The key issues, for now, would appear to be the following:
Checks for EU workers – what needs to be done?
EU workers who were resident in the UK prior to 31 December 2020 can continue to be employed; no further checks are necessary. Employers should continue to encourage all EU workers in that category to apply for settled status should they wish to remain working in the UK without a visa post 30 June 2021. Employers cannot force EU employees to do so and neither do they have a right to ask. Recent reports still show many EU citizens are unaware of the settlement scheme and so employers are advised to provide relevant information and assistance with any applications.
Employment EU workers from 1 January 2021
Free movement of workers across the EU ceased at midnight on 31 December 2020. As a result, any employer wishing to employ a foreign national (non-British or non-Irish) after that date must be a licensed sponsor and the potential employee must have the relevant points under the Government’s points system guidance.
Will EU based legislation remain in place?
Under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement signed on 24 December 2020, the UK and the EU agreed that it will not reduce employment rights below the standards as at 31 December 2020 "where those rights affect trade". This is, therefore, an agreement but with strings! The UK can change its employment rights but not if it puts the UK in an advantageous position in trade deals. The rights of the UK workforce were not front and centre in that arrangement, hence the concern raised by some unions about an inevitable erosion of employment rights over the coming months and years. The Government has given certain promises that it will protect UK workers and that there is no cause for concern. Without a particularly effective crystal ball, we do not know the veracity of that statement but can only confirm that for the immediate future all the EU derived UK employment legislation will remain on our statute book for the immediate future.
For a longer version of this ebriefing do refer to our 'Employment Brexit changes' ebriefing.
For further information in relation to any of the above, please contact your relevant ACS contact or Katherine Sinclair.
Dementia currently affects 1 in 14 people in the UK. Many people will either know someone with dementia, have had to support and care for someone with dementia or have been diagnosed themselves.
The 2022 Code replaces the NHF Code of Conduct 2012 (the 2012 Code) and sets out the baseline standards that the NHF expects of its member registered providers (RPs).
The High Court has dismissed a challenge by the Police Superintendents’ Association to the closure of legacy public sector pension schemes.
In my recent blog, I said that we would be issuing a series of ebriefings and blogs highlighting issues with the Procurement Bill. This is the first of these.
Contractors and delivery partners are facing a ‘perfect storm’ in many cases with a number of factors directly impacting upon the profitability of their work.
Worker status, like Piers Morgan, is one of those things that we think has gone away and then it pops up again!
We are seeing a steady trickle of decisions focused around the issue of flexible working requests or employer requirements for changes to working patterns (both pre and post the pandemic).
For those of us who have endured a choppy cross channel journey, the mention of P&O Ferries will invoke some nauseous memories.
Successive generations have witnessed seismic shifts in the workplace; post-war it was the return of the soldiers and the impact on working women who had to work in their place.
In this podcast, Puja Desai interviews Kimberley Foster and discusses her experience with counselling. This is a really helpful podcast for anyone who has thought about counselling.