Be Aware UK

European Parliament approves law on more transparent and predictable employment for gig and other workers

18 April 2019 / employment law reforms, EU law, worker status / Employment

European Parliament approves law on more transparent and predictable employment for gig and other workers On 16 April the European Parliament voted to approve the Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Directive, which is aimed at strengthening the rights of workers and improving working conditions by promoting more transparent and predictable employment whilst ensuring labour market …

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HMRC ‘s proposals to reform off-payroll working in the private sector will have significant impact for businesses

22 March 2019 / off-payroll, personal service company, tax, worker status / Employment

Private sector organisations who engage the service of individuals off-payroll are likely to already be aware of the private sector off-payroll working rules, commonly known as the IR35 regime. The IR35 regime applies where an individual provides their services (directly or indirectly) through a personal service company (a “PSC”) to another person or entity (an …

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The spotlight on NDAs intensifies as Government publishes proposals for reform

5 March 2019 / confidentiality, employment contracts, NDAs / Employment

The spotlight on non-disclosure agreements – or confidentiality clauses, as they are commonly referred to – is showing no sign of diminishing. The Government published a consultation paper yesterday, taking forward its agreement in December 2018 to implement one of the recommendations made by the Women and Equalities Committee to better regulate the use of …

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Deadline approaches for employers to comply with new payslip requirements for employees and workers

12 February 2019 / pay, payslips, taylor review / Employment

The Government’s achingly slow progress in implementing many of the key recommendations of the Taylor Review means that some of the proposals may be in danger of slipping from many employers’ radars. Indeed, a whole year has passed since the Government published its response to the Taylor Review (which itself was published in July 2017). …

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Government consults on extending redundancy protection for women and new parents

28 January 2019 / discrimination, family friendly rights, maternity, redundancy / Employment

The Government has launched a new consultation on extending redundancy protection for women and new parents. It comes off the back of key issues raised in the Women and Equalities Select Committee 2016 report and the recommendations made by the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices. The consultation closes on 5 April 2019. In summary, …

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Court of Appeal hands down judgment in Uber employment status appeal

20 December 2018 / Employment

The Court of Appeal has handed down judgment in Uber B.V. and ors -v- Aslam and ors, holding by a majority (Underhill LJ dissenting) that the claimant drivers were ‘limb b workers’. The Court of Appeal has, however, taken the unusual step of also granting leave to appeal to the Supreme Court. The appeal focused …

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Government’s response to WEC’s report on sexual harassment in the workplace

18 December 2018 / discrimination, non disclosure agreements, sexual harassment / Employment

Earlier this year, the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) launched an inquiry into sexual harassment in the workplace, gathering a range of evidence from oral and written submissions. This culminated in July 2018 in the publication of its report on Sexual harassment in the workplace, which found that the Government, regulators and employers are all …

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Worker status: Government publishes its ‘Good Work Plan’ in response to Taylor review consultations

17 December 2018 / taylor review, worker status / Employment

The Government’s review of modern working practices has been a rather protracted affair but today there has been a significant development with the publication of the Government’s Good Work Plan, which sets out its vision for the future of the UK labour market. However, as before, when making its initial response to the Taylor Review, …

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Brexit: Deal or no deal? Is the future of the settled status scheme hanging in the balance?

27 November 2018 / Brexit, immigration / Brexit, Employment

Each day now presents new developments in the Brexit negotiations – and in an update to our article of 20 November 2018, the critical EU Summit has now taken place and the leaders of the EU27 Member States have now agreed the terms of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU and the future relationship. This …

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Draft withdrawal agreement is agreed (for now) – but what next for citizens’ rights?

20 November 2018 / Brexit, immigration / Employment

On 14 November 2018, after many months of negotiations, the UK Government and the EU Commission finally announced that a draft withdrawal agreement (WA) on the legal terms of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU has been agreed, and at the same time they issued a ‘Political declaration setting out the framework for the future …

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ECJ rules that a worker cannot automatically lose his acquired rights to paid annual leave because he did not apply for leave

6 November 2018 / holiday, holiday pay / Employment

The ECJ has handed down judgment on 6 November 2018 in Kreuziger v Land-Berlin and Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, a case concerning the circumstances in which the right to compensation in lieu of annual leave on termination of employment may be lost. The ECJ concluded that a worker cannot automatically lose his acquired right to paid annual leave …

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Government response to consultation on parental bereavement leave and pay regulations

2 November 2018 / consultation, employee pay and benefits, family friendly rights / Employment

The Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill received Royal Assent on 13 September 2018. The Act will come into force in April 2020 and will create a statutory right to time off work for employed parents, with pay where eligibility requirements are met, following the loss of a child. The Act will be supported by …

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UK Budget 2018: Employment

30 October 2018 / Employment, Tax

The Chancellor has delivered the 2018 UK Budget. Whilst the number of employment tax related announcements were limited there were some significant changes proposed, most notably in relation to off-payroll working arrangements in the private sector. Set out below is a summary of the key announcements. Off-Payroll Working in the Private Sector As widely …

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Government consultation on mandatory ethnicity pay reporting

11 October 2018 / consultation, ethnicity pay reporting / Employment

A consultation has been launched asking employers to contribute their views on implementing mandatory ethnicity pay reporting. It sets out options and asks questions on what ethnicity pay information should be reported by employers to allow for meaningful action, who should be expected to report, and the next steps to be taken. In previous discussions, …

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