It's increasingly common for organisations to allow pets, namely dogs, in the office. Household names such as Nestle, Amazon, Etsy and Google are among the growing numbers of pooch friendly firms. All of this was in pre-Covid times. But there's evidence to suggest that as we continue out of lockdown, the trend is likely to continue. A staggering 3.2 million households in Britain have become 1st time dog owners since March 2020. Of course, huge numbers of employees have found a way to work from…
On 12 May, Boris Johnson announced that the order to work from home wherever possible is to end from 21 June (certainly in England). This appears to contradict advice from SAGE, the government’s scientific advisors. They suggest the measure should continue through the summer and, with the Indian Variant accelerating, ending all restrictions is considered premature. But will staff happily return to the workplace? And what do employers actually want to do? What is hybrid working? One measure rapidly gathering momentum is the concept of ‘hybrid’…
As we stampede towards summer, beach bags and flip flops in tow, you might begin to see some of your employees pushing the boundaries of ‘working from home.’ While the Maldives looks unlikely for many, the Red Lion’s beer garden is looking very appealing. So, if your employees’ new address has ‘arms’, ‘inn’ or ‘crown’ in the title, it might be that they are perched in their local during working hours. But how does this impact your business? Do you have rights as an employer to enforce working locations? And what are the potential benefits of alfresco or ‘agile’ working? Five top tips for employers While shipping your whole workforce to the…
Findings from our survey of more than 700 people reveal almost a third (32%) would consider bunking off work this summer. The research shows the top reasons for bunking off include catching up with friends, going on holiday, spending time with the kids, and going to the pub for a sneaky pint! All of this will come as no surprise to employers this year. Lockdown restrictions are set to lift completely by 21 June and experts are predicting a heatwave in the summer months. Feeling…
We've seen the volume of employees paid by Faster Payments rise rapidly through the first months of 2021. Since November last year, we’ve almost doubled the number of monthly transactions. And in the same period, the monetary value of transactions has increased by almost 120%. What’s more, the overall number of Faster Payment transactions in the UK increased by 22% in March 2021, compared with March 2020. I’m keen to explain what Faster Payments are and the main benefits payroll teams see when using them.…
IR35: a thorn in the side of many in 2020/21. And with costly fines looming, it pays to get it right. If the thought of IR35 miscalculations and contracting is keeping you up at night, then we have some simple ways to sense check if you’re on the right track. Check who falls inside & outside of IR35 If you’re still worried about whether the new legislation will affect your contractor, you can use the GOV.UK checker. This allows your contractor to check their employment status. Remember, as the employer it is your responsibility to…
Payroll and HR, Bonnie and Clyde, Beyoncé and Jay-Z. You simply can’t have one without the other! Whether your payroll sits within the HR team, finance, or you have a separate dedicated team altogether, the two are always intricately linked. And having data accurately pull from one to the other is essential for accurate payroll processing and HR processes. How to transfer data? There are a few ways you can get data from your payroll and HR - namely carrier pigeon, letter and smoke signals.…
Diversity and inclusion is quickly climbing the business agenda. Something to consider is how you can better support employees with gender dysphoria, as well as transitioning and transgender employees. What is the legislation that protects transgender employees? What are your obligations as an employer? And what does best practice look like? Keep reading to find out. Gender discrimination Gender discrimination is on the rise, according to the World Economic Forum, the UK is slipping further down the global index. The UK was previously 15th and…
The Supreme Court handed down its long-awaited judgment on Friday 26 March 2021. The ET, EAT and Court of Appeal had decided that the relevant employees (retail workers) were entitled to compare themselves with distribution employees in other establishments under section 79(4)(c) of the Equality Act 2010 (and section 1(6) of the Equal Pay Act 1970 as regards earlier periods). Underhill LJ, hearing the case at the Court of Appeal, said that the preliminary issue here (i.e. were they able to use the distribution employees…
This case concerns the appropriate rate of pay for a worker when completing a ‘sleep-in’ shift and being on-call for the purposes of the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015 (‘NMW’). The Facts Mrs Tomlinson-Blake was a care support worker employed by the Royal Mencap Society. In addition to her day care duties - for which she received a salary (salaried hours work), she did sleep-in shifts working specific hours receiving a flat rate allowance of £22.35 plus one hours pay of £6.70 (time work). She was…
