What COVID-19 immigration arrangements apply in the UK beyond 31 July 2020?

In a last-minute update on 29 July 2020, the UK Home Office pivoted towards a return to business as usual on immigration policy. Some significant concessions remain available until at least 31 August 2020, however there are a number of potential pitfalls for employers and individuals to be aware of. The Home Office’s Coronavirus (COVID-19): advice for UK visa applicants and temporary UK residents contains…

Payback time? Covid-19 pay-related queries that may arise in the UK

As the furlough scheme starts to wind down and redundancies become more commonplace, employers in the UK may face a host of pay-related queries, grievances or claims from employees arising from the workplace upheaval caused by coronavirus. This article discusses some of the main issues concerning pay that employees could raise. Pay reductions Many employers reduced pay and hours in direct response to the decline…

Restructuring the workplace post Covid-19: FAQs for employers in the UK

This article tackles key questions for employers around restructuring as they start to contemplate the end of subsidised furlough in the UK. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme may have been extended to 31 October 2020, but employers should be thinking now about what their workforce might look like following the end of subsidised furlough and a return to more normal working patterns. We set out…

Brexit: what are the consequences for employers?

Following the UK’s departure from the EU on 31 January 2020, this article asks what this means for employers in the transition period and beyond. On 31 January 2020, the United Kingdom left the EU following ratification of the withdrawal agreement. Now begins a transitional period, lasting until 31 December 2020, during which European Union law continues to apply. This period can be extended once…

What a Conservative Government means for UK immigration law

What will the new Conservative government mean for immigration law and policy in the UK? Having fought his campaign on the promise to ‘get Brexit done’ it is now certain that Mr Johnson will take the UK out of the EU. With a 78-seat majority, Mr Johnson plans to bring his Withdrawal Agreement Bill back to the commons next Friday and pave the way for…

UK + Comments from other countries – The EU adopts a work-life balance directive

The Work-Life Balance Directive, which brings in new rights for carers and working parents, must be implemented in all EU member states by the middle of 2022. We look at what it means for employers.  Background to the Directive  The Work-Life Balance Directive (the ‘Directive’) originates from the EU Commission’s unsuccessful attempts to improve maternity rights across the EU. Currently, EU law provides for 14 weeks…

UK – employment rights in a no-deal Brexit

What might a ‘no-deal’ Brexit mean for UK employment rights? What could employers do now to prepare? And what might the future hold in a no-deal scenario? With new Prime Minister Boris Johnson clear that he would be prepared to leave the EU without a deal if necessary and current legislation committing the UK to leaving the EU at 23:00 on 31 October, this article revisits the employment law implications of a no-deal Brexit.  What could employers do now to…

UK – The Good Work Plan - first steps down the path

Following the UK Government’s ‘Good Work Plan’, published last December, new legislation has recently been made to implement the first of the proposed changes. This article takes stock of the reforms enacted so far, flags some of the practical issues and sums up what’s still to come. Background  In December 2018, following Matthew Taylor’s extensive review of modern employment practices, the Government unveiled its Good Work Plan (discussed…

UK – EU Commission confirms its views on EWCs and a ‘no-deal’ Brexit

The European Commission (‘EC’) has recently revised its March 2018 guidance on the legal repercussions of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU for European Works Councils (‘EWCs’), including the implications of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit. The EC’s Notice to Stakeholders of 13 March 2019 does not have any formal legal status, but will be persuasive in any dispute. It confirms the analysis in our recent article on the impact of…

UK: Trade union’s Deliveroo judicial review challenge fails

The UK High Court (‘HC’) has dismissed a judicial review challenge to a finding by the Central Arbitration Committee (‘CAC’) that Deliveroo riders are not ‘workers’. The HC ruled that the riders are not in an ‘employment relationship’ for the purposes of European law. Background In November 2017, the CAC rejected an application from the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (‘IWGB’) for collective bargaining…