While the new government announced fairly drastic measures on the employment front when it was formed towards the end of January 2025, most of these changes have yet to take place. There are however a couple of developments to report: Belgium has long applied an early retirement regime known as a ‘bridge pension‘ or, following … Continue Reading
During our recent webinar on Reasonable Adjustments, we received several questions via the chat facility. Here are our outline answers. Yes, but care should be taken in how this is handled to minimise the risk of any claims.… Continue Reading
During our recent webinar on Reasonable Adjustments, we received several questions via the chat facility that we will address in a couple of blogs over the next few days. As we mentioned on the webinar, an employer is only under an obligation to make reasonable adjustments if it knows, or could reasonably be expected to … Continue Reading
Yesterday the Government announced several updates to the Immigration Rules that will impact business immigration planning. These changes will come as no surprise as many of them were detailed in the Immigration White Paper on 12 May and which we wrote about here. The key changes employers should be aware of include:… Continue Reading
Some useful pointers for employers in the handling of protected disclosures, courtesy of the EAT’s recent decision in Argence-Lafon -v- Ark Syndicate Management Limited, a sad example of what happens when an employee lets his unshakeable belief in his own rightness cost him his sense of perspective and ultimately his job.… Continue Reading
The Dutch government has announced that the target date for introducing domestic legislation to implement the Pay Transparency Directive is now 1 January 2027, instead of 7 June 2026 as required under the Directive. The Netherlands was one of the first member states to publish draft implementing legislation – see our previous blog here. It … Continue Reading
In a previous blog, we announced our new federal government’s ambitious plans regarding the labour market, employment law and pensions. Just before heading off on a sunny break, the government has now come to an agreement on a first set of measures, which journalists – clearly also in desperate need of a break – have … Continue Reading
On 2 July 2025, the FCA finally issued its long-awaited next steps document (CP25/18: Tackling non-financial misconduct in financial services) on the proposed new guidance on non-financial misconduct (NFM). The document contains two key elements: Rule Change from 1 September 2026 – The FCA will extend its Code of Conduct Rules (COCON) to non-bank firms, following strong … Continue Reading
Everyone knows that an essential part of a fair dismissal for redundancy is proper consideration of alternative employment, yes? But what does that mean in practice for the employer? In Hendy Group -v- Kennedy, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has taken a look at this principle that everyone knows about and pulled out of it some … Continue Reading
An act partially implementing the Pay Transparency Directive has been published and will enter into force in Poland on 24 December this year. The act focuses on the pay transparency aspects of the Directive. Implementation details for aspects of the Directive relating to job evaluation and reporting are still awaited, with the government indicating that … Continue Reading
On 3 April, a new legislative proposal by the political parties VVD, D66, CDA and SGP was published for consultation. It aims to bring long-awaited clarity to the legal status of self-employed individuals in the Netherlands. It partially replaces a previous proposal by the Dutch government (Wet verduidelijking beoordeling arbeidsrelaties en rechtsvermoeden; WVBAR) which addresses … Continue Reading
Here are the last couple of questions – and our outline answers – following our recent webinar on Handling Workplace Investigations. Who writes up the conclusion, the investigator or HR? As a general rule, it should be the investigator who drafts the investigation report, being the person who conducted the investigation. It is of course … Continue Reading
Here are a few more of the questions – and our outline answers – following our recent webinar on Handling Workplace Investigations. Can a witness refuse to participate due to a conflict of interest, e.g. a family member under investigation? The fact a member of the employee’s family is under investigation does not automatically disqualify … Continue Reading
Here are a few more of the questions – and our outline answers – following our recent webinar on Handling Workplace Investigations. Does the notetaking at investigation meetings need to be verbatim? No. There is no requirement for meeting notes to be a verbatim record of everything that has been said – not only can … Continue Reading
In December 2024, the new Private Investigations Act came into force. The Act replaced the Private Detectives Act of 1991 and was long overdue, considering how much has changed in the world of private investigations. The 1991 law focused on detectives as sole practitioners, think Columbo or Magnum P.I., a world of uncertain ethics, periodic … Continue Reading
During our recent webinar on Handling Workplace Investigations, we received several questions via the chat facility that we will address in a number of blogs over the next few weeks. First off, we have some questions about who should carry out a workplace investigation. If your policy states that a different manager will do the … Continue Reading
The government’s long awaited White Paper Restoring Control over the Immigration System has been published today. As part of the Home Secretary’s foreword in the Paper, she states that the plan will “restore order, control and fairness to the system, bring down net migration and promote economic growth”. The proposals signal a marked tightening of … Continue Reading
After long negotiations between the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats, the parties agreed to establish a coalition to form the new government and Friedrich Merz was eventually elected on 6 May 2025 as new Chancelor of Germany. The coalition agreement published by the parties offers insight into their agenda. While not the primary focus … Continue Reading
EU member states have until 7 June 2026 to introduce local legislation implementing the Pay Transparency Directive. As per our recent blog, to date there have been very few developments on this front, but we are now starting to see the publication of draft legislation. The Dutch government recently issued a Bill aimed at implementing … Continue Reading
On Sunday, the government announced an extension of Right to Work (RTW) checks to businesses hiring gig economy and zero-hours workers, which we covered here. Just two days later, it released a report – an essential safeguard against illegal working. Key Findings from the Report Commissioned by the Home Office and conducted by Verian, the … Continue Reading
The government has announced the latest instalment in its ‘crackdown’ on illegal working by extending right to work checks to businesses hiring gig economy and zero-hours workers. In principle, this is logical and reasonable – prevention of illegal working should rightly apply to anyone working in the UK regardless of their worker status label. However, … Continue Reading
Over the last few months, we have done a lot of sessions with clients on the Pay Transparency Directive. Chief among the questions that inevitably comes up is implementation of the Directive in the different Member States. Clients wonder if and how they can prepare for June 2026 when – as per usual – most … Continue Reading
In 2020, Ms Korpysa was told that because of the COVID lockdown, her workplace would be closing. She thought that meant that she was being dismissed, and asked her employer, Impact Recruitment Services Limited, for details of her contract, accrued holiday pay entitlement and (said Impact) her P45. Impact took that as meaning that she … Continue Reading
So here it is, 2025’s first serious contender for the What On Earth Were They Thinking? Awards, an unfair dismissal case with a common-sense answer so clear you could see it from Mars, but which it nonetheless took five years and the Court of Appeal to arrive at.… Continue Reading
