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FAQs

Question:

A senior employee who has recently left my business is trying to poach my customers. How can I prevent this?

Answer:

If the employee has already left, and his or her contract did not address this issue, then the employer may be too late. Once the employment relationship has ended there is normally little to prevent an employee using his or her knowledge or contacts to poach business from the ex-employer.

If an employer has employees who could damage their business if they left, it is important that steps are put in place at the outset of the employment relationship setting out restrictions on what the employee will be permitted to do when the employment relationship ends. Such restrictions are known as ‘restrictive covenants’ and can cover restrictions on an ex-employee’s use of confidential information, which customers an ex-employee may contact and even where an ex-employee may be permitted to work.

Courts and tribunals will scrutinise restrictive covenants carefully to assess their enforceability and employers should seek assistance in tailoring any restrictive covenants to meet their particular needs.
Question:

Must I pay public holidays to female staff who are on maternity leave?

Answer:

Provided that the employee receives her statutory minimum holiday entitlement of 28 days in the relevant holiday year, in principle there is no requirement to grant additional days’ leave in respect of public holidays that fall during the maternity leave period.

Employers should however check the terms of their holiday policy to ensure that there are no provisions that provide otherwise. Employers should also take into account how public holidays are dealt with in respect of other staff who are absent from work. If an employer grants staff who are absent from work during a public holiday for other reasons (e.g. sickness) an alternative day off, an employee on maternity leave should be treated in the same way.
Question:

An employee is taking days off work regularly to care for his sick child. Can I tackle him about his poor attendance?

Answer:

Employees have a legal right to a reasonable amount of unpaid time off to take care of dependants. What is reasonable will depend on the circumstances of each case but it should not normally amount to longer than a day or two at a time and should not be a regular event. Where an employer believes that the time off is excessive or the employee is abusing the right, the employer is entitled to take appropriate action.

Care however should be taken in such circumstances. Where the time off is being taken to care for a dependant who is ‘disabled’, an employee who believes that he or she is being discriminated against by his or her employer due to a dependant’s disability will be able to take action under the Equality Act 2010 against the employer.

View all FAQs

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Employment law

factsheet

Download factsheet

Advisory service

Katy Marshall, Legal Manager

Our employment law specialists are available round the clock every day to provide advice and answer queries about employment law and HR. They can be contacted by phone, email or fax. Where appropriate, they can meet you to discuss complex issues face to face.

Our specialists are experienced in advising clients with a wide variety of requirements; from those with little or no knowledge of employment law and HR issues, to senior HR directors who value having access to expert advice or just someone to ‘bounce ideas off’.

But our advisory service is much more than a voice at end of the phone. When required, we assist clients by drafting or reworking documentation, drafting letters, and negotiating with other solicitors. Included in the service is the negotiation and drafting of compromise agreements including assisting in exiting senior employees.

Underpinning all of our advice is a detailed knowledge of all areas of employment law and HR practice. Collectively, our team has around 130 years of employment law experience. Our advice is always given in plain English, and we aim to provide practical and commercial solutions that reflect your business needs.

We know that you will sometimes need to make commercial decisions, as opposed to adhering to the letter of the law, and in these circumstances we help the business to get as safely, and as quickly as possible to the desired outcome.

All this comes with the peace of mind that you never need to watch the clock or worry about fees mounting up. We encourage clients to contact us at the earliest stage in any dispute or issue, and as often as you want, and let us help you reach the conclusion you want.