How Can We Help

As a member of the NFU Employment Service, you have access to expert employment law advice and guidance, enabling your business to become and remain compliant with employment legislation.

Our members can spend less time dealing with employment related matters and more time managing their business.

Our Legal Helpline gives you unlimited legal support through our team of Employment Specialists, ranging from advice on recruitment to redundancy.

Below you can find a few popular topics on which we advise our members.

Simply click on a link for further information.

Recruitment

We understand that recruiting the right employee based on the skills, experience and attitude required by your business is crucial and you want to get it right. When recruiting new staff some key legal areas to be mindful of include:

Equality Act 2010 – it is important that those involved in the recruitment process are aware of the rules on discrimination and how to avoid it. Did you know that a candidate could make a claim under the legislation for discrimination even as a non-employee.

Illegal Employment – ensure that those you are recruiting have the right to live and work in the UK and have the necessary paperwork to prove this. There are significant fines for those that employ illegal workers.

Status – are you sure that the person you are employing is genuinely an employee or genuinely self-employed? Remember both the courts and HMRC will look beyond the ‘status label’ you impose and will look at the reality of the relationship.

How can NFU Employment Service help your business with recruitment:

Various template documents available including a job application form to assist during recruitment process.
Online Manual Chapter on Recruitment with up-to-date information on topics such as Making a Job Offer, Medical Records and Testing, Eligibility to Work.
Access to our Helpline where our advisers can assist you with your recruitment related queries.

Contracts

By law, employers are required to issue employees with a written statement of particulars of employment on or by day 1 of employment. The legislation sets out that certain terms must be included in such a document such as holiday entitlement and place of work.

Many employers want to agree to further additional terms such as a confidentiality clause and the requirement to hold a valid driving licence. Failure to issue such a document could result in a financial award being made to the employee.

How can NFU Employment Service help your business with contracts:

A standard template Written Statement of Particulars of Employment for you to use.
Over 35 extra optional additional clauses which you can select from, to include in the Written Statement of Particulars of Employment.
A template Written Statement of Particulars of Employment specifically drafted for agricultural and horticultural workers to whom the Agricultural Wages Order applies to.
Online Manual Chapter on Contracts of Employment and Contract Variation.
Access to our Helpline where our advisers can assist you with your contract related queries.

Pay

Paying staff correctly is very important, not only from the point of complying with minimum wage rules but also from an employee perspective. Pay queries vary from finding out the minimum pay rates, what deductions are permissible and what you can do when you overpay an employee.

Do you know what you are able to deduct from an employee’s pay where accommodation is provided to an employee?

How can NFU Employment Service help your business with paying staff in line with the law:

Online manual chapters including topics such as National Minimum Wage, Equal Pay and Deductions.
Specific guidance in the chapters on pay for agricultural and horticultural workers to whom the Agricultural Wages Order applies to.
Access to our Helpline where our advisers can assist you with your contract related queries.

Holiday Entitlement

All workers are entitled to paid holiday regardless of the number of hours or days per week they work. As a minimum all workers must receive at least 5.6 weeks of paid holiday a year.

Ensuring your workers exercise this right is also a consideration that businesses should take account in terms of health and safety – all workers are required to have a break from work.

Calculating holiday entitlement for part-time workers, casual workers and workers with a varying work pattern is not always straightforward.

How can NFU Employment Service help your business with Holiday Entitlement matter:

Online Manual chapter on Holiday and Holiday Pay
Specific guidance in the chapters on holiday entitlement and pay for agricultural and horticultural workers to whom the Agricultural Wages Order applies to.
Template Staff Handbook Policy on Holiday

Access to our Helpline where our advisers can assist you with your holiday entitlement related queries.

Sickness Absence

Most businesses from time-to-time will have to deal with employee absences due to sickness, be it the odd days to frequent short term absence to more prolonged long term sickness and illness.

Dealing with staff absence can be dealt with informally or more formally depending on the circumstances. Often, short term sickness absences can be dealt with internally with consultation meetings, return to work meetings and Fit Note guidance from the GP. In longer term sickness absence a more formal doctor’s report may be required as well as consideration for reasonable adjustments in line with duties under the Equality Act 2010.

How can NFU Employment Service help your business with Sickness Absence:

Online Manual Chapter on topics such as Sick Pay, Long Term Ill Health Absenteeism and Access to Medical Reports
Template documents including Return to Work forms, Medical Report Consent Form and Letter to GP enquiring about sickness absence
Staff Handbook Policy on Absence Management
Template Additional Clause on Discretionary Company Sick Pay
Access to our Helpline where our advisers can assist you with your holiday entitlement related queries.

Discrimination

Discrimination in the workplace is a very serious matter. Did you know that if your business is faced with a discrimination claim, you could face an uncapped fine.

Not only is it costly from a financial perspective, it can also have very serious reputational issues for a business too.

There are nine protected characteristics under the legislation.

It is against the law to discriminate against anyone because of:

Age
Being or becoming a transsexual person
Being married or in a civil partnership
Being pregnant or having a child
Disability
Race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin
Religion, belief or lack of religion/belief
Sex
Sexual orientation

How can NFU Employment Service help your business with Discrimination:

Online Manual Chapter on the Equality Act 2010.
Template documents including Equal Opportunities Forms and Policies.
Access to our Helpline where our advisers can assist you with your holiday entitlement related queries.

Family Friendly Law

In the ever evolving modern world, the government continue to try and balance the rules to ensure a work-life balance.

Parents have a variety of rights and protections and Employers need to be aware of the rules and procedures.

The current array of family friendly legislation entitles eligible parents to the following:

Maternity leave and pay
Paternity leave and pay
Adoption leave and pay
Time off for dependants
Flexible working
Shared parental leave

With most of these rights, there are statutory deadlines to respond to requests. There are also responsibilities on the employee in wishing to exercise their rights – for example, a woman on maternity leave normally needs to give her employer 8 weeks notice to change her return to work date following maternity leave.

How can NFU Employment Service help your business with Family Friendly rules:

Online Manual Chapters on the various rights.
Staff Handbook policies on the rights.
Template Letters, for example the forms required to go through a flexible working request.
Access to our Helpline where our advisers can assist you with your family friendly legislation related queries.

Dismissal

A dismissal occurs when an employer terminates the employee's contract. An employee must be given at least the notice stated in their contract or the statutory minimum notice period, whichever is longer. There are some situations where an employee can be dismissed without notice - e.g. for a gross misconduct offence.

If an employee has at least two years continuous service, they have the right to challenge the decision and claim unfair dismissal. In order to defend a claim, an employer would have to a) have a fair reason for dismissal and b) follow a fair procedure.

Below are five fair reasons an employer can dismiss an employee for:

Misconduct
Capability
Redundancy
Illegality
Some other substantial reason

An employee with over two years’ service (or if pregnant) is entitled to written reasons for their dismissal.

How can NFU Employment Service help your business with Dismissal:

Online Manual Chapters on Unfair Dismissal, Redundancy and Capability.
Staff Handbook policies on Redundancy, Capability.
Template Letters on dealing with Redundancy, Misconduct and Capability dismissal.
Access to our Helpline where our advisers can assist you with your dismissal queries.