Carrying over holiday accrued during sick leave – not as detrimental as it sounds
Businesses have adapted to the ECJ decisions in the conjoined cases of Stringer and Schultz-Hoff resulting in employees accruing holiday when they are on sick leave. The sometimes substantial amounts of holiday accrued (but not yet taken) because the employee has been on long-term sick leave (due to for instance cancer or HIV) is usually […]
Select Committee inquiry into Employment Tribunal Fees
The Commons Select Committee has decided to launch an inquiry into the effects of the introduction and levels of the tribunal fees and charges. The Commons Select Committee inquiry is separate from the Ministry of Justice’s (MOJ) review. The differences from the MOJ reviews are that this new inquiry is taking evidence from external bodies, […]
Ban on only advertising jobs overseas
The government has now implemented provisions to curb only advertising UK based jobs overseas. The insertion of Regulation 27A of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 (‘Conduct Regulations’) means that if you are advertising jobs abroad, you also have to place adverts in English in the UK. It may seem like […]
ARC supports the government’s initiative on strike action
On 15th July the government announced a consultation to abolish the rules that prohibit an employment business from replacing a worker on strike. The plan appears to be to enable employers to use agency workers whenever a strike is in operation, whether to replace a striking worker or to fill a position of someone who […]
Below are the ‘headlines’ for recruiters from the Chancellor’s summer budget 2015
1. The government will continue to clamp down on tax avoidance, planning and evasion, as well as increasing resources for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) so they can make sure people pay the tax that are due. This includes: extra investment between now and 2020 for HMRC’s work on evasion and non-compliance tripling the number […]
New ACAS guidance on how to calculate holiday pay
In light of the recent case law, ACAS has published updated guidance on calculating holiday pay. The new guidance is aimed at employees but is useful to employers also, as it confirms that employees could have a claim where they believe their employer failed to take into account ALL elements of pay normally received, e.g. […]
Case from Northern Ireland considers voluntary overtime and holiday pay
The Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland delivered its judgment on whether employers should take into account voluntary overtime when calculating holiday pay in Patterson v Castlereagh Borough Council. ‘Voluntary overtime’ refers to situations in which the employee is not under an obligation to work overtime and the employer is not obliged to offer any […]
Could travel time to and from an assignment be considered ‘work time’?
This question is discussed in the Federación de Servicios Privados del Sindicato Comisiones Obreras case brought before the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The claimants in this case worked as technicians for two security system installation and maintenance companies in Spain. Whilst the companies’ main offices were based in Madrid, the claimants were assigned to […]
Is a contractor an employee?
This question was considered in the recent case of Suhail v Barking Havering & Redbridge NHS Trust. Mr Suhail (the claimant) worked as a GP for Rotherham Primary Care. Additionally, from time to time he provided services to Redbridge NHS Trust through a Cooperative (PELC). He was described as “self-employed” and paid gross (without deduction […]
Key employment changes in 2015
The government has announced some key changes which will be implemented by the end of this year and which will have an impact on employment: The Fit for Work service which is aimed at assisting employers and employees to manage long term absences from work is currently only available in Sheffield and the area of […]