All Tax and legislation articles – Page 3
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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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ArticleGovernment launches pensions review to boost investment and outcomes
Rachel Reeves, chancellor of the exchequer, has announced a pensions review as part of the government’s aim to boost growth and productive investment into the UK economy. The chancellor’s plans include looking at how broader investment strategies could potentially deliver higher pensions returns and how to unlock ...
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ArticleKing's Speech introduces Employment Rights Bill
Credit: Muhammad Aamir Sumsum / Shutterstock.comThe new Labour government is to introduce an Employment Rights Bill within its first 100 days as part of its plan to make work pay.Announced in the King’s Speech on Wednesday 17 July, the plan will create a new partnership between business, trade unions and ...
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ArticleKing's Speech introduces mandatory ethnicity and disability pay reporting
The government is set to bring in legislation to introduce mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for organisations with more than 250 employees.It is planned that the measure will be brought in under the draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill announced in the 2024 King’s Speech at the State ...
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ArticlePension Schemes Bill announced in King’s Speech
The new Labour government will introduce a Pension Schemes Bill to improve outcomes for savers in private sector pension schemes.In the State Opening of Parliament, His Majesty King Charles introduced plans for the Pension Schemes Bill to strengthen pension investment.The bill is designed to help people get more from their ...
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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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ArticleEmma Reynolds named pensions minister
Credit: UK government, under Attribution 3.0 Unported Deed, resizedEmma Reynolds, the elected Labour MP for Wycombe, has been appointed parliamentary secretary for both the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and HM Treasury.The new joint role is part of the new government's recognition that pensions are the responsibilities of both ...
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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 ...
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OpinionKevin Gude: Why should employers consider a corporate healthcare trust?
Employer-funded healthcare trusts are an established, tax-efficient way to deliver the benefit of medical treatment to employees without having to buy employer-paid health insurance.Traditional insurance involves paying an insurance firm a premium, including 12% in tax, that reflects the insurer’s prediction that claims will be made by employees, as well ...
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ArticleLiz Kendall named secretary of state for work and pensions
Credit: UK government, under Attribution 3.0 Unported Deed, resizedLiz Kendall, the re-elected MP for Leicester West, has been appointed as the secretary of state for work and pensions as part of the new Labour government established last week.In her new role, she will have overall responsibility for the Department for ...
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OpinionDebbie Coyne: Managing Euro 2024 and staff leave
With Euro 2024 football fever sweeping the country, employers are once again facing the age-old conundrum of balancing productivity and business operations with giving their staff the chance to watch their nation at a major summer tournament.Legally, employers are not obliged to provide time off for employees to watch Euro ...
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ArticleTaylors Poultry Services wins appeal in travel time minimum wage case
An employment appeal tribunal (EAT) has ruled that Taylors Poultry Services, which provides labour to farms, did not have to pay workers the national minimum wage while they were travelling to work. The organisation, which employs workers on zero-hours contracts to work on poultry farms, provides minibuses ...
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OpinionDeborah Warren: Supporting employees' mental health in the workplace
Employers have not only recognised the importance of employee wellbeing and mental health, but have begun to put it at the top of their people priorities list.All employers have a general, common-law duty to take reasonable care for the safety of their employees, including providing a safe place of work, ...
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ArticleTribunal rules Wrexham bakery did not make reasonable adjustments for blind employee
An employment tribunal has ruled that a Wrexham bakery did not do enough to make reasonable adjustments for a man registered as blind before dismissing him during his probation period.Ian Stanley is registered as legally blind and was diagnosed with Bardet Biedl syndrome in 2010. He was employed as a ...
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OpinionAndrew Rhodes: How to establish policies on belief and expression to avoid claims
With general election campaigning getting underway in the UK and US, as well as the continued culture wars all feeding into increased political polarisation, there is a considerable risk of disagreements spilling into the workplace.In response to this risk, employers should establish or review their internal policies on political beliefs ...
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ArticleTribunal finds Scottish teacher with menopause symptoms was unfairly dismissed
An employment tribunal has found that Scottish teacher whose menopause symptoms worsened during a dispute about moving to a different school was unfairly dismissed.Allison Shearer had worked at the Clydesdale Secondary Support Base between 2015 and 2022, teaching English, maths and health and wellbeing. She was taking prescribed medication for ...
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OpinionVicky Schollar: What is the potential impact of changes to the fit note system?
It was announced in April that GPs may no longer be required to sign off fit notes and that responsibility will be passed to an unspecified healthcare specialist. What do the possible legal implications of this look like and what will be the impact on employees?A sick note, or fitness ...
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ArticleTribunal finds account manager was subject to pregnancy and maternity discrimination
A former business account manager at 52 Street Event Supplies in Barnsley has been awarded £37,310.05 for pregnancy and maternity discrimination, unfair dismissal and arrears of wages.Heather Todd started working for the organisation in 2003. In 2022 she became pregnant with her second child and informed her company director, Shaun ...
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AnalysisHow effective is strike action in pay and benefits disputes?
Employees often take strike action over issues such as pay, health and safety, pensions, benefits, changes to terms and conditions, and union recognition. The UK has strict laws regarding strike action and it cannot take place if certain requirements have not been met. Employers should consider ...
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ArticleFormer sports centre director receives fine for withholding pensions information
A former director of 1066 Target Sports in St Leonards, East Sussex, has received a £15,000 fine for withholding legally-required pensions information.The Pensions Regulator formally requested information from Lee Bartholomew on 10 June 2020 as part of an investigation into allegations of fraudulent evasion relating to employee pension contributions. It ...