Employment Law
Preventing sexual harassment in the workplace
According to charity Rights of Women, 44% of callers to their sexual harassment helpline reported that they had been sexually assaulted in their place of work. In a survey of callers to the charity’s Sexual Harassment at Work advice line between August 2019 and August 2020, it was revealed tha....
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Freedom Day is coming… what employers need to know
Following a four-week delay on 21 June, so called ‘Freedom Day’ is almost here – exactly 480 days after England’s first lockdown measures were introduced. On Monday 19 July 2021, all remaining legal coronavirus restrictions in England are set to be lifted. However, with the Delta variant of....
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The return to work: your questions answered
Rising cases and the transmissibility of the ‘Delta variant’ of COVID-19 may delay the UK’s ‘freedom day’ of 21 June; even so, increasing numbers of people are either making or soon expect to make the transition back to the office. If you have any questions about the return to office life....
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Guidance for employers: facilitating employees’ access to coronavirus tests
While the vast majority of international travel to and from the UK is currently prohibited in order to protect the country from the spread of coronavirus, employees working in certain jobs may qualify for travel exemptions. This includes those whose work regularly takes them abroad, elite sportsper....
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Employment tribunal payouts to increase
On 6 April 2021, the statutory limits on certain employment tribunal awards and other amounts payable under employment legislation will increase according to the Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2021. The two main points of note are: The limit on compensatory awards for ‘ordinar....
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Budget 2021: What employers need to know
In his Budget on Wednesday 3 March – probably one of the most eagerly awaited in many years – Chancellor Rishi Sunak stood before the House of Commons to outline the government’s spending plans for the year ahead. Despite the government’s towering debt – a result of its heavy borrowing in....
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Home working won’t end with COVID
Many businesses preparing for the end of lockdown say they won’t end flexible and remote working practices, with firms such as John Lewis Partnership and Metro Bank planning to introduce ‘blended’ and ‘hybrid’ models of working going forwards. A spokesperson for John Lewis said its new wo....
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Legal advice for employers as redundancies soar
Recent UK labour market data has revealed that redundancies reached record levels between September and November 2020 – the largest annual decrease in a decade. Meanwhile, February figures show there are now 726,000 less employees on UK payrolls than in February 2020 (although the larger falls oc....
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No jab, no job?
In an ITV interview, Justice Secretary Robert Buckland suggested that companies may theoretically be able to turn down job candidates who refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine, by writing it into their contract as a condition of employment. Firms are taking a stand The comments come after some....
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Delayed IR35 changes to be implemented in April
Delayed IR35 changes to be implemented in April Controversial changes to IR35 ‘off-payroll’ tax regulations are finally to go ahead on 6 April 2021, after being postponed due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on businesses. However, a survey undertaken at the beginning of 2021 sh....
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Uber drivers are workers, says Supreme Court
Uber drivers are to be treated as workers, and not self-employed contractors, according to a ruling handed down on 19 February 2021 by the UK Supreme Court. The decision follows a long-running legal battle between the ride-hailing app and its employees, over workers’ rights such as minimum wage a....
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LGBT+ employees still face significant workplace challenges
1 February 2021 marked the beginning of LGBT+ History Month, an annual celebration that provides education and an insight into the issues the LGBT+ community faces. LGBT+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, plus other types of sexuality and gender identity. The event, held i....
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Government consults on non-compete clauses
On 4 December 2020, the government launched a consultation into non-compete clauses in employment contracts, which employers often use to prevent employees from working for or establishing a competing business following the termination of their contract. This clause is a type of post-termination re....
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What if my employee refuses to come back to work?
Amid a second national lockdown, millions of employees are back on furlough leave or working from home. The lockdown was ordered in an attempt to stem rapidly rising COVID-19 cases and related deaths, which are once again being closely followed and reported by the media. In such a climate, it is....
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National lockdown prompts furlough extension
On 5 November 2020, the day on which England’s second lockdown came into force, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that the Coronavirus Job Retention (or furlough) Scheme was to be extended until March 2021. Prior to the announcement, the furlough scheme had been due to end at the end of October, w....
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Furlough to be replaced with new ‘Jobs Support Scheme’
The furlough scheme is due to end on 31 October 2020, with employers claiming nearly £40bn for 9.6 million workers since the scheme opened. Now, as the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic continues to reverberate and with winter fast approaching, the Chancellor has been facing increasingly....
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Coronavirus could see increase in Settlement Agreements
The coronavirus pandemic has brought entire industries to their knees and had a huge impact on the ability of businesses to pay their staff. Despite government assistance via the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, there has been a surge in redundancies, which could in turn lead to a rise in claims f....
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COVID-19: Keeping employees safe and healthy
Even under the most ordinary of circumstances, employers must do everything that is “reasonably practicable”[1]to protect their employees’ health, safety and welfare while they are at work. In these unprecedented times, however, employers will have to take extra steps to ensure, as far as pos....
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Get ready for 2020 Good Work Plan Legislation
Anxious to demonstrate that they are not using Brexit as an opportunity to roll back on workers' rights, the Government plans to introduce a raft of new employment laws as part of: 'the largest upgrade in a generation to workplace rights'. The legislation will implement the proposals set out in the....
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Dismissal and redundancies during the COVID-19 outbreak
During these difficult times, many businesses are struggling financially, and some are unable to continue paying their employees’ salaries. To avoid mass job losses, the government has introduced the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), also known as ‘furlough leave’, through which employ....
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