EMPLOYMENT LAWYER: ICELANDIC ASH COULD NULL EVERY EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT IN THE UK

SAS DANIELS LLP

PRESS RELEASE

April 20, 2010.

CHESHIRE EMPLOYMENT LAWYER: ICELANDIC ASH COULD NULL EVERY EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT IN THE UK.

Virtually every employment contract in the UK may have to be torn up and re-written as a consequence of the Icelandic ash crisis.

Cheshire-based employment lawyer Jonathan Whittaker of SAS Daniels LLP, one of the North West’s biggest law firms, said: “There will be barely an employment contract anywhere that makes provision for such a universally insurmountable catastrophe – both employers and employees could be seen to be taking advantage.

“What is unique is that in one fell swoop, those who have been affected by the ash crisis – whether employee or employer – are likely to find themselves in a void, and potentially in dispute, on issues including holiday entitlement, unauthorised absence, overtime and stress.

“Being 24 hours late back from Majorca after French air traffic controllers embark upon their perennial industrial action is one thing, but when some people are told they may have to wait until May for flights back from Los Angeles then that takes matters into an entirely different league.

“There are no contractual terms that allow provision for that sort of out-of-their-hands absence – and while 24 or 48 hours late back might mean a few pulled faces, being two weeks late or more is going to be a severe test of goodwill on the part of the employer.

“There will be the question of just how hard people try to get back to the UK and back to work, and the issue of making up for lost production or clearing of backlogs through overtime.

“When the ash and dust has all settled – literally – the difficulties at the time will be quickly forgotten. Staff will have been using up their holiday entitlement when they may not have wanted to, but employers may say that they never authorised additional holidays and that the employees were absent without permission and just refuse to pay wages.

“After all, the employer may have had to recruit agency staff at extra cost to the business.

“Dismissal is not an option for employers as it is not misconduct, and the length of the time away – assuming reasonable efforts were made to get back - would not justify disciplinary proceedings in my view, unless the employee could be proven to be taking advantage, or shown not to be making every reasonable effort to get to work.

“Employers who are losing money from not having employees there to do the work might be wanting employees to work double hard to make up for lost time. Therefore there may be pressure to do overtime when the employee returns - and this might be very unpopular - there may not be any term in the contract which allows for this and so this may give rise to disagreements.

“However, if the holiday year runs January to December, or, even worse, April to April, it may be a long time before some employees will be able to take another holiday.”

SAS Daniels LLP which has offices in Stockport, Macclesfield, Chester, Congleton and Bramhall.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley or Megan Codling

07788 978800 / 07795 848586

im@pressrelations.co.uk / mc@pressrelations.co.uk / www.sasdaniels.co.uk

STOCKPORT LAWYER: FIT NOTE SYSTEM COMPROMISED BY DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONSHIPS.

SAS DANIELS LLP

PRESS RELEASE

April 08, 2010.

STOCKPORT LAWYER: FIT NOTE SYSTEM COMPROMISED BY DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONSHIPS.

Long-established doctor-patient relationships could compromise the effectiveness of newly-launched “fit note” legislation, says a Stockport lawyer.

The Statement of Fitness for Work is designed to get employees back into the work environment after a period of illness, but leading employment lawyer Jonathan Whittaker says that it will make no difference to addictively workshy staff who have built long-standing relationships with their GP.

“There’s a hard-core of continually questionably ill and injured who are capable of delivering the performance of a heroically incapacitated CSI Miami shooting victim on the stage of the GP’s surgery,” said Jonathan Whittaker, Employment Partner at SAS Daniels LLP, one of the North West’s biggest law firms.

“Over a considerable period they have managed to convince their friendly neighbourhood doctor that they endure a life of marginal health, and pledge to make huge efforts to get to work when they’re ‘well enough’. This is a variation upon the oft-opined brilliance of the criminal mind.

“The vast majority of people deal with illness and injury very openly and honestly – but I am engaged in continual discussion with employers who are handcuffed to a minority of employees who live in an untouchable ill-health limbo in which the alleged patient describes a difficult-to-diagnose condition of being ‘out of sorts’ or having an unidentifiable physical affliction or injury, and who have fine-tuned the art of convincing affrontery if questioned by either employer or doctor.

“In those circumstances, the likelihood of a GP saying their patient is really fit for work if the patient in front of them insists they are not has to be in question.

“Doctors will have to exercise an enormous amount of impartiality, especially where they may have been the patient’s doctor for many years and have perhaps come to view them as being more susceptible to illness than most.

“There is also the complication that GPs will not have any discussion with the employer before filling out the fit note – which means that he or she will have no understanding of the potential roles available within each place of work to be able to suggest alternatives.

“Fit notes will never replace an experienced occupational health report.”

The new fit note is designed to give employees and employers more flexibility in how they deal with sickness absence. This might mean discussing altered hours or a modified work routine. The key is to establish a dialogue between employer, employee and their GP or occupational health specialist.

GPs will be able to offer advice on what work an employee may be able to perform and will be able to suggest adjustments to working arrangements which could be made in order to facilitate an earlier return to work.

Health chiefs say that the isolation brought on by absence from work can lead to stress, depression and anxiety. Getting employees back to work earlier can help promote physical and mental wellbeing and improve organisational effectiveness.

SAS Daniels LLP which has offices in Stockport, Macclesfield, Chester, Congleton and Bramhall.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley or Megan Codling

07788 978800 / 07795 848586

im@pressrelations.co.uk / mc@pressrelations.co.uk / www.sasdaniels.co.uk

EMPLOYMENT LAWYER: FIT NOTE SYSTEM COMPROMISED BY DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONSHIPS

SAS DANIELS LLP

PRESS RELEASE

April 08, 2010.

EMPLOYMENT LAWYER: FIT NOTE SYSTEM COMPROMISED BY DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONSHIPS.

Long-established doctor-patient relationships could compromise the effectiveness of newly-launched “fit note” legislation.

The Statement of Fitness for Work is designed to get employees back into the work environment after a period of illness, but leading employment lawyer Jonathan Whittaker says that it will make no difference to addictively workshy staff who have built long-standing relationships with their GP.

“There’s a hard-core of continually questionably ill and injured who are capable of delivering the performance of a heroically incapacitated CSI Miami shooting victim on the stage of the GP’s surgery,” said Jonathan Whittaker, Employment Partner at SAS Daniels LLP, one of the North West’s biggest law firms.

“Over a considerable period they have managed to convince their friendly neighbourhood doctor that they endure a life of marginal health, and pledge to make huge efforts to get to work when they’re ‘well enough’. This is a variation upon the oft-opined brilliance of the criminal mind.

“The vast majority of people deal with illness and injury very openly and honestly – but I am engaged in continual discussion with employers who are handcuffed to a minority of employees who live in an untouchable ill-health limbo in which the alleged patient describes a difficult-to-diagnose condition of being ‘out of sorts’ or having an unidentifiable physical affliction or injury, and who have fine-tuned the art of convincing affrontery if questioned by either employer or doctor.

“In those circumstances, the likelihood of a GP saying their patient is really fit for work if the patient in front of them insists they are not has to be in question.

“Doctors will have to exercise an enormous amount of impartiality, especially where they may have been the patient’s doctor for many years and have perhaps come to view them as being more susceptible to illness than most.

“There is also the complication that GPs will not have any discussion with the employer before filling out the fit note – which means that he or she will have no understanding of the potential roles available within each place of work to be able to suggest alternatives.

“Fit notes will never replace an experienced occupational health report.”

The new fit note is designed to give employees and employers more flexibility in how they deal with sickness absence. This might mean discussing altered hours or a modified work routine. The key is to establish a dialogue between employer, employee and their GP or occupational health specialist.

GPs will be able to offer advice on what work an employee may be able to perform and will be able to suggest adjustments to working arrangements which could be made in order to facilitate an earlier return to work.

Health chiefs say that the isolation brought on by absence from work can lead to stress, depression and anxiety. Getting employees back to work earlier can help promote physical and mental wellbeing and improve organisational effectiveness.

SAS Daniels LLP which has offices in Stockport, Macclesfield, Chester, Congleton and Bramhall.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley or Megan Codling

07788 978800 / 07795 848586

im@pressrelations.co.uk / mc@pressrelations.co.uk / www.sasdaniels.co.uk