A review of apprenticeships in England has been launched by the Government. The review is to be led by Doug Richard (entrepreneur and campaigner for start up and small businesses) and will look at what makes a high-quality apprenticeship....
In a three month period between 1st July 2011 to 30th September 2011, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) issued civil penalties to employers amounting to £2,934,500. The total amount of fines may reduce if employers bring successful appeals or challenges to the fines imposed....
ACAS has published new guidance covering Challenging conversations and how to manage them....
Figures released by the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee show the level of bonuses that were paid out for work carried out in 2010/11 - UK Border Agency civil servants get bonuses of up to £7,000: 1 in 4 senior civil servants at the UK Border Agency received bonuses of up to £7,000 last year; A fifth took home a bonus of between £4,500 and £5,000; and 1 in 25 were paid bonuses o...
Many of you might have noticed the words "the Tenant will deliver up vacant possession of the Premises........" in a break clause in your lease. What does that actually mean?...
The Mayor of London Boris Johnson has ordered a review of anti-racism reforms within the Metropolitan Police. It will look at measures adopted as a result of the Race and Faith Inquiry set up by the mayor in 2008. The response to this inquiry was published in 2010, and stated the Met needed a "fresh and energetic" approach to making the principles of equality, diversity and human rights a pract...
After winning the Acute Healthcare Organisation of the Year award how did Torbay hospital thank its staff? By giving them a Kit Kat. Strictly speaking, a voucher for a Kit Kat with a message to "take a break" along with their latest payslip. With some members of management apparently receiving a free slap up meal, unsurprisingly, some staff members were left feeling quite insulted. 30 staff m...
Employers frequently need to make redundancies. Where an employee`s contract allows for a payment in lieu of notice ("PILON"), it is not uncommon in a redundancy situation for the employer to agree to pay the employee a PILON instead of requiring them to work through their notice period. However, in these circumstances what happens if the employer discovers the employee has committed gross misc...
With around 30 years` experience of dealing with workplace disputes, both as an HR practitioner and then as an employment lawyer, I have become more and more convinced that workplace mediation does provide a better way to resolve disputes in many cases. I have seen suggestions that managing and resolving conflict better could solve the current economic recession. Whilst I do believe it has a real value and that it should be more widely used, even I would not quite go this far!...
In a major development in the public sector pensions dispute, with police officers campaigning in force for the right to strike, doctors have now voted for strike action. They will stop providing non-urgent care on 21 June in the first industrial action by the profession for nearly 40 years. Some 79% of GPs, 84% of hospital consultants and 92% of junior doctors who responded voted in favour of...
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) hasreleased a recent report on "GenderDiversity on Boards: The Appointment and the Role of Executive Search Firms"....
In the case of Seawell v Ceva it was decided that even though an employee may work full time for a single client, this does not mean he is necessarily assigned to an organised grouping of employees for the purposes of a service provision change or the transfer of his employment under TUPE....
This case seeks to clarify an issue, one of many, left unresolved by the ECJ decisions in Beckmann and Martin concerning pensions and TUPE. It cannot overrule those ECJ decisions, being a first instance decision of the High Court....
On 23 May 2012, Business Secretary, Vince Cable presented the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill to Parliament. The Bill aims to improve the tribunal system through early conciliation, greater use of settlement agreements and a cheaper and quicker process....
A report, commissioned by the Prime Minister and compiled by Adrian Beecroft, includes the following proposals: An end to a mandatory 90-day consultation period when a company is considering redundancies of over 100 employees. The report suggests a 30-day period and an emergency five-day period if a firm is in severe distress. A cap on loss-of-earnings compensation for employees who make suc...
In her Speech delivered at the opening of Parliament last week, the Queen announced Bills to be introduced in the next session of Parliament up to Spring 2013....
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has today published results from the Apprentice Learner Survey....
The UK Border Agency had to turn hundreds of people away from their appointments at the Croydon Public Enquiry Office (PEO) at the start of May, after the foreign national identify card computer system crashed. The system records those legally living in the UK meaning some applicants attending a premium service appointment were unable to provide their biometric information (fingerprints and facia...
The British Airport Authority`s (BAA) announcement that in April the UK Border Force failed to meet its target at Heathrow Airport for processing passengers from outside the European Economic Area though immigration....
The case of Seldon v Clarkson Wright and Jakes illustrated that the test for justifying direct age discrimination is different and narrower than the general test for justifying indirect discrimination. In this case a partner from the Respondent firm of solicitors was forced to retire at the age of 65. It was found that the compulsory retirement age contained in the firm`s deed of partnership wa...