News

“We can’t do that anymore because of health and safety.” The above statement may become substantially less common, if the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) comes good on its word to reduce health and safety regulations by up to half over the next three years. Is this just a political gimmick or a genuinely […]

The Pensions Act 2011 received Royal Assent last November, which means that from 1st October this year, employers will have a legal obligation to automatically enrol ‘eligible jobholders’ onto a qualifying workplace pension scheme. Both employers and eligible jobholders will be required to contribute to that pension unless the jobholder exercises their right to opt […]

As anticipated, the Government has proposed the introduction of fees for applications to Employment Tribunals. Two options have been proposed: Option one: an initial fee of £150-£250 to begin a claim, with an additional fee of £250-£1250 if the claim goes to a hearing. There would be no limit to the maximum award. Option two: […]

The Equality Act was largely a consolidation of existing discrimination legislation, but it also brought in new provisions which may have been overlooked. Since 1st October 2010 is has been unlawful to ask applicants about their health prior to offering employment or placing them into a pool of persons to whom employment may be offered. […]

Recruiters should be aware that restrictions on Bulgarian and Romanian nationals working in the UK will continue until the end of 2013. EU nationals are allowed to work in any EU country under EU law. However EU states are permitted to impose transitional restrictions for up to 7 years where there is threat of serious […]

There have been recent and noteworthy case law developments regarding holiday entitlement. The specific cases in question concern sick workers, oil-rig workers and airline pilots. However the decisions have implications for other industries.   Such as in the case of Russell v Transocean International Resources (2011) where the Supreme Court confirmed that offshore oil-rig workers […]

The Government has confirmed the new benefit rates for 2012-2013. The annual up-rating of benefits will affect State Pensions and most other benefits from the week beginning 9 April 2012. The standard rate of statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay will increase from £128.73 to £135.45 per week from 1 April 2012.     Statutory sick […]

With the Christmas holidays fast approaching, those who have completed their Christmas shopping may turn their thoughts to the exciting and festive topic of annual leave entitlement! There can sometimes be confusion in this area, such as workers expecting entitlement to paid time off over public and bank holidays, or the commonly held view that […]

How effective are the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE)? The Government has announced a ‘call for evidence’ to put forward the case for change. Ed Davey, the BIS Minister for Employment relations has advised the House of Commons that the Red Tape Challenge, the Government’s dialogue with business, has raised concerns that […]

17. For the professions or business undertaking solution to work, there has to be an absence of supervision and direction Fact or fiction? Fiction – Without any supervision and direction, the individual would not be an agency worker in the first place, and the AWR would not apply. If an agency worker is carrying on […]

Many recruiters are finding themselves in unfamiliar territory with some of their obligations under the Agency Worker Regulations (AWR), in particular the requirement to obtain information on pay and basic working conditions from clients, in order to establish the correct pay for candidates once they have qualified for it. The widely reported problem is that […]