Managing performance is more difficult if you have less contact with your employees and only meet them remotely. New starters may be unfamiliar with how you work. Some employees may find their working time loses out to home-schooling or caring for shielding or sick people in their household. Others may find it difficult to switch…
Employees who are refused settled or pre-settled status
EU, EEA or Swiss citizens, and their families, can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living in the UK after 30th June 2021. But what if their application is refused? That can happen because the applicant was not resident in the UK by 11.00 pm on 31st December 2020 or because they are…
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An employee facing disciplinary proceedings goes off sick. What should you do?
Postpone They may be unfit to work but still able to engage with a disciplinary hearing. It will depend on the reason for their absence. Postpone the hearing rather than immediately setting a new date. That will prevent the people who are conducting the meeting and taking the notes from making plans that they then…
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Swiss insurance firm Zurich has introduced ‘lockdown leave’, constituting two weeks of paid leave
You can but you shouldn’t unless you have a legitimate reason to do so. Coronavirus vaccines have been approved and are being rolled out. Whilst the government has drawn up a priority recipients list, it has pledged to offer the vaccine to all adults by the autumn. Currently, you can’t insist that an employee has…
Should you provide ‘lockdown leave’ for parents with childcare needs?
Swiss insurance firm Zurich has introduced ‘lockdown leave’, constituting two weeks of paid leave for parents facing emergency childcare problems in the face of primary and secondary school closures during the third national lockdown. This is more than an employee’s statutory right to take time off work to deal with emergencies involving the care of…
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How will Brexit affect UK employment law?
The United Kingdom and the European Union agreed a Trade and Cooperation Agreement on 30th December 2020. The UK’s withdrawal from the EU is unlikely to have an immediate impact on its employment lawdespite much of it being derived from EU law. Existing EU law has been converted into domestic legislation but it will be…
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How to cope with Subject Access Requests
The Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) allows a person to make a subject access request (SAR) for the data you process about them, and for copies of those data along with information about how and why you process them. Any of you that have responded to a request know that the obligation can be onerous,…
Homeworkers and sickness absence
One survey suggests that the average homeworker takes 2.4 days off sick each year. By contrast, other research has found that a ‘typical employee’ takes 6.4 days off sick each year. This survey focused mainly on work-based employees. Great news, right? Not necessarily. The difference may be down to ‘presenteeism’. This is where an employee…
BBC cleared of equal pay discrimination
An investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has found no unlawful acts of equal pay discrimination by the BBC following high-profile complaints by female presenters. The EHRC’s report, which was published on 12th November 2020, criticised the BBC’s inadequate record-keeping, communication, and complaints system. The EHRC also recommended improvements to rebuild trust…
Preparing for the end of the Brexit transition period
The Brexit transition is the period agreed in the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement in which the UK is no longer a member of the EU but continues to be subject to EU rules and remains a member of the single market and customs union. It ends on 31st December 2020. What should you do? Check the…
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Must you put redundant employees on your bank list?
Many of you will have made employees redundant this year. You’re obliged to consider ways of saving their jobs but does this duty extend to putting employees on your list of bank workers? In Aramark (UK) Ltd v Fernandes, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (‘EAT’) said no. When Aramark made Mr Fernandes redundant, it had a…
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Should you extend probation if a new hire has been absent?
A new employee has been absent for most of their probation period. Where do you stand? Assessment When someone joins your business, you want to use that honeymoon period to assess their abilities and whether they are suitable. It is for you to decide how long that process will take. Typically, the more senior the…
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