Employment relationships can come to an end for many reasons, including redundancy, dismissal and personality clashes. Increasingly, employers are using settlements to end an employment relationship. Settlement agreements offer an alternative to wading...
Employment Issues Blog
On Friday 3rd June 2022 there will be an additional bank holiday to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. This will result in a 4-day bank holiday weekend, as the date of the usual Spring bank holiday has moved to Thursday 2nd June. The additional...
Workers on the minimum wage will get a pay increase from April next year when the rate for those aged over 23 will rise to £9.50 an hour (from £8.91). For a full-time worker, this equates to an extra £1,074 per...
Are you returning from Portugal and facing the prospect of quarantining? Perhaps you're mulling over the implications of jetting off on a foreign holiday? Make sure you understand the implications of post-holiday quarantining on your employment and...
This month's budget incorporates a number of measures designed to provide support for the many small businesses suffering the continued impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Following widespread speculation, here is a brief summary of the key points for...
In a landmark ruling that has implication for millions working in the gig economy, Uber has lost its Supreme Court fight over drivers' rights. After a 4-year legal battle, the Supreme Court ruled against the taxi app company, concluding their...
If you're an employer and need to use a settlement agreement to end a long standing dispute, here is my guide to avoiding the most common pitfalls. Understand the fundamental purpose of settlement agreements Under the terms of...
Give yourself a head start in 2021 by planning ahead for these forthcoming changes to employment law. Coronavirus The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is open until the end of April 2021. As an employer, you only need to contribute National Insurance and...
Campaigners have announced today as the launch of Ethnicity Pay Gap Day. The day supports the aims of the #EthnicityPayGap campaign and calls on employers to report their ethnicity pay gap in the same way they are required to report their gender...
The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced that the furlough scheme is being extended to the end of April 2021 and that the government will continue to pay 80% of wages until the end of the scheme. The extension aims to provide businesses with a...
Earlier this week the Government announced plans for managing the coronavirus pandemic through winter. The 64-page document contains important information on how businesses and individuals will emerge from the current national lock down on 2 December 2020....
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (JRS) ends on 31 October 2020, when it will be replaced by the Job Support Scheme which aims to protect “viable” jobs. What are the main implications for employers and employees? In the...
Today the Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced an update to the new Job Support Scheme (to be known as the 'Open' Scheme in order to distinguish it from the Scheme provided for businesses legally required to close). The new support includes a...
The Government has recently published guidance for employers about the Job Retention Bonus. This is a one-off £1,000 (taxable) payment for each eligible employee furloughed and kept in continuous employment until 31 January 2021. The bonus can be...
If you’re planning to jet off for some last minute summer sun, you might be considering the implications of self-isolating when you return to the UK. Before you book that last minute getaway, it’s essential to understand the implications of...
Today -10 June 2020 - is the last day employers can furlough staff who have not already been furloughed through the coronavirus job retention scheme. From 1 July 2020 employers may only claim for employees they have already claimed for;...
To support businesses and employees in re-opening workspaces and returning to work, the Government has now published a series of guides to making workplaces ‘COVID secure’. Eight sector-specific guides have been produced. These are for: ...
The Government has now published its plan to bring England out of the current Coronavirus lockdown. The proposals state: “For the foreseeable future, workers should continue to work from home rather than their normal physical...
On 27 March 2020, the Government announced their intention to provide further support for the self-employed in the form of a taxable cash grant. The scheme allows individuals to claim a taxable grant worth 80% of their trading profits up to a maximum of...
The Government has now published additional information about Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the Furlough Scheme). At present the details represent guidance for HMRC; whether legislation follows remains to be seen. We recommend you read the full guidance...
The Government has recently passed all stages of its emergency bill through the House of Commons. The bill has cleared the House of Lords, and is expected to become law later today. The bill provides the Government with wide-ranging powers...
SUPPORT FOR BUSINESSES Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme HMRC will set up a new online portal so that all UK employers will be eligible for assistance where an employee has been designated as a ‘furloughed worker.’ HMRC will reimburse...
All employers have a statutory duty of care for their employee’s health and safety and to provide a safe place to work. If you’re an employer, here’s what you need to know. How can I prevent the spread of infection in my business? The...
In the most recent ruling in a high profile ethical veganism case, the judge has decided that ethical veganism is a protected belief. Eariler this month the judge in the case of Jordi Casamitjana v The League Against Cruel Sports ruled that ethical veganism...
An 89-year-old former medical secretary has won £200,000 in compensation, making her the oldest person in the UK to win an age discrimination case. Eileen Jolly was unfairly dismissed from her post at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in 2017 (then aged...
If you've been experiencing long-standing problems at work, a settlement agreement could provide a clean break for you and your employer. A settlement agreement is a legally binding contract that waives an employees' rights to make a...
Problems at work? If your employer offers you a settlement agreement, here are five things you need to know. Make sure your settlement is put in writing Settlement Agreements are legally binding contracts and must relate to a particular complaint or...
Settlement Agreements came into effect on 29 th July 2013 and are legally binding contracts which can be used to end an employment relationship on agreed terms. Settlement Agreements are often used to resolve ongoing disputes between an employer and...
Making a complaint to your employer about discriminatory or unfair treatment at work can be a risky business. If you’ve been passed over for promotion or have simply had enough of lewd comments from colleagues should you consider filing a grievance? ...
The recent heatwave has sparked a series of questions about working in high temperatures. Our employment law specialist James Hodgson offers some advice for employers and employees. In the UK there is no maximum temperature that a workplace is allowed to...
Recent media coverage about harassment in the workplace has served as a sombre reminder of a problem which, despite legal protection and the best efforts of many responsible employers, remains all too common. Harassment at work is alarmingly common ...
How Settlement Agreements can Provide a Fresh Start in 2018 November often marks the start of a sharp rise in demand for settlement agreements, as employers look to resolve long standing employee problems or grievances which may have stagnated during the...
If you’ve been experiencing problems at work and have been put off taking your employer to a tribunal because of the cost of tribunal fees, you could benefit from last week’s Supreme Court ruling to scrap tribunal fees with immediate effect. The...
November often marks the start of a sharp rise in demand for settlement agreements, as employers look to resolve long standing employee problems or grievances which may have stagnated during the year. Performance and absence are the two most common issues...
Businesses wanting to exploit the current trend of moving from office-based businesses to more mobile ones will need to take a recent decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) into consideration before changing their approach. The ECJ held that the...
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