February 2022

On 21 February 2022, the UK Government announced its plan to end remaining COVID-19 restrictions in England.  These include, from 24 February, the removal of the legal requirement to self-isolate following a positive test;  and the requirement to wear face-coverings in public spaces and on public transport; and, from 1 April, the withdrawal of free

The Home Office has released updated guidance on right to work checks, to reflect changes which are due to come into effect, from 6 April 2022.

Rights to work checks

From 6 April, employers will no longer be able to carry out manual right to work checks for employees/candidates who are biometric card holders.  Instead

2021 saw a number of Pensions Ombudsman decisions on reclaiming overpaid benefits.  The direction of travel was decidedly member-friendly.  I’m left wondering what schemes can do to improve the odds of being able to recover excess payments.

What can stop a scheme from reclaiming overpayments?

If benefits are overpaid, the starting point is that trustees

In recent months, Canadian Governments and employers shifted towards the implementation of mandatory vaccination policies in their workplaces (see our previous publication here). As deadlines for compliance lapse, employees may be subject to discipline up to and including termination.

Generally, in the event of an employee’s termination of employment, the employee is entitled to

On 1 January 2022, a new Act on gender diversity in boards of Dutch companies has entered into force. The Act provides for quotas to apply to supervisory boards and non-executive directors of Dutch companies listed on Euronext Amsterdam (AEX). In addition, large Dutch companies (as defined below) have to adopt appropriate and ambitious targets

Victoria’s proposed Occupational Health and Safety Amendment (Psychological Health) Regulations (Proposed Regulations) were released yesterday and, if approved by the Minister, are slated to commence operation on 1 July 2022.

Their introduction follows a period in which workers’ compensation claims for mental injury have persistently increased across Australia. In Victoria, such claims increased

Au Québec, le vol ou la fraude commis par un salarié dans le cadre de son emploi peuvent généralement constituer un motif sérieux de congédiement. Il peut s’agir parfois d’un vol d’équipement, d’appropriation illégale de sommes dans un contexte de remboursement de dépenses ou simplement d’un vol « de temps ». Ces situations débutent normalement

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in profound reductions in the U.S. Department of State’s (DOS) visa processing capacity. Consequently, the DOS in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on December 31, 2021 that consular officers had been granted the discretionary power to temporarily waive in-person interview requirements for certain nonimmigrant visas until

The UK  Court of Appeal has given its judgment in the case of Smith v Pimlico Plumbers and has allowed the appeal by the appellant in relation to his claim for holiday pay.  The case considered whether the worker (who had been incorrectly identified as self-employed) was within time to bring his claim for paid