Articles

When it comes to employment law, status does matter!

Getting to grips with the legal status of those who “work” in your organisation can be confusing. For example, are they actually an employee? It’s important to get right because different types of working create different obligations and rights, and one way we should seek to honour God is by properly honouring our obligations to … Read more …

mental health kindness

Kindness Matters

The 2020 UK mental health awareness week theme was kindness. Centring on the small acts of kindness that have been so important and heartening to hear of throughout the coronavirus pandemic, the message is clear: kindness is good. Really good. Or to give it it’s hashtag, #kindnessmatters. You don’t have to argue this much – … Read more …

redundancy

Redundancy – resources for Christian employers

The last few years have been eventful, to say the least, and have had a huge impact on the UK economy. One of the unfortunate consequences of such a climate may be the need to consider redundancies within the workplace. This may be uncharted territory for many organisations. Get it wrong and there could be … Read more …

The Good Work Plan – does it impact us?

Are you confident who within your organisation or church is an employee, worker or volunteer? It’s important you know,  because things have recently changed in a big way for those classified as “workers”. As a result of “The Good Work Plan” initiative, legal changes impacting employment law came into effect in April 2020. Churches and … Read more …

Statutory right to time off for bereaved parents

Naturally upon the tragedy of losing a child, churches and other Christian organisations would want to pastorally care for their employees. There may be many ways that pastoral support is offered and in terms of time away from work, this is likely to have taken the form of compassionate leave. Compassionate leave is discretionary and … Read more …

Why choose a Christian lawyer?

When your church needs to have some work done, there are many factors to consider. Who gives best value for money? Who will do the job well? How can we glorify God in this? How can we look after the resources that God has given us? When it comes to legal work, the questions that … Read more …

Do I need to advertise a role outside my organisation?

Please note, this is not intended to be a full summary of the law, and advice should be sought on individual situations. Whilst there is clearly a benefit to a church or other Christian organisation in employing staff with minimum fuss and expense, there are also risks. Employers are subject to various anti-discrimination laws. These … Read more …

How to work well with your lawyers

Our purpose at Edward Connor Solicitors is to serve Jesus through serving his people. We’re here to help churches and Christian organisations to run well and comply with the law, and we understand the particular legal issues that Christian charities and churches face.  We always do our best to serve our clients, but there are also things our clients can … Read more …

Volunteers and Voluntary Workers – what’s the difference?

People can work for charities and churches in many different ways. Some are employees, some are office holders and some volunteer their time. As you manage and care for your staff, it’s important to recognize the difference between volunteers and voluntary workers. A voluntary worker is not a volunteer in the normal or legal sense … Read more …

Edward Connor Solicitors Celebrates First Birthday

Back in summer 2019 we marked our first year as Edward Connor Solicitors with a celebration during that year’s Evangelical Ministry Assembly in London. The evening reception at the Cathedral View conference centre in Westminster was attended by around 40 people including representatives from our clients and partner organisations, from individual churches to large national … Read more …