Following June’s referendum, when the UK voted to leave the EU, Brexit has and continues to be the word on everyone’s lips. With no solid Brexit strategy in place and the pound dropping against the dollar to its lowest level in 31 years, it’s little wonder that there’s speculation that the UK could … [Read more...]
ACAS release new guidance on employment references
A new job is an exciting time. You have successfully navigated the application forms, the job interview has been a success and you have been made an offer of employment. Usually, as a condition of your offer, your new employer will ask for a reference from previous employers. If you have a good … [Read more...]
Free Employment Law and HR Seminar
Join us at our FREE Seminar to enrich your employment law and HR knowledge by listening to our experienced employment law consultants. They will cover recent legal updates in the field of HR and employment law, such as GDPR and mental health awareness in the workplace. Date and time: Monday 10 … [Read more...]
MPs call on Government and employers to take tougher action on sexual harassment in the workplace
The Womens and Equalities Committee (a committee appointed by the House of Commons) launched an inquiry in February 2018 to investigate sexual harassment in the workplace and last month released their findings in a report ‘Sexual harassment in the workplace’ which it hopes the Government will put at … [Read more...]
Stay up-to-date, stay ahead of the game – Part II
While Part I of this blog concentrated on legal changes that have happened in the year so far, Part II aims to highlight issues on the horizon that may affect employers. Changes to childcare vouchers Employers operating or considering setting up a Childcare Voucher scheme should be aware that … [Read more...]
Stay up-to-date, stay ahead of the game – Part I
Being an employer is a significant challenge; meeting the day-to-day needs of employees, maintaining premises, getting the job done, turning a profit and keeping on top of all the legal obligations. As the legal landscape is constantly shifting like quicksand, having access to employment law … [Read more...]
U-Turn: Court of Appeal Decides National Minimum Wage For Sleep In Shifts Not Applicable
Last Friday, the Court of Appeal made the controversial decision that National Minimum Wage regulations do not apply for the hours carers are sleeping, whilst they are on-call at a client’s home. The judgment came from the Royal Mencap Society v Claire Tomlinson Blake case, however concluded that … [Read more...]
Keeping business running as usual during the holiday season
School holidays, sunshine and last-minute holiday deals - these are a few of everyone’s favourite things about summer and why employees want to use their holiday entitlement at the same time. Making sure the business can cope with an increase in holiday requests can be headache for employers, so … [Read more...]
GDPR two months on… staying compliant
The dust may have settled after the upheaval of 25th May 2018 and start of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), but now is no time to rest on your laurels as the task to protect personal data is ongoing. Here are some tips to help your company remain GDPR compliant. Keep staff … [Read more...]
CoLaw Become Sponsors of Leicestershire County Cricket Club
Last month, we were excited to welcome on board Leicestershire County Cricket Club as a new client and have become their official sponsor for the second year running. As part of the sponsorship deal, we have been given exclusive tickets for each of the seven T20 home matches across July and … [Read more...]
Government keeps employer’s guidance on dress codes simple
Last month, the Government published its latest guidance for employers on how they should go about making sure that their dress codes do not discriminate against staff. This guidance comes after a petition was started in 2016 by an employee who was sent home for not coming to work in high … [Read more...]
Can I leave work early for the World Cup, boss? – Employer Guidance
After England’s magnificent 6-1 victory against Panama, this question will be on the lips of many working football fans and is only likely to become more persistent as the World Cup continues. Employers cannot simply ignore the tournament, so they might as well have a game plan to avoid potential … [Read more...]
Recruitment drive to hire employment judges as tribunal claims rise
With employment tribunal claims rapidly soaring, HM Judiciary plans to start a recruitment campaign this summer, to hire over 50 employment judges to keep up with growing caseloads. In 2013, the Government introduced fees for starting a claim in an employment tribunal or submitting an appeal to … [Read more...]
The Election 2017 – Manifesto’s and Employment Law
With June the 8th General Election looming, Political Parties are reiterating their Manifestos in the hope of attracting Voters. By nature, these are large documents, and as such your key points of concern are not always easy to pinpoint. Below we have outlined where the two lead party's stand in … [Read more...]
Can you ask your employees not to speak their native language in the workplace?
With many businesses having a diverse workforce of different cultures and nationality, where do you legally stand with employees who choose to speak their native language or indeed a foreign language whilst at work? Is it unreasonable to ask them not to?While most employers recognise the benefits of … [Read more...]