Employment Jargon

Additional Adoption Leave (AAL) - A period of 26 weeks' unpaid statutory leave which follows directly on from ordinary adoption leave (OAL) and is available to employees who have completed 26 weeks continuous service, are adopting and are newly matched with a child for adoption by an adoption agency. Only one member of a couple who are adopting jointly can take statutory adoption leave.

Additional Maternity Leave (AML) - A period of 26 weeks' statutory leave which begins on the first day after the end of ordinary maternity leave (OML).

An Advocate General is a senior law officer of a country or other jurisdiction. Usually charged with advising the courts or Government on legal matters.

Compromise Agreements - A written, binding, and private agreement between an employer and an employee covering a specific complaint. The agreement has the effect of barring further proceedings. This type of agreement is only valid if an employee has received advice from a relevant independent advisor.

Default Interest Position - A provision in a contract which:

• Provides a contractual sanction against non-payment of a sum of money; and

• Is a form of liquidated damages for that non-payment.

A default interest provision is nearly always included in an agreement where interest would be payable in the ordinary course of dealings as a part of the transaction, most obviously in a loan agreement. The rate of default interest payable in such a case is usually 1% or 2% above the rate payable in the ordinary course of the agreement where all the sums are paid on time. In other types of transactions, a default interest clause may be included to support an obligation to pay a sum of money by a particular date. Care needs to be taken in the choice of default rate and the manner in which it becomes payable to guard against it being invalid as a penalty. The rate should reflect the estimated loss to the supplier of being deprived of the use of the funds.

Direct Discrimination - A type of discrimination that occurs when a person (A) treats another (B) less favourably than A treats or would treat others, on grounds of B's sex, gender reassignment status, pregnancy, maternity, disability or age; on grounds that B is married or is a civil partner; or on grounds of race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion, belief, or sexual orientation. In relation to age only, there is no direct discrimination where the treatment is a proportionate means of acheiving a legitimate aim.

EAT – Employment Appeal Tribunal

ECJ - European Court of Justice

Fiducicary - A person to whom power or property is entrusted for the benefit of another.

Fiduciary Duties - Duties owed by a fiduciary to a beneficiary. Examples of fiduciary duties include a duty of confidentiality, a duty of no conflict, and a duty not to profit from his position.

Golden Hello - A payment to induce a candidate to join, or an existing employee to remain in, employment.

Golden Handshake - Also known as a golden parachute. Financial benefits provided to employees (usually senior employees or directors) on leaving their employer. Such provisions may be:

• A long fixed-term contract giving rise to damages in the event of early termination;

• Payment of a fixed sum in the event of employer repudiation or non-renewal of a contract; or

• The option to resign and claim a fixed sum in the event of a change of control of the company    because of a takeover.

Such clauses run the risk of being held unenforceable as a penalty if they are payable on breach of contract and do not genuinely pre-estimate the loss that an employee may suffer. Approval of such clauses by directors may also fall foul of their fiduciary duty to act in good faith in the best interests of the company.

Indirect Discrimination - A type of discrimination that occurs where A applies to B (a member of a protected group) an apparently neutral provision, criterion or practice that A would apply equally to others; but which puts members of the protected group (including B) at a particular disadvantage compared to non-members; and which cannot be shown to be justified. Protected groups in Great Britain are married persons, civil partners and any groups defined by reference to sex, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation or age. Although the definitions of indirect discrimination differ slightly across the different strands of discrimination law, the approach of the courts and employment tribunals is broadly similar.


• requiring that the employee be six feet tall would disproportionately disadvantage women

• uniform requirements stating that employees may not wear any headwear would indirectly   discriminate against Sikh men

Liquidated Damages - A fixed or determined sum agreed by the parties to a contract to be payable on breach by one of the parties. If a liquidated damages payment constitutes a penalty, it will be unenforceable. The term also describes sums expressly payable as liquidated damages under statute. In all other cases where the court quantifies or assesses damages or loss, whether pecuniary or non-pecuniary, the damages are known as unliquidated damages.

Member States - A Member State of the European Union is any one of the 27 sovereign states that have acceded to the European Union (EU) since its inception in 1951 as the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). From an original membership of six states , there have been six successive enlargements , the largest occurring on 1 May 2004, when ten states joined. The EU is currently composed of twenty republics , six kingdoms , and one grand duchy .

Penalty - A clause in a contract which provides for a fixed or pre-determined amount to be payable on breach of contract may be recoverable as liquidated damages. However if the amount payable is not a genuine pre-estimate of loss it will be a penalty and unenforceable. For example, in the context of a default interest provision in a contract, if a court could construe the rate of interest as excessive it may be held invalid as a penalty.

Ordinary Adoption Leave (OAL) - A period of 26 weeks' statutory leave available to employees who have completed 26 weeks continuous service and are newly matched with a child for adoption by an adoption agency.

Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML) - 26 weeks' statutory leave available to an employee who gives birth, regardless of the length of time she has been working with the employer.

Statutory Grievance - A written statement made by an employee which raises a complaint against their employer. This includes e-mails!

Worker - An individual who has entered into or works under a contract of employment or any other contract, whether express or implied and (if it is express) whether oral or in writing, whereby the individual undertakes to do or perform personally any work or services for another party to the contract whose status is not by virtue of the contract that of a client or customer of any profession or business undertaking carried on by the individual.

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