PERGUNTAS E RESPOSTAS: Direito do Trabalho num contexto empresarial 

P. O que deve constar num contrato de trabalho ao abrigo da legislação inglesa? 

No âmbito do Emprego Rights Act 1996 (as amended by the Employment Act 2002 and the Good Work Plan reforms of 2020), an employer must provide all employees and workers with a written statement of particulars of employment from the first day of employment. Historically this could be provided within two months of starting work; since April 2020 it must be given on day one. 

A declaração por escrito deve incluir, no mínimo: 

• Os nomes do empregador e do trabalhador. 

• A data de início do emprego e (se for diferente) a data de início do emprego contínuo. 

• O valor da remuneração e a periodicidade do pagamento. 

• Horário de trabalho, incluindo os dias da semana e se o horário pode variar. 

• Holiday entitlement (including public holidays) and holiday pay. 

• O localização or locations of work. 

• O cargo ou uma breve descrição das funções. 

• Prazos de pré-aviso. 

• Probationary period conditions (if any). 

• Licença por doença e direito a remuneração. 

• Quaisquer outros benefícios (incluindo benefícios não contratuais). 

• Whether the employee vontade work outside the UK for more than one month, and if so on what terms. 

• Details of any training the employer requires the employee to complete. 

Para senior employees, the service agreement will typically go considerably further — covering bonus entitlements, share option rights, garden leave provisions, post-termination restrictions, intellectual property assignment, and disciplinary and grievance procedures. 

P. O que é a licença de espera e como funciona? 

Garden leave is a contractual arrangement by which an employer, having given notice to (or received notice from) an employee, requires the employee to remain at home during their notice period rather than attending work. The employee remains employed and continues to receive full pay and benefits during the garden leave period, but is not required to perform their duties and is typically prohibited from working for a competitor. 

Garden leave serves several comercial purposes for employers: 

• Impede o colaborador de aceder às relações atuais com os clientes, a informações confidenciais e a informações comerciais durante o período de pré-aviso. 

• It allows client relationships to naturally ‘go cold’ and to be transferred to other team members. 

• Funciona como uma ponte entre o emprego e o início de quaisquer restrições pós-rescisão — o tempo passado em licença remunerada conta, geralmente, para a duração das cláusulas de restrição pós-rescisão. 

To be effective, garden leave must be expressly provided for in the employment contract. An employee who has not been given a contractual right to be placed on garden leave cannot generally be kept at home on full pay without their consent — unless the employer is willing to accept the risk of a despedimento por justa causa claim. 

É importante referir que os tribunais terão em conta o período de licença já cumprido ao avaliarem a razoabilidade das restrições pós-rescisão. Um período de licença de seis meses cumprido na íntegra antes do início de um período de não concorrência de seis meses pode levar a que se considere que a cláusula de não concorrência é mais longa do que o razoavelmente necessário nas circunstâncias em causa. 

P. O que é o TUPE e em que situações se aplica? 

TUPE — the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 — is the legislation that protects employees’ rights when the business or undertaking in which they work is transferred to a new employer. TUPE applies in two principal scenarios: 

Transferências de empresas — where a business or part of a business (an ‘economic entity’) is transferred from one employer to another as a going concern. This typically covers an asset sale where the business continues as before under new ownership. 

Alterações na prestação de serviços — where activities that were previously carried out in-house are outsourced to a contractor, where an outsourced service is re-tendered and a new contractor takes over, or where an outsourced service is brought back in-house. 

When TUPE applies, the employees who are assigned to the transferring business or activity automatically transfer to the new employer on their existing terms and conditions. The new employer inherits the employees and all associated rights and liabilities, including outstanding employment claims. Any dismissal connected with the TUPE transfer is automatically unfair unless it is for an ‘economic, technical or organisational’ (ETO) reason entailing changes in the workforce. 

In the context of a share purchase, TUPE generally does not apply — because the company (and therefore the employer) remains the same; only the shareholders change. However, in an asset sale or in a business restructuring following acquisition, TUPE analysis is essential and should be undertaken before any decision is made about post-transaction staffing. 

P. O que é um acordo de resolução e quando é que um trabalhador deve assinar um? 

A settlement agreement (previously called a compromise agreement) is a legally binding contract between an employer and an employee by which the employee agrees to waive some or all of their legal claims against the employer in exchange for a financial payment and (usually) an agreed reference. Settlement agreements are most commonly used to resolve or avoid employment disputes — most frequently in the context of a redundancy, a performance management process, or a negotiated exit. 

For a settlement agreement to be legally valid and to effectively compromise the employee’s statutory claims, it must: 

• Deve ser feito por escrito. 

• Relate to specific complaints or proceedings. 

• O trabalhador deve ter recebido aconselhamento jurídico independente de um consultor qualificado (normalmente um advogado) sobre os termos e efeitos do acordo. 

• O consultor deve ser identificado no contrato e deve possuir um seguro de responsabilidade civil profissional válido. 

The requirement for independent legal advice is important: an employee must take advice from their own solicitor (paid for by the employer by way of a contribution to legal fees) before signing. An agreement signed without independent advice is not binding. 

Whether an employee should sign a settlement agreement depends entirely on the specific circumstances. The financial terms, the employee’s prospects in an employment tribunal, the value of any outstanding claims, the quality of the reference and any tax treatment of the payment are all factors to weigh carefully. Employees should always take specialist advice before signing — the contribution to legal fees provided by the employer is specifically intended to fund this. 

P. Quais são as consequências de despedir um trabalhador sem seguir um processo justo? 

Dismissing an employee without a fair process — or without a fair reason — exposes the employer to claims in the Employment Tribunal and, potentially, the civil courts. The primary risks are: 

Unfair dismissal — Os trabalhadores com dois ou mais anos de serviço contínuo têm o direito de não serem despedidos de forma injusta. Um despedimento justo requer tanto um motivo substantivo válido (como redução de pessoal, má conduta, falta de competência ou ilegalidade) como um procedimento justo (em conformidade com o Código de Práticas da ACAS sobre Procedimentos Disciplinares e de Reclamação). Uma decisão do tribunal que considere a demissão injusta pode resultar numa indemnização de base (calculada com base na idade, remuneração e antiguidade do trabalhador) e numa indemnização compensatória (limitada ao menor valor entre 52 semanas de remuneração ou 115 115 libras, a partir de abril de 2025). 

Wrongful dismissal — if the employee is dismissed without notice (or without pay in lieu of notice) in circumstances that do not justify summary dismissal, they have a claim for wrongful dismissal — essentially a breach of contract claim for the notice pay they were owed. Wrongful dismissal claims can be brought in the Employment Tribunal (up to £25,000) or the civil courts (no cap). 

Loss of restrictive covenants — as described in the chapter on cláusulas restritivas, a repudiatory breach of contract (including a wrongful dismissal) may render post-termination restrictions unenforceable. This can be a highly significant commercial consequence, particularly where the departing employee is a key person with valuable client relationships or access to sensitive business information.