Miles Herman is a clever, understated lawyer who is at the top of his game.
An employment contract will consist of the explicit terms agreed, but also certain implied terms. There are a number of core statutory rights that will be featured in any employment contract.
Contracts do not legally have to be in writing, rather, they can be agreed orally. However, in the employment context, an employee has a statutory right to request a written statement setting out the principal terms of the employment contract. This rule applies regardless of actual length of the employment relationship, including where they are less than two months in duration.
Often an employer will wish to add heightened protections, such as confidentiality agreements and restrictive covenants. Depending on their nature and extent, these can be challenged in court. Human rights and anti-discrimination requirements must also be complied with, and cannot be departed from via contractual agreement.
All employment contracts must provide as a default minimum certain express statutory rights, including:
Employers and employees cannot contract to depart from these minimum protections.
All employment contracts will contain implied duties. For employees, these include duties of trust, for example non-disclosure of trade secrets, and the duty to follow reasonable instructions. For employers, these include a duty of care to protect employees from foreseeable harm, including health and safety, and a duty to provide payment.
A particular employer practice can give rise to implied terms, where, despite no written agreement, the employer is through regular “custom and practice” considered to have adopted them.
An employer is subject to a legal duty to disclose upon demand by written statement any terms including but not limited to:
Employee contracts may vary between permanent or fixed, consultative and agency based or “zero hours”. Agency workers and independent contractors have less statutory protections than employees.
In any event, the parties cannot contract out of the implied terms mentioned above.
Where the company is a corporate body, it is common that employees also possess a shareholding in the company. An “employee shareholder” relationship can be contractually agreed, and the employee must receive a minimum of £2,000 and maximum of £50,000 in shares in the company in order to qualify.
An employee shareholder status waives rights to challenge unfair dismissal, save for certain dismissals that qualify as automatically unfair and dismissals made with discriminatory intent.
Some employers may insist on heightened obligations upon their employees. These can include non-compete, non-poaching and non-dealing clauses.
A non-compete clause seeks to prevent a former employee from working for a competitor with their former company. They can also impose limitations on the type of business the former employee may set up themselves. Non-compete clauses will expire upon a set term after the employment end date.
Non-poaching clauses will prevent a former employee enticing other employees away from their former employer.
A non-dealing clause prohibits a former employee transacting or interacting with clients of their former employer.
A restrictive covenant is challengeable in a court if found to be unreasonable in light of the employer’s objective of protecting their legitimate interests. A covenant cannot be too broad in application or have an excessive duration. The burden of showing whether an objective is a legitimate business one rests on the employer.
Altering the terms of an employment contract can only be done with the consent of the employee. If an employer materially alters the terms of a contract on renewal and the employee does not protest, they may be considered to have implicitly accepted the terms of the new contract. If an employee does object, they can challenge the alterations on grounds of constructive dismissal.
Since the Human Rights Act 1998 took effect, employees can enforce rights under the European Convention on Human Rights in domestic courts.
Previous cases have featured challenges to monitoring and surveillance agreements as being in conflict with the right to privacy, and agreements to compel employees to join or refrain to join a trade union as breach of the right to association and freedom of speech.
The UK’s anti-discrimination regime features statutory protections for sex and gender-based discrimination, disability, race, sexual orientation and religious belief. For example:
Under the Equal Pay Act 1970, an employer cannot contract to give a different salary to a male and female employee in the same role, unless they can show the difference in pay is owed to a material factor other than gender.
An employer must make reasonable adjustments and employment arrangements for individuals with disabilities, including flexibility in working hours and absences.
Where a parent company acquires a target company, or a buying company purchases a selling company’s employment contracts in an asset sale, current employment contracts will be protected by the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 (“TUPE”). The TUPE Regulations provide barriers against dismissals in the course of a transfer or change in contractual terms unless there are “economic, technical or organisational” reasons justifying them.
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Miles Herman is a clever, understated lawyer who is at the top of his game.
Richard McConnell carried out conveyance for my family on 4 London flats, 1 sale and 3 purchases. In each instance he was excellent. The attention to detail and communication throughout the process was perfect. I have recommended Richard to several family members and friends who have been extremely pleased. I would have no hesitation in using Richard McConnell and Lewis Nedas in the future should the need arise.
I wanted to take the opportunity as well to thank you for everything that you have done on this case. The result that we got on Monday will have a massive positive impact not only on my life but the lives of all my family including that of my own son. I personally was struggling to hold back the tears when the sentence was being delivered by the judge and I know my father and sister felt the same too. It must be fantastic to work in a way that can have such a positive impact on people’s lives and I want you to know how much it all means to us all. Thanks a million and good luck with all that you do going forward.
Lewis Nedas advised me in a serious case of insider dealing. The lead solicitor dealing with my case was Jeffrey Lewis, who impressed me with his quick grasp of the very complex circumstances. His in-depth knowledge of how the City really works and his long experience of serious financial crime gave me great confidence. But it was also his friendly and supportive attitude, and readiness to take calls (or return them promptly if he was in court) which was very reassuring. I was delighted with the positive result of the case, and the speed and efficiency with which it was handled.
Lewis Nedas Law Limited, led by Jeffrey Lewis, is known as ‘an exceptional firm with a strong team of talented and expert criminal lawyers’. The practice offers a wide range of high-end legal services, including on cases concerning espionage, terrorism, and murder. Siobhain Egan has strong experience in multi-jurisdictional matters; recent highlight engagements concern organ trafficking and terrorism financing, among other matters. Unan Choudhury is noted for his work regarding espionage and murders, while Keith Wood is an expert in High Court contempt proceedings which arise from criminal activity. Other key figures include Miles Herman, who represents clients in complex litigations.
Hands on partner involvement leading a dynamic team who like to think out of the box. Results driven. Clear strategies. They can go toe to toe with the big “City” firms.
