All Tax and legislation articles – Page 20
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OpinionDavid Sheppard: How would a single employment status change workplaces?
The Deputy Labour Leader Angela Rayner MP recently announced various significant reforms to employment law rights if Labour were to win power. The most eye-catching was the abolition of the distinction between employee and worker status, and the creation of a single worker status covering all individuals engaged by employers. ...
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OpinionSam Jardine: Why employers should offer staff mental health support
With Covid-19 (Coronavirus) restrictions easing, employees up and down the country are gearing up again for a return to the office.However, after working from home for months on end and with underlying anxieties surrounding the pandemic understandably still present, our HR team has considered how we can better equip colleagues ...
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OpinionLaura Jackson: How can employees ease back into the workplace?
As Freedom Day' (19 July) has now passed, many employers are beginning to consider long-term plans for their workforce. The Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic has introduced remarkable shifts in peoples’ lives, including their working styles. It feels like every week the news reports another large corporate announcing plans to introduce hybrid ...
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OpinionFiona Macdonald: What impact has the delay in gender pay gap reporting had?
In February 2021, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) announced that, due to the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, enforcement action for failing to comply with the Gender Pay Gap Regulations for the 2020/2021 year would be suspended for six months.This came after enforcement action was suspended for 12 months the ...
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OpinionKathryn Evans: Can employers ask staff to return to the workplace after restrictions are lifted?
As restrictions lift, many employees who have been working from home will be asked to return to the workplace. The question is, can employers do that?Bluntly, yes, they can. Fundamentally, a person’s place of work is governed by their employment contract. If an employee was stationed in the employer’s premises ...
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OpinionElaine Huttley: What is the impact of hybrid working on employees?
As a result of the global pandemic, organisations are having a major re-think about how they want their workplaces to function long-term. Many are considering introducing hybrid working models, which give staff the option of combining working from home with going into the office. There are clear business benefits to ...
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OpinionPhilippa O’Malley: What future employee engagement issues do employers need to be aware of?
Employee engagement can refer to both the connection that employees feel towards their employer and their work, and how the employer communicates with employees on matters that affect their employment.The Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic has resulted in some marked changes to the way in which employers engage with their employees. The ...
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OpinionKerry Hudson: Employers need to be informed of pregnancies while staff are on furlough
Women on furlough could jeopardise their employee rights if they fail to tell their employers that they are pregnant.Expectant mothers who are on furlough may be tempted not to notify their employers of their pregnancy, possibly because they think they may receive more money on furlough, or because of fears ...
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OpinionYvonne Gallagher: Uber's GMB deal is a turning point for workers' rights
Last month saw the announcement that Uber will officially recognise the trade union GMB, enabling it to formally represent up to 70,000 Uber drivers across the UK. GMB rightly described the arrangement as ground-breaking, since Uber had not previously been willing either to acknowledge employee or worker rights for its ...
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AnalysisTop tips on implementing electric company car schemes
Need to know: Electric vehicles are now a realistic option for company fleets, either as an employee benefit or through salary sacrifice arrangements. Favourable benefit-in-kind rates are making this more attractive compared to petrol or diesel options. But some concerns remain around charging infrastructure and battery ...
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OpinionMichelle Last: The long-term career risks for mothers working from home
Employers need to be realistic about the effects of increased working from home for working mothers in order to maintain and improve on equality gains achieved pre-Covid-19 (Coronavirus).Government guidance that people should work from home over the last year has enabled many families to reduce their reliance on costly childcare ...
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OpinionSarah Henderson: What pension scheme employers should be prioritising in terms of GDPR
Pension scheme employers and trustees spent many hours getting ready for the revamped data protection regime that came into force on 25 May 2018. What’s new in the data protection landscape and what should pension scheme employers and trustees be prioritising three years later?First, mapping your data footprint remains a ...
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OpinionKaren Holden: Why aren’t all employees offered paid leave after miscarriages?
When an employee has a miscarriage, they have a number of options in terms of leave. They can be signed off sick by their doctor, however, that may only allow them statutory sick pay, depending on their contract. Unpaid leave may be negotiated, or they may be able to use ...
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OpinionVictoria von Wachter: Employers need to be vigilant of the symptoms of long Covid
Long Covid refers to symptoms of Covid-19 (Coronavirus) that persist for weeks or even months, in excess of 12 weeks according to the health watchdog National Insititute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice). Latest figures suggest that one in five people who test positive for Covid-19 continue to experience symptoms ...
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OpinionMichael Paulin: It is not too late to look at the IR35 rules
The coming-into-force of the Off-Payroll (IR35) rules for the private sector on 6 April 2021 was, as was expected by many, diminished, due to more or less all business owners having to focus on maintaining their businesses and livelihoods in light of the calamity of the pandemic.In real terms this ...
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OpinionEmma Swan: Vaccine passports could prove more than a customer problem for hospitality
Requiring customers to produce vaccine passports could create employment law problems for hospitality businesses.If hospitality and leisure venues such as pubs, restaurants and cinemas request customers to produce a vaccine certificate, there’s also a reasonable argument that they should require the same of employees. Staff at these venues will be ...
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OpinionRhona Darbyshire: Employers should review their remote working policies
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is planning to conduct a public consultation later this year on strengthening workers’ rights in relation to flexible and remote working, according to a recent report in The Times.This news comes as the Work after lockdown research project, published by the ...
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OpinionKate Payne and Max Ballad: Guaranteed minimum pensions (GMP) winners and losers
The UK Government has decided to make public service pension schemes fully responsible for increasing guaranteed minimum pensions (GMPs) in line with price inflation. Previously, these annual increases were effectively shared between the state pension and the public service schemes.Up until 5 April 2016, a convenient arrangement existed which met ...
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OpinionVictoria Von Wachter: Untangling the knot of furlough leave entitlement
Many industries are gearing up to reopen on 12 April, bringing furlough to an end for thousands of employees.As Prime Minister Boris Johnson provides hope that borders may reopen on 17 May, these employees may be wondering how their previously furloughed status will affect their annual leave entitlement.Can employees expect ...
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OpinionTina Chander: When furlough ends, safety and mental health issues could start
As furlough ends and employees begin to return to factories and offices, employers need to consider what physical measures are needed to ensure they remain Covid-secure and that it is safe for their people to return to work.The Health and Safety at Work Act has long-provided for safe working environments, ...