Gender pay gap reporting requirements – are you ready?
The government has published draft legislation on gender pay reporting which will affect businesses with 250 employees or more. Essentially, the changes mean that businesses with more than 250 employees will be required to publish their gender pay gap information on their website, confirming in a statement the accuracy of such information. The aim of […]
Slavery and Human Trafficking Statements – are you ready to go public on 1st April 2016?
You may be thinking that this probably has nothing to do with your business. Think again. The obligation under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (‘MSA’) applies to organisations that have an annual turnover of £36 million and above and is therefore likely to affect recruiters and umbrella companies more than other SMEs due to, for […]
Understanding supervision direction or control is not for the faint hearted
This was the message from Adrian Marlowe, MD of the recruitment law and compliance specialist Lawspeed, whilst speaking at the Recruitment International compliance conference in London on 8th March. Explaining the issues Marlowe said “from 6th April HMRC will be using a double test in order to crack down on the use of tax relief […]
Conduct Regulations changes announced
The government has responded to its latest consultation on the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations 2003, announcing its proposals for change and confirming once again that job boards will not be excluded. New regulations have been published which will include an extension of the requirement to advertise in Great Britain as well […]
Holiday pay and commission – still up in the air?
Following the decision in Lock v British Gas, it is now an established principle that commission should be taken into account in calculating the amount that an employee should receive whilst on holiday. Commission would usually relate to an earlier period and therefore be paid whilst an employee is on holiday, but how do we […]
Are you prepared for the National Living Wage?
On 1st April 2016 the government’s new mandatory National Living Wage of £7.20 per hour for workers aged 25 and above will become law. Paying a worker less than the National Living Wage will be a breach of National Minimum Wage (“NMW”) legislation which could lead to fines and/or an organisation being named and shamed […]
You’re fired! – minor misconduct accumulation or just acting on managerial gut feeling?
Long gone are the days when your boss could, completely out of the blue, walk up to your desk and shout ‘You’re fired!’…or are they? The Employment Appeal Tribunal (‘EAT’) recently considered the issue whether a series of relatively minor acts of misconduct can be “aggregated” to justify a fair dismissal without any prior warning. […]
New penalties for failure to pay tribunal awards to be introduced in April 2016
From April 2016 organisations that fail to pay tribunal awards or settlement amounts can be subject to financial penalties. The legislation which allows these penalties has already been passed, and following a specific parliamentary question, an intended implementation date of April 2016 has been confirmed. Individuals who settle claims or who are awarded amounts by […]
Is it discriminatory to ask an employee to speak English at work?
No, provided that the reason why the request is being made is not due to the employee’s race, which includes colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins. In the recent case of Kelly v Covance Laboratories Ltd, the Claimant, who is of Russian origin, was asked by her employer to speak in English rather than in […]
Employers should be aware of the dangers when giving a negative reference
A recent case reminds employers of the need to be careful in both giving of references and agreeing references as part of settlement agreements. In Pnaiser v NHS England and Coventry City Council, the Employment Appeal Tribunal considered whether the giving of a verbal reference which implied that the claimant had a poor sickness record, […]