As the Government is implementing local lockdowns and requiring pubs and restaurants to close in the latest stage of the war against Covid-19, calls for further financial support for affected businesses have been growing in volume. Chancellor Rishi Sunak has now responded by announcing earlier today his proposals to extend the support offered by the […]

On 8 October 2020, the snappily titled Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) (Early Conciliation: Exemptions and Rules of Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 come into force. This is the first major amendment to the Employment Tribunal (ET) Rules in seven years. It has been brought about to help the ET system process claims quickly […]

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has just announced the government’s new Job Support Scheme to top up workers’ wages covering up to two thirds of their hours for the next six months. The idea is that this scheme will replace Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) which is due to end on 31 October 2020. The new Job […]

Since 1 September 2020, companies in the UK using the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (Scheme) now must contribute to the wages of any staff they continue to furlough. Since March, Scheme has paid 80% of the wages of workers placed on furlough, up to a maximum of £2,500 a month. But now that grant […]

As we move out of lockdown into ‘the new normal’, many employers are going to be faced with the prospect of staff working from home more regularly, if not permanently. For those employers who, prior to Covid, had no provision in place for staff to work from home, it may come as quite a surprise […]

ACAS has recently updated its redundancy advice for employers after experiencing a surge of calls from employees seeking advice on the redundancy process. The updated guidance is aimed at employers who are considering making employees redundant but urges them first to consider any alternatives to redundancies (such as flexible working or compressed hours). ACAS has […]

In light of the government’s announcement earlier this week that people returning to the UK from Spain would be required to quarantine for 14 days, it is important to clarify to employers what these employees are entitled to in terms of pay. The government has insisted that no worker should be penalised for self-isolating. The […]

A recent Employment Tribunal (ET) ruling which addressed employee status has highlighted the importance of ensuring that any contract with self-employed individuals accurately reflects the true agreement between the parties, both at the start of the relationship and throughout it. Whilst a contract may state that an individual is self-employed, the ET will examine the […]

As the furlough scheme winds down and employers have to start contributing to the wages of those members of staff who have been furloughed, many are starting to review their staffing requirements. Unfortunately, this means that compulsory redundancies will become inevitable at many workplaces. However, many employers are choosing to avoid the pain associated with […]

As we recently reported, the commission of furlough fraud was to be expected given the circumstances and timeframe in which the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (Scheme) was introduced, and HMRC have made no secret of the fact that they will be looking very closely at claims made under the Scheme for evidence of abuse. However, […]

Yesterday afternoon in his Summer Statement, Chancellor, Rishi Sunak announced the new “Job Retention Bonus” policy. It was also confirmed that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (Scheme) will not continue beyond October. The new policy is aimed at incentivising employers to keep as many staff as possible in work after the Scheme comes to an […]

As the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (Scheme) starts to wind down many employers are starting to look at making redundancies. One of the most frequent questions we have been asked is: can an employer recover the costs of making a furloughed member of staff redundant from the Scheme? The position with the employee’s entitlement to […]