HR / Employment Law News

COVID-19 Support for Employers…

In the face of the massive repercussions of the spread of COVID-19, the Government has put in place several initiatives specifically designed to address the needs of employers. The following is our summary of the help which is currently available. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme A new Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will allow employers to claim back up to 80% of the wages of employees and workers who agree to be placed on “furlough” leave, during which they will not be allowed to undertake any work. This is currently available for 3 months and businesses should be able to apply for this relief by the end of April (backdating to 1st March 2020).

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8th April 2020

Legal changes affecting employers from April 2020

In the current situation relating to COVID-19, it would be easy for employers to lose sight of the fact that there are important Employment Law changes taking effect in April. Many of these have come out of the Good Work Plan, which the Government published in December 2018 setting out its ‘vision for the future of the UK labour market’. This remains a key time for employers to review contracts of employment and policies to keep in line with new legislation. Changes to Statements of Employment Particulars As of 6 April 2020, all workers,

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31st March 2020

Advice for employers – How to manage issues related to Coronavirus

UPDATE, 11 March 2020 * The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced on 11 March that SSP will be paid to all those who are advised to self-isolate due to Coronavirus, even if they don’t have any symptoms, and that the Government will reimburse small employers, i.e. those with less than 250 employees, any SSP they pay to employees for the first 14 days of sickness absence “due to Coronavirus”. UPDATE, 4 March 2020 * The Prime Minister announced on 4

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2nd March 2020

Is it discriminatory to pay men on shared parental leave less than an enhanced rate paid to women on maternity leave?

The Supreme Court has refused permission to appeal in the Case of Chief Constable of Leicestershire v Hextall. As such, the decision that the Court of Appeal handed down back in 2019 which dealt with this question is final. Hearing two appeals together, Ali v Capita Customer Management Ltd and Chief Constable of Leicestershire v Hextall, the Court of Appeal determined that it was not discriminatory to pay men on shared parental leave less than an enhanced rate that was

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27th February 2020

EHRC publish guidance on sexual harassment at work

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) have published a technical guidance on sexual harassment and harassment at work. Whilst onerous in that it runs to over eighty pages, it’s difficult to argue that it hasn’t arrived at an appropriate time. In 2020, we live in a society that is much more aware of how we should (or more pertinently, shouldn’t) treat our colleagues. Yet barely a week goes by when we’re not exposed to another media report of inappropriate

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14th February 2020

Redundancies: What you need to consider…

From time to time businesses may need to consider cutting their workforce in order to remain competitive. Advances in technology, changes in the marketplace and issues such as Brexit are all factors that may lead businesses to contemplate redundancies. Where this is the case, the following factors should be carefully considered in order to avoid successful claims of Unfair Dismissal: Are there genuine grounds for redundancy? The employer must be able to demonstrate that the dismissal meets the statutory definition

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27th January 2020

Tribunal rules that ethical veganism is a philosophical belief

An employment tribunal in Norwich has ruled that ethical veganism is a philosophical belief that is protected by law against discrimination and as such benefits from the protection of the Equality Act 2010. The claim was brought by Mr Casamitjana against his former employer, The League Against Cruel Sports, in which he argued that his dismissal was an act of discrimination based on his philosophical belief. This comes not long after the case of Conisbee v Crossley Farms Limited where,

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17th January 2020

General Election 2019 – The Parties’ Policies on Employment Law

Polling day is looming – Thursday, 12th December will allow the country to decide which political party will lead the UK through not just Brexit but the next 5-year term. This opportunity to vote is not a celebratory contest to choose which party leader you like – but an opportunity to look closely at the policies they are proposing in their party manifestos. For employers, all political parties are promising substantial changes within the world of work. So what changes

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11th December 2019

Can employees carry over annual leave entitlements?

The answer to this question is ‘it depends on what type of annual leave it is‘. To explain, there are three different categories of annual leave: statutory annual leave originating in EU law which gives workers 4 weeks’ paid holiday and is subject to EU / Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) requirements; statutory annual leave originating in UK law which gives workers 1.6 weeks’ paid holiday and isn’t subject to EU / CJEU requirements (despite UK courts

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9th December 2019

interference of managers at disciplinary investigations

Stark warning to employers of the dangers of senior management interference in disciplinary investigations

In Cadent Gas Limited v Singh the Claimant was a gas engineer and undertook roles as a H&S representative and shop steward for the GMB union. He had worked for the Respondent for 19 years and had an unblemished disciplinary record. Throughout 2016 and 2017 he had raised a long list of grievances, relating, among other things, to being unfairly treated on the grounds of his trade union activities. These included three grievances against his line manager. Although the Tribunal

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9th December 2019

Managing redundancy dismissals

Business reorganisations / restructures are part of everyday life for organisations looking to remain viable and competitive in the marketplace. Where they involve job losses, however, there can be exposure to unfair dismissal claims. We look at the steps employers can take to mitigate the risks. Consider whether there is a genuine redundancy situation An employer must demonstrate that the dismissal is for a reason that falls within the statutory definition of a redundancy, i.e. that it is due

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15th November 2019

Can employers afford to ignore their employees’ mental health?

According to the Mental Health Foundation, around 15% of people experience mental health problems in the workplace. Therefore, it’s more important than ever that employers understand their responsibilities in this area. For employers who may already be dealing with any of these issues, we offer a specialist Employment Tribunal representation service. We’re also running a couple of free half-day seminars on 6th December 2019 aimed at: helping employers understand their responsibilities and the benefits of managing mental health in

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13th November 2019

Annual employment tribunal and EAT stats published

The latest employment tribunal and EAT statistics have been published by the Ministry of Justice. They detail the type and volume of cases received, disposed of and outstanding for the period April 2018 to March 2019. This information is useful in assessing employment litigation trends and the impact of fees (introduced in July 2013, but outlawed in July 2017) and Acas early conciliation (introduced in May 2014). The stats show that 121,111 employment tribunal claims were accepted in this period.

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23rd September 2019

TUPE, due diligence and the data protection challenge

How can you undertake thorough and effective due diligence in the context of a TUPE transfer without breaching data protection legislation? This is a question we have been asked by clients a few times of late and so we thought it would be useful to get the answer out there for the wider benefit of employers in general. In summary, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), duly tailored by the Data Protection Act 2018, requires UK employers to comply with

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30th August 2019

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