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Equality at work
Inbrief
05 November 2024Discrimination in the workplace is governed by the Equality Act 2010.This brings together into one place all of the equality laws that had developed over a number of years, including those based on EU law. It also covers discrimination in other areas such as the provision of goods, facilities and services. This lnbrief gives an overview of the law in an employment context.
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Zero hours contracts
Inbrief
17 September 2024Zero hours contracts allow organisations to hire individuals without guaranteeing them any work.
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Industrial action
Inbrief
16 September 2024Economically turbulent times resulting from coronavirus have seen an increase in trade unions’ membership and an increase in them ‘flexing their muscles’ by threatening industrial action over adverse changes in the workplace for their members.
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Bullying and harassment
Inbrief
06 September 2024Dignity at work is an increasingly important issue for employers. Taking action to prevent bullying and harassment at work can be crucial in avoiding stress and absenteeism, low staff morale, high turnover and decreased productivity. Workplace harassment and bullying can also expose employers to a variety of different types of damaging legal action.
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Employment status
Inbrief
19 April 2024Employment status is important because an individual’s legal rights, protections and obligations will depend upon which class they fall into.
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Pension auto-enrolment
Inbrief
19 April 2024All employers are required to automatically enrol eligible jobholders into a suitable pension scheme and fund a minimum level of pension savings (without reducing pay or benefits elsewhere). At least 8% of qualifying earnings must be paid into the pension scheme, with a minimum employer contribution of 3%.
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IR35
Inbrief
03 April 2024The introduction of IR35 for the private sector took effect from April 2021 and represented the biggest change to employment tax for decades.
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Taxation of payments in lieu of notice
Inbrief
03 April 2024All payments in lieu of notice (PILONs) are subject to income tax and national insurance contributions (NICs) in full. The relevant rules are quite complex, as they require employers to calculate the employee’s post-employment notice pay before deducting tax and NICs. This Inbrief explains the rules and gives some practical examples.
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Flexible working - the right to ask
Inbrief
03 April 2024Employees seeking a better balance between the demands of work and personal life may seek a change in their working arrangements – for example, through part-time working, job-sharing or a change in working hours. While there is no right to insist on working in a different way, there is a statutory right to ask for a flexible working arrangement and to have that request seriously considered.
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Ramadan and the workplace
Inbrief
06 March 2024During the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, practising Muslims will fast from sunrise to sunset for a period of 30 days. This InBrief looks at considerations for employers during Ramadan and how they can support their staff.
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New Remuneration Code - For investment firms regulated under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive
Inbrief
20 February 2024Since the 2007/08 financial crisis, as a result of both UK government and European initiatives, the financial services industry has been the focus of wide-ranging reform. A key aim of this reform is to align remuneration principles in the various sectors within financial services with a view to ensuring that policies and practices promote, and are consistent with, effective risk management.
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Remuneration Codes – for banks, building societies and designated investment firms
Inbrief
19 February 2024This Inbrief provides an overview of the Remuneration Codes issued by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – we refer to these collectively as “the UK Regulators”.
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Apprenticeships
Inbrief
06 February 2024This Inbrief provides an overview of the law and current practice relating to apprentices. It focuses mainly on the Approved English Apprenticeship regime but touches on some of the other types of apprenticeship. We also highlight the main pitfalls to avoid when recruiting apprentices.
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Shared parental leave
Inbrief
02 February 2024The system of shared parental leave gives parents flexibility to decide how they want to share care for their child in the first year. Guidance is available for employers and employees from the government and Acas, explaining how the shared parental leave regime is intended to work.
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Family rights
Inbrief
02 February 2024Employees who have parental responsibility for a child are afforded certain legal rights in order to protect and support their role as parents. In this Inbrief, we summarise the basic legal position on maternity and adoption, shared parental leave, paternity leave, parental leave, time off for dependents, carer's leave and flexible working, referred to collectively as “family rights”.
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Maternity leave and pay
Inbrief
31 January 2024The law recognises employees on maternity leave as being particularly vulnerable and gives them special protection. As a result, employers need to be careful to make sure they comply with their legal obligations in this area. This Inbrief summarises the rights that employees on maternity leave enjoy and looks at some common problem areas.
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Paternity leave and pay
Inbrief
31 January 2024The law relating to paternity leave and pay is not as developed or as complicated as maternity legislation, but employers still need to be aware of the legal position. In this Inbrief, we summarise the rules and look at some practical issues.
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The Working Time Regulations 1998
Inbrief
19 January 2024The Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR) were originally introduced to implement the European Working Time Directive in the UK. They remain in force (with some amendments) now that the UK has left the EU.
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Redundancy
Inbrief
19 January 2024This Inbrief looks at how employers can minimise the risk of legal claims when dismissing employees by reason of redundancy. The starting point is making sure that there is a genuine redundancy situation. The crucial thing then is to follow a reasonable procedure, including consulting the affected employees, applying a fair selection process and considering alternative employment. Finally, those dismissed should be given their correct redundancy pay.
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M&A employment law support - top ten questions
Inbrief
19 January 2024In mergers and acquisitions (M&A) navigating the legal requirements and ramifications of the deal can be tricky.