All Tax and legislation articles – Page 19
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OpinionLovewell's logic: Should the Flexible Working Bill go further?
When the Flexible Working Bill received Royal Assent last week, many commentators, particularly parental rights campaigners, hailed this as a huge step forward.In a nutshell, the new legislation makes several changes to the way flexible working requests will work in practice, including:Giving employees the right to make two flexible working ...
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OpinionNeha Lugg and David Lorimer: How to make work events that involve alcohol more inclusive
Alcohol-free is fast becoming not only a religious or cultural choice, but a lifestyle choice. There have also been a significant number of alarming headlines demonstrating the role that alcohol has played at workplace events, resulting in harassment or other inappropriate behaviour, and significant reputational harm.Employers should look at workplace ...
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ArticleFlexible Working Bill receives Royal Assent
The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill, which will allow UK workers to request flexible working from day one in a job, has received Royal Assent.Employees now have the right to request this twice a year instead just once. Employers are now required to consider these and provide a reason before ...
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OpinionPaula Squire: The issues surrounding work-from-anywhere policies
With flexible, remote and hybrid working now the norm within many UK businesses, the concept of work from anywhere has begun to take off, with employers fielding increasing requests from workers who want to pack up their laptop and log on from a tropical beach or a new bustling city.This ...
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ArticleTribunal orders Lawcomm Solicitors to pay £13,000 in unfair dismissal case
Family law firm Lawcomm Solicitors has been ordered to pay a former employee nearly £13,000 after a tribunal ruled she had been unfairly dismissed and her contract had been breached after the organisation's failure to make a bonus payment.Sarah Lightfoot-Webber, former head of family law at the Hampshire-based firm, resigned ...
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OpinionStephen Morrall: How flexible working trends have developed since lockdown
With the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill moving closer to becoming law, employees are set to benefit from a positive reform of employment rules which reflect growing trends toward flexible working across the UK.Under current legislation, a person who has 26 weeks of continuous service with their employer can request ...
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ArticleGovernment announces DC pension scheme reforms
Nine of the UK’s largest defined contribution (DC) pension providers have come to an agreement with the government to improve pension schemes.Under the Mansion House Reforms, announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, the providers have committed to allocating 5% of assets in their default funds to unlisted equities ...
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ArticleTribunal orders ABC Engineering to pay former staff unpaid wages and holiday pay
An employment tribunal has ruled that collapsed firm ABC Engineering needs to pay eight former members of staff more than £12,000 for failing to pay holiday entitlements and unauthorised wage deductions.The Warrington-based engineering business entered voluntary liquidation in last September after accruing debts worth nearly £300,000. One month later, eight ...
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OpinionLaura Tracey: New guidance on reasonable adjustments for mental health
Mental health problems are and continue to be a significant concern and employers have not only a moral, but a legal obligation to help protect and support employees who may be suffering from such issues.Employees may find mental health conditions difficult to talk about and even try to conceal them, ...
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ArticleFuture Workforce Alliance introduces digital workplace wellbeing charter
Future Workforce Alliance, a bipartisan consortium of policymakers and sector leaders, has launched the European Charter for Digital Workplace Wellbeing.The charter has been signed by a group of 31 members of European Parliament (MEP), including MEP Drago? Pîslaru, chair of the European Parliament Committee on employment and social affairs, and ...
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ArticleBirmingham City Council unable to pay £760 million equal pay bill
Birmingham City Council is in conversation with the government due to being unable to pay an equal pay claims bill worth up to £760 million.The council has already paid out a total of £1.1 billion to settle equal pay claims over the last decade following a Supreme Court ruling pay ...
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OpinionMartin Williams: Amazon’s term-time contracts come with a new set of problems
The idea proposed by Amazon to offer contracts that revolve around term-time working is an interesting one. At first glance it can seem generous, allowing a degree of flexibility for workers who find school holidays a difficult time to balance work and childcare.However, Amazon is not being totally altruistic. It ...
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ArticleUS Pregnant Workers Fairness Act comes into effect
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) has come into effect from 27 June in the United States (US).Under the terms of the PWFA employers are obliged to provide reasonable accommodations for known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.The act applies to US private and public sector employers ...
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AnalysisWhat impact will CDC pensions have on employers’ retirement provisions?
Need to know: Collective defined contribution (CDC) pensions potentially offer a more sustainable way of funding pensions and reducing pension liabilities for some employers. Their potential to provide a more secure and predictable retirement income for employees could help to close the retirement savings gap that ...
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OpinionKatie Ash: Can a flexible-working request be reversed?
For many, the Covid-19 crisis is starting to feel like a distant memory. However, there are still changes to the way we live and work today that were influenced by the restrictions that were put in place. The biggest example in employment law is the shift to working from home.Employers ...
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ArticleBritish Standards Institute publishes inclusive workplace guidance
The British Standards Institute (BSI) has published new guidance designed to help organisations create a diverse and inclusive workplace culture through leadership commitment or adjusting recruitment practices.Diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, code of practice PAS 1948, has been designed as practical support for employers to develop and implement ...
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OpinionKeely Rushmore: Proposed changes to holiday pay for temporary workers
In a bid to reduce the administrative burden on employers, the government has announced plans to allow rolled-up holiday pay. The plans were set out in the Smarter Regulation to Grow the Economy policy paper published in May 2023 and are one of a number of changes proposed to the ...
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ArticleTribunal finds Police Federation of England and Wales discriminated in pension claims
The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) has been found to have discriminated against and victimised members who previously made claims against the government after being moved to pension schemes with reduced benefits.The Career Average Revalued Earnings Police Pension Scheme came into effect in April 2015, allowing members born ...
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ArticleDurdans Stables to pay £4,000 in maternity discrimination case
Durdans Stables has been ordered to pay a former female groom more than £4,000 after an employment tribunal found that she had been discriminated against.Charlotte Holloway began working at the Epsom, Surrey-based stables in October 2018. Her employer had asked her to change her working days and hours while she ...
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OpinionYvonne Gallagher: Deliveroo rider worker status appealed at Supreme Court
The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), which represents a number of riders working for the app-based delivery service Deliveroo, has appealed to the Supreme Court seeking support for its claim that it should be entitled to be recognised by Deliveroo for the purposes of collective bargaining rights for ...