The Compendium

• making a flexible working request;
• being pregnant or on maternity leave;
• wanting to take family leave, for example parental, paternity or adoption leave;
• being a trade union member or representative;
• taking part in legal, official industrial action for 12 weeks or less, for example going on strike;
• asking for a legal right, for example to be paid the National Minimum Wage;
• doing jury service;
• being involved in whistleblowing;
• being forced to retire (known as ‘compulsory retirement’);
• taking action, or proposing to take action, over a health and safety issue.

An employee does not need two years’ service to claim an ‘automatically unfair dismissal’.

Unincorporated Associations

This is a group (but not a ‘Society’ – see under ‘Society’) which is charitable, or a residents’ association which has chosen not to incorporate as a company.

The management committee of the Association must address the responsibilities they have in respect of debts and liabilities. If necessary they should seek appropriate professional advice.

The management committee must also identify and act upon employment issues in accordance with employment legislation. Advice is available from the Pay and Employment Rights Service.

[See ‘Society’.]

Unlimited Liability

A shareholder/member of a limited liability company will have ‘limited liability’. This is, their liability is limited to the unpaid part of any shares they hold.

A director, on the other hand, does not have limited liability if they act negligently (where they knew or ought to have known there was no reasonable possibility of avoiding insolvent Liquidation – wrongful trading) or wrongly/delinquently.