Orrick - Employment Law and Litigation (JD Supra United Kingdom)

On 13 May 2020, the UK government published guidance giving employers much needed clarity on how holiday entitlement and pay operate during the Coronavirus pandemic. It considers both those who continue to work and those who have been placed on furlough under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Of the many new terms that we have learned as part of the current pandemic, ‘contact tracing’ is one that seems to offer some light at the end of the tunnel.

On 15 April 2020, the Treasury, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 71 and 76 of the Coronavirus Act 2020, gave a Direction to HMRC, setting out the mechanics of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). Note, the Direction does not replace the HMRC Guidance, but a valid Direction has the standing of an Act of Parliament and is therefore subject to the usual rules of statutory...

Following our update last week around the guidance from the UK Government on the announced Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, further clarification on some (but not all) of the grey areas has now been provided. We have set out below some of the main points of clarification.

On 23 March 2020, the UK Supreme Court (UKSC) published the following update concerning time limits and extensions of time during the COVID-19 outbreak: – Time limits in UKSC and Judicial Committee of the Privy Council cases will be applied flexibly, and parties should avoid unnecessary disputes over procedural matters in accordance with the ‘overriding objective’ of the Civil Procedure Rules.

One day after the Coronavirus Act was passed (which brought in the new SSP rules), we have finally received guidance from the Government on the announced Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and how it will work.

On 20 March 2020, in a bid to prevent mass job losses as a result of the coronavirus, the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. The government has agreed they will reimburse 80% of wages for all employees who are ‘furloughed’ but still on the payroll, up to a cap of £2,500 per month.

The UK Government has said they will step in and pay up to 80% of wages subject to a cap of £2500 per month for any employee who is not working but kept on payroll, rather than made redundant.

This updated overview provides multinational employers practical advice to develop their coronavirus response strategy on an international level and to ensure a safe working environment for their employees under local employment and labor laws of UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan.

This updated overview provides multinational employers practical advice to develop their coronavirus response strategy on an international level and to ensure a safe working environment for their employees under local employment and labor laws of UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan.

This updated overview provides multinational employers practical advice to develop their coronavirus response strategy on an international level and to ensure a safe working environment for their employees under local employment and labor laws of UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan. Stay tuned for updates as new developments occur.

On 4 April 2019, employers with 250 or more employees will, once again, have to publish and report specific figures about their gender pay gap. And, following a year packed full of political statements and unprecedented movement towards gender equality, there will undoubtedly be pressure on employers to demonstrate progress in closing the gap.

1. Mandatory reporting under the methodology required by the government indicates some large pay gaps. What does that mean? As of 17 April 2018, 10,364 employers had published their gender pay gap figures.

Today's the day. Today is the deadline for all employers with over 250 employees to publish gender pay gap information on the government website and on their own website.

Some seven months after the publication of Matthew Taylor’s independent ‘Review of Modern Working Practices’, the UK Government has finally issued its response to the Taylor proposals: the “Good Work” response (the “Response”). Big news, you might think – but it’s fair to say that it promises more than it delivers.

It is increasingly common that there are disputes with employees at the end of employment about whether or not they have taken or retained an employer’s confidential information. Most employers in the UK have a provision relating to the use (and misuse) of confidential information and a requirement to return all company property at the end of employment in the contract of employment.

It is increasingly common that there are disputes with employees at the end of employment about whether or not they have taken or retained an employer’s confidential information. Most employers have a provision relating to the use (and misuse) of confidential information and a requirement to return all company property at the end of employment in the contract of employment.

We set out below our best guess on where this leaves employees, management and HR in the UK. Firstly as we have all heard repeatedly today, nothing is going to change immediately and that is the same for employment law. It will be years before any changes are made and for the time being, everything remains the same and critically, no one has to leave.

In the heady days of the Coalition Government, gender pay gap reporting started to get some traction on the political agenda. This led to the 2011 initiative ‘Think, Act, Report’ which encouraged employers to voluntarily publish gender pay gap information. According to a Guardian article in August 2014, citing a parliamentary question from the shadow Equalities Minster at the time, 200 companies...

Following months of waiting the UK Government has finally published its draft regulations on the new “gender pay gap reporting” requirements in the UK. On publication of the draft regulations, the UK Government has asked one final consultation question: “What, if any, modifications should be made to these draft regulations?”

Relevant firms in the UK have until March 7, 2016 to appoint a “whistleblowers’ champion,” who then has until September 7, 2016 to oversee their firm’s readiness for the new whistleblowing regime. The new whistleblowing regime: why make the change?

In the recent case of Ramphal v. Department of Transport (DoT) the tricky question of where HR should draw the line in a disciplinary matter between guiding the decision-maker on the right decision, and making that decision for them, was considered. The results weren’t great for the HR manager involved in this case…

The Government is in the process of rolling out a new occupational health (OH) assessment service which should be in place nationwide by the end of the year. This new service has come about as a response to an independent review of sickness absence published in 2011, which found that a major barrier to getting the long-term sick back to work, was lack of access to occupational health advice.

The Conservative Government has settled in and turned its attention to the world of employment law. We update you below on five of its key moves. 1. Gender Pay Gap Reporting - The Government will enact legislation making it mandatory for companies with over 250 employees in Great Britain to publish their gender pay gap statistics.

Imagine that you have a senior employee who you have decided (for whatever reason) that you do not want anymore but you do not want to pay out his 12-month notice period. As an ingenious attempt to get around that, you instruct forensic investigators to carry out a ‘fishing expedition’ to try and find some dirt on him that will justify you summarily dismissing him, rather than paying out what he...

Say what you will about employment law in the UK but it is never boring. Imagine that you have a senior employee who you have decided (for whatever reason) that you do not want anymore but you do not want to pay out his 12 month notice period.

In the recent case of Game Retail Limited v Laws, the UK Employment Appeal Tribunal (or “EAT“) considered the fairness of an employee’s dismissal for offensive tweets. This is the first time this issue has been considered at EAT level. The EAT found that the dismissal was fair, even though the Twitter account was not linked to Mr Laws’ employment, and his posts were made in his own time.

We’ve received a number of requests in the past 12 months to include an unlimited holiday clause in standard employment contracts. It’s a Silicon Valley trend edging its way into the UK employment landscape via tech companies. At first glance it appears to be an incredibly attractive benefit and the oft quoted reason for unlimited holidays is to offer a unique perk to lure in and retain the best...

According to research cited by the British Association of Dermatologists, one in five Britons now has a tattoo. Amongst US 30 somethings, the estimate rises to about two in five, with facial piercings being almost as common in both countries. As a result, this is becoming an issue that more and more employers have to grapple with.

In July last year, fees were introduced for employees to bring claims and the Ministry of Justice has just published Tribunal statistics for October to December 2013 (the first full quarter since the introduction of the fees) which show that in that time, employment tribunals received 79% fewer claims than the same quarter in 2012 and 75% fewer than in the previous quarter.