• Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Call us now: 01243 836 840   [email protected]
Pure Employment Law
  • Who We Are
    • Nicola Brown
    • Peter Stevens
    • Elena Elsam
    • David Jones
    • Linda Nye
    • Brenda Cherry
  • For Employers
    • Advice on HR and People issues
    • Investigations, Hearings and Appeals
    • Restructuring and Redundancy
    • Defending Employment Tribunal Claims
    • Dismissal of Senior Executives
    • Contracts, Handbooks and Policies
    • Employment Law Training
  • For Employees
    • Settlement Agreements
    • Workplace Issues including Disciplinary and Grievance
    • Bringing an Employment Tribunal Claim
  • Employment Law Events
  • Legal Updates
  • Testimonials
  • Vacancies
  • Contact us
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

Dealing with difficult times – FAQs

18 March 2020

Question marks

The effect of the coronavirus pandemic has already been massive.  The media has been full of stories about the difficulties being faced by certain industries, for example airlines and hospitality, and although some industries are being hit harder than others, the effects are being felt across all sectors.  Probably the only businesses who stand to gain are insolvency practitioners!

We have been inundated with calls from clients on how they can try to protect their businesses from this completely unexpected and often unprecedented downturn in their incomes.  For most businesses, staff costs are their biggest overhead, so it is unfortunate but inevitable that this is an area where employers will look to make savings.

We set out below some of the questions which we have been asked and have tried to answer those in generic terms.  Clearly, each situation is different, and employers really need to take advice on their specific situation – do get in touch if we can help.

If the Government tells businesses to close and their employees are not able to work from home, for example in hospitality or retail, is the business still liable to pay their employees?

In short, yes.  The Government has not yet told any businesses to close, but that might well come.  If they did, then it would depend on the reason and length of the closure. If it is a long closure, then it may be a redundancy situation. The employer would be responsible for the payments owing to the employee. The Government has talked about help for employers, but the details of that have not yet been provided.

Can a business simply require its employees to take an unpaid holiday until the crisis is over?

Employees have a right to be paid, and, unless there is a specific provision in the contract regarding laying people off (which is relatively unusual), then an employer cannot force employees to take a period of unpaid leave.  However, in the current unusual and extreme circumstances it may well be that employees would agree to take a period of unpaid leave, as the alternative may be redundancies or the total failure of the business.  We all hope that the current pandemic will be relatively short lived, so many employees may well feel that a period of unpaid leave is the lesser of the evils.

Can a business simply require its employees to take a pay cut?

An employee is entitled to be paid in accordance with the terms of their contract of employment.  For some people that pay will vary, such as where there are commission payments, in which case their pay may well reduce anyway as the volume of business reduces.  However, for those on fixed wages, they have the right to be paid irrespective of the employer’s difficulties.  However, as per our answer above, employees may well agree to take a reduction in pay in exchange for a reduction in hours, eg for a 5 day a week worker, you could propose that they go to 3 days a week and take a 40% pay cut.  Again, in the current circumstances, employees may well agree to this.  If they do, then the change should be confirmed in writing, and should also be kept under review.  In our experience (and we had similar issues when the recession hit in 2008), employees will accept sensible reductions, provided they are for a reasonable time.  Clearly no one knows how long the crisis will continue, but possibly an initial period of 3 months, with regular reviews, might be sensible.

If the Government says businesses must close and businesses cannot afford to keep staff on, what happens regarding redundancy and the normal need for consultation?

This is a redundancy situation, and the normal rules about selecting people and consulting with individuals will apply.  If employers do not follow that procedure, then, for employees who qualify by having 2 years’ service, they risk claims of unfair dismissal.  We would hope that Employment Tribunals hearing the cases would look sympathetically on employers in these exceptional circumstances, but there can of course be no guarantee of that.

In addition to individuals’ rights, collective consultation rights will apply if the business is proposing to dismiss 20 or more people within a 90 day period. If that is the case, employers should follow a collective consultation process and file an HR1 form. We can advise in more detail on the requirements – please get in touch if you need assistance with this.

We know that this is a very worrying time for businesses, and we are here to try to help guide our clients through this difficult time.  We are also aware that the situation is changing on an almost hour by hour basis, so do always check the up to date position.

If you are dealing with difficult times in your organisation, then we can help. Please call us on 01243 836840 for a no obligation chat, or email us at [email protected].

Please note that this update is not intended to be exhaustive or be a substitute for legal advice. The application of the law in this area will often depend upon the specific facts and you are advised to seek specific advice on any given scenario.
Share this article
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail

Join our mailing list

* = required field
Mailing Lists


Recent Legal Updates

  • Fire and rehire – what does it mean and is it lawful? 30th March 2021
  • Sleeping on the job – Sleep-in workers not entitled to National Minimum Wage 30th March 2021
  • Do your contracts need updating post lockdown? 30th March 2021
  • What are Vento bands and what are the latest rates? 30th March 2021
  • Tribunal rates and compensation limits from 6 April 2021 17th March 2021
Link to: Contact Us

Any questions? Why not get in touch!

Our advice is always given in plain English without any waffle, and we focus on providing practical solutions to our clients’ problems.

Contact us

LEGAL INFORMATION

Pure Employment Law | 1 Little London, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1PH
[email protected] | Tel: 01243 836840

Pure Employment Law is the trading name of Pure Employment Law Limited, registered in England and Wales with company number 07134294 and whose registered office is 1 Little London, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1PH. Pure Employment Law Limited is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority with registration number 533794. A list of the company’s directors is available for inspection at the registered office

DISCLAIMER

The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by Pure Employment Law and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms & Conditions | How to make a complaint | Sitemap

© Pure Employment Law 2021

Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies as defined in our cookie policy.

Accept Cookie Policy

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refuseing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Google Analytics Cookies

These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.

If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Other cookies

The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:

Privacy Policy

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

Privacy Policy
Accept settingsHide notification only