All Tax and legislation articles – Page 27
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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 ...
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OpinionEmma Clark: Breaking the staff menopause taboo
All women will experience the menopause at some point during their life. It can also impact both trans and non-binary people who may not identify as female. Most of those who experience the menopause will do so between the ages of 45 and 55, and between 75% and 80% of ...
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AnalysisTop tips for introducing salary sacrifice pension schemes
A salary sacrifice pension arrangement should not be agreed if the effect of this, such as a reduction in the employee’s pay, would lead to a breach of the national minimum wage legislation. A simple step, such as giving employees full transparency on which businesses the ...
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OpinionKaren Plumbley-Jones: Guidance for employers on the furlough scheme end
How many jobs have been saved by the furlough scheme? We won't ever know the answer to that question, but 11.6 million jobs have been supported by the scheme at some point. That equates to roughly 40% of the total UK workforce and we have seen far fewer redundancies than ...
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OpinionRichard Freedman: Government launches consultation on making flexible working the default
The UK government has launched a consultation considering various reforms to the existing flexible working legislation.The consultation sets out a number of proposals for reshaping the existing regulatory framework to facilitate the objective of expanding the ability to work flexibly. The most striking element is the proposal to give all ...
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OpinionRanjit Dhindsa: Introducing mandatory ethnicity pay reporting
On 20 September 2021, UK MPs took part in an e-petition debate on the introduction of mandatory ethnicity pay reporting for UK organisations.The petition, which received more than 130,000 signatures, followed the introduction of mandatory gender pay reporting and the publication of the McGregor-Smith review of race in the workplace, ...
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OpinionAhmed Al-Nahhas: How employers can help staff mental wellbeing
A recent tribunal ruling threw into question whether some employers truly understand the impact post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can have on staff from a military background.The tribunal found British Airways (BA) had discriminated, harassed and demonstrated a lack of empathy towards an RAF veteran with PTSD, who worked as an ...
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OpinionLee McIntyre-Hamilton: National insurance rise causes concern among employers
Given the sizable budget deficit and the demands of the NHS and social care, it will be no surprise to many that taxes are set to increase with the new 1.25% health and social care levy. However, the timing and nature of the rise has rightly caused grave concern among ...
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OpinionAndrew Crudge: Should the menopause be included in the Equality Act?
There is a strong case to add the menopause as a specific protected characteristic under the Equality Act. As it stands, where an employer discriminates against an employee because of issues relating to the menopause, the employee may possibly have grounds to bring a claim for sex, disability or perhaps ...
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OpinionKate Payne: Is the GMP equalisation update realistic?
When it comes to guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) equalisation on past transfers, the new Pensions Administration Standards Association (PASA) guide does a good job of explaining the total mess schemes find themselves in as a result of the 2020 Lloyds judgement, and how the obligation might be discharged in a ...
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OpinionKeely Rushmore: How the change to the furlough scheme will impact employers
The news that a significant proportion of businesses are contemplating redundancies as the furlough scheme winds down is perhaps not a surprise.Based on the new rules set out by the government, employers are now being asked to contribute 20% towards the salaries of those whose wages are being subsidised by ...
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OpinionJennifer Smith: Why making flexible working the default could be too rigid
The Labour party has unveiled new plans for making flexible working “a force for good”. This focuses on the right for employees to work flexibly as a default from day one of employment, including flexi-hours and an end to supposed one-sided flexibility that favours employers.While such proposals are extremely relevant ...
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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 ...