The European Court of Justice has ruled that employers may be able to justify a ban on all visible forms of expression of belief in some circumstances.  A ban will not be directly discriminatory on the grounds of a particular belief provided it is applied generally and without differentiation (notwithstanding that those employees whose beliefs … Read more

Our July update includes: an update from Hong Kong and the recent case of Law Ting Pong Secondary School v Chen Wai Wah [2021] CA 873. The case follows the UK position in Cavendish Square Holding BV v Talal El Makdessi [2016] AC 1172, and considers whether notice clauses in contracts of employment (including those … Read more

Self-isolation exemption In light of the so-called ‘pingdemic’, the Government has recently introduced a limited exemption from self-isolation rules for critical services staff identified as close contacts of someone who has tested positive. The exemption is limited to specific types of employers, only permits named fully-vaccinated workers to undertake critical work and subject to testing, … Read more

Sexual harassment in the workplace The Government has just published a  response to its 2019 consultation on possible measures to address sexual harassment in the workplace.  This confirms that it will: introduce a positive duty on employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment in the workplace,  the scope of which would be clarified … Read more

For some time, we’ve seen a gradual increase in employee mental health issues in the workplace and, the events of last year have accelerated this. A survey conducted by the Mental Health Association of Hong Kong, together with Tung Wah College released in June 2021 found that over 60% of Hong Kong employees interviewed, suffered … Read more

With nearly half of the Australian population currently subject to some form of lockdown, there are increasing calls for monetary support for individuals and businesses. On 15 July 2021, the Federal Government introduced the COVID-19 Disaster Payment (Disaster Payment). Whilst we have not  gone back to ‘JobKeeper’ (and the indications are that we will not), … Read more

The FCA, PRA and Bank of England (the regulators) have published a discussion paper (DP21/2) which aims to kick-start discussion on how the financial services sector, with the help of the regulators, can “accelerate the pace of meaningful change” in improving diversity and inclusion (D&I) within financial services firms. The policy options being considered in … Read more

The new “Working Safely” guidance to apply from Step 4 of the Government”s Roadmap on Monday 19 July has been published here.  There is a general overview plus six sector-specific guides. The overview highlights the key point that businesses still have a legal duty to manage risks, in particular to carry out a health and … Read more