News

Joe Pengelly, partner, Boyce Hatton

Diversification from agriculture to other types of land use is not a new idea, but it accelerated during the last economic downturn and when foot and mouth disease stalked the countryside. Then, many farmers were forced to diversify to survive and for some it has resulted in huge success.

We anticipate that the current economic environment will see more farmers and landowners looking to diversify. But there are legal issues that accompany such change, and it is important for farmers, landowners and others looking to diversify to be aware of them.

One popular form of diversification has been the development of farm buildings for other uses, such as holiday homes, business units and residential care. Planning is the first obstacle, and owners must ensure that their schemes are passed by planning before any major investment has been committed to. If the buildings are to be developed for any specific use, owners must ensure that they meet with stringent health and safety rules, and that they adhere to regulations for disabled access and other requirements. They should also ensure that access and rights of way are also covered.

Changes in use of buildings can come with some hidden tax and investment traps for the unwary, so owners should discuss all the options with their professional advisors before setting quite literally concrete plans.

Many farmers and landowners have turned to niche marketing for their income, and this has manifested itself in the blossoming of farmers’ markets, farm shops and specialisation in areas such as organic vegetables and traceable meat.

Where owners have established their own farm shops, they should be aware of local trading laws, hygiene regulations and health and safety laws. This not only applies to the shop itself, but also to other parts of their land to which customers have access.

Many owners have transformed their land into leisure parks or sites for a wide range of leisure amenities, such as quad biking, off road driving, trekking and other activities. Legislation is strict in relation to how such businesses are run, and what health and safety systems must be in place. Again, professional advice before the business has been set up is vital in this instance, if only to avoid unnecessary accidents.

In some instances, farmers and landowners have turned some of their land over to landfill or other forms of waste management. UK environmental regulations are among the strictest in the world, and heavy fines and even custodial sentences await those who wittingly or unwittingly break the rules.

Owners of newly diversified businesses may find themselves employing staff in a completely different way. There is a huge array of regulation relating to employment issues, from working time to parental leave, holiday and sick pay, health and safety and standard terms of employment. Again, owners should investigate all the ramifications of taking on staff before they are appointed – legislation in 2005 makes it far easier to hire than it does to fire.

Joe Pengelly can be contacted at Boyce Hatton on 01803 403403. More information is available by logging on at www.boycehatton.co.uk.

Karen Goldstein, partner, Boyce Hatton

As recession bites, more and more people will be faced with the prospect of redundancy. If you are likely to be affected by redundancy it is important that that you understand the redundancy process, what your entitlements are, and what to do if you think your rights have been breached.*

Firstly, consider if you are part of a pool of employees identified by your employer (the ‘selection pool’).   If you are to be included in a selection pool, it is important to ascertain whether or not you have been selected fairly for redundancy. Your employer must have applied objective selection criteria, for example, qualifications, experience, skills, attendance and disciplinary records to the selection pool. The lowest scoring employee or employees will be at risk of redundancy.

You should receive a letter summarising the reasons why you are at risk of redundancy and inviting you to attend a consultation meeting to discuss the position. You are entitled to bring a work colleague or trade union representative to the meeting.

One area for discussion at this meeting should be whether you could be deployed elsewhere within the business, or take on an alternative role.

At the consultation meeting your employer should explain in more details what has caused the redundancy situation and how it will affect you. You can ask your employer to explain what criteria have been used and outline how you have been scored. You can also ask to see any score sheet. You should make proposals regarding redeployment and alternative roles and ask for these to be explored by your employer.

If you are selected for redundancy your employer should hold a further meeting with you and inform you of your right to appeal the decision.  Your employer’s decision should be confirmed in writing.   If you are given notice of redundancy you are entitled to request time off work with pay in order to seek alternative employment or training.

Upon the termination of your employment, you should make sure that you receive your full notice pay, payment for any untaken accrued holiday and the (tax-free) statutory redundancy payment (if you have been employed for more than 2 years).  You may also be entitled to an additional contractual redundancy payment.

You can calculate your statutory redundancy entitlement on the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR) website (www.berr.gov.uk).

If you do not believe that your redundancy was fair, make sure you appeal the decision quickly and also seek legal advice. You should appeal in writing, setting out the grounds why you consider your redundancy to be unfair – for example, because there is (in your view) no genuine redundancy situation and that the need for you to do your job has not ceased or diminished or likely to do so.

You may have another reason to appeal if correct procedures have not been followed – for example, if no selection pool was put in place or, if it was, objective selection criteria were not applied properly to you.

If you have any queries regarding redundancy or any other employment issues please contact Karen Goldstein or Matthew Pope at Boyce Hatton on 01803 403403. More information is available by logging on at www.boycehatton.co.uk.

*This article is relevant where there are less than 20 employees.  It will be a collective redundancy where there are more than 20 employees