Not everyone is required to obtain a visa prior to visiting the United Kingdom.  If you do require a visa, you must apply for this from the country that you reside prior to travelling to the UK.

If you are studying a course that is below degree level at a higher education institution, you may work in the UK for a maximum of 10 hours per week.  If you are studying on a course that is degree level or above, you may work in the UK for a maximum of 20 hours per week.  Your visa will be endorsed with details of your work restrictions and you must ensure to adhere to these conditions.

Your compensation for constructive dismissal if awarded by an employment tribunal is made up of a basic award and a compensatory award.

The basic award is a statutory award that involves multiplying the relevant factors of the length of continuous service (up to a maximum of 20 years), your age and a week’s pay (as at the effective date of termination).

After addressing the basic award, the often, more larger compensatory award will then be considered.

The Employment Rights Act provides that this will be “such amount as the Tribunal considers just and equitable in all the circumstances having regard to the loss sustained by the complainant in consequence of the dismissal insofar as that loss is attributable to action taken by the employer“.

In a recent case in 2015, the Employment Appeals Tribunal held that in the absence of an express term in your contract or other documentation requiring such disclosure, you are not under an implied duty to inform your employer of the prior allegations. You need to check your new contract carefully to see if this may affect you.

The pre-action protocols set out the best practice that should be adopted by parties to a dispute, and their legal advisers, before any proceedings are issued. The protocols set out the steps which should be taken by the parties and broadly aim to:

• Encourage the exchange of early and full information about a prospective claim.
• Enable parties to avoid litigation by agreeing a settlement before proceedings are commenced.
• Support the efficient management of proceedings where litigation cannot be avoided.

Specific pre-action protocols are in force for disputes concerning particular categories of case (for example, defamation or personal injury). If a case is not covered by a specific pre-action protocol, the parties should aim to comply with the Practice Direction on Pre-action Conduct and Protocols (“Pre-action PD”); the essence of which is to encourage parties to exchange information and make appropriate attempts to resolve the claim without issuing proceedings. If a party fails to comply with relevant specific pre-action protocols, or with the Pre-action PD, the Court may impose sanctions and may take the non-compliance into account when making case management directions and/or when making orders as to costs and interest rates on sums due.

The general rule is that the unsuccessful party in the litigation will pay part of the costs of the successful party. If such an order is made, costs are agreed between the parties or assessed by the Court and as a rule of thumb the loser will pay about half to three quarters of the successful party’s legal costs. You should therefore be aware that even if you win you may still have legal fees to pay.

However, the court may make a different order to take account of the conduct of the parties, and whether the successful party has succeeded on all the issues in dispute. There are ways in which a party can protect their position against the risk of paying the costs of the successful party, for example, by making a formal offer to settle the proceedings.