Updates recently added to our Employment Notes blog cover important rulings on privacy rights, holiday pay, covert recording and other topics, as well as the host of Government consultations and responses published in July 2019 (including confirmation of reforms on NDAs and redundancy protection during pregnancy/family leave). Please click on Read More for a full … Read more
The Government has confirmed that it is going ahead with its proposals to regulate confidentiality clauses in settlement agreements and employment contracts, largely as set out in its March consultation. The consultation response confirms that, “when Parliamentary time allows”, the Government intends to: legislate to ensure that a confidentiality clause cannot prevent an individual disclosing … Read more
The Government has published Good Work Plan: Consultation on measures to address one-sided flexibility setting out proposals to introduce new rights for workers to be given reasonable notice of their working hours and to be compensated where their shifts are cancelled or curtailed without reasonable notice. Views are sought by 11 October 2019 on whether … Read more
The Government has published Health is everyone’s business: proposals to reduce ill health-related job loss, a consultation closing on 7 October, which proposes a new right for employees to request workplace modifications on health grounds (this would be in addition to the duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees). This would be similar to … Read more
The Government’s consultation, Good Work Plan: establishing a new Single Enforcement Body for employment rights, seeks views by 6 October 2019 on the case for a new single enforcement body, which would cover holiday pay for vulnerable workers, umbrella companies, the national minimum wage, employment agencies, and gangmasters and labour exploitation. The consultation also seeks … Read more
In July 2019 the Government published its response to a consultation on extending redundancy protections to those on family leave, but without specifying any particular timetable for doing so. Currently women on maternity leave are given priority over any suitable alternative vacancies should their role be made redundant. An employer’s failure to offer any such … Read more
The Ministry of Justice has announced its intention to consult later in 2019 on changes permitting job applicants not to disclose sentences for some sentences of over 4 years once a specified rehabilitation period has passed, and reducing the rehabilitation periods for shorter sentences. Read more
The Finance Bill 2020 published on 11 July 2019 includes draft legislation to extend the public sector off-payroll working rules to large and medium-sized private sector companies with effect from 6 April 2020; consultation on the draft legislation closes on 5 September 2019. A summary of responses to the earlier consultation on the proposals, a … Read more
