{"id":4950,"date":"2017-05-02T08:26:10","date_gmt":"2017-05-02T08:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simplylaw.waydevelopers.com\/england-wales\/wiki\/10-hr-myths\/"},"modified":"2023-09-12T16:28:59","modified_gmt":"2023-09-12T16:28:59","slug":"10-hr-myths","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/simply.law\/england-wales\/articles\/10-hr-myths\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 HR Myths \u2013 Busted"},"content":{"rendered":"

HR myths are some of our favourites. A little bit of knowledge on employment law can frequently become the stuff of urban legend.\u00a0 Most HR myths tend to involve matters that an employer \u201ccan\u2019t\u201d do.\u00a0 Let\u2019s look at the Top 10:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. You can\u2019t dismiss an employee on maternity leave<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    My favourite all time HR myth.\u00a0 No, no and thrice no.\u00a0 It is unlawful discrimination to dismiss an employee because<\/u> she is on maternity leave (you could still dismiss if you wanted to and had deep enough pockets).\u00a0 However, it is perfectly legitimate to dismiss an employee on maternity leave if her role is redundant (although special rules apply) or she has committed an act of gross misconduct.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Employment legislation provides specific advice on how to deal with dismissals of employees on maternity leave – so this is definitely not prohibited.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. You can\u2019t dismiss an employee who is genuinely off sick<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Again \u2013 the logical extreme helps here.\u00a0 If the employee is never going to come back to work, of course<\/g> you don\u2019t have to keep their job open forever.\u00a0 There is even a \u201cfair reason\u201d for dismissing in these circumstances \u2013 capability.\u00a0 You would need to abide by a fair process and wait a reasonable period of time.\u00a0 But it is frequently fair to dismiss employees who are too ill to do their job.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. An employee who hasn\u2019t signed his contract isn\u2019t bound by its terms<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Another interesting urban myth.\u00a0 Where there is a signed contract \u2013 there can be no sensible argument that the terms have not been agreed.\u00a0 However, where a contract is issued but unsigned, it is difficult for either party to try to argue that it doesn\u2019t properly reflect the agreed terms.\u00a0 There may be arguments about very restrictive clauses that haven\u2019t yet taken effect, and best practice is always to have a signed contract.\u00a0 However, the absence of a signature doesn\u2019t make the contract void.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. If an employee isn\u2019t issued with a written contract \u2013 then there is no contract of employment<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Again – sadly not. When you buy something in a shop \u2013 you don\u2019t enter into a written contract, but it is clear that a contract has been entered into (and probably concluded).\u00a0 It\u2019s the same in the employment relationship.\u00a0 There is an employment contract \u2013 but it might not be what you intended.\u00a0 It would be up to a court to determine its terms.\u00a0 The same court may also impose a financial penalty on the employer for failing to issue a contract within two months of employment starting.<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. You must follow the ACAS Code of Practice when dismissing an employee<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            You don\u2019t have to. However, a failure to do so may lead to a Tribunal increasing awards for unfair dismissal by up to 25%.\u00a0 There is not a need to follow the ACAS code for employees with under two years\u2019 service (as generally speaking, they cannot claim unfair dismissal) \u2013 however it is good practice to do so.<\/p>\n

              \n
            1. You can\u2019t give a \u201cbad\u201d reference<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              Firstly \u2013 save in limited sectors \u2013 there is no obligation to provide a reference.\u00a0 If a reference is provided then it should be fair, accurate and not misleading.\u00a0 So, if an employee\u2019s performance was poor \u2013 you may make that clear.\u00a0 Our advice would be to stick to the facts (rather than expressing an opinion).\u00a0 To suggest that an employee performed well,<\/g> when this was not the case, could lead to a potential claim from the recipient of the reference, that the content was misleading.<\/p>\n

                \n
              1. Employees with under two years\u2019 service have no rights<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                No.\u00a0 Employees with under two years\u2019 service (well, usually one year and 51 weeks\u2019 actually) can\u2019t bring ordinary unfair dismissal claims.\u00a0 They can bring claims for breach of contract, for holiday pay, discrimination, maternity rights, whistleblowing, protective awards and most other employment claims.\u00a0 Some of these rights (such as discrimination) begin even before the employment relationship has started.<\/p>\n

                  \n
                1. Agency workers can\u2019t bring any claims against the client company that they work for<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  It is unlikely that an agency worker could bring an unfair dismissal or breach of contract claim against the ultimate client company (rather than their agency).\u00a0 However, they could certainly bring claims for discrimination or whistleblowing against the ultimate client.<\/p>\n

                    \n
                  1. You can\u2019t dismiss employees who have TUPE transferred<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    You can.\u00a0 They have the same rights as they previously had.\u00a0 So, employees with under two years\u2019 service can be dismissed without them having unfair dismissal protection.\u00a0 Additionally, if the dismissal is not related to the transfer or is related but is for an economic technical or organisational reason entailing changes in the workforce (and is otherwise fair) then their dismissal would not be unfair.<\/p>\n

                      \n
                    1. You have to postpone a disciplinary hearing if an employee\u2019s rep can\u2019t attend<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                      Again \u2013 no.\u00a0 There is a limited right to postpone a hearing for up to five working days but only in very limited circumstances, that representatives don\u2019t tend to comply with.\u00a0 Those are that they must be unable to attend and they must give an alternative date within five working days of the date of the hearing.\u00a0 If they fail to do so \u2013 the right to postpone is not triggered.\u00a0 Even if it is triggered \u2013 a breach should result (only) in an award of up to two weeks\u2019 pay.<\/p>\n

                      There are many other HR myths.\u00a0 Our advice is to take specialist legal advice rather than accepting such myths as correct.\u00a0 You may be pleasantly surprised.\u00a0<\/p>\n

                      See our disclaimer in our Terms and Conditions www.legalstudio.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                      Most HR myths tend to involve matters that an employer \u201ccan\u2019t\u201d do.\u00a0 Let\u2019s look at the Top 10.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":7975,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[12329],"tags":[11734,9931,11724,11733,8509],"class_list":{"0":"post-4950","1":"articles","2":"type-articles","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-employment-law-for-employers","8":"tag-acas-code-of-practice","9":"tag-employee","10":"tag-employment-legislation","11":"tag-hr-myths","12":"tag-maternity-leave"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTop 10 HR Myths \u2013 Busted - Simply Law England Wales<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""Explore our comprehensive collection of legal articles covering various topics to help you navigate the complexities of the law. 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