Latest News

Welcome One consequence of the ending of the UK’s transition period following its exit from the EU is that the Government is now free to make changes to employment law that would not have been possible before. There are some limits,...

Welcome Whether you call it a second wave or one continuous storm, Covid-19 is at the forefront of every employer’s mind as we enter Autumn. Once again, the government has said employees should work from home if they can, in stark relief...

Welcome September and October this year see the scaling back of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme under which millions of employees have been placed on furlough while the Government issued grants to employers to cover the cost of their wages....

Welcome From this month the new Flexible Furlough Scheme is in operation. Under the old scheme an employee had to be furloughed for at least 21 days and could perform no work in that time. The new scheme allows for a furlough of any period and...

It appears to be relatively well understood that an employee requires at least two years’ continuous service before they can complain to an Employment Tribunal that they have been unfairly dismissed. However, there seems to be a common misconception...

As the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) continues to evolve, this blog deals with the latest incarnation of the scheme; namely the concept of flexible furlough, and represents the position as of 12 June 2020. When the concept was initially...

Equality Issues The risks of Covid-19 do not fall equally. Different age groups and those with various underlying conditions are more at risk from the disease. There is also some evidence that different ethnic groups may also be impacted differently. A...

Health and safety claims Employees have a right to protect themselves in circumstances of danger that they reasonably consider to be serious and imminent. Dismissing an employee in these circumstances will be automatically unfair. There is no qualifying...

Employees who refuse to return to work One concern that many employers have is how to deal with employees who refuse to return to work when requested. Can this be treated as misconduct? Employers should tread carefully. The first thing to be sure of is...

Test and Trace The government is in the process of rolling out a new scheme designed to identify those who have been in contact with an infected person and having them self-isolate for 14 days. This means that healthy employees may be instructed to stay...

Making the workplace Covid-secure The employer has a duty to take all reasonable steps to provide employees with a safe place to work and a safe way of working. The coronavirus crisis is unique in that it has an impact on the safety of every workplace ...

Returning furloughed staff part-time The next stage of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will begin on 1st July. Employers will be able to bring employees back to work on a part-time basis, with the Government continuing to subsidise their pay so...

Returning to Work The lockdown imposed in response to the coronavirus outbreak is now in the process of being lifted – albeit gradually. As part of this the Government are encouraging employees to come back to work. Some businesses that were...

We are probably going to be experiencing difficult economic times for a considerable period to come and many employers will be forced to make cutbacks in their staff. So this month we are looking at the issues that an employer needs to consider...

The law There are a number of protections in place for employees and workers and it is important that employers are aware of these protections when considering what action to take in relation to employees or workers who refuse to return to work ...

In light of British Airways’ announcement that they may make 12,000 employees redundant despite almost 23,000 staff having been placed on furlough , we have reached the point that we probably all expected.  Whilst the Government’s...

Coronavirus – Frequently Asked Questions What is the Government’s ‘Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme’ and when does it come into effect? The Government has announced a radical job retention scheme that will cover 80% of the...

  Coronavirus (COVID-19) is grabbing the headlines as it spreads over the globe and more cases are diagnosed in the UK. The impact of the virus on employees and business is worrying for employers. Some guidance has been published recently which...

Everyone's talking about veganism, and not just because of Veganuary. In January, an employment tribunal found that a vegan was protected from discrimination by the Equality Act 2010 . The employee's ethical veganism met the legal test for a...

Black Country Chamber of Commerce Employment Law Update 4th March 2020, 9am - 11am Employment law is ever evolving and 2020 looks set to bring with it a number of changes. At this year’s briefing session, the employment team...