Absence without leave meaning

PACCAR The government has acted quickly, within nine months of the unexpected decision by Britain’s highest court that many financial arrangements used by litigation funders were not enforceable. Ministers introduced a bill on 20 aimed at overturning the ruling, known as PACCAR, after strong lobbying from the litigation‑funding industry. The bill has been welcomed for offering clarity to claimants. However, Tamar Halevy, a partner at Marriott Harrison LLP, suggested the government may have yielded to pressure and hurried through measures that will leave funding companies unregulated without the ‘opportunity to be provided with a contrary view’. ‘The litigation funding industry has put a lot of effort into lobbying the government in order to reverse the effects of PACCAR, and they have succeeded’, Halevy said. She stated that the bill removes the requirement for litigation funding agreements to comply with the Damages‑Based Agreements Regulations 2013. This means that, in future, they will be unregulated and able to continue obtaining ‘excessive’ returns. Historically, most litigation funding agreements did not comply and...

Downe v Universities Superannaution Scheme (USS) and another [2019] EWHC 2403 (Ch), [2019] All ER (D) 75 (Sep) What was the background? Ms Downe is a member of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS). Under the USS rules, a member may receive an early retirement pension on a non-reduced basis if their employment ends for redundancy. For USS purposes, redundancy is made out where a member’s employment is terminated and this is due, wholly or mainly, to the employer’s requirements for employees to carry out work of a particular kind ceasing or reducing, or being expected to cease or reduce. Ms Downe worked for the Society of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL) in various roles, notably in accounts and in events management, up to 16 November 2012. She had a strained working relationship with her manager, Mrs R, who joined SCONUL in 2010. On 27 April 2012, Ms Downe commenced long-term, stress-related sick leave. During her absence, SCONUL’s HR adviser raised the possibility of an amicable separation should...

Recent years have seen a sharp rise in workplace investigations, a pattern that shows little sign of slowing. This increase largely stems from the mounting complexity of grievances confronting employers within an ever-changing, evolving work setting. In this climate, it is vital that investigations are carried out rigorously, impartially and efficiently, as any failure can result in a flawed process and leave employers exposed to potential litigation. In this article, we consider some of the questions clients ask most frequently about managing a workplace investigation and how best to navigate these challenging situations, offering practical pointers on approach and process in practice. 1. What should an employer do if an employee raises concerns but does not wish to proceed with a formal complaint? This issue arises regularly in practice and is challenging for employers, since in many instances an investigation cannot commence without a formal complaint. Nevertheless, employers can still assist the employee by signposting the relevant policies and handbook, pointing them towards company supports such as...

This Practice Note This Practice Note reviews employment law matters that can emerge in connection with volunteers and voluntary workers engaged in voluntary or charitable activity. It covers how volunteers are recruited (notably criminal record vetting and immigration considerations), arrangements made with volunteers, the national minimum wage, equality and banned conduct, data protection, and health and safety. In broad terms, a person is regarded as a volunteer where they are free from any duty to work but choose to carry out tasks without remuneration. In the absence of consideration, no binding contract can exist (whether of employment or worker status). That said, volunteers may have out-of-pocket expenses properly repaid without jeopardising their volunteer status. A volunteer may generally arrive and leave at their own discretion. Because volunteer positions are frequently loosely defined, if any form of consideration is identified, the role performed by the individual for the organisation may in fact amount to that of a ‘worker’ or an ‘employee’, thereby conferring statutory employment protections. In February 2026, the...

Zero hours contracts This Practice Note explores the characteristics of zero hours contracts, including: absence of mutuality of obligation casual workers as required or as needed employment contract without obligation piece work on-call arrangements flexibility over-arching or umbrella contracts assignments employee or worker status continuity of employment national minimum wage (NMW) statutory sick pay (SSP) working time and holiday entitlement and accrual discrimination protection part-time workers pension auto-enrolment TUPE 2006 the pros and cons of zero hours contracts It does not address the statutory protections available to workers and employees on zero hours contracts and on lower incomes, relating to unenforceable exclusivity clauses and protection from detriment and unfair dismissal. These are considered separately in Practice Note: Exclusivity clauses—protections for low-income and zero hours workers. In this Practice Note, the term ‘employer’ means the hiring party in a contract for work, whether or not...

This Practice Note offers a Denmark-focused Q&A on labour and employment, featured in the Lexology Getting the Deal Through series by Law Business Research (September 2022)... Authors: Norrbom Vinding-Yvonne Frederiksen... 1. What are the main statutes and regulations relating to employment? Denmark has no single, overarching employment act covering the entire labour market. Instead, employment relations are shaped by a combination of statutes, collective bargaining agreements and the parties’ individual contracts. Danish employment rules broadly fall into two strands: collective agreements and legislation concerning salaried (white-collar) employees... A significant share of workers in Denmark are subject to a collective agreement. Negotiated by trade unions and employer organisations, these agreements stipulate core employment terms and pay, commonly addressing working hours, minimum wages, notice requirements and similar topics. Consequently, many employment conditions are primarily determined through collective bargaining... The Danish Salaried Employees Act applies to a substantial group across both private and public sectors, though only to those who qualify as salaried employees under the...

[ Insert in para 8.2 of claim form ET1: ] I serve as a [ magistrate ] and, to discharge my responsibilities, require [ 20 ] days away from work each year. From [ insert date ], the Respondent has permitted only [ 15 ] days’ absence to carry out these functions [ plus an additional [ 5 ] days relating to my role as a governor of a maintained school ]. On [ insert date ] I requested further leave on [ insert date ] to undertake my magistracy, yet the Respondent declined the request without reasonable grounds. Those extra absences would not have detrimentally impacted the Respondent’s business operations. My claim is for: a declaration that my claim is well-founded; compensation. ...

I leave to my Trustees, free of tax, for their absolute use and benefit, all my personal chattels as defined in Section 55(1)(x) of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 [ (including chattels used solely or mainly for business purposes) ] not otherwise dealt with by this Will or any codicil to it, but it is my wish, without creating any trust or imposing any binding obligation on my Trustees, that within [ 6 OR 12 ] months of my death they dispose of such personal chattels in accordance with any wishes of mine that may come to their attention. In the absence of any such wishes, my Trustees will then divide the personal chattels between [ themselves OR [ name of default recipients ] ] as they think fit...