Recent surveys show that the number of employers using software to monitor employees whilst working at home following lockdown has increased and the trade union ‘Prospect’ is now calling on the Government to toughen up the regulations surrounding employee monitoring. This would include making monitoring employees through a webcam illegal if the employee isn’t attending […]

Until 2011, employers were entitled to force older employees to retire when they reached 65 (which was the then Default Retirement Age (DRA)) by following a statutory notification process. The DRA was controversial and was eventually abolished following a high-profile campaign, meaning that it could no longer be used by employers to justify compulsory retirement. […]

Despite the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions across the UK, a legal requirement to self-isolate remains in force for all those that test positive for Covid-19. If the individual is asymptomatic, the requirement is to isolate for 10 days from receipt of a positive test, and, if symptomatic, 10 days from the onset of symptoms. For […]

Following the disruption caused by the pandemic and subsequent lockdown in the UK, the Government has opened a consultation seeking the views of businesses and the public on proposed reforms to the flexible working regime in the UK. The pandemic demonstrated the benefits of flexible working to both employees and employers alike and now there […]

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (Scheme), which has been heavily praised during the pandemic, and even hailed as the Government’s biggest success, came to an end yesterday. Introducing the concept of ‘furlough’ to the UK, the Chancellor announced the start of the Scheme on 20 March 2020. Designed to be a limited measure to protect […]

You may have seen in the news recently the case of a mother who was refused a 5pm finish by her employer to deal with childcare arrangements, has been successful in the Employment Tribunal (ET) for indirect discrimination and has been awarded £184,961.32. Alice Thompson worked for a small estate agent in London. In Spring […]

Although many employers support their staff having the Coronavirus vaccine, a question that does arise is whether employers are legally obliged to allow time off work for staff to get the jab. There is no legal obligation on employers to allow time off for medical appointments, which would include an appointment to get vaccinated. Many […]

Following lockdown and the countrywide move to home working caused by the pandemic, many employers are embracing new, more flexible ways of working. Hybrid models of work, split between the office and home, are fast becoming the norm. However, others have taken the view that, whilst their employees were able to work from home through […]

As the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (Scheme) winds down we are starting to see cases in which furlough is a key issue make their way through the tribunal system. Recently, the Employment Tribunal (ET) heard the case of Mhindurwa v Lovingangels Care, in which the Respondent genuinely believed that the Claimant’s role was redundant on […]

Following ‘Freedom Day’, the Government’s “stay at home” instruction has ended. However, notwithstanding this, a greater number of employers are coming across employees who refuse to return to work because of the risk that COVID-19 continues to present. A recent case in the Leeds Employment Tribunal (ET) gives employers some guidance on how to approach […]

Yesterday, the Met Office issued an extreme heat warning for parts of the UK following the hottest day of the year over the weekend. With high temperatures expected to continue for the rest of the week, and employees slowly returning to the workplace following Freedom Day, it is incumbent on employers to ensure the comfort […]

Subject to a final review, from ‘Freedom Day’ on 19 July 2021 , the following changes will take place in England: there will be no requirement to socially distance; face masks will no longer be mandatory in public places; all businesses that have been shut will be allowed to open; there will be no limit […]