With the government regularly reviewing its covid-19 guidelines in relation to travel to and from the UK, what will you do if, for example, an employee’s holiday is cancelled before departure or they have to isolate in a hotel for 10 days on their return? Before the holiday season gets into full swing, now is … Read more
As the government continues to ease lock down restrictions, it is more important than ever that we all continue to play our part in the fight against the spread of Coronavirus. With free Rapid Lateral Flow tests now available to everyone in England over the age of 18, and the vaccine roll-out continuing at pace, … Read more
All businesses in England, regardless of size or their number of employees, are to be given access to rapid coronavirus tests free of charge. The scheme will run until the end of June. To set this up for your business, you will need to register by 31st March. This link takes you to the registration page: Register for Rapid … Read more
The redundancy process is definitely NOT the time to take shortcuts. You might save yourself some time and effort in the short term, but failure to follow the correct redundancy processes could result in a tribunal for unfair dismissal. That will not only take up even more of your time,but is likely to cause undue stress … Read more
With over 10,000 reports to the Furlough Fraud Hotline (mainly by employees being asked to work while furloughed) HMRC are pressing ahead with their audits of businesses. If a business is found to have fraudulently claimed financial support, they face being issued with a penalty of up to 100% of the amount claimed and potentially … Read more
Graham Irons (Partner and employment law expert at Howes Percival) has kindly published a summary of the employment law changes to look out for this year. These include: – Furlough scheme extension (potentially)– National Minimum Wage– Tax Changes – IR35– Changes to non-compete / exclusivity contract clauses– Employing EU national (changes have already been introduced … Read more
Do you or your staff intend to travel to Europe for business purposes next year? If so, check that you have everything in place following Brexit: 1. Passports must have at least 6 months left on them.2. Travel insurance will be required to cover any medical needs.3. If driving in Europe check whether the country … Read more
The Government issued further guidance in relation to the Furlough / Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme on 10th November 2020. The key points are listed below and links to full details on the government’s website are at the bottom of this message. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will remain open until 31 March 2021. From 1 November 2020 … Read more
The government announced yesterday that the Furlough Scheme (also known as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme – CJRS) is being extended until December, due to a national lockdown. The new Job Support Scheme that was due to start on 1st November is currently on hold. Business premises forced to close in England are to receive grants worth up to … Read more
The new Job Support Scheme (JSS) will come into effect from 1st November 2020, following the closure of the current Flexible Furlough Scheme on 31st October 2020. When originally announced, the JSS saw employers paying 33% of their employees’ wages for hours not worked and required employees to be working 33% of their normal hours. … Read more