Welcome to our November newsletter. I really didn’t think, back in March, that I would still be sending out “emergency” newsletters, based on the latest Government press releases about the pandemic but, here we are, and I think that the latest news suggests that we are going to see little relief for the next few…
Welcome to our October newsletter Part time job support scheme Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced his successor to the furlough scheme and, to be fair, it was not well received by employers. The key features were that: Employees must work 33% of their usual hours Employers were to pay employees for 33% of these hours PLUS…
Welcome to our September newsletter. As has been usual over the last few months, there is so much to report that, rather than having individual posts, I will try to summarise as much as possible that is relevant for SMEs here. Of course, much of what follows could change significantly in the coming days but…
Welcome to our August newsletter. It’s been another month when keeping up with all the news about employment and work has been well nigh impossible. I’ll therefore focus on some of the more interesting aspects of this rapidly evolving situation, as well as taking a look at what we might expect in the coming months.…
Updated 28 July 2020 (see foot of page) Late last Saturday afternoon many people were taken by surprise by the introduction of 14-day quarantines for people entering the UK from Spain and its islands. When interviewed on Sunday morning, Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab said that the possibility had arisen last Friday afternoon and the decision…
Welcome to our July 2020 newsletter. Safety in the workplace and organising a return to work A couple of months ago I alerted readers to the possible application of section 44 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. In light of the Government’s recent encouragement of employers to arrange for staff to return to work, I…
In a decision that will no doubt be of interest to many apparently self-employed hairdressers, Employment Judge Marion Batten, sitting in the Manchester Employment Tribunals, has held on determination of a preliminary issue that a qualified hairdresser who was working under what was described as an Independent Contract for Services, was in fact an employee…
Welcome to our June 2020 newsletter and it’s another bumper edition. Government support On 16 June the Government published the latest furlough update confirming that approximately 9.1 million workers from 1.1 million employers are covered at a cost to date of £20.8 billion. In addition the Self-employed Income Support Scheme has seen 2.6 million claims…
Significant changes to the Government’s furlough scheme are due to come into effect on 1 July and cover the period until it closes on 31 October. Flexible furlough Flexible furloughing is available from 1 July. It is open to staff who had been furloughed on or before 30 June. In practice that means that the…
The Law Commission has published its report into Employment Law Hearing Structures and made some significant and, in my view very sensible proposals. The report runs to 212 pages so I’ll just highlight a few of the key points, which I think would be welcomed by employment law practitioners and tribunal users alike. Time limits…