The HR Kiosk

Currently, all employees, who are engaged for one month or more, are legally entitled to a Written Statement, which they must receive within two months of starting the job. However,…

New – Council Tax Attachment of Earnings Orders (CTAEO) From 8th July 2019, the HMRC are leading a trial with 29 different Council areas in England and Wales to recover…

Is it a United Kingdom? We thought we’d look in detail at the main differences in Employment Law between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and have updated this for…

What records do employers need to keep for the Working Time Regulations? Until May 2019, Employers in the UK needed to keep the following records : Records showing that the…

The Agency Workers Regulations come into force on 1st October 2011 to bolster the rights of so-called "vulnerable" agency workers - and the Swedish Derogation is being mentioned a lot…

(Updated July 2019) In a not-unexpected move on 29th October 2018, the Chancellor announced that all medium and large sized businesses in the private sector who employ Contractors will become…

Unpaid work trials are common in some sectors where there is high turnover of staff (e.g. hospitality, retail) as they can be an effective way to find out if a…

Currently, an Employer is required to give an employee a Written Statement of their key terms and conditions within the first 2 months of their employment (if they are engaged…

In October 2018, the Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the High Court (this has been a long running case!) that Morrisons was vicariously liable for the actions of…

With the ongoing shift towards employers using freelancers / contractors instead of employing PAYE workers and employees in the current uncertain climate, we look at how small business owners can…

At the end of November 2018 the Government launched a voluntary framework for Employers to record their disabled work-force, in what is seen as a possible move towards mandatory disability…

Theresa May is planning measures to boost workers’ rights, including ending of the Swedish derogation model (that allows employers, in certain situations, to pay agency workers less than their permanent counterparts),…

Alongside the important changes being made to IR35 in April 2020 (which you can read here), the Budget of 29.10.18 also announced: The National Minimum/Living Wage will rise: The Low…

Parental Bereavement Leave will be available from 2020 (updated January 2020). The Parental Bereavement (Pay and Leave) Bill received Royal Assent in September 2018 and is likely to come into…

These charts from the Migration Advisory Committee report (an independent body that advises the government), published yesterday, are interesting.   It summarises their conclusions as to what impact EEA immigration…

In this week’s release of ‘technical notices’ by the UK Government, in the case of a Brexit no-deal, Data Protection was included – and the full note (here) sets out…

With every possibility that the disastrous changes that were made to IR35 in the Public Sector (in April 2017), are likely to be applied to the Private Sector in April…

Updated 1st November 2018. Clearly, Brexit brings huge considerations for employers.  An important consideration is staffing – in regards to the future rights of EU Citizens who are already in…

We’re not going to make any sarcastic comments about the UK Governments’ no deal Brexit papers, the first third of which were released on 23rd August (even though it’s SO…

I must admit I’ve never heard of this, but offering sabbaticals as a way to avoid redundancies is a good concept to explore!  The idea is explained in this article…

Acas have updated their guidance on Suspension – suspending employees prior to disciplinary action, or on medical grounds, or for new or expectant mothers – which you can see here.…

Payslips – Employer Obligations at the moment: Employees are entitled to an itemised payslip, on or before payday. Employers can choose whether they provide printed or electronic (online) payslips. The…

Employers need to be aware of a significant change in your Pensions Auto-Enrolment obligations, coming into effect from 6th April 2018. Since Pension Auto-Enrolment started in 2012, Employers have been…

The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) come into force across the EU, including the United Kingdom, on 25th May 2018 (and will stay implemented whether Brexit ever happens or not!).…

On the 20th October 2017 the Government launched the first stage of a refund scheme for a selected group of 1000 people, who paid Employment Tribunal fees between 29 July…

In a recent survey from Sandler Training, Small business leaders claim that more than a quarter of staff are under-performing. According to a survey of 2,000 small business leaders, performance…

Staff with premature or sick babies – Acas have just produced a new Guide for Employers to help them manage staff in this situation, called ‘Workplace support for parents with…

The latest information on changes to the tax and National Insurance treatment of Termination Payments (payments you may make to an employee when they leave), that will be effective April…

Employment Tribunal Fees declared unlawful on 26th July 2017 by the UK Supreme Court. Employment Tribunal Fees were introduced, controversially, by the Government in July 2013 and after a 4…

Following the recent Uber ‘worker’ decision, another employment tribunal has found that a bike courier working for CitySprint is also a worker rather than self-employed, giving her rights to holiday…

If you are struggling to recruit and keep good staff and freelancers, it might be time to take a look at the whole picture of how you Recruit, Induct, Employ…

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…

Did you know that all employers can usually reclaim 92% of employees’ Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), Paternity Pay, Adoption Pay and Shared Parental Pay? And you can reclaim 103% if…

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…