You may have already heard about the Government Kickstart Scheme which has been created by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). It is a scheme which provides funding to employers to create job placements. When it was first set up you needed a minimum of 30 job...
Post Brexit Immigration Rules
New Immigration Rules In our new post-Brexit world UK employers need to think differently immigration and about how they recruit and employ EU citizens (not including Irish citizens) as free movement between the UK and EU has ended The points-based immigration system...
Lockdown 3.0 Employers Update
So here we are again then huh?! Lockdown 3.0 we see it is being called, so here is your Lockdown 3.0 Employers Update (as of today anyway). We notice that the legislation being voted upon runs to 31 March with Boris reported as stating that this is "not because we...
CJRS Extension
The government has announced the CJRS extension, it is now going to run until March 31 2021. The CJRS extension aims to support individuals and businesses who are impacted by disruption caused by coronavirus (COVID-19) this winter. The CJRS extension will run...
New self-isolation rules employers need to know
New Coronavirus Regulations regarding self-isolation came into effect at midnight (they were created Saturday & laid before Parliament yesterday...) They set out the mandatory requirements from today for self-isolation and to notify the Secretary of State of any...
New Covid Job Support Scheme from 1 November
We are sure you will have seen the news today about the new Covid Job Support Scheme that will come into effect on 1 November. There is as yet no Govt Guidance on the Gov.uk covid webpages but we have received a copy of the factsheet and it sets out the details we...
Is redundancy the only way?
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has helped many businesses since March but we now know that it will be coming to an end in October and unfortunately that means that we are starting to talk about redundancy more often as business are starting to think about what...
Commission in holiday pay
Holiday season means holiday pay. Working out holiday pay for many employees is fairly straight forward but there can be some spanners in the works especially when dealing with commission in holiday pay (or other variable payments such as shift allowances and on call...
Redundancy Pay, Notice Pay and Furlough
You may be aware (or you may get employees asking you questions) that there was a press release late last week https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-law-to-ensure-furloughed-employees-receive-full-redundancy-payments that the BBC & other media grandly announced...
So here it is….the FLEXIBLE FURLOUGH SCHEME in detail
Released about 9pm Friday – the Flexible Furlough Scheme guidance is finally here in all its glory …and there is no point pretending otherwise – it’s complicated! Actually the principle of flexibly furloughing is pretty straightforward - the claims are where it...
New furlough rules minor update
Nothing new to report on the the new furlough rules but there is some clarified wording shared below from the HMRC that does give reassurance that anyone furloughed for at least 3 weeks at any time prior to 30 June (even if currently back at work) can be furloughed...
Extended Furlough Scheme & Flexible Furloughing
Flexible furloughing & extended furlough scheme, here is what we know right now: The CJRS (furlough) will remain open as planned until 31 October 2020Throughout the furlough scheme there will be no change in what employees can receive in furlough payJune and July:...
The Statutory Sick Pay (General) (Coronavirus Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2020 Update
The Statutory Sick Pay (General) (Coronavirus Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2020 have been extended to cover people who are told to isolate for 14 days under the Track & Trace process. The Government have launched the Test & Trace system today. There seems...
Latest furlough guidance
Sit comfortably & get ready to wade your way through the latest furlough guidance which we’ve aimed to make sense of and summarise, in addition highlighting any areas that may still be unclear. Extended Furlough Period We have confirmation that the furlough period...
Record keeping during Furlough
It is important that you establish good record keeping during furlough of your decisions and actions during the Coronavirus situation – we suggest documenting this now while it is fresh in your mind in case you ever need it later on. One key essential point is...
Latest version of the CJRS
True to form the Govt / HMRC announced the latest version of the CJRS (furlough) on the evening before the weekend – Thursday 9 April this time! In truth it updates just these key points and two of the big points will affect very few of you I think- point one being...
CJRS Guidance Update
Over the weekend the Government updated the Corona Virus Job Retention Scheme, CJRS guidance, so grab yourselves a cuppa and take a read of what it all means. This gives us CJRS guidance on some of the areas we have been waiting for answers to but still leaves many...
Corona Virus Leave
So it seems the weekend may have been a time for contemplation…and for plenty of incorrect information to start doing the rounds! Most noticably Corona Virus Leave types and entitlements. Whilst the Corona Virus Act 2020 was passed last week there are still some...
Furlough, a bit more information
We believe it is clearer now that the furlough leave will initially run from March to May (may get extended) – not three months from when you start it as I had hoped – but that is my interpretation and we still await 100% confirmation – just thought it may be helpful...
Short-Time Working & Layoffs
We are understandably getting a lot of questions about short-time working and layoffs. Firstly I will confess that although we draft it into our standard contracts I have NEVER in 25 years of HR had to implement it with a business so I’ve done a lot of reading today!...
Coronavirus advice and resources for employers
I’m sure you are all keeping up to date with the news but we thought we’d share a few Coronavirus advice and resources sites with you that may be helpful. This site is really clear about who should isolate from work and when and for how long – importantly it also says...
National Minimum Wage 2020 & Other Statutory Rate Increases
National Minimum Wage 2020 rates will increase on 1 April 2020. Apprentice rates increase from £3.90 to £4.15Under 18’s rates increase from £4.35 to £4.5518-20 year olds rates increase from £6.15 to £6.4521-25 year olds rates increase from £7.70 to £8.20 Along with...
Bullying in the workplace
We are firm believers that everyone deserves to work in an environment where they are respected and treated with dignity. Research shows to the contrary though with 60% of people saying they have either witnessed or experienced bullying in the workplace. Bullying in...
Grievance and complaints managment made easy
Have you ever had an employee raise a grievance or complaint? It can be very overwhelming for managers who don't know how deal with these types of situations. The ideal situation and the way to get the very best from your employees is of course to have a happy,...
Parental and carer rights, because employees are people too
Parental and carer rights at first appear to be a rather complex set of procedures so here are our simplified version of what you need to know. Employees don’t come shrink wrapped in a cellophane box from a sterile environment, they have a life outside of work that...
Workplace harassment in the hospitality sector
Workplace harrassment can happen in any role but workplace harassment in the hospitality sector is 86% more likely than in any other industry. A new report from NAVEX Global divulge some worrying statistics. It states that 1 in 2 female HR directors think that their...
Your legal obligations as an employer
We think that many of you will be pleasantly surprised to know that initally your legal obligations to your employees are not as complex or burdensome as you might think. You must provide a written Employment Contract (sometimes referred to as a Statement of Key Terms...