Insights & News
Search for Insights & News
-
Handling allegations of criminal conduct: what should an employer do?
11 August 2020Recent events in the Conservative party have focussed attention on the question of what an employer (or indeed a political party) should do if one of its people is accused of committing a crime. A Tory MP has been accused of rape, but at the time of writing has not been charged. It transpires that the Chief Whip had been aware for some weeks of allegations of ‘abusive behaviour and threats’ made against the anonymous MP by a parliamentary aide. Despite this, no investigation took place.
-
How does COVID-19 affect UK migrants accessing public funds and the NHS?
10 August 2020The COVID-19 pandemic has put questions around the rights of migrants to access public funds and the NHS into the spotlight. Migrants are allowed to access the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the ‘Furlough Scheme’) via their employer. However, there are limits to what government assistance some migrants are entitled to following disruption to their normal income, and access to free NHS healthcare may also be unavailable to some people.
-
Furloughing employees - FAQs for employers on the coronavirus job retention scheme
10 August 2020The furlough scheme ends on 31 October 2020, with employers starting to contribute from August and a new flexible furlough option from July.
-
Cyber threats and how to be a good sport
06 August 2020The sports sector was recently identified as a target for cyber attackers in a report published by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). The report highlights the cyber threats faced by the sports sector and suggests how to stop or reduce their impact on sports organisations of all sizes – from local clubs to national federations.
-
Sickness and sick pay – FAQs for employers as lockdown restrictions ease
06 August 2020The government has set out its “roadmap” for gradually easing the lockdown restrictions, but as employees begin to return to work there will continue to be many individuals who are unwell or required to self-isolate.
-
Coronavirus: absences from work and entitlement to pay
06 August 2020The Coronavirus situation may lead to workplace absences for a variety of reasons. This is our summary of legal rights to pay and suggested best practice for different types of absence.
-
Pandemic right to work check procedures
05 August 2020Under the Home Office’s current guidance for right to work checks (“RTW”), it is possible to conduct a fully compliant initial or follow-up RTW without seeing the individual face-to-face. Where this is not possible during the COVID-19, the Home Office has instituted a temporary adjusted procedure, which must be backed up by retrospective checks in due course. We have summarised the options and procedures below, as well as highlighting some general points to be aware of during the pandemic.
-
Further details of new UK visa route for Hong Kongers
04 August 2020From January 2021, the UK will make a new visa route available for British Nationals (Overseas) and their dependants who are usually resident in Hong Kong. The route will lead to settlement after five years’ residence in the UK, with the option to apply for British citizenship becoming available for most participants after a further year.
-
Home Office confirms COVID-19 immigration arrangements beyond 31 July 2020
03 August 2020In a last-minute update on 29 July 2020, the Home Office has pivoted towards a return to business as usual on immigration policy. Some significant concessions remain available until at least 31 August 2020, however there are a number of potential pitfalls for employers and individuals to be aware of.
-
Schrems II - Practical steps on what to do next…
03 August 2020We have previously written about the now infamous ruling from the CJEU on 16th July 2020 (“Schrems II”) and the European Data Protection Board (the “EDPB”)’s FAQs issued on 24 July 2020, both can be found linked at the bottom of this article.
-
The clinically extremely vulnerable can now return to work – or can they?
03 August 2020From 1 August the clinically extremely vulnerable no longer need to “shield” due to the risk of Covid-19, and can potentially return to work. The government has amended its workplace guidance accordingly, but at the time of writing some of this information is confusing and contradictory.
-
Staffing decisions when reopening workplaces - flowchart
03 August 2020We have produced a useful flowchart which will help employers to decide which employees can return to work as part of the Covid-19 road to recovery.
-
Coronavirus – FAQs on staffing decisions when reopening workplaces
03 August 2020Employers are facing many employment law issues as restrictions begin to be eased and more employees can come back to work. These FAQs cover specific issues in relation to deciding which employees should stay at home and what happens if employees do not want to return to work.
-
Plans for new rights for consumers during trader insolvency
31 July 2020Figures show that online sales have jumped from 19.9% of all retail sales in January to 32.8% in May 2020.
-
Government to pay bonus for retaining furloughed workers
31 July 2020The Chancellor has announced a new job retention bonus as part of its Plan for Jobs 2020. Employers who bring workers back from furlough and retain them in employment until the end of January 2021 will qualify for a £1,000 bonus, and further guidance on the scheme was published on 31 July.
-
Restructuring the workplace post Covid-19 - FAQs for employers
31 July 2020The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme may have been extended to 31 October 2020, but employers are thinking now about what their workforce might look like following the end of subsidised furlough and a return to more normal working patterns.
-
New law on redundancy and notice pay for furloughed employees
30 July 2020In a piece of rapid-fire legislating, the government has passed new regulations intended to ensure that furloughed employees who are made redundant receive statutory redundancy and notice pay based on their “pre-furlough” rate.
-
Consultation on ability of courts to depart from EU law after Brexit
30 July 2020The UK government is consulting on which lower courts and tribunals will be allowed to depart from retained EU case law after the end of the Brexit implementation period, and in what circumstances.
-
RE: Occupy Survey
30 July 2020Many businesses have made adjustments to allow a steady return of staff to office premises. As Boris encourages people back into the office, and it becomes increasingly clear that things will not return to ‘normal’ for some time, thoughts are turning to the medium to long term vision. We conducted a survey for business decision makers to investigate their plans for their offices, providing some clear trends which we hope will benefit you as we look to a ‘new normal’
-
Ireland: what do the July Stimulus Plan and Programme for Government mean for employers?
29 July 2020This article discusses key measures for employers under the new Irish government’s July Stimulus Plan, plus various commitments under its Programme for Government which could have a significant impact in workplaces.