Employment Law Sectors

Sport and Leisure

Welcome to the sports and leisure sector web page. Here you can find information about changing rules and legislation affecting the sports and leisure sector, see relevant articles on employment law and find out the dates for our next workshops, where you will be able to get a legal update from our team and meet individuals working in the sports and leisure sector.

Please contact us if you would like to receive more details, be invited to an event or to publish a relevant article. Contact us on 03702 188 990 or [email protected].

Our clients

  • Pubs;
  • Hotels;
  • Racecourses;

Top 3 Concerns in the sport and leisure sector

  • Pay issues including national minimum wage and tips;
  • Discipline, dismissal and grievance such as following fair procedures;
  • Outsourcing and TUPE issues.

Latest Employment Law News

Tips and the National Minimum Wage

The Court of Appeal has held that tips distributed through a ‘tronc’ system cannot be taken into consideration when calculating the wages of an employee for the purposes of the national minimum wage. A case which came as a great shock to those in the catering industry who previously used tips to top up wages to meet the national minimum wage. In addition, there are new penalties in place for employers who fail to pay the national minimum wage amounting to 50% of the total underpayment.

Working Time – Rest and Compensatory Rest

A recent case considered the application of the Working Time Regulations in relation to the daily 20 minute rest break. Our solicitor advocate, David Gray-Jones appeared for the Respondent in the Employment Appeals Tribunal.

Team Members

Neill Thomas

Bhupinder Devgon

The Team’s Experience

The team’s experience in advising clients in the industry means that they understand the peculiarities of the sports and leisure industry and the employment law issues you face including TUPE issues; working time; disciplinary and grievance issues; staff turnover; national minimum wages. They have considerable experience in resolving disputes through mediation; compromise agreements or representation at an Employment Tribunal.

Bhupinder has particular experience of advising takeaway outlets on employment law issues.

Neill has been advising the Jockey Club (including the National Stud) for about 10 years. Last year he advised them on the legal and practical implications of a statutory redundancy programme involving seven racecourses in conjunction with a TUPE outsourcing of a function to a member of the European Union. This involved guiding the HR department through every step of a detailed plan which he had worked out together beforehand, presenting the plan to the senior management team and preparing scripts for the managers to use in all the relevant consultation meetings. We are pleased to say it all went without a hitch!

If you would like further information on anything on this page, please contact us on 03702 188 990 or [email protected].