Be Aware UK

Coronavirus: New developments impact on employers as 3-tier restrictions announced

12 October 2020 / coronavirus, COVID-19 / Employment

UPDATE: 13 October 2020. Following the publication of further guidance yesterday evening and this morning, we have updated our article below. Following the much-trailed publicity over the weekend, the Prime Minister has now announced that the 3-tier measures set out in the table below will be introduced in England on Wednesday 14 October 2020. It […]

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Extension to Job Support Scheme announced

9 October 2020 / COVID-19, furlough / Employment

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has today announced an expansion to the Job Support Scheme for firms which are legally required to close due to COVID restrictions. Under the expansion of the scheme – Firms whose premises are legally required to shut for a period over winter as part of local or national restrictions will

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Coronavirus Job Retention Bonus: Government guidance published

2 October 2020 / COVID-19 / Employment

The Government has today issued detailed guidance on the Job Retention Bonus scheme and what employers need to do to make a claim. It has also issued Examples of employer deciding which employees will meet the minimum income threshold for the Job Retention Bonus, as well as a Treasury Direction setting out the legal framework

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UK Employment Law Health Check Podcast 2020

1 October 2020 / compliance, coronavirus, COVID-19, regulation / Employment

In this edition of the DLA Piper UK Employment Law podcast series, employment partners Gurpreet Duhra and Clare Gregory focus on employment law compliance. In particular, they discuss the latest UK employment law regulations which may have fallen under the radar in 2020 whilst companies have been in crisis management mode. They also look at

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Coronavirus: New self-isolation rules may lead to fines for employers

29 September 2020 / coronavirus, COVID-19, COVID-Secure, self-isolation / Employment

Keeping on top of the latest developments in the fight against coronavirus is an ongoing task – and now employers in England need to be aware that new self-isolation rules are now in force which can lead to significant fines for those who do not comply. The new rules are aimed at limiting the spread

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New Job Support Scheme in place from November

24 September 2020 / coronavirus, job retention bonus, job retention scheme, job support scheme / Employment

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced a new economic package to support jobs including a new Job Support Scheme which will apply from November. The features of the scheme which have been announced are as follows: The scheme is aimed at protecting viable jobs; In order to access the scheme, employees must be brought

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COVID-19: New measures impacting on employers announced today

22 September 2020 / coronavirus, COVID-19, COVID-Secure, remote working / Employment

Following the statements made yesterday by Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance, and a shift in the COVID-19 alert level to 4 (virus is high or rising exponentially), the Prime Minister has today confirmed the following measures will take effect in England, impacting on many employers: In a return to the previous guidance, the government is

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UK redundancy-related payments: Common areas of tax difficulty and risk

16 September 2020 / coronavirus, COVID-19, redundancy, redundancy payment, tax, termination of employment / Employment

COVID-19 has already had a profound impact on many organisations and across a wide variety of sectors. As a consequence, it is inevitable that many organisations will be examining their current workforce populations, seeking to restructure their business operations for a post-COVID-19 world and some will be considering closing down parts of their business operations

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UK Employment Law Health Check 2020

15 September 2020 / compliance, recruitment, retention, termination / Employment

Take our 5 minute survey to check if your organisation is up to date with the latest UK employment law developments and is ready for a return to business as normal. Employers large and small have spent most of 2020 in crisis management mode, trying to protect their businesses and their people from the damage

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Coronavirus: The latest information for employers

14 September 2020 / coronavirus, coronavirus job retention scheme, COVID-19, quarantine, shielding / Employment

In recent weeks, the ongoing incidence of a high number of coronavirus cases has led to a flurry of developments which impact on employers, culminating in new laws which take effect on Monday 14 September 2020, imposing a new ‘Rule of 6’. Keeping track of the latest information is an uphill task. Here we summarise

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Job Retention Bonus guidance published

31 July 2020 / Employment

The Government has today (31 July 2020) published a policy paper setting out more detailed guidance on the Job Retention Bonus announced as part of the ‘Plan for Jobs’ on 8 July. The Job Retention Bonus is intended to provide additional support to employers who keep on their furloughed employees after the Coronavirus Job Retention

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Furloughed employees to receive redundancy and notice pay based on full not furlough pay

30 July 2020 / coronavirus job retention scheme, furlough, job retention scheme, notice, redundancy pay / Employment

The Government has published the Employment Rights Act 1996 (Coronavirus, Calculation of a Week’s Pay) Regulations 2020 which come into force on 31 July. The Regulations ensure that employees who have been furloughed receive statutory redundancy pay, statutory notice pay, unfair dismissal compensation and certain other statutory payments based on their normal wages, rather than

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Termination Payments: PENP Draft Legislation published

28 July 2020 / Employment, Tax

On 21 July 2020, the UK Government published a policy paper and draft clauses for inclusion in the next Finance Bill (2020/2021) which provide an alternative post-employment notice pay (PENP) calculation in certain circumstances and make amendments to the UK tax treatment of PENP for non-UK residents. Alternative PENP calculation The current PENP rules can

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EU-US Privacy Shield is no more. What now for employers After Schrems II?

23 July 2020 / data protection, Privacy Shield / Employment

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has given its preliminary ruling in Schrems II – Data Protection Commissioner v Facebook Ireland Limited and Maximillian Schrems (Case C-311/18) in which it strikes down the EU-US Privacy Shield as a mechanism for transferring employees’ personal data to the US, on the basis that the

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UK immigration update: New guidance – key takeaways for employers

23 July 2020 / Brexit, EU Settlement Scheme, immigration / Employment, Immigration

On 13 July 2020, the UK government provided further guidance on what the new immigration system would look like from 2021 onwards for those individuals who are not eligible for EU Settled Status. The 130 page document briefly sets out various proposed changes and re-branding to existing immigration categories, as well as information on the

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