According to data published today (26 October) by the Office for National Statistics in its Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, the overall gender pay gap (taking into account both full-time and part-time employees) has fallen from 19.3% in 2015 to 18.1% in 2016. This is apparently the largest year-on-year drop since 2010. The gender … Continue Reading
The Court of Appeal has today given its decision in the long running holiday pay case of British Gas v Lock. It has apparently confirmed that EU leave, i.e. the four weeks’ leave derived from the Working Time Directive, should include a sum in respect of contractual “results-based commission” where it forms part of a … Continue Reading
A reminder for those businesses caught by the Modern Slavery Act reporting provisions that the deadline for publishing your first “slavery and human trafficking statement” may be fast approaching. The Act imposes a new requirement on commercial organisations carrying on business in the UK with an annual turnover of £36 million or more to disclose … Continue Reading
UK employers take note – the Employment Appeal Tribunal has recently ruled that an employer was obliged to continue paying a disabled employee his full salary even though he had been redeployed into a less well paid role because he could no longer carry out his normal duties as a result of his disability. Such … Continue Reading
Managing redundancy for those on maternity leave Many employers get nervous when carrying out redundancy exercises if the selection pool includes a woman who is pregnant or on maternity leave. The risk of a claim for discrimination or an unfair dismissal claim if she is made redundant is often on their mind. The fact that … Continue Reading
Take good notes of consultation meetings This may sound trite, but it is amazing how often this is overlooked. You need good notes if you are going to follow-up on any points after the meeting, if the employee subsequently challenges anything that was said, or if the matter ends up in the Employment Tribunal; so … Continue Reading
Ensure you have evidence to support an employee’s score One thing we come across on a regular basis is managers who are unable to point to hard evidence, such as personnel records or appraisal forms, to support the scores allocated as part of the selection process. Not only does this leave scope for the employee … Continue Reading
Large-scale redundancies may not be happening (fortunately) to the same extent as in the aftermath of the financial crash of 2008 (and it’s too early to talk meaningfully about the possible implications of Brexit), but we are still often asked to advise clients in connection with smaller-scale redundancy exercises, often arising as a result of … Continue Reading
We frequently receive queries from clients about what happens to childcare vouchers provided via a salary sacrifice scheme during maternity leave – are they a benefit that must continue to be provided or can they lawfully be discontinued? Needless to say, as with anything to do with the rights of women during maternity leave (I’m … Continue Reading
What is the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and why do businesses need to know about it? The Act deals with a variety of matters relating to slavery and human trafficking. The most relevant section for businesses is section 54 which will require commercial organisations over a certain size to disclose what activities they have undertaken … Continue Reading
Squire Sanders presents a series of monthly webinars featuring the employment laws of various key countries throughout Europe, Asia Pacific and the Americas. These webinars will provide participants with an understanding of the essential characteristics of the employment laws in these countries from starting a business and developing employment policies to dealing with unions and … Continue Reading
The UK Labour & Employment team runs a series of seminars and workshops on topical employment issues. Join us at our April workshops when we will explore the key legal and practical issues that arise when dealing with flexible working requests in the workplace. We will use a DVD clip featuring our fictional manager who … Continue Reading
Many employers have married couples working for them. Most of the time this does not present any problems, but sometimes they and their staff can get concerned about perceived conflicts of interest and nepotism. Leaving aside any issues of statutory fairness for now, if the employer decided to dismiss one of the employees to prevent … Continue Reading
The UK may not win much at the 2012 Olympics but we clearly have some burgeoning talent ready for the World Civil Disorder Championships, scheduled to be held in a retail park in Catford at about the same time. But with a postman and a primary school assistant being two of the first individuals to … Continue Reading