All Tax and legislation articles – Page 8
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OpinionDanielle Ayres: How employers can ensure future resilience for workplace absences
It is crucial to ensure employers have crystal clear practices and policies for managing employee absences. Employers which properly invest in handling absences in the right way will see a marked improvement in staff performance, retention, productivity and business resilience.Absence management is central to ensuring ongoing business operations, helping minimise ...
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ArticleTrades Union Congress reports government over Strikes Act
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has announced it is reporting the Conservative government to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) over the Strikes Act.In a press conference yesterday (10 September), Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC, Esther Lynch, general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, and two frontline workers, ...
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OpinionKris Weber: The impact of BBC v Christina Burns on pension costs
BBC v Christina Burns concerns the ability of employers to amend their old-fashioned and prohibitively expensive defined benefit pension schemes to make cost-saving changes. Often this is done by closing a scheme to future accrual, so members no longer earn any further benefits in it. The court said the BBC ...
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ArticleTribunal rules refusing pay rise to former Direct Line employee was unfair
Credit: T. Schneider / Shutterstock.comA menopausal former Direct Line insurance worker has been awarded £64,645.07 in a disability discrimination case after her boss refused to give her a pay rise amid claims she was “underperforming”.Maxine Lynskey began working for Direct Line in April 2016 and had no issues until March ...
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ArticleGovernment confirms it will reinstate equal pay protection legislation
The government has confirmed it is to reinstate equal pay protection legislation after previously scrapping the European Union (EU) law behind it.The protection was axed among other laws after the UK left the EU as part of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 which was passed in ...
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AnalysisWhat will the Flexible Working Act mean for working carers?
From 2024, employees will be able to request flexible working hours and patterns twice in a 12-month period and will not have to explain any potential effect on their employer. Organisations will have to consider all requests and provide a reason before rejection within two months. ...
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OpinionHelen Burgess: Back to school and the impact on employees
It’s nearly that time of year again where parents and their children start planning for the return to or start of school. The school day and the typical 9am to 5pm working schedule are not aligned and parent employees may request to change their start and finish times permanently, or ...
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ArticleTribunal orders Greatwell Homes to pay £50,000 in maternity leave dispute
Northamptonshire housing association Greatwell Homes has been ordered to pay a former employee £50,000 at employment tribunal after a maternity leave dispute.The association, which manages thousands of homes in Wellingborough, Kettering and Raunds, was taken to court after the member of staff claimed she had ‘suffered a detriment’ while on ...
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OpinionAmanda Trewhella: Supporting employees with menstrual health and menopause transition
Women’s health, and in particular the menopause transition, is a topical issue that has finally received significant coverage in the media during the last year or so.In the UK there are currently no legal regulations specifically requiring employers to provide support to people affected by menstruation issues or the menopause. ...
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ArticleTribunal finds former Royal Stoke University Hospital nurse was unfairly dismissed
Credit: Vivid Brands / Shutterstock.comA former Royal Stoke University Hospital nurse has been found to have been unfairly dismissed and should have received statutory redundancy.Clare Jackson had been working as a band six senior haematology research nurse at the hospital for five years when a directorate restructuring involving more than ...
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OpinionLee McIntyre-Hamilton: How to make cross-border remote working successful
Cross-border remote working has never been easier for employees. However, the same cannot be said when it comes to employer compliance.First and foremost, employers need to ensure that their employees have the legal right to work in the overseas country. Employees may need a visa or work permit. Also, employees ...
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ArticleTribunal finds former Trentside Manor Care employee was unfairly dismissed
A former care home manager at Trentside Manor Care has been awarded more than £100,000 in damages following a dismissal after requesting a reduction in her working hours.M Raphael had worked at the Stoke on Trent care home since 2011 and suffered a stroke in 2015, which left her with ...
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ArticleTribunal rules law firm must pay out on 13 counts of unfair dismissal
An employment tribunal has ruled that a defunct Newcastle-based law firm must pay 13 former employees 90 days’ remuneration for unfair dismissal after failing to give sufficient notice of redundancy ahead of the firm ceasing trading.Short Richardson and Forth closed on 30 September 2022, before entering into voluntary liquidation on ...
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OpinionBeth Brown: High Court calls into question amendments to contracted out pension schemes
Anyone involved with pension schemes which contracted out on a salary-related basis after 1997 will want to be aware of a recent High Court ruling which could impact their scheme.In Virgin Media v NTL Trustees and others, the High Court held that the absence of a Section 37 certificate invalidated ...
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ArticleWoolworths Group faces charges for underpaying long service leave
Credit: myphotobank.com.au / Shutterstock.comAustralian retailer Woolworths Group and its subsidiary Woolstar Pty have had more than 1,000 charges filed against them by Wage Inspectorate Victoria for failing to make long service leave payments.The charges, which were filed in the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria, alleged that the group failed to pay ...
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OpinionChris Kisby: Key considerations around overseas working
For many, the idea of working from another country, be that permanently or for a short period, is a very tempting one, but there are considerations for when an employee makes a request to move abroad.It might be that an employer already has an office in the country where an ...
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ArticleTribunal rules Meghraj Group Pension's former owner must pay in £1.8 million
A tribunal has upheld a decision by The Pensions Regulator (TPR) to issue a contribution notice for Anant Shah, the former owner of the Meghraj Group Pension Scheme, to pay £1.8 million into the scheme.The Meghraj Group Pension Scheme is the UK defined benefit scheme of the Meghraj Group, an ...
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ArticleHigh Court rules BBC cannot change pension to cut future benefits
The High Court has ruled that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) cannot modify its £19.8 billion pension to cut future benefits for plan members but can make other changes without employees’ consent.The case explored the treatment of future service benefits under the BBC pension scheme, which provides retirement benefits on ...
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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 ...