Back in August I wrote this piece All the fun of the fair – new tips Code offers bumpy ride to service-sector employers (UK) about the difficulties inherent in trying to mandate “fairness” by statute. I made reference to the then pending non-statutory guidance to supplement the statutory code on how to distribute gratuities under … Continue Reading
On 7 February the UK Government published its ‘Good Work’ plan, setting out how it intends to take forward the recommendations contained in the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices published last summer. The Review was tasked with investigating how modern working practices are having an impact on the world of work. The Government’s press … Continue Reading
When it comes to explaining the importance of a new Employment Appeal Tribunal decision, there is nothing quite like a good story. However, the facts in McTigue -v- University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust are rather dry and indeed nothing like a good story, so we shall settle instead for the (potentially really quite important) … Continue Reading
HMRC issued a consultation document on 17 July 2015 to explore options for tightening up IR35, the intermediaries legislation that aims to tackle tax avoidance through disguised employment. IR35 requires individuals working through an intermediary (e.g. a personal service company (PSC)) to pay broadly the same tax and NICs as any other employee, where they … Continue Reading
We’ve all seen the seen warning labels on certain consumer products which cause us to shake our heads—“Do not iron clothes on body” and “Do not eat [Apple iPod shuffle.]” Well come to find out, federal employees may require similar, seemingly unnecessary instruction—no pornography on government computers or electronic devices. On February 11, 2015, a … Continue Reading
The 2010 Agency Worker Regulations require that once an agency worker has been in post for 12 weeks, he should receive the same pay as would a permanent employee of the hirer in the same role. This is the principle of equal treatment. Regulation 14(3) makes the agency liable for any breach of equal treatment … Continue Reading
Perhaps recognising a shift in the working world to more flexible models and away from the traditional model of master and servant and then employer and employee, the Tribunals have become increasingly willing not to infer employment contracts on top of notionally arm’s-length contractor arrangements. Good news for users of agency and consultancy personnel. Two … Continue Reading
This month the Employment Appeal Tribunal concluded that a number of agency workers employed by Ideal Cleaning Services Limited and supplied to Celanese Acetate Limited as cleaners for periods of 6 – 25 years did not have rights under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010. To qualify as an “agency worker” under the AWR an individual … Continue Reading
Days ago, on August 27, 2013, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced a Final Rule which increases the affirmative action obligations of federal contractors and subcontractors, which have been in place for over 40 years, with regard to individuals with disabilities (IWD) and military veterans. The Final Rule … Continue Reading
Not all fun and frolics for agency workers, as it turns out. Amendments to the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) 2006 and the collective redundancy provisions of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 brought about by the Agency Workers Regulations (“AWR”) mean that an employer is now obliged as part of … Continue Reading