Amidst gridlock in the UK Parliament, the Worker Protection Bill (“the Bill”), an amendment to the Equality Act 2010 that was introduced to place a duty on employers to proactively protect employees from sexual harassment in the workplace, has been scaled back.Continue Reading New UK Employer Duty to Prevent Sexual Harassment to Be Watered Down
With the development of artificial intelligence (AI) across the globe progressing at breakneck speed, it is generally accepted that humanity is within touching distance of living in a world where AI plays a ubiquitous role in our everyday lives.Continue Reading The EU’s proposed Artificial Intelligence Act
Alcohol dependence can raise significant implications for health, work performance and safety in the workplace. Employers should be prepared to address these concerns with a well-drafted policy that sets out the procedures to follow should any concerns be raised. The following are suggested for such a policy:Continue Reading A UK Perspective on Dealing with Alcohol Dependence in the Workplace
On 3 October 2022, at the Conservative Party Conference, Michelle Donelan, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, made a speech announcing that the UK Government intends to replace the UK GDPR with a new “British data protection system”. During her speech, Ms. Donelan suggested that the current data protection laws shackled businesses “by unnecessary red tape”; in particular, she referred to the impact it has on smaller organisations.
As a result of this announcement, we think it likely that the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, which is awaiting its second reading, will be withdrawn. Continue Reading The End of UK GDPR?
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced in his Autumn Statement last week that the recent changes to the “off-payroll” working rules (otherwise known as “IR35”) are going to be repealed.
Although the new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, made tax-cutting and a “smaller state” a pillar of her leadership campaign, this announcement has caught many by surprise given there has been no prior consultation and the most recent reforms applicable to the private sector were brought in only last year.Continue Reading UK Government to Reverse Recent IR35 Reforms by Spring 2023
The UK’s longest-reigning monarch, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, has passed away, leaving the nation and people across the world in mourning. The Government has now confirmed that Monday, 19 September 2022, will be a national public holiday (otherwise known as a “bank holiday”) to coincide with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s State Funeral. The bank holiday will mark the last day of the period of national mourning.Continue Reading Bank Holiday Announced for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s State Funeral
In the UK, and most of Europe, employees have statutory rights to holiday leave and the question of holiday pay (and how to calculate it) has been a challenging issue for a long time. The Supreme Court in London has provided much-needed clarity by ruling in Harpur Trust v Brazel that holiday pay for part-year