Be Aware UK

Employment tribunal holds that barristers’ chambers discriminated against barrister due to her ‘gender critical’ philosophical beliefs

27 July 2022 27 July 2022 / belief, discrimination, philosophical belief / Employment

In Bailey v (1) Stonewall Equality Ltd (2) Garden Court Service Company (3) representatives of Garden Court Chambers, an employment tribunal has held that a barristers’ chambers, Garden Court Chambers, discriminated against a barrister, Allison Bailey, due to her protected belief that a woman is defined by her sex. Ms Bailey’s discrimination claim against Stonewall …

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Employment Status: Government consultation response published

26 July 2022 26 July 2022 / consultation, employment law reform, employment status, worker status / Employment

The Government has today published a response to its 2018 consultation on employment status. The consultation sought views on how to make employment status rules for employment rights and tax clearer for individuals and businesses. Today’s response recognises that the boundaries between different employment statuses can be unclear, but concludes that the benefits of creating …

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Businesses can now hire agency workers as cover during industrial action

22 July 2022 22 July 2022 / industrial action, strikes, trade unions / Employment

As was widely publicised at the time of the rail strikes in late June 2022, the Government has now changed the law to allow businesses which are impacted by industrial action to fill the roles of striking staff with temporary workers. This has been achieved by removing the relevant provision in the Regulations governing the …

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Menopause and the workplace: Government outlines new proposals

21 July 2022 21 July 2022 / Employment

In February 2022, as part of our Employee Wellbeing series, we published a Be Aware article The menopause: A business critical issue for employers highlighting key developments on this important issue, including recommendations made to the government by an independent taskforce in its report Menopause and employment: How to enable fulfilling working lives (Report). This …

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Supreme Court dismisses appeal in Harpur Trust v Brazel holiday pay case: Employers cannot use 12.07% to calculate holiday for part-year workers

20 July 2022 20 July 2022 / Employment

The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal from the Court of Appeal’s judgment in Harpur Trust v Brazel, holding that the holiday entitlement of workers who work only part of the year but are engaged on a permanent contract throughout the year (‘part-year workers’) cannot be calculated by using 12.07% of the hours actually worked …

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Court of Appeal overturns injunction in Tesco “fire and rehire” case

15 July 2022 18 July 2022 / employment contracts, fire and rehire, injunction / Employment

In February this year, the High Court granted a highly unusual injunction preventing Tesco from using so-called ‘fire and re-hire’ to implement changes to terms and conditions for some of its workforce in order to remove a ‘permanent’ contractual entitlement to enhanced pay (see Be Aware 3 February 2022). The Court of Appeal has now …

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Unilateral imposition of pay award was unlawful inducement

17 June 2022 20 June 2022 / collective bargaining, s.145B, trade unions / Employment

In INEOS Infrastructure Grangemouth Ltd v Jones and ors the EAT upheld an employment tribunal’s decision that an employer’s imposition of a pay award amounted to an unlawful inducement under S.145B of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA) in circumstances where pay negotiations with the recognised trade union were at an …

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New visa route may open door to wider talent pool for employers

6 June 2022 7 June 2022 / global mobility, immigration, visa / Employment, Immigration

The UK government has announced the implementation of a new visa scheme for ‘high potential individuals’ which is welcome news to employers as the war for talent continues. This new scheme will allow alumni of the world’s top universities to work in the UK for 2 years – or 3 years if they hold a …

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Government launches Future of Work Review

24 May 2022 24 May 2022 / Employment Bill, employment reforms / Employment

Having failed to include the much-anticipated Employment Bill in the Queen’s speech on 10 May, on 12 May the Government published terms of reference for a Future of Work Review to “look afresh at how we should attempt to shape our future labour market”. The aim of the Review, led by Matt Warman MP, is …

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Carers in the workplace: Why supporting employees with caring responsibilities matters

28 April 2022 28 April 2022 / carers, dependants, mental health, wellbeing / Employment

Following the interest in our Employee Wellbeing series to date, we have released this additional fifth article focusing on the support that can be provided to employees who may have to balance their duties in the workplace with caring responsibilities outside work. Why support matters 1 in 7 employees in the workplace currently have caring …

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Living safely with COVID-19: new guidance published

1 April 2022 1 April 2022 / COVID-19, ill health / COVID-19, Employment

*** Updated at 6 pm on 1 April 2022 following publication of the Guidance on reducing the spread of respiratory infections, including COVID-19, in the workplace. Following the Government’s announcement in February 2022 of its Living with COVID-19 strategy, today sees the removal of the final COVID-19 measures in England including – Removal of free …

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Government to produce statutory code of practice on ‘fire and rehire’

30 March 2022 30 March 2022 / collective consultation, fire and rehire, redundancy / Employment

On Tuesday 29 March the Labour Markets minister Paul Scully announced in Parliament that the government will be producing a new statutory code on the practice of ‘fire and rehire’. The code will also “clamp down on controversial tactics used by unscrupulous employers who fail to engage in meaningful consultations with employees”. The new statutory …

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Right to work checks: Latest developments for employers

29 March 2022 29 March 2022 / coronavirus, COVID-19, right to work, statutory excuse / Employment

In response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, on 30 March 2020 the government introduced a modified right to work (RTW) scheme to assist employers to more easily check the status of prospective employees to legally work in the UK. The government has confirmed that the modified scheme will remain in place until 30 …

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Government to publish guidance on voluntary ethnicity pay gap reporting but will not make reporting mandatory

17 March 2022 17 March 2022 / ethnicity pay reporting / Employment, Reform

On 17 March the Government published a policy paper “Inclusive Britain: government response to the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities” in response to the Commission’s 2021 report. Inclusive Britain sets out a wide-ranging Action Plan of measures on race equality across Government as part of a three-part strategy: to ensure that prejudice and discrimination have …

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Domestic abuse: Providing support and empowering employees

17 March 2022 17 March 2022 / domestic abuse, domestic violence, ESG, mental health, wellbeing / Employment

Employee wellbeing: Life events – Are you an employer of choice? This final article in our Employee Wellbeing series focuses on the issue of domestic abuse – brought sharply into the spotlight by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns – and why this is an area in which employers need to be fully informed …

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