Employment Law Newsletter – Autumn 2022

Keeping on top of things is difficult with so much happening in the news! Take a moment to consider our Blake Morgan Autumn newsletter, where we take you, in short order, to the information you need to have at your fingertips in Employment, Pensions and Immigration Law.

Cost of living – Winter looms and staff are anxious about increasing costs, so take a look at our article where we consider what employers can do to help alleviate their staff’s concerns.

Litigation (EAT) – Time limits are always important but possibly particularly as regards mental health where there is a request for an extension of time. Take a look at our article here. 

In other news, take a look at our other important articles – I promise they are enjoyable and topical so do not hit delete yet!

Employee’s conduct separable from making a protected disclosure

In a significant whistleblowing decision, the Court of Appeal held that the employee’s conduct, when making a protected disclosure, was the reason for dismissal rather than the disclosure itself. The employee’s conduct could be separated from making the disclosure and accordingly, the dismissal was not automatically unfair for whistleblowing.

Read more on the decision here.

Holiday pay for part-year workers: what does Harpur Trust v Brazel mean in practice?

The Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeal’s decision that both holiday entitlement and holiday pay for “part-year” workers on permanent contracts could not be reduced pro-rata to reflect the actual hours worked during the year: who would have guessed?!

Read more on Holiday pay for part-year workers here.

The benefits of job sharing: are two heads better than one?

Since the pandemic, many employers now offer hybrid or homeworking options but another flexible working pattern is job sharing where two employees divide a job between them to cover one full-time role. We take a look at the benefits of job sharing as well as the disadvantages.

Read more on job sharing here.

Whistleblowing and activism at work: what does this mean for employers?

Many employers encourage openness and transparency in the workplace by putting in place whistleblowing policies and procedures. Why is that important and what happens when an employee’s activism, whether inside or outside of work, clashes with their employer’s interests?

Read more on whistleblowing and activism here.

NHS Pension Scheme consultation outcome

In our article, we consider some recent pensions developments including the consultation outcome relating to the temporary suspension of certain rules in the NHS Pension Scheme because of the coronavirus pandemic. The suspension permitted retired and partially retired staff to return to work or increase their working commitments without having their pension benefits suspended or abated.

Read more on pensions here.

Ombudsman decision confirms employer maladministration did not cause loss to the individual

An individual complained that she was not provided with valid notification of her auto-enrolment into the pension scheme and did not have the opportunity to opt out within the opt out window. However, there was no financial loss as a result of this maladministration and the threshold for making an award for distress and inconvenience was not met.

Read more on the decision here.

Menopause and the workplace: all change ahead?

A recent report about menopause and the workplace concluded that employers’ lack of support is pushing highly skilled and experienced women out of work. This has implications for the gender pay gap, the pensions gap and the number of women in senior roles. What can employers do to support their staff and what changes can we expect in the future?

Read more on menopause and the workplace here.

No change to employment status tests  

An individual’s employment status is crucial because it determines what employment rights they have and what taxes they pay. The Government recently published its long-awaited response to the employment status consultation exercise from February 2018. It has decided against legislative reform in the short-term because it might create cost and uncertainty for businesses that are focusing on recovering from the pandemic.

Read more on employment status here.

Webinars

We recently held our final Employment webinar of 2022 on the challenging topic of data subject access requests and more than 500 people registered! Top level information and the feedback was excellent and if you attended, I hope you found the discussions of our panel experts useful. If you were unable to make it, you can access the recording here.

There are other webinars coming up which may be of interest.

• Women in Leadership 10 November 2022

Our next Women in Leadership webinar will be hosted by Blake Morgan Chair, Kath Shimmin. Kath will be joined by job sharer, Claire Walker who will discuss her own experiences of job sharing in high level roles. Claire is currently job sharing the role of Chief Executive of the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre.

Read more and register here.

• Future Health Conference 15-17 November 2022 

The health and social care sector has weathered one of its toughest tests ever as a result of the pandemic. As we look into the future, what are the challenges facing employers in the sector and what are the opportunities for improvement? Our Employment experts will be leading the panel discussions at the session Leading the Workforce of the Future which is one of Conference’s six webinars. For more details of the Conference and how to register for your preferred session, please see below.

Read more and register here.

Team news

Finally, I am delighted to update you on some very welcome team news. The Legal 500 Directory results were recently announced and our Employment Teams secured the highest ranking of Tier 1 status in our offices as well as Pensions in Tier 1 in Wales.  A number of our  Employment and Pensions lawyers were classed as “Leading Individuals” and others “Rising Stars”. It is very satisfying to see their success recognised in this year’s Legal 500 which is a testament to their hard work over the past 12 months.

I hope you will find all the articles above informative and helpful, and if you would like any further information please do not hesitate to get in touch with your usual Blake Morgan contact or me. Exciting times and I am always available for a chat with you, our wonderful clients and contacts.