As the UK enters the seventh month of lockdown, the quality of people’s mental health is deteriorating at a concerning rate. More than two thirds (69%) of adults are reportedly feeling worried about the effect the virus is having on their life. According to a survey by the Samaritans, just over 1 in 10 callers reported experiencing suicidal thoughts or thoughts of self-harm during the first week of lockdown. It is perhaps not surprising that such a dramatic change to the way we live has…
An important case on the topic of the unlawful deduction of wages was decided by the Employment Law Tribunal on 3 September 2020. Recent Development in National Minimum Wage – Ms E Harris and 8 others v Kaamil Education, Diligent Care Services and Premier Carewaiting. A group of home care providers have been ordered to pay more than £100,000 in backdated earnings to home care staff. Back in 2016, the Public-service union, Unison, started a legal battle against profiteering private care providers’ practice of paying…
An important sex discrimination case, and victory for the LGBT community, was decided by the Employment Appeal Tribunal on 21 September 2020. Does protection under the Equality Act for those going through gender reassignment extend to those who identify as gender-fluid or non-binary? Yes, stated the Employment Tribunal in this case. The Government Equalities Office Guide defines the term ‘non-binary’ to describe someone who does not subscribe to the customary binary approach to gender, and who may regard themselves as neither male nor female, or…
After more than six months of life in lockdown, there's clear evidence our new way of working may be extended for at least another six months. This year's shift to working from home is beginning to look much more permanent. As a result, the focus of employers has now shifted from the basics of setting employees up remotely, to supporting this longer term transition from office to home. As we well know, motivation and communication are key to employees feeling part of a team. So,…
Moorepay's parent company Zellis was awarded software product of the year by the CIPP during their Annual Excellence Awards. Judged by an independent panel, this prestigious award is given to software that enables companies to run their payroll in-house. Judges were looking for a solution that was compliant, user friendly, enabled best practice and was well supported. Also competing for the award was ADP, Intelligo, IRIS, MHR, Neeyamo, Payslip, SSCL and Xero. However, the award was given to Zellis for its innovations in software, including the…
There's no doubt that striking the right balance between work and home life is a very important aspect of modern life. Employees today want more flexibility in the way that they work to enable them to juggle competing life demands. However, flexible working doesn’t necessarily suit every business and in some circumstances, it may not be possible to agree to a request to work flexibly. Can I refuse a flexible working request? Employers have a legal obligation to deal with requests in a reasonable manner. As…
How has lockdown changed people’s attitudes to flexible and home working? Over 13 million people across the UK plan to ask to modify their long-term working pattern, according to new research by Direct Life Line. HR managers will have to be prepared for the influx of new requests once the current COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted. What Do Employees Want? With half (49%) of the workforce experiencing the benefits of working from home first-hand,2 it’s no wonder that 44% of employees are hoping that flexible…
During lockdown, many workers chose to cancel their scheduled annual leave due to a change in their travel plans. This left a large number of employees with vast amounts of accrued leave to take before the end of their holiday year. Some employees may be under the false impression that they are entitled to carry this leave over into the next leave year. They may even expect to be paid as compensation for any leave not taken. Keep reading to find out what actually changed…
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has recently ruled that individual workers for Royal Mail are indeed agency workers. Agency workers have the right to be treated no less favourably when compared to those who are employed by the organisation, as per the Agency Workers regulations 2010. This means they have the same right to basic employment and working conditions, including bonuses, annual leave and paid time off for antenatal appointments, after the agency worker has completed a 12-week qualifying period. An appeal lodged by Angard…
'How can I automatically move data from one system into another?’ you ask, brimming with concern that you're doomed to an eternity of entering it all manually. Your tech savvy colleague frowns at you and says ‘Err... We can just use an API.’ You nod vigorously and say ‘Of course, yeah, yeah… obvious now you’ve said it.’ There’s uncomfortable laughter... You immediately return to your desk and ask Google: 'WHAT IS AN API?' But all the articles thrown up by your search are written in…