Current employment law updates that may affect your business.

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09 November 2021The final stage of a case that will decide on the calculation for 0 hours part year workers.  This may see changes on the use of zero hours contracts and how these contracts can be used. Generally speaking, a zero hour contract is one in which the employer does not guarantee the individual any hours of work.   #flexibleworking #zerohours
11 November 2021All workers over 18 (unless medically exempt) employed to work in care homes in England, registered by the CQC, providing personal or nursing care, must be double vaccinated. This extends to others coming into the home to provide services.   #Carehomes #carestaff #careindustry
24 December 2021The deadline for care home workers and volunteers that have provided a self-certification of exemption from the Covid vaccine must confirm their exemption status via the NHS Pass by 24 December 2021.    #Carehomes #carestaff #careindustry
31 December 2021All claims under the SSP rebate scheme, closed on 30 September 2021, must be made by this date in order for the employer to get money back under this scheme.    #ssp #claims
5 April 2022From this date, employers must revert to in person checks of right to work documentation.    #employmentchecks #righttoworkcheck ##righttowork
5 April 2022National Living Wage will rise by 6.6%, from £8.91 per hour to £9.50 per hour    #NLW #nationallivingwage
To be confirmedA duty requiring employers to prevent sexual harassment will be introduced, including explicit protections from third-party harassment. The time limit for bringing related claims will be looked at and possibly extended to 6 months.    #training #policy
To be confirmedNew law prohibiting confidentiality clauses in contracts or settlement agreements from preventing disclosures to the police, regulated health and care or legal professionals to be introduced. New law requiring confidentiality clauses to set out their limitations to be introduced   #confidentiality #disclosures #contractclauses
To be confirmedLaws on criminal record disclosures to be amended, reducing the disclosure period for sentences lasting four years or less   #crb #disclosure #increasetolaw
To be confirmedRedundancy protection for new parents to be extended   #redundancy
To be confirmedNew law introducing right for all workers to request a more predictable and stable contract after 26 weeks’ service to be introduced and requiring compensation for shifts cancelled at short notice.   #contracts #policies #hr
To be confirmedNew law to increase break in continuous employment from one week to four weeks to be introduced   #employmentcontracts #hr #contractofemployment
To be confirmedNew law preventing deductions from ‘tips’ to be introduced   #hospitalityhr #hospitality
To be confirmedNew legislation to clarify employment status tests to be introduced   #employmentcontracts #hr
To be confirmedExpected to come into force by April 2022, stronger enforcement powers for certification officers for trade unions to be introduced, as well as wider proactive investigatory powers.   #tradeunions
To be confirmedNew law introducing tribunal sanctions where organisations commit repeated breaches to be introduced   #employmenttribunals #hr
To be confirmedExtension of shared parental leave to grandparents   #SPL #sharedleave #parentalleave
5 October 2021The EHRC restarted enforcement of the publication of gender pay gaps for public and private companies in 2021
1 October 2021The NHS Covid Pass was launched, that can be used by care home workers / volunteers to apply for and evidence their exemption to the Covid vaccine requirement. All staff that have provided a self-certification of exemption must confirm their exemption status via the Pass by 24 December 2021. 
30 September 2021Modern slavery statements deadline for businesses whose financial year ended in April.
30 September 2021The Covid SSP rebate scheme came to an end. From this date, absences need to be paid in full by the employer, as they will no longer be able to claim them back from the government. 
30 September 2021The Job Retention Scheme finished. 
15 September 2021 Covid-restrictions update  Shielding has officially ended, with decisions regarding the care of most vulnerable people to be made by specialists caring for individuals. Originally paused 1 April 2021, the government has confirmed the official end to centralised guidance for the most vulnerable groups. 
26 August 2021The ability to perform right to work checks remotely, instead of having to see in person original documents, was extended to 5 April 2022.

Author

  • With over 20 years' experience in structuring and growing businesses and teams from inception, through periods of growth and change and finally structuring them ready for sale, Karen and her team have helped dozens of business owners and leaders manage growth and change within their business by concentrating on the human side of running and managing a business. An experienced Organisational Coach and HR Consultant, Karen has extensive experience in working with growth SMEs and a proven background in delivery and development of employees against business goals, her specialism is in working with small and medium size companies, delivering operational, people-based solutions that are commercially focused and enable growth of the business. Karen also works as a Non-Executive Director and Trustee and is a trained Predictive Index (PI) Analyst.

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