How can you terminate an employee’s contract?

 

Terminating an employees contract is one of the less pleasant things you will have to do so it pays to know what the process is.

These are some of the key steps you need to go through:

• Know precisely why the employee is being dismissed - the grounds should be based, obviously, upon nondiscriminatory reasons. Don't do it on a whim and collate records of misdeeds and the grievance procedures that have already taken place.

• Keep it brief. Get the bad news across at the outset. Avoid long speeches and platitudes.

• Let them speak - Let the dismissed employee have an opportunity to get their side across, without interruption.

• Settle the account - Have any final payroll cheque, benefits, or holiday payments prepared in advance and provide the dismissed employee with a financial statement.

While most employees respond to a dismissal with shock and anger, be cool, calm, collected and professional so the employee understands why you're doing what you're doing.

Self Employed? Sole Trader? CIS refunds

We can assist you obtain a tax refund if you are engaged as a self employed sub-contractor in the construction industry. Similarly if you are Self Employed or operate as a Sole Trader we can minimise your tax bills, give us a call or email us.

We offer rates from only £120 per annum which can be submitted as part of your expenses.

Failure to pay National Minimum Wage

Future changes: increased fines for those who fail to pay the National Minimum Wage

An employer who is caught paying less than the NMW is required to pay the unpaid wages and also a financial penalty of 50% of the total underpayment, up to a maximum of £5,000. The penalty will increase to 100% of the unpaid wages, with a new maximum of £20,000.

Regulations introducing these new limits came into force in February 2014.

TUPE - What's next?

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (commonly shortened to "TUPE") aim

to protect employees who work in a business, or part of a business, which is transferred. All rights and

obligations transfer (including trade union recognition) except criminal liabilities and occupational pension

schemes. However, employees who were members of an occupational pension scheme before a TUPE

transfer are entitled to join a scheme or be eligible to join a scheme provided by the new employer.

Dismissal is unfair if the reason for it is the transfer, unless there is an "economic, technical or organisational

reason" ("ETO") for the dismissal (for example, redundancy). Changing terms and conditions are only lawful

if the changes are unrelated to the transfer or if there is an "ETO" reason. Special rules apply if the transferor

is insolvent.

The vendor or outgoing contractor is required to provide "employee liability information" to the purchaser or

incoming contractor.

Two types of transfer are covered under TUPE: a "business transfer" and a "service provision change"

(SPC).

• A business transfer occurs when a business or trade (or part of it) situated in the UK immediately

before the transfer moves to a new owner. This includes the sale of all or part of a business, it also

includes mergers or a change of licensee, franchisee or a concession. TUPE only applies where the

business (or part of it) retains its identity after the transfer has taken place.

• A service provision change would be where contracted out services are transferred to a new

contractor OR when a service provided by an employee/s is then outsourced to a contractor, or

where external services (provided by a contractor) are brought back in-house. In a service provision

change, there is no requirement for the entity to retain its identity after the transfer.