Insights & News
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Home Office provides consolidated details of new immigration system
15 July 2020On 13 July 2020 the Home Office published a more detailed policy statement on the changes to the UK immigration system due to come into effect from 1 January 2021, including its re-design of Points-Based immigration routes.
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Covid-19: rethinking space, tech and workplace culture
15 July 2020How will workplace culture evolve as a result of the Covid-19 crisis?
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International requirements for employers when lifting restrictions during Covid-19
13 July 2020Every country is experiencing different rates and peaks of Covid-19, but as many start to ease restrictions, international employers may need to adopt multiple strategies for returning to places of work, based on the government guidance in each jurisdiction.
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Brexit and the UK’s New Immigration System
13 July 2020In our recent webinar on 7 July 2020, we discussed the current position regarding Brexit and the EU Settlement Scheme, as well as the Home Office’s plans for implementing the new system. Our webinar generated a wide-ranging set of questions from attendees, which we have collated and answered as a set of Q&As.
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Local lockdowns – what are the HR and employment law issues?
09 July 2020As national lockdown restrictions begin to ease, employers can expect local lockdowns to become more common. This article explores the HR and employment law issues.
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Employers may be forced to return cash to taxpayer as Sunak redefines furlough: Lucy Lewis and Richard Moore comment for The Telegraph
07 July 2020Employers who lay off vast swathes of their workforce after receiving government money may be forced to make reparations to the taxpayer. Partners Lucy Lewis and Richard Moore comment on behalf of Lewis Silkin.
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Statutory sick pay extended to self-isolating support bubble households
06 July 2020From 6 July 2020, new regulations have extended statutory sick pay to employees who are required to self-isolate due to someone within their ‘support bubble’ developing Covid-19 symptoms or receiving a positive test result.
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Coronavirus - our fifth employer survey
02 July 2020Our fifth employer benchmarking survey took place between 23 and 30 June 2020, and looked at the changes to the furlough scheme, risk assessments, homeworking equipment, employees stuck abroad and a range of other issues about the ongoing impact of Covid-19.
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Trade union blacklisting – decision on amendment of claims ‘manifestly’ incorrect
02 July 2020The rail operator GTR has succeeded in an appeal against employees being allowed to amend their Employment Tribunal claims to assert trade union blacklisting. The Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled that this was not merely a “re-labelling”, despite the original claims being conceptually and factually related.
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15 Lewis Silkin employment lawyers listed in Who's Who Legal 2020
02 July 2020Lewis Silkin is pleased to announce that 15 lawyers are listed in this year’s edition of Who’s Who Legal 2020: Labour and Employment - more than double the number of UK lawyers listed from any other law firm.
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Data privacy and trust in the workplace – is a profound shift underway?
02 July 2020“It takes a lot to inform massive shifts in our thinking, ways we work, ways we live, ways we imagine our worlds. What it takes for that massive shift isn’t just technology, it is apparatus and systems sitting around that to make it appear trustworthy and safe.” Genevieve Bell Director 3Ai, VP and Senior Fellow at Intel
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Financial support for self-employed extended in line with employee furlough scheme
01 July 2020The government’s Coronavirus Self-Employment Income Support Scheme has been extended to provide a second three-month grant, for self-employed individuals affected by coronavirus after 13 July 2020.
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Crucial question mark over furlough and notice
30 June 2020UPDATE: Since this article was published, the HMRC customer helpline has confirmed to us by telephone (on 2 July 2020) that employers can continue to use the scheme during both redundancy consultation and notice periods (while pointing out that the grant cannot be used for redundancy pay). This is, however, not a legally binding view and there is no written confirmation of it.
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Legal basis of flexible furlough scheme published
26 June 2020The government has published an updated Treasury Direction which sets out the legal framework for the changes to the furlough scheme that come into effect on 1 July.
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Windrush Day 2020 - lessons learned?
22 June 2020Windrush Day is a time to celebrate the substantial and ongoing contribution of the Windrush Generation and their descendants, who helped to rebuild the UK after the second world war and who have influenced our social, cultural and political landscape ever since. It is also a time to reflect on righting the wrongs of the Windrush scandal and to focus on the fight against racism.
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UK immigration and COVID-19 beyond the lockdown
16 June 2020UK visa processing is slowly starting to resume this month, but it is not yet business as usual. There are still many things that employers and applicants need to monitor, and potential pitfalls to avoid.
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How to flexi-furlough – government reveals more details
13 June 2020The government has published updated guidance on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, setting out the pathway to the phasing out of the scheme. It provides details of the complex mechanism under which flexible furloughing - part-work/part-furlough - will be allowed from 1 July 2020.
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Ethnicity pay gap reporting – will the government now act?
11 June 2020The tragic and brutal killing of George Floyd has led to widespread outrage and Black Lives Matter protests across the globe. Governments are facing pressure to remove societal injustice faced by BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) people. Could this mean we will finally get clarity in the UK on ethnicity pay reporting?
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Survey raises question on whether sponsors may be missing reporting duties
09 June 2020We recently conducted an employer survey which revealed that only 10% of respondents had made reports on sponsored workers’ conditions changing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Coronavirus – our fourth employer survey
05 June 2020Our fourth employer benchmarking survey looks at how employers are approaching the potential reopening of their offices as they begin to assess some of the longer-term implications of the Covid-19 pandemic.