Insights & News

Brexit: from a slow drip to a full-on leak

27 September 2017

On 5 September 2017, the Home Office Post-Brexit Immigration Document was leaked to the public. The document – the exact publication date of which we do not know – provides a screenshot of government policy towards EU nationals and their non-EU family members. The document talks about how those individuals will be affected at three separate stages: (1) those in the UK ‘before exit’, (2) those who come to the UK during the ‘implementation phase’, and (3) those who arrive ‘after the implementation period’.

Court of Appeal orders Hong Kong’s Immigration Department to accommodate same-sex partners as dependants

26 September 2017

In a unanimous decision made on 25 September, the Court of Appeal ruled that the Immigration Department’s refusal to issue a dependant visa to the lesbian civil partner of a British expat was not rational.

Sean Dempsey comments for The Telegraph: How much regulation is needed to secure an open economy?

26 September 2017

Sean Dempsey commented in an article for The Telegraph discussing how businesses and regulatory bodies must not lose sight of workers’ rights and data protection as the way they work is transformed by technology.

Employee liability information is not limited to contractual matters

25 September 2017

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) has ruled that the employee liability information (“ELI”) that a transferor is required to provide under regulation 11 of TUPE is not limited to contractual entitlements. In addition, the EAT decided that there is no obligation on the transferor to set out whether any entitlement is contractual or not.

TUPE and collective agreements - static vs dynamic debate revisited

25 September 2017

A judgment of the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) in a German case has reconsidered the effect of a TUPE transfer on employment terms governed by a collective agreement. The issue to be determined was whether, once a business had transferred, the new employer was compelled to apply the terms and conditions arising from collective agreements adopted after that transfer.

Service provision changes – determining principal purpose of organised grouping

25 September 2017

The EAT has given guidance on the correct approach to determining the “principal purpose” of an organised grouping of employees within the meaning of the service provision change (“SPC”) rules under TUPE.

Gender pay gap reporting – the story so far

25 September 2017

It’s a little over five months since the first “snapshot date” of 5 April 2017 and less than seven months before the final deadline for employers with 250 or more UK staff to publish their first ever gender pay gap reports without incurring the wrath of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. This seems as good a point as any to ask the question “Where are we now?”

Automatic transfer of employees applies on ‘pre-pack’ sale

25 September 2017

The European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) has confirmed that, in the event of a “pre-pack” sale aimed at rescuing all or part of an insolvent undertaking as a going concern, EU transfer of undertakings law requires that the employees automatically transfer. This is consistent with the position in the UK under TUPE.

Illegal working penalties released; name, shame and make them pay

25 September 2017

The ONS has released the illegal working civil penalties data for the first quarter of 2017. The revenue raised was £5,900,000, prior to any adjustment following objections to the penalties. Given the population difference, it is not surprising that London and the South East had the highest number of penalties applied and illegal workers found but there were still large numbers issues in the Midlands and North West as well.

New guidance published for employers conducting right to work checks

22 September 2017

In August we also saw the publication of amended Home Office guidance for employers conducting right to work checks. Here are some of the highlights:

Gimme 5

22 September 2017

A series of five hints, tips and thoughts to help keep your sponsor licence healthy.

April 2017 changes

22 September 2017

In April we saw the introduction of the Government’s much heralded immigration skills charge. The charge is in essence a penalty fee payable by Tier 2 sponsors for relying on non-resident rather than local workers.

Bid to object to transfer fails because TUPE did not apply

22 September 2017

The High Court has considered an employee’s attempt to escape a lengthy period of garden leave by objecting to a TUPE transfer when his employer was going through a change in ownership. This was a creative attempt by the employee to avoid his contractual notice obligations, but he ultimately failed due to the lack of one key ingredient - a TUPE transfer.

Continuous service for notice pay preserved on transfer

22 September 2017

The European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) has considered an interesting TUPE issue concerning continuous service, arising in a case referred by the Swedish Labour Court.

Mansplaining, micro-inequities and managers

21 September 2017

Over the years, awareness of discrimination has increased significantly. Almost everyone will (hopefully) be able to spot direct discrimination when they see it. For example, subjecting a gay worker to homophobic abuse, sacking a woman as soon as she announces her pregnancy, or telling a Muslim colleague that her hijab “made her look like a terrorist” (as was alleged in a recent Employment Tribunal claim).

Taxation of termination payments updated legislation published

19 September 2017

The Government proposes to make a number of changes to the tax and national insurance (“NI”) treatment of termination payments.

Andrew Osborne comments for Bloomberg: Premier League Fights to Retain Playing Talent After Brexit

15 September 2017

Andrew Osborne has commented in an article for Bloomberg which discusses the affect of Brexit on the Premier League retaining and attracting foreign players.