Questions and Answers

My business is going through a bad spell. I can’t meet the present wage bill. Can I just put the staff on short-time working until the financial and economic situation improves? There is nothing in the staff’s contract of employment about this.

What is the difference between a lay-off and short-time working?

I am experiencing financial difficulties within my company. The time has come, I have now decided to cut costs, introduce short-time working to reduce the wage bill and get the business back on its feet again. All the staff have a clause in their contract of employment entitling me to lay them off work or to introduce short-time working. Is there any more that I should know?

The Government has announced the closure of schools and nurseries due to the coronavirus (COVID-19). Some of my staff will now want to be at home to look after their children. What leave entitlements are there?

My business is going through a bad spell as a result of the effect of the coronavirus and Government advice. I doubt if I can now meet the present wage bill and I am reluctant at this stage to make widespread redundancies. Can I put the staff on short-time working until the coronavirus (COVID-19) emergency is over and the financial and economic situation improves? I cannot find anything in the staff contract of employment about this.

What is an employment tribunal?

We provide our first aid at work qualified employees with annual refresher training. The question has arisen as to whether this can be provided by an experienced in-house first aid qualified employee?

Is it possible to make someone redundant during parental bereavement leave?

A fire audit has identified the fact that one of our premises has not been completing fire evacuation drills. The site manager has questioned why these need to be done. What is the legal position on fire drills and why do we need to undertake them?

Should we be using more e-permits across our facilities management?