The Queen’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament sets out the UK government’s legislative agenda for the year ahead. This year’s speech took place on 10 May, and in addition to the Queen’s absence, there was notable absence of any employment law reform. In particular, the long-awaited Employment Bill, which was included in the … Continue Reading
Covid-19 related reluctance or refusal to attend the workplace is nothing new, but as we enter a new phase of the pandemic, ‘Living with Covid’, developing case law will be of interest to employers who require or expect workers to attend the workplace on a full or hybrid basis. This blog considers the current guidance … Continue Reading
Despite resolving to close an exploited loophole on ferry worker pay, the government has stopped short of an amendment to UK national minimum wage legislation. In October 2020, legislative changes extended the minimum wage to most seafarers working on ships in UK waters, regardless of where a ship was registered, but those working on ferries … Continue Reading
The practice of ‘fire and rehire’ (i.e. dismissal of an employee and offering re-engagement on new, usually lesser, terms) as a way to facilitate a change to terms and conditions of employment has been under the spotlight in recent years. It is not a new strategy as a way of making changes to employment contracts, … Continue Reading
It is hard to avoid the media furore following the events at P&O Ferries last week, where approximately 800 staff were reportedly dismissed for redundancy, without notice and without prior consultation, before being replaced with cheaper staff. Leaving aside the specifics and merits of P&O’s actions (which are complicated by international and seafaring considerations), the … Continue Reading
Next up in our Real Time Video Chat series, David Ashmore, Carl De Cicco and Alison Heaton explore the latest trends and issues regarding workplace vaccination policies in the UK. The group discusses the current statutory position on mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations, sick pay policies affecting the unvaccinated and what the term “fully vaccinated” means for … Continue Reading
Whether employers can require evidence of vaccination as a condition of employment or attendance in the workplace has been a hot topic in recent months, with many employers (having weighed up various legal obligations and risks) introducing a policy featuring vaccination status to some extent. Yet vaccination status is not stable and the dilemma now … Continue Reading
Despite menopause being a natural part of the ageing process, there is a general lack of awareness of its symptoms and effects, often resulting in menopausal women* experiencing a lack of support, as well as discrimination and harassment. This blog looks at the legal issues, and what employers can and ought to be doing to … Continue Reading
The COVID-19 SSP Rebate Scheme launched by the Government in May 2020 as part of a package of COVID-related financial support for employers is closing at the end of this month. The scheme enables small to medium sized employers to reclaim statutory sick pay (SSP) costs caused by absences due to coronavirus. SSP costs are … Continue Reading
The UK government’s long awaited response to its 2018 consultation on sexual harassment in the workplace has now been published. In this update, we look at the findings made and what may be coming down the line for employers as a result. Introduction The 2018 Women and Equalities Select Committee (WESC) report on sexual harassment … Continue Reading
With the lifting of COVID-19 legal restrictions in England on 19 July 2021, David Ashmore (Partner) and Alison Heaton (Knowledge Management Lawyer) from the Reed Smith employment team comment on the key issues/hot topics for employers. What is changing on 19 July for employers? The instruction to work from home if you can is being … Continue Reading
COVID-19 has thrown up numerous and multi-varied concerns for employers and employees alike. One notable area of consideration and concern has been the delicate and difficult issue of dismissals related to health and safety reasons. A recent case has shed more light on how Tribunals may deal with the pandemic-related workplace issue of employees’ refusal … Continue Reading
In the long-running case of Asda Stores v Brierley and others, the Supreme Court ruled that, for the purposes of an equal pay claim, a group of female retail store employees could rely upon the work of mainly male depot distribution employees for comparison even though they are located at different sites. Generally speaking, an … Continue Reading
The start of April sees a number of important changes that employers in the UK need to be aware of: 1st April 2021 – Increases to National Minimum Wage (employers should note the change to the age categories): Age over 23: £8.91 (from £8.72 for over 25 year olds) Age 21-22: £8.36 (from £8.20 for … Continue Reading
With 6 April 2021 quickly approaching, the IR35 reforms are now back on the agenda and fast becoming a priority. Affected businesses need to have their implementation process in place before the IR35 reforms take effect. IR35 is designed to ensure that appropriate income tax and national insurance contributions (NICs) are paid by contractors who … Continue Reading
2021 marks the start of a new era for the UK, the Brexit transition period having ended at 11pm on 31 December 2020. After endless rounds of negotiation, the parties reached a last-minute agreement over the ongoing relationship between the UK and EU, and the European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020 (which gives legal effect … Continue Reading
Welcome to our monthly newsletter, with a summary of the latest news and developments in UK employment law. A PDF version of this newsletter can be accessed here. This issue will provide recent case law updates, law reform and legislative developments, COVID-19 updates and any other news over recent weeks. Case law updates Collective redundancy … Continue Reading
Over recent weeks, the UK government has announced the first steps it is taking to get businesses up and running again in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This publication highlights a number of key areas for UK employers to consider as they start to plan ahead to re-establish and maintain their businesses, while at … Continue Reading
On 20 March 2020, the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the Scheme) as part of the UK government’s measures to help support businesses through the current COVID-19 pandemic. We have seen various iterations of guidance on the Scheme (on 26 March, 4 April, 9 April, 15 April and 17 April), and … Continue Reading
On 20 March 2020, the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the Scheme) as part of the UK government’s measures to help support businesses through the current COVID-19 pandemic. We have seen various iterations of guidance on the Scheme (on 26 March, 4 April, 9 April, and 15 April), and on 15 … Continue Reading
What a month March has been! With the COVID-19 pandemic taking hold across the UK and globally, we’ve seen the UK government responding to the crisis by imposing increasingly restrictive limits on our activities, closing schools and workplaces, introducing emergency legislation within days, and announcing unprecedented levels of financial support. With updates and developments happening … Continue Reading
On 20 March 2020, the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the Scheme) as part of the UK government’s measures to help support businesses through the current COVID-19 pandemic. Brief guidance followed after the announcement, with more detailed guidance released on the evening of 26 March 2020. There is a lot we … Continue Reading
Whilst the current COVID-19 pandemic has seen many businesses and industries suffer a significant downturn in work, for others the situation is reversed. Against this background, the UK government has announced further emergency legislation to relax the rules around the taking of annual leave. Under normal principles in the Working Time Regulations 1998 (the WTR), … Continue Reading
On Friday 20 March 2020, the UK government announced a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the Scheme) as part of its package of measures to help support businesses through the current COVID-19 pandemic. Following the announcement, separate guidance for employers and employees was issued but it is very early days in terms of understanding the detail … Continue Reading
