August 4, 2020
Friday 31st July saw the Prime Minister delay further easing of lockdown measures and the Chief Medical Officer warned that the country may have reached the limits of lockdown easing if the spread of COVID-19 is to be controlled. This came in the same week that large parts of North West of England had tighter…
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August 1, 2020
An important case on the topic of discrimination on the grounds of marriage was decided by the Employment Appeal Tribunal on 5 June 2020. Under the Equality Act 2010 there are nine protected characteristics. One of these is the right not to be discriminated against on the grounds of marriage and/or civil partnership. Rev. Jonathan…
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July 30, 2020
The British Medical Association has issued a stark warning there could be a mental health crisis arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, unless significant support is put in place. How has COVID-19 affected the mental health and wellbeing of the working population? What impact will this have on absence for UK businesses? And what can employers…
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July 29, 2020
The Parental Leave Act 2019 in Ireland extends parental leave. Parental Leave Amendment Bill (2017), which is now The Parental Leave Act 2019, was signed into law on 22 May 2019 and provides a phased extension of parental leave from 18 weeks to 26 weeks from 1 September 2019. From this date parents will be…
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July 28, 2020
Many employers have taken advantage of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) in order to retain their employees during the COVID-19 crisis. But the scheme ends in October, leaving lots of businesses wondering: what next? For some, it’s onward and upwards and furloughed staff will return to business as usual. However, others will be contemplating…
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July 26, 2020
There’s growing evidence that only 7% of UK employees have taken advantage of the 2015 government initiative of shared parental leave. Why are the take-up figures of shared parental leave are so low? And what can HR teams can do to improve this? Quick Reminder: What is Shared Parental Leave? This is where parental couples…
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July 26, 2020
The Gender Pay Gap Information Bill The Government is looking to pass the Gender Pay Gap Information Bill which will force employers to reveal salaries in the interests of assessing the progress of gender pay equality in the Republic of Ireland. The legislation is expected to have completed its passage by autumn 2020.
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July 25, 2020
The Gwynedd Council v Shelley Barrett case provides clarity on the new competitive interview process when choosing which employees to make redundant. Due to the impact of COVID-19, many businesses are considering redundancies. Employers have a duty to consider alternatives to redundancy, including finding suitable, alternative roles. How they select who will be offered an…
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July 24, 2020
During the COVID-19 crisis, many employees were asked to work from home. But did you know that employees might be able to claim tax relief for some of the bills they have to pay due to working from home on a regular basis? Read our blog post to find out what they can claim for,…
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July 24, 2020
The Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act is a new statutory provision which allows working parents to spend more time with their baby or adopted child during the first year. It is additional to maternity and paternity provisions and applies to births and adoptions on or after 1 November 2019. Each parent is now entitled to…
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July 23, 2020
Pay your employees faster. Instead of waiting three days for the cash to clear using a traditional Bacs transfer, with Faster Payments – it’s instant. This kind of speed affords lots of flexibility. Whether that’s to collect the cash you need to pay your people, or to take extra time to ensure payroll accuracy; there…
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July 22, 2020
An employee engagement survey is probably the last thing on your mind. But actually, is now the perfect time to take stock of the mood of your people? How has COVID-19 affected the employee experience? Why should you run an engagement survey? And how do you go about it? Keep reading to find out. COVID-19…
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