Those of you who have employed staff for some time, will be aware that employment law is an absolute minefield – what’s worse it’s constantly changing. This month sees a good example of how very complex it really is, and how crucial it is to get the right legal advice when dealing with staff.
2 large national law firms, DLA Piper and Eversheds, have both lost appeals to the Employment Appeals Tribunal this month – over their employment law procedures. The firms were awarded to pay £29,000 in unfair dismissal compensation to a former secretary(on the basis of procedural failings) and £123,000 respectively to a former lawyer, who was held to have been unfairly dismissed and who had been the subject of an attempted redundancy.
Surely a salutary lesson for us all – if these huge law firms, with massive employment law and HR departments, can’t get it right – the rest of us must take particular care.