Topic: UK

The UK Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme – An Update

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on March 27, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, UK

As we noted in our previous blog post here the UK Government announced the new Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme by which employers can apply to HMRC for a grant to cover most of the wage costs (up to 80%) of salary of workers who are temporarily not working but kept on the payroll (furloughed workers) … Continue reading

UK Government support to self-employed individuals

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on March 27, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, UK

On 26 March the UK Government announced a package of support to self-employed individuals. The main points of the proposal are: Self-employed individuals can apply for grants of up to 80% of their profits up to £2,500 per month The level will be calculated on the basis of the average monthly trading profit over the … Continue reading

UK Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on March 23, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, UK

The UK Government is setting up a new Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme which will help employers pay their workers’ wages. Any employer (regardless of size or sector type) will be eligible for the scheme. Employers can apply to HMRC for a grant to cover most of the wages (up to 80%) of salary of workers … Continue reading

UK – STATUTORY SICK PAY AND COVID-19

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on March 20, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, UK

One of the key issues for employers is what payments to make to employees if they are unable to work as a result of COVID-19. Entitlement to Statutory Sick Pay Where an employee has symptoms of the virus then they must be absent from work. These employees will be entitled to sick leave and sick … Continue reading

Germany: An Employer’s duties dealing with COVID-19 (Coronavirus) – Q&A

By Cornelia Marquardt on March 12, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, Europe, France, General, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Russia, The Netherlands, UK

COVID-19 is spreading across the world and companies everywhere are faced with its challenges. In circumstances where a COVID-19 case impacts your German workplace we recommend close coordination with the public health authority on how to proceed. In doing so – especially against a possible liability for illness or even death – it will show … Continue reading

UK Pensions: Regulator plans big shake-up for DB scheme funding: “fast track” or “bespoke” options

By Lesley Harrold on March 10, 2020 Posted in UK

On March 3, 2020, the Pensions Regulator published the first of its two planned consultations on a revised DB funding regime. The first focuses on an entirely new approach for valuations and sets out eight principles underlying the new framework of “fast track” or “bespoke”. This consultation closes on June 2, 2020. The second consultation … Continue reading

UK: Pension Scams – How to help protect your pension scheme members

By Sabrina English on March 6, 2020 Posted in UK

In HMRC’s latest Pension Schemes Newsletter published at the end of February 2020, it was noted that the Pensions Regulator has published a new scheme transfer checklist, for use by pension schemes if their members request a transfer. The checklist, which was published in conjunction with the FCA, sets out a list of questions that … Continue reading

The UK proposes a new points based immigration system

By Lauren Pullen-Stanley (UK) and Amanda Sanders (UK) on February 20, 2020 Posted in General, UK, Uncategorized

On 19 February 2020 the UK Government published its policy statement setting out its proposals for a new points-based immigration system. Following the UK’s exit from the EU, free movement of workers will cease and all EU and non-EU citizens will be treated equally from 1 January 2021. The Government will introduce a new immigration … Continue reading

UK: An employer’s duty to its employees in the context of Coronavirus

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on February 11, 2020 Posted in Contracts, Coronavirus, General, UK, Uncategorized

The World Health Organisation has declared that the Coronavirus is a public health emergency of international concern and the first reported cases have appeared in the UK. What steps should employers be taking in relation to their employees? Travel to affected areas Employers owe a duty of care to their employees to take reasonable steps … Continue reading

A new immigration landscape: Migration Advisory Committee Recommendations

By Lauren Pullen-Stanley (UK) and Aida Geragusian on February 10, 2020 Posted in General, UK, Uncategorized

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) published its widely anticipated report on 28 January 2020, setting out its recommendations for a new UK immigration system to be launched in time for the end of free movement of people on 31 December 2020. The Government will be considering the recommendations in the context of its Immigration Bill, expected … Continue reading

UK Pensions – Could ethical veganism impact on future pension fund investments?

By Lesley Harrold on January 29, 2020 Posted in Europe, UK

UK Pensions – Could ethical veganism impact on future pension fund investments? January 2020 In an employment tribunal preliminary hearing on 3 January 2020, Judge Robin Postle ruled that ethical veganism satisfies the tests required for it to be a philosophical belief, with the result that it was protected under the Equality Act 2010. For … Continue reading

UK set to introduce ‘world first’ right to two weeks’ parental bereavement leave

By Joanna MacKenzie on January 28, 2020 Posted in Contracts, General, UK, Uncategorized

The UK Government has announced that a new right to two weeks’ parental bereavement will come into force from 6 April 2020. The Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Regulations (which have been laid before Parliament and are awaiting final approval) implement a statutory right to a minimum of two weeks unpaid leave for all employed … Continue reading

Ethical Veganism is a Protected Characteristic

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on January 13, 2020 Posted in Discrimination and harassment, UK

An employment tribunal in the UK has held that ethical veganism is a protected characteristic under UK discrimination law. In the UK an employee is protected from discrimination in the workplace under one of the nine protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act 2010. This includes protection in respect of religion, religious belief and … Continue reading

Upcoming Employment Law Changes in 2020

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on January 7, 2020 Posted in Contracts, General, UK, Uncategorized

As we start the new year with a new Government in the UK, we consider the important employment law changes that will, or may, come into effect in 2020. New right to a written statement of terms Currently, employees who have been continuously employed for more than one month must be provided with a written … Continue reading

All I want for Christmas is… some UK pensions reforms?

By Giannis Waymouth on December 18, 2019 Posted in UK

OK, so even I am not that obsessed with pensions, love it though I may. I’m also a realist about how long it may still take. But there’s no denying that pensions have been largely ignored recently with all the hoo-ha in the UK over Brexit and the general election. The Pension Schemes Bill died … Continue reading

Supreme Court awards employee compensation amounting to 5% of the revenue of outstandingly profitable patent in Shanks v Unilever

By Lauren Pullen-Stanley (UK) and Seiko Hidaka on December 2, 2019 Posted in General, UK, Uncategorized

The ownership of a company’s intellectual property is a sensitive subject for many companies. A recent case considered the compensation an employee may be entitled to under the Patents Act 1977 where the patents are held to be of outstanding benefit to the employer. As it is often a company’s employees who create intellectual property, … Continue reading

What is the real reason for dismissal?

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on December 2, 2019 Posted in UK, Whistleblowing

The Supreme Court in the UK has held in the case of Royal Mail Group Ltd v Jhuti that, where the real reason for dismissal is a protected disclosure which has been hidden from the person determining the dismissal, by a person in a position of responsibility, the dismissal is automatically unfair, even where the … Continue reading

Right to work in the UK and requests for evidence

By Lauren Pullen-Stanley (UK) on November 20, 2019 Posted in Discrimination and harassment, UK, Uncategorized

A recent UK case considered whether an employer acted reasonably in requiring an employee, who was not a national of the European Economic Area (EEA), married to an EEA national, to produce documentation to show his right to work in the UK. In the UK: 1) it is illegal to for an employer in the … Continue reading

Covert monitoring in the workplace – impact on an employee’s privacy

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on November 5, 2019 Posted in Data privacy and GDPR, Europe, UK

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has held that Spanish shop workers’ right to privacy under Article 8(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights was not violated when their employer obtained evidence of theft from covert CCTV footage of the employees. The case involved five employees who worked as … Continue reading

Legal advice privilege in employment

By Amanda Sanders (UK) and Nick Howard on October 25, 2019 Posted in General, UK, Uncategorized

A recent decision in the UK Court of Appeal has provided guidance in the area of privilege in employment claims. In Curless v Shell International Ltd, the Court of Appeal had to consider whether legal advice privilege should be disapplied to an email on the basis that the advice fell within the “iniquity principle”. Legal … Continue reading

UK Pensions – new criminal offences relating to corporate transactions under the Pension Schemes Bill 2019

By Lesley Harrold on October 24, 2019 Posted in UK

In its response to its June 2018 consultation on plans to improve the powers of the Pensions Regulator, the Government’s stated aim was to better protect members’ benefits in corporate deals. This was to be achieved by improving the ability of both the Regulator and scheme trustees to monitor relevant corporate transactions and other events … Continue reading

Extension of whistleblowing protection

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on October 18, 2019 Posted in UK, Whistleblowing

Workers in the UK are protected from suffering a detriment where they have made a protected disclosure under the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996). To be protected under section 47B ERA 1996 the individual must be a worker as defined by s203(3) of that Act. A recent decision of the Supreme Court considered whether … Continue reading

UK Pensions: Paying for the sins of the fathers – how far back must you make up pension underpayments?

By Giannis Waymouth on October 16, 2019 Posted in UK

Trustees of UK pension schemes which include old guaranteed minimum pensions have got a bit of a dilemma on their hands at the moment. They have to equalise benefits between men and women to paper over the inherent inequality in the GMPs themselves, which means correcting past underpayments. There are many questions raised by … Continue reading

New single enforcement body for employment rights

By Claire Darbourne (UK) on October 1, 2019 Posted in Europe, General, UK

As part of the UK’s Government’s “Good Work Plan” to ensure fair and decent work for all, transparency and clarity of workers’ rights and effective enforcement of those rights, proposals for a single enforcement body were published for consultation in July this year. Currently in the UK, the majority of employment rights are enforced by … Continue reading