The annual report published by BIS on trade union membership has just been published and contains new statistics for 2010. As in previous years, it tracks an ongoing decline in trade union membership levels and, similarly, a fall in the number of em...

There are over 900 European Works Councils (EWCs) providing for pan-European workplace consultation involving cross-border restructuring, mergers and transfers. While employers with EWCs have differing views on their success and relevance to date, l...

Welcome to our June UK labour law update. This edition contains the following content: UK labour law news Trade union membership rises to 6.5 million reversing recent falling trends PCS and TSSA unions move closer towards mergers with Unite  ...

In

EU appears open-minded about pay between assignment contracts Having inherited the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 on taking office, the UK Government had p...

Court of Appeal upholds single collective bargaining unit for only 1.2% of employees in an otherwise non-unionised employer In a significant development for employers, particularly those without recognised trade unions and those with dispersed busin...

Employers are being urged to do more to look after the mental health of their workforce with the publication today of the outcome of the Stevenson/Farmer review of mental health and employers. Estimating that poor mental health costs employers betwe...

The Government has now responded fully to the 290 recommendations made by the Francis Inquiry earlier in the year. Since the publication of the report in February of this year, members of our team who acted as a part of the team acting as Solicitors...

Guru Update – Mitchell – where we have all been getting it wrong! The Court of Appeal on Friday afternoon, handed down judgment in a series of appeals arising out of applications for Relief from sanctions, Denton & Ors v TH Whit...

With increasing numbers of working parents comes a sharper focus on employer support for childcare arrangements.  On 6 April 2005, the Government is to introduce new tax incentives in relation to childcare arrangements which are intended t...

After nine years pursuing her claim against her employer, Michelle Alabaster walked away with an award of just £204.53.  However, the impact of the decisions of the ECJ, and now the Court of Appeal in the maternity pay case of Ala...

Employers, the leasing industry, professional advisers and many government departments including the DTI, were taken by surprise when withdrawal of the tax relief on computers supplied to employees was announced in the recent Budget. Numerous re...

December to April is bonus season. According to the latest annual report from the Office for National Statistics, bonuses for UK staff have reached a record £19 billion, a rise of £2.5 billion since last year. The forthcoming months will...

In a somewhat timely judgment, bearing in mind the May bank holidays, the Court of Session (the Scottish Court of Appeal) has clarified that it is not necessarily unlawful for an employer to not provide alternative leave days for part-time workers w...

Many employers offer flexible benefits packages to their workforce. But the Age Discrimination Regulations have cast a shadow over some schemes, leaving employers and providers unsure as to how benefits such as private medical insurance should be ac...

Gordon Brown has announced that the Government plans to introduce legislation giving new rights to agency workers and working parents in the next parliamentary session.  In addition, all workers are to be given the right to ask for time off wor...

The Government has today announced that from next April, the right to request flexible working will be extended to all parents of children aged up to 16 years. It is estimated that an additional 4.5 million parents will benefit from the right. Sinc...

If you have not yet responded to the Eversheds survey as to the likely impact of the changes to agency worker rights upon your business and would like to do so by 13 June, please click here.   Main body The topics of equal rights for age...

After what has already proved a busy week for employment law news, the Government has published its consultation response to the second round of consultation on Agency Worker Regulations, which closed in December last year. The...

VAT treatment of vouchers provided to employees under salary sacrifice You will no doubt have been made aware of the recent CJEU (formerly European Court of Justice) ruling in AstraZeneca. The case involved AstraZeneca and the retail vouchers that ...

Pensions Regulator publishes details of first enforcement action for auto-enrolment non-compliance The Pensions Regulator has published its first section 89 report relating to breaches of the aut...

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Expert evidence in procurement claims – no general admission On 28 September 2012 the High Court rejected an application under...

Fair Deal: the latest developments On 19 November 2012 HM Treasury published its response to the March 2011 consultation on the future of the Fair Deal for Staff Pensions guidance. The Fair Deal review is part of the Government’s broader revi...

Registered Providers to face longer, more complicated and more expensive claims? The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 ("LAPSO") LAPSO received Royal Assent on 1 May 2012 and will come into force on 1 April 2013. It will hav...

The Charities Act 2006 (now the Charities Act 2011) introduced a new form of incorporated charitable entity, the CIO.  There has been a long delay in making CIOs available but their imminent arrival has been heralded by a recent government anno...

Many in local government will already be familiar with the CRC Scheme. This is the UK’s mandatory emissions trading scheme aimed at improving energy efficiency and cutting carbon dioxide emissions in large public and privat...

The European Commission has announced proposals to amend the Enabling Regulation adopted in 1998. This forms part of the EC’s State Aid Modernisation Initiative. It will allow the EC to focus on larger more...

? The European Commission has announced proposals to amend the Procedural Regulation adopted in 1999. This forms part of the EC’s State Aid Modernisation Initiative and will support quicker decision making and ensure a focus...

? Recently, the Equality and Human Rights Commission EHRC published detailed technical guidance for those public sector bodies seeking to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED). There is separate guidance for Scotland, England and Wales....

The European Commission (the "EC") presented two proposals on 5 December 2012, as part of its State Aid Modernisation initiative. The proposals will include amendments to two key State aid instruments, the Enabling Regulation and...

? The Solicitors Regulation Authority has undertaken consultation on proposed changes to the rules for solicitors employed by local authorities.  The SRA is proposing to amend rule 4.15(e) of the Practice Framework Rules, to ...

The court has recently considered the extent of disclosure required to satisfy the obligation of fairness in a consultation exercise in the case of R (on the application of Save our Surgery Limited) v Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts  (&l...

Today’s employment law changes; and what else to expect this year Various changes to employment legislation take effect today, including amendments to whistleblowing laws.  Other changes will follow over coming months. In this briefing we...

Local Government Pension Scheme liabilities on academy conversionsBackground The treatment of Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) liabilities on academy conversions has been presenting significant difficulties for some time, with pension liabilit...

Code of Conduct for Operational PFI/PPPs HM Treasury recently published a brand new PFI/PPP code of conduct (the ‘Code’) which is aimed at delivering savings in operational PPP contracts. What has been introduced? ...

On 1 July 2013, following its consultation Judicial Review: proposals for reform, the Government introduced significant changes to the judicial review process.  The stated aim was to balance the need to ensure lawful public administration with ...

Freedom of information and the private sector -  the next chapter in transparency by the Coalition Government Extension to Transparency agenda and Freedom of Information In March 2014, Justice Minister Simon Hughes MP stated: “We do inten...

The Local Government Pension Scheme (Amendment)(Governance) Regulations 2015 were laid before Parliament on 28 January 2015.  Issued under the Public Service Pensions Act 2013, these...

Another year, another budget. So what have we learnt from the contents of the infamous red brief case? Here are some of the highlights for the local government community.             George...

On 4 February 2015, the government launched a consultation on draft regulations implementing the cap on care costs contained in the Care Act 2014. The consultation also sought views on the need for new appeals system in relation to local authorities...

Background The Government’s latest proposal in reforming the English schooling system was laid before Parliament last week in the form of the Education and Adoption Bill 2015-16 (“the Bill”). The Bill sets out provisions to conver...

Supreme Court reinforces the need to interpret clauses by the words used and their "natural meaning" On 10 June 2015, the Supreme Court handed down judgment in the case of Arnold v Britton and others [2015] UKSC 36, which concerned the interpretatio...

A commitment to reduce public sector termination packages has seen the Government explore various proposals for reform in recent years; from draft regulations seeking recovery of termination payments, to a financial cap upon the amount of any indivi...

The Prime Minister announced on 18 April that a General Election will be held on Thursday 8 June. Parliament will be dissolved on 3 May and we wait with interest to see what planned legislation will survive the trauma of the current Parliament&rsqu...

The security of personal information, including customer payment card data and related details, is integral to the functioning of retailers with an online offering, and there are serious consequences in the event of security breaches. Penalties...

  Introduction On 6 May the European Commission (“the Commission”) announced the launch of a competition law inquiry into the e-commerce sector, where it is believed that companies who engage in selling via the internet may be employing methods...

(MENAFN - Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) KUWAIT -- His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah urged citizens to support government effo... ......

Last December, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) launched an inquiry into racial harassment in Higher Education. On 23 October 2019 the EHRC published its report “Tackling racial harassment: universities challenged” under t...

Two recent decisions have provided additional guidance in the area of privilege in an employment context. The cases provide information that will be helpful to lawyers advising in this area and to those seeking and utilising legal advice, including ...