Topic: UK

The National Minimum Wage and care workers who sleep in: Supreme Court decision

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on April 1, 2021 Posted in Contracts, UK

The Supreme Court handed down its decision in the joined cases of Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake and Shannon v Rampersad and another (T/A Clifton House Residential Home) which concern an employee’s right to the national minimum wage for periods of time when they are required to remain at home on their shift and/or residential care workers who ‘sleep in’ but they are not actually performing some specific activity. The Supreme Court dismissed the two appeals, which will be welcomed by employers in the care sector, providing them with more certainty. In doing so the judges also reviewed previous cases … Continue Reading

Employment Appeal Tribunal rules on carry over of holiday pay.

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on March 23, 2021 Posted in Contracts, UK

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has handed down its judgement looking at a workers right to claim holiday pay.

The claimant, Mr. Smith, worked for the respondent, Pimlico Plumbers between 2005 and 2011, and was considered throughout the six year period to be self-employed independent contractor. As such, he had no entitlement to paid annual leave, although he took periods of unpaid leave. In 2011, the claimant alleged that the respondent had fundamentally breached the contract and so terminated the contract, claiming for, amongst other things, holiday pay. The initial hearing considered the claimants status, and, having been held by … Continue Reading

UK Home Office announces further changes to immigration routes

By Aida Geragusian on March 9, 2021 Posted in General, UK

Last week the Home Office published a series of changes to the Immigration Rules, many of which will take effect on 6 April 2021.

Graduate Route
In welcome news to many UK employers, the Home Office is introducing a new Graduate route into the UK (under a new section in the rules, called Appendix Graduate). Whilst UK graduates will need to meet a points threshold (in line with the new points based system), applicants will meet this by satisfying the essential criteria to the immigration route: (1) successfully completing their studies with an approved institutions; (2) obtaining a bachelor’s degree, … Continue Reading

UK Pensions: Data transfers from the EU likely to continue uninterrupted

By Julia Chirnside and Janine Regan on March 9, 2021 Posted in UK

We’re pleased to report what looks like some good news for pension schemes on data protection.

The European Commission has published a draft decision as to the “adequacy” of the UK’s data protection laws. If the draft decision is formally approved by EU Member States, this would allow personal data to flow from the EU or EEA to the UK uninterrupted after a temporary arrangement put in place at the start of this year expires. This is the so-called “data bridge” agreed as part of the Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which will last until the end of April or … Continue Reading

Budget – Immigration Proposals

By Lauren Pullen-Stanley (UK) on March 4, 2021 Posted in General, UK

In addition to the measures referred to in the Budget which are aimed at addressing the immediate challenges of COVID-19 and putting the UK’s public finances on a sustainable footing in the medium term, the Government stated in the Budget that it recognised the importance of creating the conditions for an investment-led recovery driven by private sector growth. In view of this, in the Budget, the Government has made a number of immigration policy decisions which it regards as modernising the UK’s immigration system to help the UK attract and retain the most highly skilled, globally mobile talent – particularly … Continue Reading

Extension of Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme until end September 2021

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on March 4, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, UK

In the budget on 3 March 2021, the Chancellor announced that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the CJRS) would be extended until the end of September 2021. The CJRS was due to end on 30 April 2021, but with many restrictions (in particular in the hospitality and leisure sectors) not being fully lifted until June at the earliest, the Chancellor was under pressure to extend the scheme. There are however changes to eligibility criteria and contributions under the scheme.

From 30 April 2021 until 30 June employees who are placed on furlough under the CJRS will continue to receive 80% … Continue Reading

“Stale” and “ineffective” training is insufficient to establish the reasonable steps defence

By Joanna MacKenzie on February 22, 2021 Posted in Discrimination and harassment, UK

A recent decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in Allay (UK) Limited v Mr S Gehlen provides useful guidance to employers seeking to rely on the “reasonable steps” defence to a claim of discrimination, harassment or victimisation.

An employer can be liable for acts of discrimination, harassment and victimisation carried out by its employees in the course of employment, even if the employer was not aware of those acts (section 109(1) of the Equality Act 2010). However, there is a potential defence available to an employer under section 109(4) of the Equality Act 2010 if it can show that … Continue Reading

Supreme Court decision in Uber v Aslam

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on February 19, 2021 Posted in Contracts, UK

The Supreme Court has today handed down its decision in Uber BV and others v Aslam and others, upholding the Employment Tribunal decision that the drivers are ‘workers’ within the meaning of S.230(3)(b) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) and the equivalent definitions in the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 (NMWA 1998) and the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR 1998).

There are three levels of employment status in the UK: self-employed, worker and employee. Self-employed individuals are not entitled to the same employment protections as workers and employees, and so, for example, are not entitled to protection … Continue Reading

What options do working parents have when trying to balance their work and home responsibilities during the pandemic?

By Charlotte Emmerson on February 10, 2021 Posted in Coronavirus, UK

The current national lockdown in the UK has imposed school and childcare closures for all but those children of essential key workers. Even prior to lockdown measures, many children were being sent home regularly to isolate, due to a positive case of Covid-19 in their class or school bubble. This has inevitably left many working parents struggling to balance their work with caring responsibilities, whether this is balancing duties while working from home, or managing childcare in order to go into the workplace if working from home is impossible.

To date, there are currently no emergency provisions in place for … Continue Reading

Collective Redundancies: 90 day rolling reference period

By Charlotte Emmerson on January 27, 2021 Posted in General, UK

The Collective Redundancies Directive (98/59/EC) (the Directive) sets out consultation requirements for employers where a set number of redundancies are contemplated within a specified time frame, being either 30 or 90 days depending on the member state concerned.

In the UK, the Directive is implemented through the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA). Under section 188, TULRCA requires employers to consult on its redundancy proposal with those affected, where it proposes to dismiss 20 or more employees at one establishment within a reference period of 90 days or less. The required consultation period is either 30 (20-99 … Continue Reading

UK: The end of the Brexit implementation period – implications for pensions

By Julia Chirnside on January 13, 2021 Posted in UK

At 11pm on December 31, 2020, the Brexit implementation period ended and the last-minute trade deal agreed by UK and EU negotiators took effect through the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). What does this mean for UK pensions and what steps should employers and trustees be taking?

What is the impact on UK pensions law?

UK pensions law remains basically unchanged following the end of the implementation period and the TCA coming into force. It is not expected to change significantly in the short term.

For example, any trustees or employers hoping this may spell the end to the … Continue Reading

The EU- UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement – implications for employment and immigration

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on January 6, 2021 Posted in Europe, General, UK

On 31 December the UK parliament implemented the European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020. This makes provision to implement into UK law the three main future relationship agreements with the EU including the EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). What does the TCA mean for employment and immigration law?

Employment

A significant portion of UK employment law is derived from and grounded in EU law. Under the EU Withdrawal Agreement all EU employment legislation which had effect on 31 December 2020 is adopted into UK law and so workers’ rights which existed prior to the end of the implementation period … Continue Reading

Government consultation on reform of post-termination non-compete clauses in employment

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on December 17, 2020 Posted in Contracts, UK

On 4 December 2020, the UK Government launched a consultation on reforming post-termination non-compete clauses in employment contracts. The consultation seeks views on proposals to require employers to pay employees for the period of the restriction; requiring employers to provide additional transparency by providing in writing the exact terms of the non-compete clause before their employment commence; introducing a statutory limit on the length of non-compete clauses; or, alternatively prohibiting the use of such clauses altogether.

Post termination restrictions or restrictive covenants are often included in employment contracts. Non-compete clauses are one type of restriction, which limits an employee’s ability … Continue Reading

Can employers require their employees to get the Covid-19 vaccine?

By Charlotte Emmerson on December 3, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, Data privacy and GDPR, UK

With the announcement that one of the Covid-19 vaccines has received approval from the UK regulator, employers are now asking whether they can insist that employees are vaccinated before returning to the workplace. There are clearly legal and moral issues that need to be considered.

Firstly, the anticipated Covid-19 vaccination programme in the UK will not be made mandatory as the UK government does not have legal power to do this, alongside the challenges and human rights concerns this would raise in any event. The UK Government has the power to prevent, control or mitigate the spread of an infection … Continue Reading

UK Pensions: Pensions Regulator calls on trustees to pledge to stop scammers

By Sabrina English on November 16, 2020 Posted in UK

Last week, the Pensions Regulator (TPR) launched a new initiative that asks pension scheme trustees, administrators, advisers and providers to publicly pledge that they are taking appropriate action to protect their scheme members from scammers. The pledge is aimed to encourage better understanding of the warning signs of a scam, and to improve internal processes that could protect members.

UK Pensions

Pension scams have been an increasing problem in recent years, with members targeted either to transfer their defined benefit pension pots in to a fraudulent scheme, or to a legitimate scheme but encouraged to invest in high-risk or unregulated investment options. … Continue Reading

Guidance published on the Extension of the UK Furlough Scheme

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on November 11, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, UK

Further to our blog post on 5 November, when the UK Government announced that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) will remain open until 31 March 2021, the Government has now published detailed guidance on the extension of the scheme. The guidance is comprised of a number of different documents covering such matters as which employees can be claimed for and how to calculate the claim under the scheme.

The main points to note from the guidance are as follows:

For the period 1 November 2020 to 31 January 2021 the Government will pay 80% of wages for hours not

UK Job Retention Scheme extended until 31 March 2021

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on November 5, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, UK

Further to our post about the extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), the Chancellor announced on 5 November that the CJRS (also known as the furlough scheme) will remain open until 31 March 2021. The Government also published a policy paper setting out further details of the CJRS, confirming that the scheme rules will remain the same except where indicated otherwise.

The main points to note are that:

For claim periods running to January 2021, employees will receive 80% of their usual salary for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £2,500 per month. The £2,500 cap

Furlough Scheme extended and the Job Support Scheme postponed

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on November 2, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, UK

On 31 October 2020, the UK Government announced a the new national lockdown due to begin on Thursday 5 November. On the same day, the Government announced that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), which was due to come to an end on that day, would be extended to continue during the period of lockdown. The Job Support Scheme (JSS), which was due to come into effect on 1 November as a replacement scheme, has now been postponed until the CJRS ends.

The level of support available under the CJRS during November mirrors that which was available under the CJRS … Continue Reading

Chancellor announces amendments to the UK Job Support Scheme

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on October 26, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, UK

As we announced in our blog post here on 24 September the UK Chancellor outlined additional government support to help businesses and workers impacted by COVID-19, which would come into force once the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) ends on 31 October 2020. However, with further restrictions being placed on businesses and the introduction of a three tier lockdown, the Government announced on 22 October that the level of support to be provided under the Job Support Scheme (JSS) would be increased.

The JSS relating to businesses that can remain open has been renamed the Job Support Scheme Open (JSS … Continue Reading

Job Support Scheme – Expansion for Closed Business Premises

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on October 12, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, UK

In our previous blog post here we told you about the Job Support Scheme (JSS), which is due to come into force on 1 November, and will provide support to employers where employees work reduced working hours. On 9 October, the Government announced an extension of the JSS to provide temporary support to businesses whose premises are legally required to close as a direct result of Coronavirus restrictions set out by one or more of the four governments of the UK. The purpose of this expansion is to help businesses through that temporary closure, by supporting the wage costs of … Continue Reading

UK Migrants stranded abroad due to COVID-19. – will their ability to settle in the UK or apply for further leave to remain be impacted?

By Aida Geragusian on October 6, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, UK

The effects of the global pandemic are far reaching; few have been unaffected by measures and restrictions introduced in response to the spread of COVID-19. As borders have closed and visa processing services have been suspended, those living and working outside their home jurisdictions have, and continue to face, uncertain times.

Some migrants made the decision to return to their home jurisdictions as the reality of long term border restrictions unravelled, worried they would be unable to see family for unknown periods of time. As this coincided with widespread working from home, many employers permitted their employees to continue to … Continue Reading

Remote control: Can eSigning improve your pension scheme governance?

By Shane O’Reilly on October 1, 2020 Posted in UK

Having first embraced eSignatures to solve the problem of signing documents during lockdown, I can now see a more general application. Using eSignatures can massively speed up the process of having an idea, approving it and crucially, getting the relevant decision makers the documents to implement. My observations below.

The challenges of signing pension deeds

We are all used to executing legal documents physically. Paper engrossments are printed and bound, everyone sits around a table and the authorised persons sign on the dotted line. The lawyers then take the signed documents and create certified copies for everyone. This is tried … Continue Reading

Will intra country commuting continue post Brexit? UK Government issues new guidance on frontier workers.

By Aida Geragusian on September 29, 2020 Posted in UK

A frontier worker is an EU, EEA or Swiss national, who is economically active in the UK (through employment or self-employment) but resides outside the UK. Under the EEA right of freedom of movement, such nationals are currently free to travel and work in all EEA countries.

However as freedom of movement comes to an end, the UK Government is introducing a Frontier Worker Permit, due to be launched later this year. Those individuals who hold ‘frontier worker status’ by 31 December 2020 will be able to maintain this status, providing they apply for a Frontier Worker Permit by 1 … Continue Reading

Chancellor announces new Job Support Scheme

By Amanda Sanders (UK) on September 24, 2020 Posted in Coronavirus, UK

The UK Chancellor has outlined additional government support to help businesses and workers impacted by COVID-19.

There had been calls from businesses for the chancellor to help protect jobs once the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) ends on 31 October 2020. As a result the chancellor has announced the new Job Support Scheme which will be introduced from 1 November to protect viable jobs in businesses facing lower demand over the winter months due to COVID-19. The scheme protects employees who are in work and will contribute towards the wages of employees who are working fewer than normal hours due … Continue Reading