Another day, another strike action. This time schools are facing another wave of strikes from the National Educators Union over pay and conditions at the start of July. Despite a pay deal offered of 5% for 2022-2023, this has been rejected by the union for representing a real term pay cut under inflation of 1.9% [...]
As any users of public services will have noticed, there has been a flurry of industrial action this winter. One sector striking is school teachers who have planned national strikes on 1 February, 15 March and 16 March with regional strikes expected on 14 February, 28 February, 1 March and 2 March. There are also [...]
Tribunal Finds General Medical Council Liable for Race Discrimination The Reading employment tribunal has found the General Medical Council liable for direct race discrimination. Dr. O Karim is an NHS doctor of African/ European ethnicity. Complaints were made against him in 2013/2014, culminating in a Fitness to Practice Tribunal (FTP) in 2018 (a tribunal that [...]
This week’s case looks at whether employees who are taking lawful industrial action still have the right to picket their workplace (the practice of protesting at the entrance of a workplace and encouraging fellow employees to withhold their labour) during the Covid-19 lockdown. Under the current lockdown regulations, you are not supposed to leave your [...]
Where shielding employees can work from home, they should. Where they can’t, government advice is that they should not attend work. Employees who are shielding can be furloughed to mitigate the financial impact on them of having to shield (subject to meeting the qualifying rules of the furlough scheme). Under the furlough rules, employers are [...]
It is now too late to put somebody on furlough for the first time. Yesterday was the last day that anyone could be put on furlough for the first time. But if someone has previously been on furlough or is currently on furlough then they are eligible to continue until the scheme closes on 31 [...]
Back in April we wrote about the potential for employers to use the Furlough scheme to subsidise notice costs for employees being made redundant https://pjhlaw.co.uk/2020/04/29/cjrs-notice-and-holiday-pay/. Under changes to the furlough scheme announced at the end of May, today is the last day on which new employees can be placed on Furlough. Employees who have not [...]
Research published in the Lancet (Medical Journal) is likely to fuel the demand for the 2-metre social distancing rule to be relaxed. Nicola Sturgeon’s answer to this was to say “You might be reading or hearing in the media today some voices saying that one metre is sufficient, so I want to take the [...]
Later this week Rishi Sunak is expected to announce further changes to the furlough scheme. As well as the scheme being made more flexible with part time working allowed (as a means to get the economy back up and running), there is set to be a ban on new workers joining the 8 million currently [...]
As lockdown eases and thousands of people make their way back to work and with millions being furloughed, the Office for National Statistics have confirmed that the number of people claiming benefits has increased by 69% in 3 months to 2.1 million. Today’s figures show that unemployment has risen by 50,000 to 1.35 Million in [...]
The government has issued guidance to employers on employees’ holiday rights - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/holiday-entitlement-and-pay-during-coronavirus-covid-19#taking-holiday. In summary: The guidance only applies to the statutory 5.6 weeks of holiday – rights in relation to holiday beyond this amount are a contractual matter between employers and employees. Employees do accrue holiday whilst on furlough. Employers can require employees to [...]
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to unveil changes to the Government's furlough scheme sometime today. The scheme is currently subsidising 80% of wages for workers temporarily furloughed due to the coronavirus pandemic up to a maximum of £2,500.00. There have been suggestions that the level of wages subsidised will be cut to 60% or less. [...]
As the death rate hopefully continues to fall and the curves make their way downwards, we await the details of the government’s exit plan. With Rishi Sunak making it clear that the furlough scheme is likely to be wound down gradually (it currently runs until the end of June) as the cost is unsustainable (taxpayers [...]
Despite April only having 30 days, the seemingly longest month of our lives has ended, which means it is time for our employment law update to round up some of the employment law news of the month. COVID-19 has dominated all news including employment law but will only feature as a segue or McGuffin into [...]
