Opinion – Page 12
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OpinionBlair Adams and Kezia Daley: Brexit and the loss of EU nationals
Employers with European Union (EU) nationals in their workforce have a vested interest in actively helping and encouraging them to apply for settled status before 31 October 2019, in case free movement ends on that date in a no-deal Brexit scenario.EU nationals currently have two options to stay in the ...
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OpinionBoma Adoki and Melanie Shone: Major change to the UK tax regime for contractors
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is continuing its quest to ensure that individuals who work like employees pay tax like employees, even when working via a personal service company (PSC). However, it has had mixed success recently, as a number of its determinations have been overturned in the Tax Tribunal.Set ...
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OpinionLaura Hill: Are employees getting enough rest at work?
The length of both the working day and employees’ breaks are two hot topics, with several high-profile cases having come to light recently, but what should employers take away from the headlines?In 2003, Regulation 12 of the working time regulations entitled workers to an uninterrupted rest of at least 20 ...
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OpinionDaniel Parker: LGBT employment equality - the journey so far
With a particularly significant Pride Month having taken place this June, marking the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, one might be forgiven for looking to the past and taking stock, with a critical eye, of decades of change for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people in the ...
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OpinionOliver Topping: How to spot personal data breaches and when to report them
In 2018, new data protection laws brought in a requirement for data controllers, like employers and trustees of pension schemes, to make reports swiftly after certain types of personal data breaches occur.Before rushing to pick up the phone to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) or emailing affected employees or pension ...
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OpinionRuth Christy: Changes to the statement of employment particulars
Some of the finer details of the new rules for written statements of employment particulars have gone under the radar.Under the Good Work Plan, published in December 2018, from 6 April 2020 every new employee and worker will have the right to the current statement of written particulars from day ...
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OpinionLindsey Hunt: Can an employer ban working from home?
In March 2019, city bank BNY Mellon came under fire for announcing it was putting a stop to working from home. Its employees vented that this was a huge step backwards, with issues such as mental health and childcare among the key concerns. The backlash led to the bank retracting ...
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OpinionKaren Holden: Tackling harassment of LGBT persons in the workplace
The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community is subjected to bullying and harassment in the workplace on a devastating scale. A survey of more than 5,000 LGBT people in the UK, published by Stonewell in April 2018, found that more than a third hid their sexuality for fear of ...
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OpinionHina Belitz: Harassment and bullying - employers are letting themselves down
In a dramatic wake-up call for the legal profession to examine its culture and working practices, the preliminary findings of a recent International Bar Association (IBA) survey, revealed in October 2018, found that bullying and sexual harassment are rife.According to more than 5,000 lawyers in 120 jurisdictions, one-third of male ...
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OpinionEmma Hamnett: What can employers do to stamp out workplace bullying?
Failing to curtail the threat of workplace bullying increases the risk that an unhappy employee will issue a claim for harassment or unfair constructive dismissal in an Employment Tribunal (ET).These claims are costly, time consuming, bad for the reputation of the business, and demoralising for staff.There is no definitive legal ...
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OpinionEmma Hamnett: Key Christmas party warnings
In the run-up to Christmas and the dreaded office party, employers should be aware of a recent judgment that means they may be legally responsible for the actions of their staff, even if they take place outside the workplace.In itself, this is not news, but a recent Court of Appeal ...
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OpinionAlison Loveday: Understanding employer responsibilities during a heatwave
As employees across the country continue to sweat it out during one of the longest heatwaves the UK has seen, many are calling for a relaxation in working conditions.Turn on the TV or open up a social media site and you are bombarded with mixed messages about what to do ...
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OpinionSarah Chilton: How employers can put an end to sexism and harassment in the workplace
The conversation continues at Employee Benefits Live 2018...Sexual harassment in the workplace has received a huge amount of attention over the past few months. Employers must take steps to tackle harassment, to reduce their own risk, and to instill safer working cultures in their organisations.In early 2018, the Women and ...
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OpinionRhiannon Jenkins: Should commuting count as working time?
Time spent commuting is not usually 'working time'. Employers do not generally have any control over an employee's activities until they reach the workplace, and have no say in where the employee lives or how long they spend commuting.However, the European Court of Justice's (ECJ) significant decision in Federacion de ...
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OpinionNicola Butterworth: Employees' conduct is not a guaranteed agreement to new contractual terms
In the age of austerity, compounded by technological advances and the uncertainty of Brexit, many UK businesses continue to face tough challenges. With the biggest organisations announcing profit warnings, and other organisations struggling to make ends meet, faced with the need to cut operating costs, one option open to employers ...
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OpinionGeraint Jones: What to be aware of when using cryptocurrencies in benefits
There are more than 1,500 so-called ‘cryptocurrencies’, such as Bitcoin, in circulation now, and an increasing number of people are taking them as benefits.The risks are clear. A virtual currency is not backed by any state treasury, is hard to turn into ‘real money’, and exists only as a computer ...
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OpinionPaula Rome: What do employers need to take stock of for employee benefits in the next year?
One of the continuing areas of concern for employers is employee retention, increasing productivity and reducing absence. The concentration on wellness and how benefits can be used to assist with these concerns will be on employers’ minds. As well as the traditional benefits, such as employee assistance programmes (EAPs), private ...
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OpinionHina Belitz: What employers need to know about settlement agreements
When employers are faced with potential claims from their employees it is quite common for them to enter into settlement agreements to resolve the dispute. However, not every claim can be resolved in this way. Some can only be settled through The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas), by using ...
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OpinionNick Campbell: Employers must ensure reward is non-discriminatory
The world of work has changed drastically over the past decade and now, more than ever, there is an increased spotlight on the importance of reward and recognition.The benefits for rewarding good service are clear; it can boost morale, improve productivity and, ultimately, have a positive impact on a business' ...
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OpinionSarah Henderson: What do pension trustees need to consider for GDPR?
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) introduces more stringent requirements for contracts between data controllers and data processors than are currently in place. Pension trustees are data controllers of the personal data they hold and use to run their schemes. To be fully compliant with the GDPR, trustees will need ...