Employment Solicitors for Employees

I am thinking of leaving my current employment. Is there anything I need to consider apart from handing in my notice?

It depends mainly on your contract, although there is a general duty to keep your employer’s trade secrets confidential. You may have restrictions in your contract covering confidential information generally and what you do when you leave your employment, particularly if you are moving to a rival.

This is a technical legal area but in a nutshell, these restrictions will be enforceable if they are reasonable. This may mean that you cannot approach or deal with customers, invite other staff to leave with you or even compete. Breach of such restrictions could result in a very costly legal claim against you.

If you need advice on what your obligations may be then please contact our Employment Team.

I have begun a new job. What should I expect to receive from my new employer?

Your new employer is required by law to provide you with certain information about your employment. Some of this information should be included in one document – such as a contract of employment – and other information may be provided separately.

This information includes:

-the names of the employer and employee

-the date the employment starts and the date the employee’s period of continuous employment began

-pay or method of calculating it and interval of payment

-hours of work

-holiday entitlement and holiday pay

-the employee’s job title or a brief description of the work

-place of work

-whether your job is permanent or temporary

-whether you will be required to work outside the UK for more than a month at a time

-brief details of your employer’s grievance and disciplinary procedures

-whether there are any union agreements that affect the terms of your employment

-details of any pension schemes that apply to your employment, and

-the period of notice to be provided by you and your employer to terminate your employment.

This information should be provided to you within the first two months of your employment.