Tax & Legislation opinion
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OpinionStephanie Clarke: Building neurodiverse-friendly workplaces
Neurodiversity is becoming an increasingly important focus for employers, with an estimated 15% of the UK population identifying as neurodivergent.
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OpinionKeely Rushmore: What does the Bolt judgment mean for the gig economy?
An employment tribunal judgment has seen Bolt join the growing list of employers, including Uber and Addison Lee, to have tried and failed to argue that the people it engages are genuinely self-employed rather than workers.
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OpinionMatt Spencer and Caitlin Comins: How employers can use employee ownership trusts
Employee ownership trusts enable owners to sell their shares to employees via a trust, normally for full market value and financed in part from future profits.
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OpinionNicola Smyrl: How employers should handle sickness absence
Source: Taylor Walton Solicitors Nicola Smyrl Managing sickness absence is a notoriously thorny issue for employers. As such, they must tread carefully as anything less than a sensitive and considered approach may expose them to potential claims for unfair dismissal or disability discrimination, where the sickness relates ...
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OpinionPeter Finding: Changes as a result of the Employment Rights Bill
After much fanfare, with the common thread that the prevailing employer and employee dynamic is in need of change, the new government’s Employment Rights Bill has been published.
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OpinionDaniel McAfee: What should employers be aware of with equal parental leave policies?
Deloitte’s introduction of a 26-week equal parental leave policy in September 2024 likely reflects a strategic move to align with evolving societal values and workforce expectations. This policy sends a powerful message that it values all employees equally, regardless of gender or family circumstances, and is willing ...
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OpinionLovewell’s logic: Counting the cost of the Budget
Debbie-Lovewell-Tuck, editor, Employee Benefits In the run up to the Labour government’s first Budget this week, there was much speculation about how this would impact employers. I think the industry breathed a collective sigh of relief when the tax relief on pensions salary sacrifice arrangements was not ...
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OpinionKeely Rushmore: What can employers learn from the Next employment tribunal judgment?
Keely Rushmore Source: From Keystone Law Keely Rushmore, employment partner at Keystone Law The employment tribunal judgment in the case of high street retailer Next serves as a reminder that roles that may seem very different can be compared against each other under the equality legislation, to ...
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OpinionAnn Frances Cooney: Potential impact of the draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill
The draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill was announced in the King’s Speech in July. The new Labour government confirmed that the draft bill delivers its manifesto commitments to enshrine in law the full right to equal pay for ethnic minorities and disabled people, and to introduce ...
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OpinionNick Le Riche: Flexible working changes and a four-day week
The Labour government’s planned changes to give employees the right to request a four-day working week under plans to increase flexible working have hit the headlines. According to reports, the government is proposing to make it easier for employees to request compressed hours, whereby employees work their ...
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OpinionElouisa Crichton: What to expect from a right to disconnect
The UK government is exploring how to implement the new right to disconnect in practice. This follows moves by countries including France, Spain and Australia where similar policies have already been introduced. This proposed right is unlikely to become law in the statutory sense, but rather a ...
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OpinionLouise Lawrence: Legal implications and requirements of managing sickness absence
Managing sickness absence can be a daunting task for many employers to handle, as it often requires striking a fine balance of having a delicate approach in supporting employees, while considering business needs of minimising business disruption and costs. An October 2023 report from the Chartered Institute ...
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OpinionThe Shared Parental Leave and Pay (Bereavement) Bill and the Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 2024
On 6 December 2023, the Shared Parental Leave and Pay (Bereavement) Bill was introduced to the House of Commons as a Private Member’s Bill by Chris Elmore, a Labour MP, with support from Darren Henry, a Conservative MP. It enjoyed the support of the government and across ...
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OpinionAmanda Glover: Impact of new flexible working laws on employees
The employment law changes that came into effect in April 2024 are likely to have been overshadowed for many by the general election and the multitude of proposed employment law changes that have been put on the table by the Labour party.The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023, which came ...
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OpinionSarah Tahamtani: Supporting and celebrating neurodiversity in the workplace
The Buckland Review of Autism Employment, published in February 2024, identified that autistic jobseekers often struggled due to generic job descriptions which they could not satisfy, interview questions and approaches which were not adapted to fit their needs and challenging sensory environments.What is clear, is that there is a significant ...
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OpinionJemma Forrest: Domestic violence leave and why it is not coming to the UK
Ireland has introduced the right to five days of paid domestic violence leave annually, to help those affected by abuse access the medical visits, legal advice and counselling they may need.It is unusual for Ireland to lead the UK on employment law, but the UK government has since confirmed it ...
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OpinionPatrick Glencross: Reforms to employee holiday rights
Calculating annual leave and holiday pay for employees can be challenging, particularly for those who work irregular hours. The government has this year introduced significant changes to simplify the rules on holiday rights as part of its reforms to a range of employment rights that have developed from years of ...
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OpinionPaul McGrath: Understanding employment law reforms
The King’s Speech on 17 July saw the new UK government reaffirm its commitment to introduce new employment legislation in Parliament within its first 100 days in office. The government plans to do this with a new Employment Rights Bill, that is intended to deliver on the wide range of ...
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OpinionMerrill April: What employers need to know about changes to Tupe Regulations 2006
The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (Tupe), the UK law which implemented the Acquired Rights Directive into UK law, require that an employer acquiring the employees and possibly workers of another must honour their terms and conditions, including holiday, pay and other benefits, with very limited exceptions.While ...
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Watching the Labour government bed in
We are now just over a week on from the Labour party storming to victory in the UK’s general election. The last time the UK moved to a Labour government after a period of Conservative rule, I was still at school and remember teachers trying to explain the significance of ...