On Friday 4 December 2020, the Government issued a consultation paper seeking views on proposed measures to reform the law regulating post-termination non-compete clauses in contracts of employment. This is not the first time the Government has investigated non-compete clauses. In 2016 the Government published a ‘call for evidence’ to better understand how non-compete clauses […]

ACAS Early Conciliation (EC) is an alternative dispute resolution service whereby employers and employees can resolve workplace disputes without the need to go to the Employment Tribunal (ET). All prospective ET claimants must obtain an EC Certificate, before escalating the dispute to the ET (albeit that – some would say perversely – a prospective claimant […]

2020 has been a turbulent year for employment law not least because of the Covid-19 pandemic. This blog will summarise the changes to employment law which are expected to be introduced in 2021. Changes to the immigration system From 1 January 2021 a points-based immigration system will be put in place for European Economic Area […]

In celebration of the Queen’s 70 year reign, the Government have announced that the late May Spring Bank Holiday which was due to fall on Monday 31 May 2022 will be moved to Thursday the 2nd of June 2022 together with the addition of an extra Bank Holiday on Friday 3rd of June 2022. A […]

As we approach the end of the calendar year (and most employers’ holiday year), traditionally this is the time when employees realise, they have a large amount of accrued holiday to take if they are to avoid losing it. This year, for obvious reasons, will be slightly different given the vast amount of accrued holiday […]

Last Friday, when the Treasury published their most recent Treasury Direction on the extended Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (Scheme) it included confirmation that HMRC will publish information about employers utilising the Scheme from December 2020. The most recent Treasury Direction states that HMRC must publish information about an employer who has received a payment pursuant […]

As a result of the second one-month national lockdown being implemented yesterday, the Government had no choice but to extend the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (Scheme) that was due to end on 31 October 2020 and be replaced by the Job Support Scheme (JSS). It was anticipated that the Furlough Scheme would be extended until […]

As of today, England has entered into a second national lockdown which will remain in place until 2 December. The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No. 4) Regulations 2020 set out the new restrictions which have come into force. The regulations state that “no person may leave or be outside of the place where they […]

Following the Government’s announcement of the 3 Tier lockdown measures, various parts of the country have been put into differing levels of lockdown. As different areas are under differing restrictions, there is some confusion as to how this affects employees in the workplace. The new regulations place every area in England into one of three […]

This afternoon, the chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced what increased support will be available for employers and employees affected by the tiered lockdown system. The new scheme will commence on the 1 November following the end of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. The new Job Support Scheme (Scheme) (which was initially announced at the end […]

In this day and age any employee with a smart phone will have the ability to record any conversation that takes place in the workplace. However, this does not mean they have the right to. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has recognised the ease with which meetings can be covertly recorded by employees and that […]

The High Court decision in Chell v Tarmac and Lime Limited is no joke. Mr Justice Martin Spencer upheld a decision that an employer was not vicariously liable for a practical joke played by a member of staff in the workplace. This case is another useful reminder that the application of vicarious liability is limited […]