Employment Law: Brightman and Co

You have started work for Brightman and Co as their in-house legal advisor and you have received your first assignment.

Brightman and Co are a media marketing agency and have been thinking about introducing written terms which will assist them in future cases concerning claims for summary and wrongful dismissal with a view to limiting the scope for employees to bring claims against Brightman and Co. They want to have in place a policy containing express terms which will be incorporated into the contract of employment. It is important that the terms are conclusive and serve the best interest of the employer.

You have been assigned the task of writing a policy which will protect your employer’s interest.

Your instructions:

1. In order for Brightman and Co to have an understanding of the current legal position on damages in claims for wrongful dismissal, Brightman and Co wants to know what kind of damages are awarded in claims for wrongful dismissal.

You are required to write a brief which covers the following:

What are the limits on damages for wrongful dismissal and can employees make a claim for damages based on the manner of their dismissal?

[1300 words]

• To draft a policy of written terms covering the following:

1. Summary dismissal
2. Wrongful dismissal

[700 words]

Percentage of final mark

This coursework is worth 30% of the overall mark for this module.

Learning Objectives

doctrines, principles and values underpinning Employment Law of England & Wales and of the EU; [A1]

law relating to Employment of England & Wales; [A2]

sources of English Employment law and its development; [A3]

the function and limits of the law in achieving the goal of Employment; [A5]

communicate ideas effectively and appropriately both orally and in writing, when discussing issues relevant to the law in practice; [C1]

use ICT to retrieve and communicate information [C6]

undertake research using electronic media; [C7]

use the VLE; [C8]

comply with standards of scholarly practice. [D7]

Word Count for this coursework

(a) The maximum word limit is 2000 words.   Footnotes will not count towards word count totals but must only be used for referencing – not the provision of additional text. Bibliographies will not count towards the word count total.
(b) A word count total must be provided on each course work submitted. An inaccurate word count may be dealt with as cheating (an attempt to obtain an unfair advantage).
(c) If the word limit is exceeded any work beyond the word limit will not be marked and will thus not be awarded credit.

Assessment criteria

Marks will be awarded for the citation of case law and legislation where relevant, structure, presentation and English language.

Special instructions

This is a drafting exercise and you are required to write with precision and incorporate/draft relevant terms and conditions in accordance with your instructions.

Please use the marking criteria that has been released for student use when completing this assessment.

Expected Reading

Read the chapter on Discipline and or Dismissal.

Referencing

The OSCOLA referencing system should be used. Failure to reference and reference properly may be, depending on the circumstances, considered as a matter of academic misconduct.

University Regulations on expected academic practice and academic misconduct

TURNITIN

Rules on academic misconduct and TURNITIN

•  Your work must be your own.

•  All quotations must be credited and properly referenced. Paraphrasing is still regarded as plagiarism if you fail to acknowledge the source for the ideas being expressed.

•  You are required to submit your work through Moodle.

Presentation instructions
Note these four important presentation requirements. Failure to follow them may mean the Coursework will not be marked.

• Coursework must be submitted using Arial font size 11, with a minimum of 1.5 line spacing

• Unless specifically advised otherwise work must be submitted as a Microsoft Office Word document (.doc)

•  Your student number must appear at the front of the Coursework. Your name must not be on your coursework.