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 public in England, Scotland and Wales”, in order to ensure…
In August 2015 the Government announced that public sector workers “must have fluent English if they work directly with the public in England, Scotland and Wales”, in order to ensure…
On October 12th 2016 The House of Commons Library issued a ‘short note’ that discusses the interaction between UK and EU employment law; the potential consequences of Brexit; and the…
As an employer, you can be asked to deduct money from an employees pay, if they have been overpaid benefits by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). This is…
Updated 2016 (this article about using an Umbrella Company was previously in our ‘Workline’ database but is no longer published on the Crunch website). Many freelancers and contractors choose to…
Do you need a grooming and dress code policy for your staff/contractors? (updated September 2020) If your staff are client/customer facing, you’ll need to consider what constitutes appropriate dress and…
If you secure, or are trying to secure, overseas business, what do you need to consider when sending your contractors, your employees, or even just yourself abroad? Clearly some countries…
Perhaps I’m naive but I never considered there could be laws on workplace gambling (or workplace sweepstakes)! Football, horse-racing, Wimbledon – just about any event can bring on the need…
During 2016 the Trade Union Bill, which the Government wanted as a major vehicle to reform existing industrial action legislation, progressed through Parliament. The Bill had its first reading in…
The 2015 Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act (SBEEA) has amended The Equality Act 2010 to require employers with 250 or more employees (in the private or third sector) to…
The Government have produced guidance on Transparency in Supply Chains to help employers meet their new responsibilities under the Modern Slavery Act. The Act came into force from the 29th…
The Government published Guidance on the use of Zero Hours Contracts on 15th October, which you can see here. The Guidance gives examples of when using a zero-hour contract would…
Legislation called the Deregulation Bill becomes law on 1st October and will impact self-employed workers and contractors with regard to their health and safety obligations. The existing Health and Safety…
You can find a technical guide here from the Department of Business, Skills and Innovation – for employers to consider when implementing policies on shared parental leave and pay. As…
How will the drug driving bill affect employers, contractors and staff? The Drug Driving (England and Wales) Regulations 2014 came into force on 2nd March 2015 and if you’re an…
You may not know if your business qualifies as an employment intermediary, and we couldn’t blame you! But it’s extremely important you know if you are affected by the legislation…
The law on E-Cigarettes? The current smoking laws do not apply to e-cigarettes. Currently electronic cigarettes are only covered by consumer product regulations, although from July 2016 they will come…
Updated 2017. Employment Tribunal judgments are rarely made freely available to the public, however The Ministry of Justice launched a new online database in February 2017, which you can access…
A good, fair and well-designed bonus scheme can be a perfect way to increase your staff’s productivity and so your bottom line. If you decide to set one up, what…
Acas published an updated Code of Practice for dealing with Disciplinary and Grievance issues on Wednesday (11 March 2015), which you can see here. The new Code has been updated…
If you are an ‘intermediary’ business who provides Contractors and workers to your clients, you need to regularly report to the HMRC about the ‘workers’ you provide, who you do…
Freelancers and contractors will generally have no legal right to reinstatement if their Client terminates or chooses not to renew their contract. However, you may be due a paid notice…
In December 2014, the European Court of Justice ruled that obesity can be a disability in certain circumstances. However, they didn’t declare obesity to be a protected characteristic, against which…
(Updated February 2024) The Government are introducing a new shared parental leave and pay system for children born, or matched / adopted, on 5th April 2015 or after; in England,…
The false self-employment (Onshore Employment Intermediaries) legislation, which came into effect on 6th April 2014, is still causing confusion for Contractors – there have been no tribunal or court cases…
The Finance Bill has been subject to much speculation since it was announced in Autumn 2013. As part of the legislation contained within the bill, the ‘False’ Self-Employment (Onshore Employment…
For a long time pregnant employees have had a legal right to paid time off for antenatal appointments and from 1st October 2014, prospective fathers/partners, including same sex partners, of…
It’s not uncommon for romance to blossom between work colleagues – generally, this causes few problems, but we thought we’d take a look at what can sometimes be a quagmire…
If you employ someone on a Zero-Hour contract they will usually be a Worker if employed (some zero-hours contracts can be full employee contracts, although this is more unusual). A…
When considering if a worker has a disability or not – for the purposes of being covered by the Equality Act 2010 – employers must consider the impact of any…
IR35 – Updated 2016. Many new freelancers and contractors may be vaguely aware of IR35, but not know when and where it applies. Before getting too intimate with the ins…
From 30th June 2014, all employees will be able to ask their Employer for flexible working. Prior to this date only those with 'caring' responsibilities were able to make a…
Financial rewards may seem an obvious way to motivate your staff and freelancers, but a new study has revealed they don’t work in the long term! While hefty pay rates…
Say thank you! In a recent survey by recruitment website monster.co.uk, taken by 2000 workers and 500 employers/managers, more than 58% of British workers don’t believe they are thanked enough…
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 supports reformed offenders entering the workplace. Following a specified period of time – which varies according to the sentence – an offender’s cautions and…
Smart phones, internet, social media sites, e-mails, tweeting, blogging - we have accepted all of these innovations as part of our working and daily lives – they help us to…
Are LCC’s protected under the Equality Act? It is common in many industry sectors for workers to work through a Limited Liability Company (or Personal Service Company). In a recent…
A major change to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) comes into force on 6th April 2014, which will affect all employers. Currently, under the Percentage Threshold Scheme (PTS), employers can recover…
From the start of the 2013/14 Academic year the Government changed the law on how long young people are required to stay in education or training. Raising the Participation Age‘…
With the diversity of workforces in the UK today, there’ll inevitably be many workers of different nationalities and with different languages and cultures. This will mean that employers may need…
At the end of 2013 an important case went to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) – Whittlestone v BJP Home Support Ltd – which confirmed that employees who are engaged…
Updated February 2021. In a substantial case in December 2013 (Moran and Others v Ideal Cleaning Services Ltd and Celanese Acetate Ltd) the Employment Appeal Tribunal said that the Agency…
Your Christmas Party is normally pretty lively and good fun, but employers need to consider various factors beforehand, so there are no problems (yawn – but bear with us here!).…
The European Court of Justice in 2013 advised that a British woman who had a child through a surrogate mother is entitled to paid maternity leave. Women who adopt a…
‘Without Prejudice’ Rules have existed for a long time and are used by an employer when they and an employee have a dispute in their working relationship which they are…
Many employers, if a relationship with an employee is not going well, for whatever reason, may consider ending that relationship and will hope to start a conversation with an employee…
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), which replaced the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) in late 2012 is there to help employers make safe recruitment decisions,…
An Agency worker (temp) is usually contracted and paid by the Agency who employs them, and the Company that hires them pays a fee to the Agency for their work.…
Read our latest advice here about whether you should let an employee audio-record a disciplinary or grievance meeting or appeal; and whether the employer should do this too. There could…
There could be various reasons you, or your Employer, may wish to audio-record important work meetings/hearings, including the hope that this will support your/their position should a claim be made…
Although many commentators believe that the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) were not intended to apply to ‘professionals’ with their own limited companies (also called a Limited Company Contractor or Personal…