L is for...

Are your employee contracts LOST?

As I move onto L in my HR A-Z, today I am focusing on Lay Offs and Short Term working clauses in a contract.

Before COVID cropped up, many SMEs would never have considered this contract clause but it is one that is now being written into contracts to give employers more flexibility if there is a sudden economic downturn.

LOST can be considered as an alternative to avoid redundancies, usually when there is a downturn in work or where a company has difficulties in paying employees. 

Employees may be placed on unpaid LOST where there is a contractual term entitling employers to do so. In the absence of such as contractual clause, unpaid LOST will breach the employee’s contracts of employment, entitling them to resign and claim constructive unfair dismissal.

Therefore, temporary redundancy (as it is also refereed to) isn’t something you can just do to employees; it needs to be in black and white in the contract.

If you would like me to check if your contracts still work for your business or if you need an employee contract drawn up, email me at [email protected] today.

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