Requirement for public sector workers to speak ‘fluent English’
The Immigration Bill, which was published on 17th September 2015, introduced a new legal requirement for all public sector employees who work in a public-facing role to speak ‘fluent English’. This will include social workers, police officers, teaching staff and assistants, Jobcentre Plus workers and local government employees.
The recent requirement will apply to both new and existing public sector employees that will have to demonstrate a minimum command of English at GSCE grade “C” or above (or equivalent). A higher level of competence may be necessary depending on the nature of the role being carried out and the profession of the employee. For example, doctors are already required to have a much higher level of English.
The ‘fluent English’ requirement will also form part of a code of practice covering all public sector workers in customer facing positions, which is expected to come into force within the next few months.
Adrian, a highly experienced lawyer, founded Lawspeed in 1997. He is responsible for developing our extensive portfolio of products and services, including the widely used Lawspeed contract templates. Adrian is an expert on “recruitment law” and specialises in contracts, regulatory compliance, employment status and dispute handling. He is chair of the trade body the Association of Recruitment Consultancies, the only lawyer lead recruitment trade body in the UK. Adrian and his co-director Ravi devised Standards in Recruitment as a vehicle for helping drive up standards and compliance in the industry.
Adrian is our lead in discussions with the government over regulatory evolution. Apart from assisting with client support, Adrian’s primary role is research and development into methods of business delivery, our latest service Proterms being his most recent project. Adrian heads our IR35 lawyers team.