All Tax and legislation articles – Page 16
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OpinionOscar Hodgson: Is unlimited holiday really without limits?
For the Zoom-weary worker emerging from the depths of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, a holiday sounds like a fantasy. It is no wonder that mention of unlimited holiday captivates the most sceptical workers.Imagine an unlimited number of days off each year, no holiday requests, and the ability to take it ...
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OpinionMartin Williams: Will a return-to-work policy pose risks for employers as Covid rules end?
How are we to frame the lifting of Covid-19 (Coronavirus) restrictions in the workplace? The virus is still with us and people are being admitted to hospital in a way they would not if this were the common cold.All good employers will need to be mindful of the risks involved ...
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OpinionElena Visser: The argument for giving employees growth shares
The benefits of giving employees a stake in the business by way of equity participation are well rehearsed.Often the decision comes down to a choice between allocating shares upfront, effectively making the employee a day-one shareholder, versus granting them a tax-efficient enterprise management incentive (or EMI) share option.Making employees a ...
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AnalysisHow to make the case for electric company car schemes
Need to know: Businesses are under pressure to cut carbon emissions, and employee vehicles are an obvious target. Salary sacrifice schemes mean this can save companies money, and make electric vehicles affordable for staff. Subscription models mean firms are no longer tied into long leases should ...
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OpinionHarriet Calver: Is the four-day week worthwhile for employers?
A four-day work week is not a new phenomenon. Many employees in the UK already have this pattern, typically agreed on a case-by-case basis between employee and employer following a flexible working request. It tends to be accompanied by a corresponding reduction in pay, except in the case of compressed ...
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OpinionAlan Lewis: What a recent court case can teach us about vicarious liability
Whilst employers can draw some comfort in terms of defending vicarious liability claims from the recent Court of Appeal case of Chell v Tarmac Cement and Lime Limited [2022] EWCA Civ 7, they ought not be complacent and there are lessons to be learned.Chell was a fitter employed by a ...
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OpinionBecky Lawton: Will new staff family rights come into force in 2022?
The government has committed to introducing several new family rights following a number of consultations over the last couple of years.The introduction of neonatal leave and pay will create a new statutory entitlement for employees whose babies spend an extended period of time in neonatal care. The intention is to ...
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OpinionRichard Fox and Ozlem Mehmet: Removing vaccination as a condition of employment
Health secretary Sajid Javid has announced that the government will launch a consultation on removing vaccination as a condition of employment in health and all social care settings.The regulations requiring front line health workers to be vaccinated against Covid-19 (Coronavirus) as a condition of employment were due to come into ...
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OpinionLaurie Ollivent: Covid-19 is reshaping gender and diversity reporting
Working parents comprise a key demographic of the workforce. As mid-tenure employees, they are experienced and often have a level of institutional knowledge which can rarely be replaced with a lateral hire.However, reports suggest this demographic is more likely than others to be re-evaluating their roles coming out of the ...
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OpinionTom Moyes: Encouraging conversations with employees around mental health
At any one time, one-sixth of the working age population of Great Britain experiences symptoms associated with mental ill health, and this causes around 40% of all days lost through sickness absence, according to the Mental health and work report published in 2008 by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.So why ...
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OpinionDavid Jepps: How Covid-19 affects statutory sick pay
At the start of the pandemic, statutory sick pay (SSP) rules were changed to include Covid-19 (Coronavirus) scenarios because self-isolation or having tested positive with no symptoms were not covered by the SSP definition of incapacity. Those rules have since been tweaked many times and are expected to stay in ...
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OpinionKerry Hudson: Is a change ahead in flexible working laws?
UK employees seeking flexible working arrangements to help manage their work-life balance could be caught short unless they have completed at least 26 weeks of service for their current employers.With a great many businesses and employees still away from the office since the start of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, and ...
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OpinionEmma Clark: Will there be more menopause-related employment tribunal hearings?
Recent analysis of figures from the HM Courts and Tribunals Service showed that the menopause was cited in five employment tribunal cases in the last nine months of 2018. That rose to 10 cases in the first six months of 2021.While there has been a rise in claims which refer ...
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OpinionJeremy Harris: What are the long-term consequences of the pensions pay gap?
During a House of Lords debate on 22 November 2021, following a question posed by Labour life peer Lord Sikka about the UK government's efforts to tackle entrenched gender pay inequality, the pensions gap was highlighted as an issue of major concern.The pensions gap, it was noted, contributes to societal ...
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OpinionLorraine Heard and Karen Plumbley-Jones: Has gender pay gap reporting closed the wage gap between men and women?
18 November marked Equal Pay Day, the date from which on average women work without pay for the rest of the year as a result of the gender pay gap. Since April 2017, it has been compulsory for large employers with 250 or more employees to publish a gender pay ...
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OpinionSuzanne Staunton: How can employers tackle furlough fraud?
With the UK government’s furlough scheme having come to an end, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has now stepped forward to start counting the cost of the scheme to taxpayers. Already, many instances have been identified of bogus companies having been set up purely to siphon off public funds, the ...
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OpinionKirsty Pake: How to solve a problem like pension scams
To quote the Department of Work and Pensions: “pension scams are a menace”. Until now, trustees’ hands were tied where a member had a statutory right to transfer their benefits and, even in cases where the receiving arrangement appeared to be a scam, they were obliged to make the transfer.Regulations ...
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OpinionTim Tyndall: FCA employees facing pay and benefits changes
Following a flurry of interest in the proposed changes to pay and benefits at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), most notably from unions keen to look after members and to attract new ones, the FCA chose to publish its consultation document aimed at its employees to a wider audience.In opening, ...
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OpinionSophie Wahba: What can employers do to manage stress in the workplace?
Managing the mental wellbeing of employees is a matter of growing concern for many business owners, as the stress of the last 18 months has taken its toll on the workforce.A 2020 Perkbox survey called The 2020 UK workplace stress survey suggests that an astonishing 79% of British adults commonly ...
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OpinionKate Brown: How to avoid reduced pay and benefits impacting staff engagement
At the beginning of October, British Airways announced plans to rehire some 3,000 employees after cutting around 10,000 jobs in the peak of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic last year. The airline has been heavily criticised in the press for re-engaging staff on less favourable terms, including reduced pay and benefits.This ...