New Equal Pay ruling regarding ‘comparators’ is good news for female workers
A ruling by the Supreme Court at the end of June has effectively handed women the legal right to demand the same pay as male colleagues doing a different job of ‘equal value’. (for more info on this...
View ArticlePortable criminal record checks now live
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), which replaced the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) in late 2012 is there to help employers make safe recruitment...
View ArticleNew Employment Tribunal rules from 29th July
Several important changes will happen to Employment Tribunals at the end of July. Firstly, and most importantly, Tribunal fees are being introduced. In addition, some Employment Tribunal Rules are...
View ArticleConfidential pre-termination negotiations and Settlement Agreements
Many employers, if a relationship with an employee is not going well, for whatever reason, may consider ending that relationship and will hope to start a conversation with an employee to end their...
View ArticleZero-hour contracts face another legal challenge
In our guide to zero-hour contracts we looked in detail at what these contracts are, and whether casual workers could ever become employees. Zero-hour contracts have been in the news most of this year,...
View ArticleNew ‘early conciliation’ service from ACAS to be launched in 2014
There have been several changes to the Employment Tribunal processes this year, with important changes at the end of July, which we highlighted here. The ‘Early Conciliation’ service will be another...
View ArticleMilitary Reservists to get more employment protection soon?
At the beginning of July the Ministry of Defence published a whitepaper aimed at helping them plan their resourcing requirements when reserve forces are deployed on operations. The whitepaper made...
View ArticleEmployee Shareholders Contracts now in force!
A new type of employment contract - the Employee Shareholder Contract - came to life on 1st September 2013 (as part of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill). Under this new contract employees give away...
View ArticleCare Workers paid under the National Minimum Wage
That headline won’t come as much of a surprise judging by the comments we receive under main Care Workers rights guide. A report by The Resolution Foundation published at the end of August, called...
View ArticleThe National Minimum Wage increases from 1st October 2013
At the beginning of September there were reports that the Conservative party are examining ways to raise the National Minimum Wage. A rise on 1st October 2013 had already been agreed on, and that...
View ArticleThird-party harassment provisions in the Equality Act repealed
The 2010 Equality Act contained the concept of Third Party Harassment, where employers could be held liable for harassment of their workers by 3rd parties. This meant that employers could be...
View ArticleRIDDOR changes from 1st October 2013
RIDDOR stands for the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations and is one of the important pieces of UK Health and Safety legislation. RIDDOR requires employers (and...
View Article‘Without Prejudice’ rules explained (and how they relate to Settlement...
‘Without Prejudice’ Rules have existed for a long time and are used by an employer when they and an employee have a dispute in their working relationship which they are trying to resolve in the most...
View ArticleEuropean Union decides surrogate mothers can take maternity leave
The European Court of Justice has recently advised that a British woman who had a child through a surrogate mother is entitled to paid maternity leave. Women who adopt a child in the UK are entitled...
View ArticleChanges to TUPE Regulations in January 2014
The Government have been consulting on the existing TUPE Regulations throughout 2013 and at the end of August announced that new TUPE regulations will come into force in January 2014. The Transfer of...
View ArticleHow to avoid confusion when calculating holiday pay
Calculating the amount of pay an employee should receive when on holiday should be fairly straightforward, with the exception of the interaction between holiday and sick pay. However, recent decisions...
View ArticleLocum Doctors – what is your employment status?
A fundamental question for everyone who works – and one that can become incredibly confusing for those with complex arrangements – is how to determine their employment status. This will govern what...
View ArticleThe Agency Workers Regulations and Locum Doctors
The Agency Workers Regulations came into force on 1st October 2011 (in England, Scotland and Wales; from 1st December 2011 in Northern Ireland), but what does it mean for the way you run your business...
View ArticleShould employers fear the office Christmas party?
Your Christmas Party is normally pretty lively and good fun, but employers need to consider various factors beforehand, so there are no problems (yawn – but bear with us!). Unfortunately, because of...
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