Opinion – Page 7
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Should staff expect to be paid during quarantine?
On Saturday 25 July 2020, the UK government announced that, from 26 July, anyone entering the UK from mainland Spain, the Balearics or the Canary Islands would be required to quarantine for 14 days, following a rise in cases in Covid-19 in these regions.At the time numerous Britons were already ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Is the government offering enough support?
In this week’s mini-Budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the government’s plans to introduce a job retention bonus to support employers with returning staff to work following furlough. Under the terms of the scheme, for every employee that returns to work and is paid above the lower earnings limit of £520 ...
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OpinionJames Davies and Amy Cooper: How are employers continuing to deal with Covid-19?
The Covid-19 (Coronavirus) crisis presents businesses with multiple challenges, including how to continue to get the best out of their workforce while keeping them safe.Many employees have had to juggle childcare and schooling responsibilities with working in makeshift home offices. The government’s furlough scheme has, meanwhile, helped preserve jobs where ...
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OpinionDanyal Enver: Covid-19 corporate distress: what employers and trustees need to know
Thanks to Covid-19, business is bad. Despite government measures to alleviate the impact and help organisations to continue operating, the fallout creates multiple challenges. Economic ramifications include adverse effects on employers’ solvency and cashflow, and on demand for their products and services. Employers and trustees should, therefore, act swiftly in ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Should Facebook base employees' pay on location?
Should your salary be set according to the area in which you live?This was the question raised earlier this week when Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerburg, discussed the organisation’s plans to move towards remote working in the post-pandemic era. In a public livestream, Zuckerburg explained that over the next five to ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: The economic impact of Covid-19 continues to bite
When looking for inspiration for topics for my weekly blog, I often look back over the news we have covered that week. Unsurprisingly, our headlines this week have been dominated by pay issues, be these about employers that have awarded pay increases or appreciation bonuses to front-line or key workers ...
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OpinionLouise Skinner: Are your contracts compliant with updates to employment terms?
The Good Work Plan, issued in December 2018, brings in reforms to Section One of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA).These relate to new obligations on employers in the provision of written statements of particulars of employment and adopt many of the recommendations set out in the Taylor Review of ...
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OpinionSam Smethers: Is pay transparency radical?
Sometimes the simple and obvious thing can still be perceived as radical. When it comes to pay transparency, the idea that we might find out what our colleagues are earning is, at one level, radical because pay secrecy is the norm in most workplaces and talking about pay is taboo. ...
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OpinionJames Poyser: Calls for employment rights class action mount
The IR35 reforms were postponed on 17 March 2020 as part of an exceptional Covid-19 £330 billion package of financial help announced by the government.Within 12 hours of the announcement, companies started to make a u-turn on blanket bans and inside IR35 decisions. Asda, BAE Systems and Marsh and McLennan ...
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OpinionAndrew Osborne and Naomi Hanrahan-Soar: Government provides details on points-based immigration system
The Government released a policy statement on 19 February 2020, giving an outline of its plans for a points-based immigration system for highly skilled and skilled workers. The first phase of this will open in the autumn, with applicants being granted visas starting from 1 January 2021, and will apply ...
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OpinionCharles Cotton: Supporting employees through times of uncertainty
The Coronavirus has plunged businesses into uncertainty and there are reports that millions of jobs could be lost globally as a result of the pandemic. As well as suddenly dealing with financial worries, individuals are concerned about their loved ones getting the virus or contracting it themselves.Many businesses will not ...
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OpinionCharlie Barnes: Risks with national minimum wage reforms
On 11 February, the government announced a number of changes to national minimum wage legislation, due to take effect from 6 April 2020. Broadly, these are welcome and should help employers overcome the difficulties they have experienced in complying. However, risks do remain for employers.Naming and shamingOf most significance is ...
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OpinionCoronavirus: The view from the market
As the world of work adapts to a new normal, Employee Benefits has collected thought leadership, advice and commentary from across the market, to help readers make sense of the challenges ahead.Maintaining wellbeingAveril Leimon, executive coach at White Water Group: "Self care is vital; this is not the time to ...
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OpinionMini Setty: Guidelines for home working during Coronavirus
Coronavirus has wrought immediate and enormous changes to working practices across the UK. As the government advises businesses and workplaces to encourage staff to work from home wherever possible, employees and employers alike are understandably rushing to ensure they understand their rights and responsibilities under law.Employers have to take reasonable ...
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OpinionMark Hodgkinson: Government reforms must support disabled employees in crisis
Chancellor Rishi Sunak and prime minister Boris Johnson have unveiled a £350 billion emergency measures bill to support those in dire financial straits due to the Coronavirus crisis. Included in the bill are measures to pay statutory sick pay from day one, rather than day four, for people affected by ...
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OpinionDiane Lightfoot: Coronavirus and disability – keeping employees safe
As the number of confirmed cases of Coronavirus grows, employers are rightly concerned about the impact that the virus could have on their workforce.Some employees may be more susceptible to catching infections than others. This includes those with certain disabilities or conditions, and those who may be taking medication which ...
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OpinionKatherine Neal: The loan charge – finally some good news for tax payers
On 20 January 2020, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) published updated guidance following the Sir Amyas Morse independent review of the loan charge. Draft legislation was published on the same day.By way of background, the 'loan charge' was introduced by the UK Finance Act 2016 as an anti-avoidance measure to ...
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OpinionAmanda Lathia: Employment law changes from 6 April 2020
Following the Taylor Review in February 2018, the government published the Good work plan on 17 December 2018, introducing the most significant workplace reforms that we have seen for over 20 years.Holiday pay for irregular and vulnerable workersHoliday pay for irregular workers and vulnerable workers will change as of 6 ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: How will Coronavirus affect business?
Over the last week, the UK’s preparations for dealing with Coronavirus seem to have moved on at a significant pace. As consumers have emptied retailers’ shelves of anti-bacterial hand gel and begun stockpiling food, the government has set out its plans to tackle the virus in the coming weeks and ...
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OpinionPaula Bailey: Planned employment law changes in 2020
2020 is set to be another year of change from an employment law perspective, with contracts, the employment relationship and pay likely to continue to dominate the agenda, together with the new immigration requirements that the government plans to introduce post-Brexit.We have already seen a number of interesting Employment Tribunal ...