For our first article of 2021 we have decided to focus on expectations and predictions for the year ahead. 2020 has forced the Government and its associated regulators to assess the efficiency of organisations in every aspect, from governance to financial reporting and accounting. ...
In recent years the restaurant sector has been struggling due to high business rates and rents, Brexit uncertainty and people generally eating out less. ...
“This is the best possible outcome for UK organisations processing personal data from the EU” stated Information Commissioner, Elizabeth Denham. ...
The Government has updated its policy for all new arrivals entering the UK from next week. Those entering the UK using any mode of travel will be required to present a negative COVID-19 test taken less than 72 hours from arrival. ...
The coronavirus pandemic resulted in the postponement of many employment law changes due to take place in 2020. This article investigates some of the key developments anticipated over the next 12 months. ...
The year 2020 will always be a stand-out year in our personal and professional lives. COVID-19 brought so much suffering to so many across the globe and created a level of uncertainty that we had never experienced before. Businesses were forced to adapt at breakneck speed. ...
Again, employers and employees are facing the difficult balancing act of managing work and childcare through this third national lockdown. The three main options for employers to manage such leave are to place affected parents/guardians on furlough, have parents use their annual leave to take time off or take unpaid leave....
A new mother who was not invited to her work Christmas party whilst on maternity leave has succeeded in her claim against her employer....
Monica Atwal takes an in-depth look at the Next Equal Pay case and the news that documents relating to the case had been destroyed in a thought leadership article published in Governance and Compliance Magazine....
Now that the UK is past its first week of the COVID-19 vaccination rollout, employers are starting to consider what 2021 will look like and whether there is hope of the workplace returning to some form of normality. The question on many employers’ minds is - can we require our staff to get vaccinated?...
The Government’s CEST tool, designed to help determine whether a worker will be caught by the changes to the off payroll working rules (IR35) was unable to reach a conclusion in 19% of cases checked in the last year. ...
This month, the BEIS (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) opened their consultation on reforming employment contract non-compete clauses. Back in 2016, there was a close to universal consensus amongst employers that restrictive covenants are a valuable instrument for those seeking to protect their business interests. At the same time, their perceived impact on an ex-employee’s ability to find new work was deemed insignificant, or not unfair. ...
The Government has now published detailed guidance on applying for a Frontier Worker permit following the end of the Brexit transition period. The scheme is open to Frontier Workers who have worked in the UK prior to 31 December 2020....
The April 2021 statutory maternity, paternity and sick pay rates have been released by the Government. The increases are modest at less than £1 per week. ...
The Employment Tribunal has issued a timely reminder to employers of the dangers of social media in the workplace, after finding in Abdi v Deltec International Courier Ltd that the employee had been harassed by her colleagues via WhatsApp. ...
The NEC has published a second set of amendments to its NEC4 suite of contracts, reflecting user feedback from the industry and recent legal development. The October 2020 amendments can be found on the NEC site. ...
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published its annual review of corporate governance reporting against its UK Corporate Governance Code (the Code). The Code, published in its current form in 2018, provides businesses with key corporate governance recommendations. ...
Last month the Government introduced the National Security and Investment Bill to the House of Commons for its first reading. The purpose of the Bill is to give the government further powers to scrutinise and, where necessary, intervene in certain business transactions if it believes national security concerns are present; this will include mergers and acquisitions. ...
The standard EC period is now 6 weeks rather than a month (but there is no longer the possibility of extending it by 2 weeks). Although this may appear to give people... ...
Festivities will be very different this year. Despite exiting a national Lockdown this week, 98.7% of the population in England find themselves in tiers 2 or 3 in the run up to Christmas. ...