Swedish Derogation repeal (in wider gig economy overhaul)
Theresa May is planning measures to boost workers’ rights, including ending of the Swedish derogation model (that allows employers, in certain…
Other Employment Related Budget News (from 29.10.18)
Alongside the important changes being made to IR35 in April 2020 (which you can read here), the Budget of 29.10.18…
Mandatory Ethnicity Pay Gap Reporting coming soon?
Mandatory Ethnicity Pay Gap Reporting Consultation starts In October 2018 the Government started a consultation asking Employers to contribute their…
Parental Bereavement Leave coming soon
Parental Bereavement Leave will be available from 2020 (updated January 2020). The Parental Bereavement (Pay and Leave) Bill received Royal…
The impact of EEA immigration to the UK
These charts from the Migration Advisory Committee report (an independent body that advises the government), published yesterday, are interesting. Â …
Data Protection, Copyright and Intellectual Property – if there is no Brexit deal
In this week’s release of ‘technical notices’ by the UK Government, in the case of a Brexit no-deal, Data Protection…
IR35 changes coming to the private sector in 2019?
With every possibility that the disastrous changes that were made to IR35 in the Public Sector (in April 2017), are…
Brexit: What Employers need to know now (about their staff who are EU Citizens)
Updated 1st November 2018. Clearly, Brexit brings huge considerations for employers. An important consideration is staffing – in regards to…
Workplace rights if there’s no deal Brexit
We’re not going to make any sarcastic comments about the UK Governments’ no deal Brexit papers, the first third of…
Offer sabbaticals to avoid redundancies?
I must admit I’ve never heard of this, but offering sabbaticals as a way to avoid redundancies is a good…
Suspension – updated guidance from Acas (July 2018)
Acas have updated their guidance on Suspension – suspending employees prior to disciplinary action, or on medical grounds, or for…
Payslip Requirements (and changes in April 2019)
Payslips – Employer Obligations at the moment: Employees are entitled to an itemised payslip, on or before payday. Employers can…
Pensions Auto-Enrolment – Contributions increase in April 2018
Employers need to be aware of a significant change in your Pensions Auto-Enrolment obligations, coming into effect from 6th April…
The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) – coming May 2018
The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) come into force across the EU, including the United Kingdom, on 25th May 2018…
Launch of Employment Tribunal Fee Refund Scheme
On the 20th October 2017 the Government launched the first stage of a refund scheme for a selected group of…
Small Business Leaders claim a quarter of staff are under-performing
In a recent survey from Sandler Training, Small business leaders claim that more than a quarter of staff are under-performing.…
Guidance for staff with premature or sick babies
Staff with premature or sick babies – Acas have just produced a new Guide for Employers to help them manage…
Termination Payments – tax changes due in April 2018
The latest information on changes to the tax and National Insurance treatment of Termination Payments (payments you may make to…
Employment Tribunal Fees declared unlawful on 26th July 2017!
Employment Tribunal Fees declared unlawful on 26th July 2017 by the UK Supreme Court. Employment Tribunal Fees were introduced, controversially,…
More Gig economy ‘worker’ decisions – a bicycle courier working for Excel… plus Addison Lee
Following on from the recent decisions about Uber and CitySprint, now a bicycle courier working for Excel has been declared…
CitySprint bike courier is also a worker
Following the recent Uber ‘worker’ decision, another employment tribunal has found that a bike courier working for CitySprint is also…
Problems with Recruitment and Retention? Look at the whole picture
If you are struggling to recruit and keep good staff and freelancers, it might be time to take a look…
Fluent English Language requirements for Public Sector Workers
In August 2015 the Government announced that public sector workers “must have fluent English if they work directly with the…
Brexit – Employment Law implications
On October 12th 2016 The House of Commons Library issued a ‘short note’ that discusses the interaction between UK and…
Direct Earnings Attachments – what do they mean for SME’s?
As an employer, you can be asked to deduct money from an employees pay, if they have been overpaid benefits…
Using an Umbrella Company
Updated 2016 (this article about using an Umbrella Company was previously in our ‘Workline’ database but is no longer published…
Grooming and Dress Code Policies
Do you need a grooming and dress code policy for your staff/contractors?  (updated September 2020) If your staff are client/customer…
Sending employees & contractors abroad on overseas business
If you secure, or are trying to secure, overseas business, what do you need to consider when sending your contractors,…
Workplace Sweepstakes – there are laws governing it!
Perhaps I’m naive but I never considered there could be laws on workplace gambling (or workplace sweepstakes)! Football, horse-racing, Wimbledon…
Details of the 2016 Trade Union Bill, effective 1st March 2017
During 2016 the Trade Union Bill, which the Government wanted as a major vehicle to reform existing industrial action legislation,…
Mandatory Gender Pay Gap Reporting and Pay Ratios coming soon!
The 2015 Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act (SBEEA) has amended The Equality Act 2010 to require employers with 250…
What does the Modern Slavery Bill mean for Businesses?
The Government have produced guidance on Transparency in Supply Chains to help employers meet their new responsibilities under the Modern…
Zero Hours Contracts – Guidance from the UK Government
The Government published Guidance on the use of Zero Hours Contracts on 15th October, which you can see here. The…
SME’s can reclaim at least 92% of Statutory Maternity Pay
Did you know that all employers can usually reclaim 92% of employees’ Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), Paternity Pay, Adoption Pay…
Changes to Health and Safety Laws for the Self-Employed
Legislation called the Deregulation Bill becomes law on 1st October and will impact self-employed workers and contractors with regard to…
Shared Parental Leave and Pay – Employers Guidance
You can find a technical guide here from the Department of Business, Skills and Innovation – for employers to consider…
How the drug driving bill will affect employers
How will the drug driving bill affect employers, contractors and staff? The Drug Driving (England and Wales) Regulations 2014 came…
Are you an Employment Intermediary business?
You may not know if your business qualifies as an employment intermediary, and we couldn’t blame you! But it’s extremely…
E-Cigarettes at work, should you allow them?
The law on E-Cigarettes? The current smoking laws do not apply to e-cigarettes. Currently electronic cigarettes are only covered by…
Finding details of Employment Tribunal cases
Updated 2017. Employment Tribunal judgments are rarely made freely available to the public, however The Ministry of Justice launched a…
How to incentivise your staff with a bonus scheme
A good, fair and well-designed bonus scheme can be a perfect way to increase your staff’s productivity and so your…
Acas publish new Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance
Acas published an updated Code of Practice for dealing with Disciplinary and Grievance issues on Wednesday (11 March 2015), which…
Finance Bill/Intermediaries Legislation 2014
If you are an ‘intermediary’ business who provides Contractors and workers to your clients, you need to regularly report to…
Freelancers what are your rights if a Client cancels your contract
Freelancers and contractors will generally have no legal right to reinstatement if their Client terminates or chooses not to renew…
Obesity can be a Disability in certain circumstances
In December 2014, the European Court of Justice ruled that obesity can be a disability in certain circumstances. However, they…
New right to shared parental leave in 2015 (SPL)
The Government are introducing a new shared parental leave and pay system for children born, or matched / adopted, on…
Calculating holiday pay (updated 2017)
When calculating holiday pay Employers must now include payments for regular overtime and contractual results-based commission. Updated to look at…
Deciphering the false self-employment legislation for contractors
The false self-employment (Onshore Employment Intermediaries) legislation, which came into effect on 6th April 2014, is still causing confusion for…
Finance Bill will affect some self-employed
The Finance Bill has been subject to much speculation since it was announced in Autumn 2013. As part of the…
Antenatal Leave for fathers/partners available from 1st October 2014
For a long time pregnant employees have had a legal right to paid time off for antenatal appointments and from…