitors.co.uk

Statutory Maternity, Paternity & Adoption Pay to increase

Statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay will increase as of 12th April from £128.73 to £135.45. For more information please contact Rebecca Hardy in our Employment Team on 01432 278179 or email rh@kidwellssolicitors.co.uk

Statutory Sick Pay to increase

Statutory sick pay will increase as of 12th April 2012 from £81.60 to £85.85 per week. For more information call Rebecca Hardy in our Employment Team at Kidwells on 01432 278179 or email rh@kidwellssolicitors.co.uk