An employer’s guide to taking grievances seriously

Dealing with employee grievances can sometimes seem like a thankless drain on a business’s management and resources. But a prompt investigation could uncover inappropriate behaviour or poor management that needs to be nipped in the bud, avoiding bigger problems down the line and reputational risk for the organisation. Employers must comply with the Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures (the Code), which sets out the basic steps and principles for dealing with a grievance. ‘While this encourages employers to ‘have a quiet word’ or to use mediation where appropriate, investing time and resources in dealing with a grievance can pay off in the longer term,’ explains Kalpesh Nakeshree, Head of Employment Law with Ware & Kay. ‘An informal approach could backfire as the employee may feel their concerns have not been taken seriously…

How to keep your best staff happy in 2024

With the festive season over, so what better time to start showing appreciation to your team and spark a feeling of goodwill among your hard-working employees. A Christmas bonus and a party may go some way towards persuading them that you are an employer they want to stick with, but there is a lot of competition for good staff. What else can you do to retain first-class workers? Kalpesh Nakeshree, Head of Employment Law at Ware & Kay in York, Wetherby and Malton highlights the options. You can spend a lot of time, cash and energy finding and training up decent staff, and the last thing you want is to lose them just when they have properly got to grips with what you need them to do. It is important then, for bosses to proactively…

Christmas Farming Family Fall-Outs

Few things are more disconcerting than being told at Christmas, or any other time, that you don’t own something you think you do. In a farming context, this may cover a wide range of situations. For example, a dispute over whether farming assets are owned by an individual, or a farming partnership. In a succession situation, ownership disputes often relate to disputed inheritance of land. “To avoid misunderstandings, often created many decades ago, it is usually best to hold frank conversations, as early as possible, and, above all, write things down,” says Julie Bradwell. Associate in the Litigation Department at Ware & Kay in York, Wetherby & Malton. “The use of professionals particularly accountants, solicitors and others is very often invaluable in preventing later potentially catastrophic disputes amongst farming families”. However many people, even some solicitors…

Squatter’s rights: can you stop a squatter obtain ownership of your land?

If someone is occupying land that is registered to you, can they acquire rights over it and successfully apply to be registered as the owner? We are often asked this question by property owners where the boundaries between two properties on the ground do not match what is shown on the plans; sometimes this only becomes apparent where one of the property owners is looking to sell or develop and they then discover that there is an area of disputed land owned by one party but occupied by the neighbour (the squatter). There are two possible scenarios for registered land: the first is where ‘the squatter’ has been in uninterrupted ‘adverse possession’ of the disputed land for at least 12 years before 13 October 2003. This squatter can apply to be registered as proprietor and must…