Proposed Additional Public Holiday in 2022

November 16, 2020Alan Kitto

The Government are proposing an additional public holiday in 2022 in celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Hotel Group Receives £432,000 in Legal Costs

November 10, 2020Alan Kitto

A question that we are regularly asked by clients faced with an Employment Tribunal claim is, will the claimant have to pay our legal costs in the event that we successfully defend their claim(s) or vice versa, will the employer have to pick up the claimant’s costs if they win.

ICO Guidance on Dealing with Data Subject Access Requests

October 28, 2020Alan Kitto

Last week the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published some long-awaited direction for employers faced with a data subject access request (SAR). This guidance does not change the law as it currently stands, but instead offers some clarification on some of the more ambiguous points.

Government Consultation on Workplace Laws for Domestic Abuse Survivors

July 02, 2020Alan Kitto

Earlier today the Government announced that is is seeking views from industry about how best to use employment law to support those who are subjected to domestic abuse.

Employment Tribunal Fees

June 15, 2020Alan Kitto

An article in today’s Times newspaper says that the Ministry of Justice has written to the Law Commission asking it to provide recommendations for creating a coherent system for charging and updating fees the future.

Recognising Those Who Are Keeping The Lights On ...

June 01, 2020Alan Kitto

The following article was written by a friend and colleague, Steve Lobley of Spring Leadership after a discussion he as I had about the need for employers to recognise that the employees continuing to work to keep the lights on for those furloughed.

Law Commission Report - Employment Law Hearings

April 30, 2020Alan Kitto

The Law Commission has today published a report on Employment Law Hearing Structures. The report is long and makes many recommendations; the key one is to have a single time limit for employment tribunal claims of six months.

Fair Redundancy Process

April 29, 2020Alan Kitto

Despite the fact that the Government’s Job Retention Scheme has been extended until 30th June 2020, and could be extended further, I know that a number of companies are already looking further ahead and are thinking the redundancies may need to follow the end of the current restrictions.

The UK's Points Based Immigration System

April 16, 2020Alan Kitto

From 1st January 2021, new workers from overseas (both EU and non-EU citizens) will need to apply for visa to be able to work in the UK; visas will be awarded based on the applicant achieving a minimum number of points against a number of criteria.

Employment Law Changes Effective Today

April 06, 2020Alan Kitto

With all of the updates about coronavirus, it’s easy to forget that today is the start of a new financial year and the date on which a number of employment law changes take effect.

Vicarious Liability - Two Supreme Court Decisions

April 01, 2020Alan Kitto

The Supreme Court has today issued judgement on two cases dealing with vicious liability.

Tips For Working Productively at Home

March 19, 2020Alan Kitto

From many recent conversations, I know that more and more people are being asked to work from home in an attempt to keep business running in these unprecedented times. For some people, working from home is the norm, for others, it’s daunting and even stressful, especially if they are doing it for the first time.

Coronavirus - Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) Update

March 12, 2020Alan Kitto

Yesterday, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, has announced that the Government will reimburse small employers (those employing less than two hundred and fifty employees) any statutory sick pay they pay to employees, for the first fourteen days of sickness in the event that they are ill with coronavirus, or have to isolate under the advice of a medical practitioner.

Uber Drivers in France are Not Self-Employed

March 06, 2020Alan Kitto

There French Court of Cassation (their equivalent to the UK Supreme Court for civil law matters) has issued a ruling that Uber drivers are not self-employed despite the fact that contractually that is the case.

Annual Statutory Rate Increases

March 04, 2020Alan Kitto

The Government has announced the statutory rate changes that will take effect from 6th April 2020. The changes are as follows …

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

February 29, 2020Alan Kitto

Employers have a duty of care towards their employees which includes not exposing them to unnecessary risk. In this case, that may include not putting them in a position in which they could become infected by the virus without taking all reasonable precautions.

This duty of care, where Coronavirus is concerned, may differ depending on an employee’s specific circumstances, for example, if they are older or they have underlying conditions.

Supreme Court - 'Sleep-In' Shifts and National Minimum Wage

February 12, 2020Alan Kitto

Two significant cases are being heard the Supreme Court over the next couple of days and although we’re unlikely to hear the outcome of each for several months, they are certainly worthy of mention.

Major Data Breaches in 2019

January 17, 2020Alan Kitto

Thanks to our anti-virus software provider Bitdefender for the following update.

With more than 4 billion records exposed, 2019 hit a milestone in cybercrime. It’s hard to keep track of the daily flood of security and data breaches, so here we lay out some of the more significant ones that may have affected you or your family last year. 

Is Ethical Veganism a Protected Philosophical Belief?

January 05, 2020Alan Kitto

You may have seen in recent news reports that ‘Ethical Veganism’ has been accepted by an Employment Tribunal as being a recognised and therefore protected philosophical belief for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 and as such, ethical vegans can not be treated less favourably by their employer because of their belief.

Employment Law Changes in 2020

December 29, 2019Alan Kitto

As 2019 draws to a close, we thought we’d take a few minutes to outline the planned changes to employment law in 2020 and the Government’s intentions within this term following the recent general election.