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quarantine passport

Annual leave, COVID-19 and quarantine – What employers need to know

With flights to popular tourist destinations being reinstated and the chance of a summer get away becoming a possibility, there are implications for the employment relationship which must be acknowledged when you factor in the 14-day period of post-travel self-isolation required when re-entering England. Unless one of the exemptions applies, including the newly created “travel corridors”, employers must be prepared for staff being unable to return to the workplace for the duration of the quarantine period following their time abroad.

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27th July 2020

ppe in the workplace

Health and safety consultant fined for providing incompetent advice

A health and safety consultant has been fined for breach of legislation after it was revealed he provided inadequate health and safety advice on technical issues and complex matters while not being qualified to advise his clients. Luton Crown Court heard how Clive Weal, a self-employed health and safety consultant from Torksey, Lincolnshire, provided inadequate and flawed advice on the management and control of risk in relation to hand arm vibration, workplace noise and the control of substances hazardous to

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15th July 2020

HSE inspections

HSE resumes workplace inspections

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has announced it is restarting “proactive” inspections, as a large proportion of the country returns to work following the easing of lockdown restrictions. The move follows a government announcement of more cash for the organisation and Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, promising the regulator would carry out “spot inspections” to make sure businesses were safe places to work. The HSE stopped carrying out routine inspections after the lockdown announcement in March, despite many sectors such as

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2nd July 2020

Instant Messaging

Instant Messaging has proved to be an invaluable means of communicating with staff who are working from home, with applications such as Microsoft Teams, Slack and Whatsapp being increasingly used on a day to day basis. However, whilst such channels can improve efficiency, the absence of visual and verbal feedback can give rise to feelings of stress and anxiety amongst staff who have not been used to communicating in this way. The delivery of negative messages via group channels can

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23rd June 2020

Third-party Harassment

Despite the fact that employers are not vicariously liable for third-party harassment against their employees, they have an established duty of care to do what is reasonable to protect them from such treatment in the course of their employment. A failure to act upon an employee’s complaint that they have been harassed by a third-party, whether it be a customer, supplier or consultant, will leave the employer exposed to a claim of constructive dismissal if the employee resigns as a consequence,

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18th June 2020

Discrimination at Work

Despite increased awareness of its impact, discrimination in the workplace remains commonplace, and poses a significant challenge to employers. The potential consequences include costly legal action (with unlimited compensatory awards in the Employment Tribunal), as well as damaging publicity. Discrimination need not be intentional in order to be unlawful, and the COVID-19 landscape presents new challenges for employers in ensuring that the measures they take do not disproportionately impact protected groups. An example of direct discrimination – Unfavourable treatment “on

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22nd May 2020

changes to employment tribunal decisions

Law Commission proposes changes to Employment Tribunals

Following a period of consultation in 2019, the Law Commission has made a series of proposals to improve how employment disputes are decided. The proposals include significant changes to time limits and the powers of employment tribunals in relation to breach of contract claims. At present, the time limits vary depending on the type of claim being brought. Some of the most common heads of claim such as unfair dismissal, discrimination and unlawful deduction of wages claims, have a time

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21st May 2020

How do you stop banter going too far?

The escalation of homeworking has led to a rapid increase in digital communication between employees. Channels such as Whats App, Slack, Teams and Zoom offer valuable opportunities to maintain contact and morale at a time when people are isolated, but they also carry a risk that communications can easily “cross the line”, particularly when they have previously been used more for interaction in a social context. What one employee judges to be “harmless banter”: another employee may perceive as inappropriate

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19th May 2020

online meeting

Acas guidance on handling disciplinary and grievance procedures during the Coronavirus outbreak

The Acas code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures was introduced in 2009, replacing the ill-fated statutory 3-step procedures for dispute resolution in the workplace. The Code introduced a principles-based good practice approach to handling workplace disciplinary and grievance situations. In response to the Coronavirus situation, Acas has now published guidance on the application of the Code whilst the current disruption is ongoing. It provides that employers must consider whether it is fair or reasonable to carry out disciplinary

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12th May 2020

downing street

Employers should avoid knee-jerk reactions to the PM’s statement

Sunday’s statement by the Prime Minister had been built up by his colleagues (inadvertently as a result of them deferring responses to questions in TV interviews and the daily briefings) and the press to the point that there was an expectation that something more substantial would be forthcoming. However, that lack of substance in both this and the associated strategy document that was published the day after could end up doing more harm than good in terms of the response

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11th May 2020

How is holiday treated during furlough leave?

During periods of ‘furlough leave’ in the context of the Coronavirus pandemic, workers will continue to accrue their holiday. Workers can take holiday during the furlough period in the normal way, subject to the employer’s agreement, and this will not break the furlough period. If an employee takes holiday during this time, they should be paid at their full normal rate of pay for such period. If an employee has booked annual leave, then it is possible that they will

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4th May 2020

Navigating holiday pay, what are employees entitled to?

Who is entitled to paid holiday? All employees and workers, workers being those who don’t have full employment status, but are engaged on the basis of providing personal service. How is the holiday leave entitlement calculated? The statutory right is to 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday each year, which equates to 28 days for those working five days a week (note that those working more than 5 days are still only entitled to 28 days). There is no statutory right to

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30th April 2020

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

drivers hours

Government relaxes its enforcement of driver hours rules

The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced that there will be a temporary and limited relaxation of the enforcement of drivers’ hours rules in England, Scotland and Wales. The drivers’ hours and working time rules are in place to protect road safety and the working conditions of drivers and to reduce the risk of drivers being involved in fatigue-related accidents. The temporary relaxation of these rules reflects the exceptional circumstances arising from the COVID-19 outbreak and will apply to drivers of

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2nd 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

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