Divorce and the family farm: what lessons can be learnt from The Archers

Those avid Archers followers amongst you will be aware of Alice and Chris’s increasingly acrimonious divorce. For the rest of you, the storyline concerns Alice Carter (daughter of Brian Aldridge) who is a partner in her family’s farming business. Her husband Chris is the local farrier. One summer Chris and Alice went on holiday to Las Vegas announcing on their return that they had been married. Needless to say there was no Pre Nuptial or Post Nuptial Agreement and the farming business is now under a threat. The starting point in English law is an equal division of the matrimonial pot but a Court will take many considerations into account in deciding what a fair settlement would look like. Courts may be reluctant to order the forced sale of assets which threaten the future viability of…

Investigating employee misconduct: how to get it right

‘Being dismissed for misconduct can have a devastating impact on an employee’s future job opportunities,’ says Kalpesh Nakeshree, Head of Employment Law with Ware & Kay. ‘Before fairly dismissing someone for misconduct, employers must be able to show that they reasonably believe that the employee is guilty of misconduct. A fair investigation is the cornerstone of a fair process and for establishing that it was reasonable to believe that the employee was guilty.’ Kalpesh explains how to get investigations right.   First things first, check your procedure Employers should have a disciplinary procedure that complies with the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures. If the dismissal results in an employment tribunal claim, the tribunal will assess whether you followed the code. If not, the dismissal is likely to be unfair and damages awarded…

Diversification and Farm Business Tenancies

Farmers are having to diversify part of the farm to a non-farming activity in these current times to stay financially afloat. This will likely increase due to the decline in subsidies. So how do tenant farmers go about trying to diversify and what does this mean for landlords? Agricultural tenancies usually permit the tenant to use the holding for agricultural purposes only and may contain restrictions on carrying out alterations and works to the holding. A tenant’s continued ignorance of the tenancy agreement and pursuit of diversification projects could result in the landlord recovering possession of the holding. If the tenant wishes to set up a new company to pursue diversification, the tenancy agreement will need to allow for assignment, subletting or sharing of occupation. The tenant should also consider if it needs to negotiate a…

5 amazing facts about UK employment law

Did you know that the right to a statutory maternity payment is so enshrined within UK employment law that it is even payable where the employee is dismissed for gross misconduct? Once the eligibility criteria for statutory maternity pay is met the employee is entitled to receive it for up to 39 weeks. This is even if the employee is made redundant, leaves the job, is dismissed for gross misconduct or if a fixed term contract comes to an end at any time after the 15th week before the baby is due. Statutory sick pay is payable for up to 28 weeks. However, did you know that if an employee comes back to work for 8 full weeks having been off sick for 28 weeks then he/she would be entitled to a renewed…