The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Self-Isolation) (England) Regulations 2020 came into force on 29 September 2020. The Regulations are complex and set out rules that apply to individuals as well as to employers. In summary, if an individual tests positive for Coronavirus or is told to self-isolate by the Track Read more…
Flexible working is not a new concept and in fact, it has become more prevalent within businesses across the UK over recent years as employers seek to promote a good “work life balance”. At present, there is nothing to stop any employee from approaching their employer and requesting to work Read more…
6 April is the point in the year when the Government brings into force most employment law changes. 2014 is no different and I have summarised some of the key changes coming into force below: Mandatory pre-claim conciliation As I explained in my last blog the provisions relating to the requirement for Claimants Read more…
Conciliation is not a new concept: for many years employers and employees have had access to a voluntary conciliation and arbitration service, known as “ACAS”, to assist them (should they request it) with resolving employment disputes before they find themselves in front of an Employment Tribunal. So what’s changing? As Read more…
The law in relation to “whistleblowing” in the UK was introduced by the Government in 1998 to protect genuine whistleblowers in the workplace and thereby encourage a culture of openness and good governance. In practice many threatened “whistleblowing” claims tend to be more about an individual seeking to maximise their Read more…
In a further sign that the Government believes that the economy is in full blown recovery, the first real terms increase to the National Minimum Wage for a number of years has been announced (previous rises were largely in line with inflation). As a result, the adult NMW rate will rise Read more…
The increasing impact of the introduction of fees for Employment Tribunal claims has become even more apparent following the publication of the statistics for the latest quarter. The full report can be viewed here at httpss://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/289342/tribunal-stats-oct-dec-2013.pdf. Interestingly, this set of statistics has been published far later than in recent years, Read more…
The Office for National Statistics has published its figures for sickness absence levels across the UK in its annual report for the period October 2012 to September 2013. Employers may be surprised to note that according to the latest statistics, a total of 131 million days were lost last year due Read more…
Following on from my blog last month, I can now confirm that increases to the maximum compensatory award and a week’s pay have been announced. From 6 April 2014, a week’s pay (used for calculating statutory redundancy entitlement and certain tribunal awards) will rise to £464 (currently £450) and the Read more…
The Collective Redundancies and Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 came into force on 31 January 2014 following a lengthy Government consultation. These Regulations have sought to simplify, clarify and reform the TUPE Regulations; the first major change since 2006. I previously blogged on these changes last Read more…