Covid unlocking. How do employers handle this when its recommendations rather than rules? This week we see an end to the general restrictions which have been gradually melting away over the past months. However you personally feel about it, the approach of using recommendations rather than rules leaves a certain...

Deadline to furlough an employee for the first time and other changes to the furlough scheme This update is correct as at 3rd June 2020 but there may be further changes and updates. Many readers will be aware that the Government announced how the furlough scheme will change over the...

The Appeal Tribunal has released judgment on a case looking at when a bonus expressed as being “Discretionary” becomes an entitlement. The judgment comes as no surprise to employment lawyers and follows a theme that has been followed for some years. As a general rule, if an employee comes to...

The Government has launched a consultation about restricting the use of confidentiality clauses in employment. This comes on the tail of the #metoo movement and is already partially covered in English Law.   Any confidentiality clause is void if it tries to prevent whistleblowing. That is to say, a public...

The question can sometimes arise as to whether an employee is disabled. This occurs often when the employee has a condition which is debilitating, but the employer argues that it is not “long-term” (this being a necessary feature of a condition if it is to be classed as a disability)....

This morning, I had the good fortune to hear an interview on the radio with the National Guardian for the NHS, Henrietta Hughes. She was there to talk about her role, which involves ensuring that NHS staff feel free to expose wrongdoing, and she is concerned that gagging orders within...

Following our brief update in July this year after the decision in Mencap v Tomlinson-Blake, we have had numerous enquiries from employers who engage sleep-in workers asking us to confirm that they are now off the hook in terms of paying national minimum wage to their sleep-in workers for the...

The Appeal Tribunal has handed down judgment in a case that may shock some employers.   An employee handed in her notice within the admin department of an NHS Trust because she had been offered a job elsewhere in the Trust. The notice said “Please accept one months notice from...

An employer, in this case a company supplying security guards, has found retrospectively that a zero hours worker was entitled to parity in terms and conditions with those staff employed directly by the end user.   In this case, a security company provided a guard to an end user, on...

It is likely that you will have seen or heard that the Government published guidance on how to prepare for a no deal Brexit. With a large amount of employment law stemming from Europe, what rights will remain and what will change with Brexit is a concern for many businesses....