Helen Ruelle
Director of Local Legal Services | Legal
Jersey
Director of Local Legal Services
Jersey
Big things are happening at Ogier. Change is embedded in everything we do. It is redefining our talent, our ways of working, our platforms of delivery, our culture.
Services
We have the expertise to handle the most demanding transactions. Our commercial understanding and experience of working with leading financial institutions, professional advisers and regulatory bodies means we add real value to clients’ businesses.
Sectors
Our sector approach relies on smart collaboration between teams who have a deep understanding of related businesses and industry dynamics. The specific combination of our highly informed experts helps our clients to see around corners.
We have the expertise to handle the most demanding transactions. Our commercial understanding and experience of working with leading financial institutions, professional advisers and regulatory bodies means we add real value to clients’ businesses.
Legal
Corporate and Fiduciary
Consulting
Banking and Finance
Corporate
Dispute Resolution
Employment law
Intellectual Property
Investment Funds
Listing services
Local Legal Services
Private Wealth
Property law
Regulatory
Restructuring and Insolvency
Tax
Banking and Finance overview
Asset Finance
CAYLUX Fund Finance
Debt Capital Markets
Derivatives
Fund Finance
Islamic Finance
Leveraged Finance
Listing services
Real Estate Finance
Regulatory
Restructuring and Insolvency
Structured Finance
Sustainable Finance
Corporate overview
Economic Substance
EIIS Services in Ireland
Equity Capital Markets
Insurance and Reinsurance
Listing services
Mergers and Acquisitions
Private Equity
Real Estate Structuring, Acquisitions and Disposals
Regulatory
Technology and Web3
Dispute Resolution overview
Banking Disputes
Corporate and Financial Services Disputes
Crypto Disputes
Enforcement of Judgments and Awards
Fraud and Asset Tracing
Funds Disputes
Insurance Disputes
International Arbitration
Regulatory
Restructuring and Insolvency
Section 238 Shareholder Appraisal Rights
Shareholder and Valuation Disputes
Trusts Disputes and Applications
Investment Funds overview
Hedge Funds
Managers and Sponsors
Private Equity
Real Estate, Infrastructure and Energy Funds
Regulatory
Sustainable Investing and Impact Funds
Technology and Web3
Local Legal Services overview
Cayman Local Legal Services
Channel Islands Local Legal Services
Ireland Local Legal Services
Employment law
Estate Planning, Wills and Probate
Expat services
Family Office
Intellectual Property
Make your Guernsey will online
Make your Jersey lasting power of attorney online
Make your Jersey will online
Notary public services
Relocating your business
Relocating your family
Property law
Accounting and Financial Reporting Services - Ogier Global
Cayman Islands AML/CFT training - Ogier Global
Corporate Services - Ogier Global
Debt Capital Markets - Ogier Global
Fund Services - Ogier Global
Governance Services - Ogier Global
Investor Services - Ogier Global
Ogier Connect - Ogier Global
Private Wealth Services - Ogier Global
Real Estate Services - Ogier Global
Regulatory and Compliance Services - Ogier Global
Our sector approach relies on smart collaboration between teams who have a deep understanding of related businesses and industry dynamics. The specific combination of our highly informed experts helps our clients to see around corners.
Ogier provides practical advice on BVI, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Irish, Jersey and Luxembourg law through our global network of offices across the Asian, Caribbean and European timezones. Ogier is the only firm to advise on this unique combination of laws.
Keep up to date with industry insights, analysis and reviews. Find out about the work of our expert teams and subscribe to receive our newsletters straight to your inbox.
Fresh thinking, sharper opinion.
We get straight to the point, managing complexity to get to the essentials. Our global network of offices covers every time zone.
No Content Set
Exception:
Website.Models.ViewModels.Components.General.Banners.BannerComponentVm
Insight
16 December 2020
Jersey
ON THIS PAGE
RELATED
The latest judgment from the Jersey Employment and Discrimination Tribunal is believed to be the first employment decision relating to the restrictions imposed on businesses in Jersey due to COVID-19.
The employer, PG Plumbing (2014) Limited, closed for a period during the Coronavirus lockdown and staff were temporarily laid off.
The claimant, William Hague-Holmes, was not paid his wages during that period. The employer said that it would have paid the claimant if the business had received a government wage subsidy. However, the employer had misunderstood the Government of Jersey's Covid-19 payroll co-funding scheme, believing that wages would only be funded for employees earning more than £2000.00 per month. The employer realised the error too late and the wage subsidy application by the employer was rejected. The Tribunal said:
"I am sure it does not need to be said, that the interpretation of the Scheme by the Respondent is wrong, plainly wrong and frankly I consider an unreasonable one to make. On any reading of the Scheme documentation it is not one any person should make, let alone an employer who has employees depending on their salary to be able to cover they day-to-day outgoings……However, the scheme is an arrangement between the States and the employer and any employee is not directly impacted by the Scheme: their contract with their employer and the employee’s entitlement to pay under it, still remains in place, unaffected by the Scheme and its existence. Whether the employee has been paid appropriately is a matter between the employee and the employer, and not the States."
The Tribunal, therefore, could not intervene in a failure to claim under the co-funding scheme; it had to consider the terms of the contract and whether there had been a breach of contract by the employer. This case is therefore a reminder about the importance of clear and unambiguous contracts and the incorporation of policies and other terms into the contract. The Tribunal said:
"The question then is whether the parties have expressly or impliedly agreed that the document forms part of the contract between them. If they have, the terms of this document must be “apt” to be incorporated."
In this case, the claimant argued that, if there was a valid contractual term for him to be temporarily laid-off without pay, it was 'hidden away on page 11 of the handbook'. The Tribunal Chairman considered that the usual contractual principles apply: what was the term, was it incorporated into the contract and, if so, was it apt to be a contractual term?
The staff handbook included a term that empowered the employer to lay the claimant off for short periods of time. The Tribunal Chairman found the lay-off terms to be incorporated and apt to be of contractual effect ("it established rights and duties on the parties and did not “merely” set out aspirational or discretionary matters"). In addition, the Chairman found that the contract covered the circumstances in this case – that the employer was unable to offer the claimant work owing to the lockdown (a temporary cessation of work).
Although the claimant was unsuccessful in his claim, the Tribunal Chairman expressed sympathy, saying that the claimant was "the victim of an unreasonable and unsustainable interpretation by the Respondent of a clear and plain term in the Scheme."
Read the full judgment here: William Hague-Holmes v Pg Plumbing (2014) Limited
You might find it helpful to review a video that the Ogier Employment Team circulated in June 2020 which offers advice for employers on varying contracts. You can view the full length video here
If you are reviewing the terms of your contracts and staff handbooks, we will be happy to assist.
Helen Ruelle
Director of Local Legal Services | Legal
Jersey
Director of Local Legal Services
Jersey
Contact Helen
Back
Rachel DeSanges
Head of Employment, Guernsey | Legal
Guernsey, London
Head of Employment, Guernsey
Guernsey, London
Contact Rachel
Back
Will Austin-Vautier
Counsel | Legal
Jersey
Counsel
Jersey
Contact Will
Back
Laura Shirreffs
Senior Associate | Legal
Jersey
Senior Associate
Jersey
Contact Laura
Back
Kate Morel
Senior Paralegal | Legal
Jersey
Senior Paralegal
Jersey
Contact Kate
Back
Ogier is a professional services firm with the knowledge and expertise to handle the most demanding and complex transactions and provide expert, efficient and cost-effective services to all our clients. We regularly win awards for the quality of our client service, our work and our people.
This client briefing has been prepared for clients and professional associates of Ogier. The information and expressions of opinion which it contains are not intended to be a comprehensive study or to provide legal advice and should not be treated as a substitute for specific advice concerning individual situations.
Regulatory information can be found under Legal Notice
Sign up to receive updates and newsletters from us.
Sign up
No Content Set
Exception:
Website.Models.ViewModels.Blocks.SiteBlocks.CookiePolicySiteBlockVm