Options after furlough

Changes to certifying and issuing fit notes

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 16:46:57 GMT

What you need to know about changes to current procedures

To reduce pressure on doctors, particularly GPs, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have proposed that nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists and physiotherapists should be able to certify and issue fit notes.

For anyone who has been off work with illness for more than seven days, a fit note provides evidence to their employer about the absence and any relevant advice on how to support the employee to remain in or return to work.

The new rules came into force from 1 July 2022, lifting the requirement that only doctors can issue the notes.

The aim will be to support and empower better conversations about work and health between employers and staff by making it easier to get this advice certified by the most relevant healthcare professional.

This change follows legislation changes in April 2022 which removed the need for fit notes to be signed in ink. This change makes it possible for eligible healthcare professionals to certify fit notes digitally and also for patients to receive their fit note via digital channels.

Flexible working: Do you have your employee’s agreement?

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 16:45:34 GMT

Discover the importance of having an employee's agreement when extending the decision period for flexible working applications.

When requests for flexible working are received, it is legally very important to adhere to deadlines agreed and decision time periods. Here we discuss what is essential if needing to extend the decision time period of a flexible working application.

What is a flexible working application?

An employee is allowed to request a review of their contracted hours by making a Flexible Working application. This can be a request to change their days of work, hours of work, place or work of shift patterns. Such requests should be received in writing from the employee to the employer and should be responded to by the employer within 3 months of receipt. The employer’s response should include clear reasoning, the appeals process and dates to ensure it is evident that the process has been resolved within the 3-month time frame permitted.

What is the decision period?

The decision period is three months beginning from the date of the employee's flexible working request. The time frame of a decision period can be extended, but this must be agreed by all partied involved. If the decision period is extended without agreement, the employee is able to bring a tribunal claim against the employer on the basis that they have failed to deal with the application within the decision period.

Employee’s are able to bring a tribunal claim for other reasons, such as discrimination or if they feel the request for flexible working has been dealt with in an unreasonable manner.

Network Rail

You may have read in the news about the recent Employment Appeal Tribunal case brought against Network Rail. A employee was able to appeal a decision on flexible working due to correspondence and tribunal claims being made after the 3-month statutory time periods for Network Rail to reach a decision had lapsed.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held that the statutory scheme is clear that there must be an agreement to extend the 3-month decision period, and so further investigation was conducted to determine if this had been agreed.

This case highlights the importance of clearly communicating any extensions to decision-periods needed. If a decision will not be reached within the 3-month decision period, e.g. because of the time needed for evidence gathering, investigation of absence due to ill health, the employer must obtain the employee’s agreement to this extension. Wherever possible, this should be done in writing to ensure there is clear evidence showing that the extension was agreed by all parties involved.

Do you work for a family business?

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 16:44:46 GMT

Find out why it is important to formalise job roles in family-run businesses.

Recent cases have highlighted the importance of clearly identifying the role of company directors in family-run businesses. In instances where employees have wanted to make claims against businesses, the first step by the judge is to determine the person’s employment status. If there is a lack of documentation supporting the employee’s role in the company, no matter what their role or relationship with others in the organisation, this leaves them vulnerable and often unable to make claims against the business.

There are occasions and organisations where there can be a general lack of contractual documentation, such as in family-run businesses. In many cases the agreements between staff members in these organisations can be verbal or based on personal relationships, with a lack of employment documentation to support contractual roles.

This highlights the importance of ensuring that if company directors are intended to be working as an employee in family-run businesses, that documentation is formalised to indicate that this is the case. At (my) HR Director, we are able to produce contracts, employee agreements and job descriptions to formalise all roles within a company, including director’s service agreements or employment contracts. By ensuring all members of staff are recognised as such in writing, companies can avoid claims, confusion and disputes.

Risk assessments for pregnant employees

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 16:43:09 GMT

Here we look at the risk assessments needed, and what is expected of an employer if significant risk is identified, whilst looking at the considerations needed relating to COVID.

It is important to take into consideration workplace conditions and ever-changing working environments and pregnancy stages for pregnant workers. Here we look at the risk assessments needed, and what is expected of an employer if significant risk is identified, whilst looking at the considerations needed relating to COVID.

Risk assessments for pregnant workers less than 26 weeks pregnant

All pregnant workers (in this instance pregnant refers to pregnant women who are less than 26 weeks pregnant) must undertake a workplace risk assessment with their employer and/or occupational health team. This should be conducted by employers immediately upon receipt of the employee’s written notice of pregnancy, and regular reviews throughout the employee’s pregnancy should be conducted.

Where a significant health and safety risk is identified for pregnant workers, employers are expected to adjust the working conditions for the pregnant employee. This could include reducing/ changing hours to remove the risk, where practicable or when alternative solutions/ work is not available.

Risk assessments for pregnant workers who are 26+ weeks pregnant

All pregnant workers (in this instance pregnant refers to pregnant women who are 26+ weeks pregnant) need additional consideration regarding the increased risk COVID-19 poses to pregnant women from 26 weeks pregnant and beyond.

Clinical data suggests that risk of complications from COVID increases from around 26 weeks’ gestation. Therefore, as part of the workplace risk assessment, specific mention and consideration of COVID is required for those in the later stages of pregnancy.

In addition to the usual workplace COVID policies that may be in place for the workplace, pregnant workers should be supported by their employer to minimise any risks outlined in the risk assessment. This should include ensuring adequate ventilation, good hygiene and cleaning, and regular lateral flow testing.

Whilst the risk assessment states that it is safe to do so, pregnant workers should continue working within the amended working conditions outlined. It is also important for pregnant workers to be satisfied with the result of the risk assessment and conditions implemented as a result.

What if changes cannot be made to a worker’s conditions?

If following the risk assessment, a pregnant worker is identified as having a significant health and safety risk, changes to their working conditions should be made. In instances where this is not possible, the employer may need to suspend the pregnant worker on full pay.

Useful Information

Government guidance on COVID infection prevention and control

Health and Safety Executive Guidance

The importance of your role as a line manager, and how to do it.

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 16:37:29 GMT

Your role as a line manager is vital to the working environment of your organisation. Read our latest blog to find out how to be an effective line manager.

Line managers have the biggest influence upon work morale and employees experience’s within the work place. Improving the wellbeing of their own and of their employees aids to benefitting the whole organisation and higher achievements for the company.

This is what makes a line manager’s role so important. Here are some key factors to consider if wanting to be an effective line manager for your organisation:

Positive approach.

It is a line manager’s duty to take positive approaches within situations and being appreciative of their team rather than handing out blame. It is important to be able to take on board a myriad of perspectives and consult within the team. It’s important for line managers to remain calm and composed under pressure despite deadlines or any personal matters. Remaining respectful, fair, impartial, and kind will gain respect from your team. Integrity and consistency are also key behaviours of a line manager and are often reflected within your employees too. These positive approaches enhance your employee’s level of engagement and wellbeing within their job roles.

Conflict management.

Line managers must resolve employee conflicts effectively and in an impartial way, following your own company’s procedure in addressing the problem. It is essential that you provide appropriate support for yourself and your employees; using the company’s resources to do so. It is also your responsibility to make sure any severe issues are addressed and those involved are well supported throughout. The clarity, guidance and advice you can provide your team will also benefit their mental health. Your team will have a positive outlook on their job role and engage in a positive way within their performance based on how it is communicated to them.

Defining roles.

Demonstrate a clear understanding of your own role, and of your team member’s roles. This will provide your team with a better understanding of your expectations of them and allow you to provide useful advice and guidance on their contribution to the team. A line manager needs to allow time for their employees (one-to-one time when permitted); taking the responsibility for problem solving and following up leads, all whilst being decisive. Supporting employees in this way will ensure they are fully engaged, motivated and clear of their job role will likely lead to succeed and progress.

Rapport.

Building and sustaining relationships with your team is hugely important when acting as a line manager for an organisation. It is important that you show your employees that you are interested in them as a person and engage with them in a friendly, empathetic manner. These traits create a supportive, positive culture. This allows your employees to feel ‘psychologically safe,’ thus improving benefits of engagement, learning and better performance. Such a working culture will reduce employee’s fear and anxiety related to expressing their views and thoughts.

Encouragement.

A line manager needs to take time to speak one-to-one with employees; particularly within career development and making sure you are available to actively support this too. You will need to arrange and offer career opportunities and development. This allows your team to align their personal needs of physical or psychological fulfilment with the advanced career opportunities; leading to a higher performing workforce. It is important that you recognise the members of the team who need to be encouraged to progress further, and support all team members to take part in professional development opportunities.

More information and sources:

The CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) is an independent organisation who aims is to improve working life for all within employment. CIPD has created quick and easy guidance especially for line managers to ensure they can fulfil their management capacity.

Is the ‘always on’ work culture dangerous when considering the pandemic?

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 16:36:49 GMT

Is your company experiencing increased levels in absences, or a deflated workforce? It could be that the "always on" work culture is impacting your team more than you think.

The 'always on' work culture.

Within the wrong hands, the same technology that makes remote work possible can also make work inescapable. We live in a world of hyper connectivity, thanks to smartphones, laptops and tablets, there’s implicit expectation that we should always be online and available; even outside of our normal working hours, thus having an ‘always on’ work culture.

The ‘always on’ work culture is dangerous when considering the pandemic. There are many employees working longer hours, possibly remotely isolated at home, and many taking fewer absences to make up for lost time at work. With heightened stress levels nationwide, emotions are high, with more stress and pressure on employees due to many having the risk of redundancy or being furloughed. This will lead to employees feeling less fulfilled by work and life which can have a damaging effect on their mental health and wellbeing as well as work performance.

The impact of COVID19 on working environments.

The coronavirus pandemic has undoubtedly changed and adapted the way we work. There have been a myriad of challenges and changes from sickness, loss, furlough and redundancy. There’s a significant amount of improvement required within employees health and wellbeing, especially within the role of a line managers support.

Due to the pandemic three-fifths of organisations are tackling leaveism and presenteeism; albeit a new form from traditional office definitions. This has become even more noticeable since the pandemic began. The merging of work and home lives has had the negative effect of the ‘always on’ environment, but also seen an increase in the levels of anxiety regarding returning back to the workplace after lockdowns and periods of absence.

The resolution?

This has led to the pandemic adding pressure onto senior leaders to take mental health more seriously; with most organisations having put in extra measures to tackle such issues. Mental health of employees can still be affected by their financial status and worries around financial security and so it is important that organisations aim to provide more support for employees’ financial wellbeing as well as their work-life balance. The pandemic may have exacerbated the ‘always on’ issue. For many, there are no buffers to protect them around the working day patterns; with commutes, school runs and routines lost in the midst of the pandemic. Even with many workplaces now reopened, employees are under constant threat of having to shield should anyone in their “bubbles” come into contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID.

The lack of knowledge and training provided to line managers to support employees with ill mental health needs to be addressed. This is needed especially considering the negative impact of the pandemic on peoples stress and mental health, alongside the health risk of those with increased homeworking. The pressure to always be on can also lead to burn-out. This is a psychological, emotional and physical state people can find themselves in when they’ve been dealing with poorly managed stress for a long time. Increased homeworking, stress and ill mental health due to the pandemic and having an ‘always on’ work ethic can have a detrimental effect on individuals, and on their organisation’s performance.

Line managers without effective, informative training about disabilities and long-term health problems fail to support those individuals within the team. Unfortunately, less than a third of organisations provide line mangers with this vital training. Organisations are failing to publish workforce disability information which affects the organisation in retaining staff and hinders the ability to manage these individuals; thus showing a lack of supporting framework within the recruitment process of the company.

Absence in organisations has been detrimentally impacted due to the Covid19 pandemic with it being reported that one in ten absences are now due to COVID19. This leads to companies using methods to improve employee’s attendance; such as attendance reviews, leave, return-to-work interviews and health checks.

If you need to discuss your mental health workplace policies and/or how the pandemic has impacted on your business, please contact our HR experts here.

Original source of information:

https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/culture/well-being/health-well-being-work

Free support for line managers

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 17:00:02 GMT

Discover the online support available through the CIPD

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) provide a range of online resources to help line managers in their role within an organisation.

CIPD is a professional association for human resource management professionals, and a great resource for line managers, and other HR professionals.

What do the online resources include?

- Introductions

Providing guidance and exercises to help line managers support the health, wellbeing and engagement of their team

- Tools and quizzes

Help to determine how your management approach aligns with your teams and find the best ways to ensure proactive and positive management styles using a range of quizzes, exercises and online tool kits.

- Line management development exercises

A range of exercises provided in mind of developing your management approach

- Factsheets

Providing information on the role of line management and its relationship to an organisation’s people practices

- Guides

Providing guidance on a range of topics from supporting remote workers, legislation, differing types of leave and more.

Where can I access such support?

All online resources are available via the CIPD website. Resources specific to supporting Line managers can be found at: https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/fundamentals/people/line-manager

How will Brexit affect how I manage EU staff

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Sun, 18 Apr 2021 17:00:02 GMT

A guide if you employ staff from across the EU.

From 1st January 2021 the UK officially departed from the European Union; having an impact on employers whose staff are EU nationals.

How does this impact on EU citizens employed in the UK?

EU citizens who were recruited before the 31st December 2020, and who have not been granted indefinite leave to remain (ILR), need to gain permission to remain working in the UK. They can gain this permission via applying to the EU Settlement Scheme.

What is the EU Settlement Scheme?

The EU Settlement Scheme assesses applications from EU citizens against set criteria on why they are currently working in the UK. Applications for the Scheme can be made for free from the gov.uk website.

Workers must apply by the 30 June 2021 , and those who have lived and worked in the UK for at least 5 continuous years are granted the EU Settlement Scheme are guaranteed the right to continue living and working in the UK indefinitely. Those who have less than 5 years continuous years in the UK prior to the 31st December 2020 will be granted 5 years to continue working in the UK, by the end of which they can reapply and be granted indefinite settled status.

Illegal working

As always, employers have a legal obligation to prevent illegal working and can be subjected to penalties, such as fines up to £20,000 per worker, and criminal convictions where they fail to do so.

Where can I find out more information

For more information contact mark@my-hrdirector.co.uk

Changes to Family Leave Pay and SSP in 2021

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Sun, 11 Apr 2021 17:00:02 GMT

Increases to take effect from April 2021

The Government have announced that they plans to increase family leave pay and sick pay from April 2021.

Family leave pay

Family leave pay is currently £151.20 per week and is claimed for by those on maternity, paternity, parental and bereavement leave.

With the Government’s proposed changes, England will see an increase of 77p per week added to the statutory weekly amount; bringing the new family leave pay amount to £151.97 per week.

Statutory sick pay

Statutory sick pay is accessible to all employees paying Class 1 National Insurance contributions, irrespective of age, who earn of at least £120 per week from 6 April 2020.

Eligibility for statutory sick pay (SSP) is currently £95.85 per week.

With the Government’s proposed changes, England will see an increase of 50p per week added to the statutory weekly amount; bringing the new statutory sick pay amount to £96.35 per week.

How do employers need to protect their pregnant employees?

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Sun, 04 Apr 2021 17:15:02 GMT

Find out more about how employers can support their employees when pregnant in the pandemic.

With the world starting to return to normal as periods of lockdown are due to end over the next few months, the spotlight is now on mums and the impact of returning to work in the midst of a pandemic on mothers and pregnant women.

What are the employers’ responsibilities towards pregnant women?

All employers have a duty to conduct risk assessments for any workplace risks and this includes any additional risks towards pregnant women.

With COVID19 now here, employers have a responsibility to include a specific COVID19 risk assessment. This should be done for all employees, not just pregnant women.

What should a risk assessment discuss for pregnant women?

Before the pandemic, a risk assessment should be carried out for all pregnant employees, detailing the risks of their job and whether or not they pose a higher or sustained risk when pregnant. The risks will differ during different stages of pregnancy and this should be accounted for in the risk assessment. This should be done as soon as possible after being notified that the employee is pregnant.

Maternity Action advise that employers must also assess the ‘risk of infection from Covid-19 and take into account the fact that pregnant women are classed as vulnerable under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations 2020 and that RCOG guidance says that pregnant women are at higher risk from 28 weeks of pregnancy’.

Risk assessments should be regularly reviewed for all employees, and especially for pregnant women as pregnancy changes constantly. Medical updates from GPs and/or midwives should also be considered when reviewing such risk assessments.

You can find out more about what Maternity Action have to say on the matter here.

What should an employer do if one of their team becomes pregnant?

An immediate risk assessment should be conducted and actions taken to limit/ remove risks wherever possible. For more information on what to do in regards to COVID19 Risk Assessment for pregnant women, or if you need advice on maternity, paternity or related procedures, contact our dedicated team at (my) hr director.

Supreme Court rules that Uber drivers are workers

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Sun, 28 Mar 2021 17:00:02 GMT

Are you confident you know the difference between being self-employed, employed or a worker? If not, read our blog to find out more.

The Supreme Court recently passed its final judgement on the widely publicised case regarding the employment status of Uber drivers.

The highly anticipated ruling found that Uber drivers are in fact workers and should not be classed as self-employed. Whilst a ‘worker’ is different to an employee, a worker has more rights than a self-employed freelancer; as previously sought for by Uber. Workers are entitled to statutory rights and benefits but not full employment rights.

What impact will the worker status have on Uber?

The classification of Uber drivers as workers means that they are between the status’ of employee and self-employed. As mentioned previously, workers are entitled to statutory rights, such as national minimum wage, sick pay, paid holidays and even sick pay to name a few.

The impact of such a status on those working for Uber could cost the company approximately £20,000 per Uber driver, and result in different working practices to avoid the worker status.

Why are Uber drivers seen as workers?

Whilst Uber have argued against the decision through numerous appeals; leading to the recent Supreme Court ruling, the ultimate reason for the ruling was due to the use of the app.

Uber argued that their arrangement with drivers mirrored those of private hire companies, with them only working when passengers were in the cars. However, the Supreme Court found that the Uber drivers are “working” from the moment the app is turned on, until the time it is off, because the Uber driver has to be available for jobs that come through.

How can employers avoid this situation?

The status of a worker is very confusing for employers, but an important one to understand in order to avoid such occurrences as that experienced by Uber. Many use classifications on CEST (a tax tool) to help their understanding but this does not include tests to establish worker status.

In order to avoid confusion with your workforce, it is imperative that your team know their employment status from their very first day of starting to work with you. This should be clearly outlined in written contracts.

You can contact us today at (my) hr director for more information and for help making sure that the employment status of your teams are clearly defined and accurately reflect the working arrangements.

Following your Disciplinary and Dismissal Policy and Procedures

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Sun, 21 Mar 2021 18:00:02 GMT

Employers must follow their own procedures, after all it is their procedures

More and more cases of staff dismissal appeals are reaching tribunals and are being won based on poor policy and implementation.

Why did the tribunal rule in favour of the dismissed member of staff?

The employment tribunal cited unfair dismissal for the worker who was absent for 808 shifts over a 20-year career as the company has not followed its own policy and procedures when deciding to terminate the staff member.

Although the worker cost the company approximately £95,850 in sick pay, the judge ruled in the workers favour stating that the company did not do their duty to find out the reason behind the absences and take this into account before dismissing the member of staff.

The importance of policies in the workplace.

This demonstrates how important it is to have clear and professional policies for your company, and to adhere to them. It is imperative that employers follow policies and procedures strictly to avoid claims discrimination and unfair dismissal.

And if such cases are brought to an employment tribunal, an employer is much more likely to win if they have followed the company’s formal measures outlined in their policies and procedures.

How do I improve my policies and procedures?

Contact our team and (my) hr director who can advise on your existing policies, help with staff absences and disciplinary cases and create bespoke company policies and procedures.

Coronavirus tests for your employees

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Sun, 14 Mar 2021 18:00:02 GMT

Getting COVID Lateral Flow tests for your workplace

In line with existing Government guidance, those who are unable to work from home are allowed to continue working whilst adhering to strict COVID19 and social distancing guidance.

In order to prevent the spread of COVID19, and to ensure workplaces are kept as safe as possible, lateral flow tests are now available to order for certain businesses in England.

What are lateral flow tests

Lateral flow tests can be offered to your employees to help prevent the spread of the virus, especially those that are not showing symptoms but are carrying the virus unknowingly. Around 1 in 3 individuals with COVID-19 do not display symptoms and the lateral flow test helps to find positive cases earlier and to break hidden chains of transmission.

The test kit is a hand-held device with an absorbent pad at one end and a reading window at the other. Inside the device is a strip of test paper that changes colour in the presence of COVID-19 proteins (antigens).

Your employees will need to swab either their nostrils or throats in the way described in their testing kits. Using the swab and solution provided, they will then be able to use the hand-held device to determine a COVID result.

Please note that these tests are to check for asymptomatic employees and all employees should be advised to get a COVID19 test from their local GP/ hospital if they are experiencing any symptoms.

Who can order later flow tests for their workplace?

If your workplace is currently open for business and you have a team of employees, you can order lateral flow tests for your team.

You can register to order tests if:

• your business is registered in England

• your employees cannot work from home

What do I need to apply?

You can register your want for lateral flow tests for your workplace click here .

The deadline for registration is the 12th April 2021

Can employers insist on employees receiving the COVID vaccine before returning to work?

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Sun, 07 Mar 2021 18:03:24 GMT

Would a 'no jab no job' policy stand up in an Employment Tribunal?

The COVID-19 vaccine is being rolled out to more and more people as we enter March 2021; with now nearly 20 million people in the UK having received their first jab. The Government propose that by September 2021 all over 18 year olds would have been offered the vaccine.

How will the COVID 19 vaccination impact on the workplace?

Pimlico Plumbers made headlines recently with their “no jab, no job” stance to the vaccine; suggesting that they were going to contractually oblige all new employees to be vaccinated, and existing employees must provide a good reason if they are opting out of the vaccination programme. This approach led to both applause and criticism, with some citing that such a clause would be going against a person’s human rights.

Whilst Pimlico Plumbers are arguing that they have a duty to provide a safe work environment, and the vaccination clause is their way of ensuring this, there is little legal support for making an employee contractually obligated to have the COVID-19 vaccine as a ‘reasonable’ action for providing a safe working environment.

Can employers legally insist upon vaccination?

As there is currently no Government mandate making the COVID 19 vaccine compulsory, employers are legally unable to enforce such a criterion; making the approach of Pimlico Plumbers problematic.

As the current COVID 19 vaccinations are not safe for everyone to have, a company adding the contractual obligation for employees to be vaccinated open themselves up to claims of unfair recruitment/ dismissal and discrimination issues.

In the same way legislation protects employees against discrimination based on race, religion, gender, sexuality and more, the same legislation can be used to support those who chose or have a medical reason for not being vaccinated.

Of course we will have to wait for a case to be brought to an Employment Tribunal before there is a more definitive answer.

How can you encourage employees to be vaccinated without making it a contractual clause?

Whilst employers cannot force their employees to be vaccinated, they can encourage it by making the process easier. From allowing reasonable time off to be vaccinated, supporting the vaccination campaign vocally and helping to share Government marketing materials, employers can demonstrate to their teams that they encourage staff to be vaccinated and will support those who do.

If you need more information on contract clauses, how the COVID 19 vaccine will impact your workplace or if you would like to discuss any impact of the pandemic on your team, do contact us at (my) hr director for up-to-date, accessible and expert advice and guidance.

Furlough Scheme Extended to March 2021

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Thu, 05 Nov 2020 15:03:49 GMT

Support now available until 31st March 2021

The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced today that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (more commonly known as the furlough scheme) is be extended again until the 31st March 2021. This mean that from the 1st November the UK Government will fund 80% of a furloughed worker's pay up to £2500 per month, which makes it more generous than the furlough scheme in September and October when the employer had to contribute 10% and 20% of the pay. The employer will only have to cover the Employer National Insurance and Employer Pension contributions. The government will contribute at this level until January and will review the levels it contributes for February and March in the new year.

Full guidance is due to be published on the 10th November, however here are some of the key points from the HMRC Policy Paper :

claims under the scheme can be made by employers and employees that have not been included in the scheme previously but the employer must have made a PAYE Real Time Information (RTI) submission to HMRC between the 20 March 2020 and 30 October 2020, notifying a payment of earnings for that employee
the furlough scheme continues to allow for part-time flex furlough
employees that need to shield can be included in the scheme
employees that have been made redundant prior to 23rd September 2020 can be re-employed and included on the scheme
the Job Support Scheme and Job Retention Bonus are on hold for the time being

Redundancy Pay Calculation for Furloughed Employees

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Thu, 05 Nov 2020 11:32:45 GMT

Employees to receive 100% of pay not reduced furlough rate

Employees must have 2 or more years' service to be eligible for redundancy pay. When calculating redundancy pay this is based on an employee's 'normal pay'. For salaried employees and those who have fixed hours and pay each month this is straightforward, and for those who's hours and pay fluctuate, an average pay over their last 12 weeks' pay is calculated. On the 31st July 2020 legislation was introduced to address the issue around some employers treating the furlough rate of pay as 'normal pay', thereby reducing employee redundancy payments.

When calculating the hours worked during the relevant period for the purposes of Statutory Redundancy Pay, the hours spent on furlough are included. However, when calculating the hourly rate for that period, any reduction in pay as a result of being furloughed is disregarded. By calculating in this way, employees should not be worse off as a result of being furloughed.

This relates to Statutory Redundancy Pay capped at £538.

The legislation also address how statutory notice periods should be dealt with, these too should be paid at the employee's usual rate of pay, rather than the reduced furlough rate, although an employer could claim a claim for a furlough payment for the notice period, but would have to 'top-up' the employee's notice pay to their full pay.

Furlough Scheme Extended

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Wed, 04 Nov 2020 15:47:57 GMT

Scheme extended until 2nd December

As England goes into into it's second national lockdown, the UK Government has announced that it will be extending the furlough scheme (officially known as the Job Retention Scheme) until the 2nd December, which is the current date that the lock down will end. The furlough scheme was due to end on the 31st October 2020.

As a result this means that the Job Support Scheme Closed and Job Support Scheme Open will not not be available until the end of the national lockdown. The Government will pay a grant equal to 80% of an employee's pay up to a maximum of £2500 per month. The employer does not have to contribute to the 80% but does need to cover employer NI and pension costs. Businesses can top up the payments voluntarily.

Employees did not need to be previously furloughed, but they must have been on a RTI return no later than 30th October to be eligible.

Although the national lock down takes effect from the 5th November, the scheme continues from the 31st October so there are 'no gaps in eligibility'.

For businesses that can still give employees work on a part time basis can still use the flexible furlough scheme .

If an employer has already notified employees that they were going onto the Job Support Scheme, further agreements will be required with employees to move them onto the furlough arrangements.

More information can be found on gov.uk website

Job Support Scheme Improved

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 14:32:21 GMT

For business open but trading negatively affected by COVID

Today’s announcement significantly reduces the employer contribution to those unworked hours to just 5%, and reduces the minimum hours requirements to 20%, so those working five days a week will only need to work one day to be eligible.

Open businesses which are experiencing considerable difficulty will be given extra help to keep staff on as government increases contribution to wage costs under the Job Support Scheme (JSS), and business contributions drop to 5%.

The JSS starts to operate from 1 November and covers all of the UK. For every hour not worked, the employee will be paid up to two-thirds of their usual salary.

The government will provide up to 61.67% of wages for hours not worked, up to £1541.75 per month (more than doubling the maximum payment of £697.92 under the previous rules). The cap is set above median earnings for employees in August at a reference salary of £3,125 per month.

Example: a typical full-time employee in the hospitality industry is paid an average of £1,100 per month. Under the Jobs Support Scheme for open businesses, they will still take home at least £807 a month. All the employer needs to pay is a total of £283 a month or just £70 a week; the government will pay the rest.

Employers using the scheme will also be able to claim the Job Retention Bonus (JRB) for each employee that meets the eligibility criteria of the JRB. This is worth £1,000 per employee. Taking JSS-Open and JRB together, an employer could receive over 95% of the total wage costs of their employees if they are retained until February.

For more information see th e Job Support Scheme Open Factsheet and Policy Document .

The Job Support Scheme Closed for businesses legally required to close remains unchanged.

Up to £10,000 fines for employers asking self isolating employees to work

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Thu, 01 Oct 2020 11:52:44 GMT

Fines for employees who do not inform their employer too

Employers that knowingly allow or force employees to work when they should self isolating can be fined up to £10,000. Fines start at £1000 and increase for repeat offenders.

Employees are also now required to inform their employer if they have tested positive for COVID or have been contracted by theNHS Track and Trace service and been told to self isolate. If the employee can work from home, then they can continue to do so, so long as they can adhere to the self isolation requirements. Employees who fail to advise their employer can be fined £50 by the police and an employee that works whilst knowingly has tested positive or been told to self isolate can also be fined £1000, rising to £10,000 for repeat offenders. The severity of the fines will be dependant on the particular circumstances of each case.

Businesses must ensure that the communicate to all employees their responsibilities to notify if they are required to self isolate and that failure to do so would be dealt with under the business's disciplinary policy.

Job Support Scheme Announced

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 12:38:59 GMT

More support available when furlough scheme ends

A new Job Support Scheme will be introduced from 1 November to help protect jobs in businesses who are facing lower demand over the winter months due to coronavirus.

The scheme will run for six months and help keep employees in the workforce. The government will contribute towards the wages of employees who are working fewer than normal hours due to decreased demand.

Employers will continue to pay the wages of employees for the hours they work - but for the hours not worked, the government and the employer will each pay one third of their equivalent salary. The remaining one third is unpaid.

This means employees who can only go back to work on shorter time will still be paid two thirds of the hours for those hours they can’t work.

This scheme has been introduced to only support viable jobs, therefore employees must be working at least 33% of their usual hours. The level of grant will be calculated based on employee’s usual salary, capped at £697.92 per month.

The Job Support Scheme will be open to businesses across the UK even if they have not previously used the furlough scheme, with further guidance being published in due course.

It is designed to sit alongside the Jobs Retention Bonus and could be worth over 60% of average wages of workers who have been furloughed – and are kept on until the start of February 2021.

Businesses can benefit from both schemes in order to help protect jobs.

Update to Job Support Scheme click here

Government Launches Kickstart Scheme

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Thu, 23 Jul 2020 07:36:01 GMT

For 16-24 year olds

Aimed at helping young people aged 16 and 24 year-olds, the Kickstart Scheme will pay their wages for six months upon employers taking them on in new jobs. There will be no cap on numbers with all employers, big or small, able to hire as many kickstarters as possible.

Contracts for kickstarters must be for a minimum of 25 hours per week and paid at least the National Minimum Wage (NMW), which the Government will fund for the first 6 months. Employers have the option to top up that payment if they wish by providing more than 25 hours of work per week and/or paying above the National Minimum Wage.

To be eligible, those aged between 16 and 24 must be claiming Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment.

The UK Government is investing a total of £2 billion into the scheme and will help an estimated 350,000 people.

The scheme will open for applications in August and run until December 2021.

Making more than 20 people redundant?

Mon, 20 Jul 2020 13:27:03 GMT

Make sure that the HR1 Form is completed

When making redundancies of more than 20, the HR1 Form must be completed and returned to the Redundancy Payments Service (RPS) which then distributes the information to various government departments so that support can be provided to individuals facing redundancy.

Advance notification of potential redundancies is required from employers. The timings relate to the collective consultation periods, therefore if you are making between 20 and 99 redundancies the employer must submit the HR1 Form at least 30 days prior to the first dismissal being made. If there are 100 or more redundancies then at least 45 days notice must be given. Failure to comply with the statutory notification requirements without good cause may result in prosecution and a fine for the company and/or officers of the company.

The information about your company is commercially confidential and may be used only for the purpose of assisting those facing redundancy. The other government departments and agencies are bound by the same confidentiality terms as the RPS.

You will be contacted directly by your local Jobcentre Plus and other service providers in your local area with offers of assistance during this notification/consultation period.

Click here to download the HR1 Form

Extending Probationary Periods

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Sun, 19 Jul 2020 08:28:01 GMT

What to do when employees have been furloughed without completing probationary periods

There will be some employees that will not have completed their probationary periods before going onto furlough, meaning employers need to decide if employees’ probationary periods should be paused, or if they have passed the period whilst on furlough.

Probationary periods are an opportunity for both employer and employee to consider if the employee is a good fit for the role and organisation. If a large portion of that time has been on furlough it is going to be difficult for both the employer and employee to make that assessment. Therefore it would seem reasonable to extend the probationary period for the length of time the employee hasn't been working. However, if the decision is to extend the probationary period, then there are some points that need to be considered:

There must be a consistent approach across the organisation to avoid claims of unfair discrimination.
The employee should be advised as soon as possible (or at the latest, soon after their return) that the period has been extended. It would be unfair for an employee to be under the assumption that the period has passed if there has been no communication to confirm otherwise. Don't wait until there is a problem.
Review your probationary period clause in the employment contract to ensure that any requirements stated there are being followed, the clause should allow for extensions to the probationary period to made
Confirm the extension in writing and state when it will be reviewed again.

Pregnant woman unfairly dismissed for taking 2 days sick

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 05:54:23 GMT

Awarded £23,060

A law firm has admitted that it dismissed an employee because of illness related to her pregnancy. The employee was an administrator who was dismissed after one week of employment, following taking two days off work due to suffering from nausea and vomiting.

The employee was originally told the dismissal was due to the firm being "unable to reply to the claimant" because of her absences. When she made her claim she stated that the reasons were "inadequate or untrue". The employer later conceded that the dismissal was connected to her pregnancy and was therefore automatically unfair.

This case is a reminder to all employers that the right to bring about a claim for unfair dismissal when connected to a discrimination claim takes effect from the first day of employment.

Applying for Sponsorship Licences

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Mon, 06 Jul 2020 15:27:57 GMT

Employer must have right paperwork by January 2021

From January 2021 it is going to be a lot more difficult to hire employees from the EU who do not already have settled or pre-settled status.

Employers will need to have a license to sponsor a visa, and with only 2% of employers (mainly large organisations) having the license, accompanied by the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a large backlog of applications that have not been processed by the Home Office. Visa application centres are currently closed and there is no indication as to when they will reopen.

If a business is thinking they will want to hire people from outside the UK they should consider applying as soon as possible to avoid delays later. Unfortunately, details of exactly how the scheme will operate have yet to be announced, however it has been described as a points-based system similar to the system to Australia. Minimum requirements such as A Level education and minimum salary of £26,500 have previously been outlined by the Home Secretary.

The process of applying is:

Check your business is eligible .
Choose the type of licence you want to apply for - this will depend on what type of worker you want to sponsor.
Decide who will manage sponsorship within your business.
Apply online and pay the fee. Fees start at £536 and last for 4 years.

An employer must:

Check that foreign workers have the necessary skills, qualifications or professional accreditations to do their jobs, and keep copies of documents showing this
Only assign certificates of sponsorship to workers when the job is suitable for sponsorship
Tell UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) if the sponsored workers are not complying with the conditions of their visa.

An employer’s licence may be downgraded, suspended or withdrawn if they do not cooperate with any of these.

Read the full guidance on sponsor requirement s and duties and check workers have the right to work in the UK.

You must have HR systems in place that let you:

Monitor your employees’ immigration status.
Keep copies of relevant documents for each employee, including passport and right to work information.
Track and record employees’ attendance.
Keep employee contact details up to date.
Report to UKVI if there is a problem. For example, if your employee stops coming to work.

If you are not confident that your HR Systems are robust enough, you could consider implementing Breathe, which helps small and medium sized businesses manage HR administration.

If you would like to know more please get in touch.

2 in 3 businesses have no clear training plans

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 12:24:46 GMT

New survey published by CIPD and Accenture

Only one in three (29%) organisations claim to have clear learning and development (L&D) plans for their employees, according to a new report, Learning and Skills at Work 2020 , from the CIPD and Accenture.

Based on a survey of more than 1,200 employers, one in five organisations (21%) do not use any technology to support learning activities and many continue to rely on classroom-based training. The report calls for organisations to harness digital learning methods, while fostering a culture of supportive learning, particularly at a time when skills development is being exacerbated by the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report suggests that the use of technology to support learning has increased in importance, but the barriers to virtual learning experiences and strategic L&D still persist:

Learning technologies are now used by 79% of employers, with leaders showing signs of growth in digital learning. Yet, the adoption of emerging technologies is sluggish: augmented reality (2%), virtual reality (4%), mobile applications (12%) are only used by a minority of organisations. The report shows that where these methods are being used, they are highly effective and growing rapidly in use.

Many employers lack the roles and skills needed to deliver digital learning. In-house L&D roles are still dominated by face-to-face trainers. Digital asset creators or curator researchers are rare, appearing in fewer than one in ten organisations.

The research also suggests a link between learning and productivity. Of businesses with above-average productivity, 84% said their

learning strategy is linked to business needs, compared to just 43% of companies with below-average productivity. Similarly, 41% of high productivity firms have increased their investment in learning technologies compared to 22% of firms with below average productivity.

Lack of learning time (41%), limited budgets (40%) and lack of management time or support (29%) top the list of barriers to the delivery of learning.

This report was published by the CIPD .

If you would like to discuss implementing a training plan that supports your business plan please contact us to discuss.

Work is making wellbeing worse

Tue, 09 Jun 2020 12:49:17 GMT

Even before COVID-19 crisis started.

Work has made our wellbeing worse over the last two years, according to new research from the CIPD. A survey of more than 6,000 workers found the number of people saying work has a positive impact on their mental health has fallen from 44% to 35%.

Not only does this highlight that employers haven’t done enough to tackle the issue to date, it raises concerns about the further impact COVID-19 could have on people’s wellbeing, given many are worried about contracting the virus at work, losing their job or bearing the brunt of other cutbacks by their employer.

Today the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, is releasing its annual Good Work Index report . It assesses seven key measurements that contribute to job quality over the long-term, including: pay and benefits, contracts, work–life balance, job design, relationships at work, employee voice and health and wellbeing.

The report highlights that as the COVID-19 crisis was about to hit the UK, there were already red flags about the impact work was having on wellbeing. As well as the general downward trend in work-related health, a number of workers said they were always or often at work:

Exhausted (22%)

Under excessive pressure (21%)

Miserable (11%).

A third of people (32%) also said their workload is too much in a normal week, with a quarter of people (24%) saying they find it hard to relax in their personal time because of work.

But the report shows that people’s jobs are not just affecting their work–life balance. For many, it is having a serious impact on their mental health. Of those who’ve experienced anxiety in the last year, 69% say their job was a contributing factor. Of those who’ve experienced depression, 58% said the same was true.

The CIPD is warning that the COVID-19 crisis is only likely to heighten all these issues and an updated snapshot survey with 1,001 workers confirms this.

It finds:

22% said it was likely they would lose their job in the next twelve months.

43% of those with a mental health condition say the pandemic has contributed to or worsened their condition.

29% of those with anxiety say the pandemic has contributed to or worsened their condition.

In response, the CIPD is recommending that employers promote healthy working practices, for example:

Asking about workloads and ensuring employees are not under excessive pressure.

Ensuring managers are well trained in having supportive, sensitive discussions on wellbeing – and that they recognise the importance of regular communication in a world of remote working.

Promoting existing health and wellbeing benefits, such as their counselling helpline.

Giving workers more autonomy or control over how, when and where they work, to help them manage work pressures.

This survey was conducted and published by the CIPD .

Flexible Furlough from 1st July

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Sun, 07 Jun 2020 12:21:24 GMT

Flexible furlough brought forward 1 month

From 1 July 2020, businesses will be given the flexibility to bring furloughed employees back part-time.

This is a month earlier than previously announced to help support people back to work.

Individual firms will decide the hours and shift patterns their employees will work on their return so that they can decide on the best approach for them. They will also be responsible for paying employees' wages while in work.

Employers will need to decide whether there are any additional employees they might want to furlough over the next few months. If there are, they will need to be furloughed by 10th June at the latest for a minimum of three weeks.

Employers will need to consider introducing flexible furloughing and, if so, how to do so in a way which will work best for the business.

Flexible furloughing arrangements must be agreed with employees, and therefore employers are advised to consult with affected employees to determine what arrangements to put in place, and how to help deal with any potential contractual issues.

When deciding who to bring back to work part-time, employers should take into account employees who fall within vulnerable groups or may have additional caring responsibilities as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

If employers adopt flexible furloughing, they will need to report to the government what hours employees work compared to their usual working hours. Full details about what information the government will require is due to be announced on 12th June. Accurate record keeping will be required should claims be audited by HMRC at a later date.

Making redundancies - what you need to know

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 10:19:11 GMT

Following the right procedures is key to avoiding problems

Overview

Redundancy is when you dismiss an employee because you no longer need anyone to do their job. This might be because the business is:

• Changing what it does

• Doing things in a different way, e.g. using new machinery

• Changing location or closing down

• Needing fewer workers, either for financial reasons or because there's not enough business

• Re-organising the business and a role is no longer needed

For a redundancy to be genuine, you must demonstrate that the employee’s job will no longer exist.

Redundancies can be compulsory or non-compulsory.

Compulsory redundancy

If you decide you need to make compulsory redundancies, you must:

• Identify which employees will be made redundant

• Make sure you select people fairly - don’t discriminate

Non-compulsory redundancy (Voluntary redundancy)

This is where you ask employees if they’d like to volunteer for redundancy.

You must have a fair and transparent selection process and tell employees they won’t automatically be selected just because they applied.

Identifying those at risk of redundancy

If there is only one role that was no longer needed and only one person doing that job, the selection for redundancy was likely to be fair. If there is more than one employee doing the same type of work then, it is good practice for an employer to select a pool of people whose jobs may be at risk. A fair selection process then needs to be agreed, this is known as the redundancy pool.

If you don't do this it might be an unfair dismissal. It might also be discrimination.

Unfair selection criteria

Some selection criteria are automatically unfair. You must not select an employee for redundancy based on any of the following reasons:

• Pregnancy, including all reasons relating to maternity

• Family, including parental leave, paternity leave (birth and adoption), adoption leave or time off for dependants

• Acting as an employee representative

• Acting as a trade union representative

• Joining or not joining a trade union

• Being a part-time or fixed-term employee

• Age, ethnicity, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation

• Pay and working hours, including the Working Time Regulations, annual leave and the National Minimum Wage

Consultation

All affected employees will need to be consulted with individually. In addition if there are more than 20 redundancies being made, then collective consultation should also take place with elected representatives. There’s no time limit for how long the period of consultation should be, but the minimum is:

20 to 99 redundancies - the consultation must start at least 30 days before any dismissals take effect

100 or more redundancies - the consultation must start at least 45 days before any dismissals take effect

Information you must provide to representatives or staff

You must provide written details of:

• The reasons for redundancies

• The numbers and categories of employees involved

• The numbers of employees in each category

• How you plan to select employees for redundancy

• How you’ll carry out redundancies

• How you’ll work out redundancy payments

Redundancy pay

Employees you make redundant might be entitled to redundancy pay - this is called a ‘statutory redundancy payment’.

To be eligible, an individual must:

• Be an employee working under a contract of employment

• Have at least 2 years’ continuous service

• Have been dismissed, laid off or put on short-time working - those who opted for early retirement don’t qualify

You must make the payment when you dismiss the employee, or soon after.

A redundant employee also has the right to a written statement setting out the amount of redundancy payment and how you worked it out.

The redundancy payment is a tax free payment up to £30,000.

Statutory redundancy pay rates

These are based on an employee’s age and length of employment and are counted back from the date of dismissal.

Employees get:

• 1.5 weeks’ pay for each year of employment after their 41st birthday

• 1 week’s pay for each year of employment after their 22nd birthday

• 0.5 week’s pay for each year of employment up to their 22nd birthday

Length of service is capped at 20 years and weekly pay is capped at £538. The maximum amount of statutory redundancy pay is £16,140.

You can give your employees extra redundancy pay if you want to, or have a qualifying period of less than 2 years.

Avoiding redundancies

You should take steps to avoid compulsory redundancies including:

• Seeking applicants for voluntary redundancy or early retirement

• Seeking applications from existing staff to work flexibly

• Laying off self-employed contractors, freelancers etc.

• Not using casual labour

• Restricting recruitment

• Reducing or banning overtime

• Filling vacancies elsewhere in the business with existing employees

• Short-time working or temporary lay-offs

• Furloughing employees (Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme)

Offers of alternative work

Even if you’ve selected someone for redundancy, you can still offer them alternative work.

For an offer to be valid:

• It should be unconditional and in writing

• It must be made before the employee’s current contract ends

• It should show how the new job differs from the old

• The job must actually be offered to the employee - they shouldn’t have to apply

• The new job must start within 4 weeks of the old job ending

Employees who accept an offer of alternative work are allowed a 4-week trial period to see if the work is suitable. If you both agree that it isn’t, they can still claim redundancy pay.

Giving notice

Employees will be entitled to their contractual notice as set out in the Contract of Employment.

Furloughed Employees

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme does not prevent an employer making redundancies.

Legal Tests if a Tribunal Claim is made

The tribunal will look at whether:

• A genuine need to make redundancies in your workplace existed

• A fair procedure for consulting the workforce and selecting people for redundancy took place

• The decision to select was fair

• Reasonable efforts to find alternative employment elsewhere in the company

If the tribunal decide that redundancy was not the real reason for the dismissal, then an employee may be able to make a claim for unfair dismissal or discrimination, or both.

This information is provided for guidance purposes only, if you wish to discuss the particular circumstances of redundancies or restructuring to your business, please contact us for further information.

SSP rules for Test and Trace Initiative

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Sun, 31 May 2020 09:52:09 GMT

SSP Payable from first day of self isolation

Workers must self-isolate whenever they receive a notification from the NHS Test and Trace service asking them to do so. If this happens on multiple occasions, they should consider how social distancing measures could be improved.

If workers think the contacts that have triggered these notifications are workplace contacts, you will need to consider what further mitigating actions could be taken to reduce the risk of COVID-19, such as using screens to separate people or ‘cohorting’ to reduce the number of people each person has contact with. It will be very important to keep accurate records of these incidents so they can be effectively monitored and managed.

Workers in self-isolation are entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) for every day they are in isolation, as long as they meet the eligibility conditions.

If a worker receives a notification and they are able to work from home then they shouldn't be prevented from working.

10th July - deadline to add an employee to the furlough scheme

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Fri, 29 May 2020 17:10:47 GMT

Scheme will end in October

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has confirmed that the Government's Furlough scheme will end in October and that employers will need to start to contribute from 1st August.

The scheme will allow employees to return to work part time and continue to be included in the furlough scheme and claim for hours not worked from the 1st July, and has since been brought forward to the 1st August.

The scheme will close to new entrants from 30 June. From this point onwards, employers will only be able to furlough employees that they have furloughed for a full 3 week period prior to 30th June.

This means that the final date by which an employer can furlough an employee for the first time will be 10th June, in order for the current 3 week furlough period to be completed by 30th June. Employers will have until 31st July to make any claims in respect of the period to 30th June.

From August employers will have to pay National Insurance and Pension costs. For most employees this will equate to about 5%.
In September the government will pay 70% and employers will contribute 10%.
In October the Government will pay 60% and employers will contribute 20%.

Further guidance on flexible furloughing and how employers should calculate claims will be published on 12th June.

For more details click here

Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Thu, 21 May 2020 14:45:45 GMT

New scheme available for small and medium sized businesses from 26th May 2020

The Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme will repay employers the Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) paid to current or former employees.

The repayment will cover up to 2 weeks starting from the first qualifying day of sickness, if an employee is unable to work because they either:

Have coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms
Cannot work because they are self-isolating because someone they live with has symptoms
Are shielding and have a letter from the NHS or a GP telling them to stay at home for at least 12 weeks

You can claim for periods of sickness starting on or after:

13th March 2020 - if your employee had coronavirus or the symptoms or is self-isolating because someone they live with has symptoms
16th April 2020 - if your employee was shielding because of coronavirus

You can use the SSP calculator to work out the actual amount.

Employees do not have to give you a doctor’s fit note for you to make a claim. But you can ask them to give you either:

An isolation note from NHS 111 - if they are self-isolating and cannot work because of coronavirus
The NHS or GP letter telling them to stay at home for at least 12 weeks because they’re at high risk of severe illness from coronavirus

You can use the scheme as an employer if you’re claiming for an employee who’s eligible for sick pay due to coronavirus, you have a PAYE payroll scheme that was created and started on or before 28th February 2020 and had fewer than 250 employees.

You can claim back from both the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme for the same employee but not for the same period of time. The scheme covers all types of employment contracts. The scheme end date has not been announced as yet.

To use the online service you will need the Government Gateway user ID you got when you registered for PAYE Online. If you did not register online you will need to enrol for the PAYE Online service.

To make a claim you’ll need:

Your employer PAYE scheme reference number
Contact name and phone number of someone we can contact if we have queries
UK bank or building society details (only provide bank account details where a BACS payment can be accepted)
The total amount of coronavirus SSP you have paid to your employees for the claim period - this should not exceed the weekly rate that is set
The number of employees you are claiming for
The start date and end date of the claim period

You can claim for multiple pay periods and employees at the same time. The start date of your claim is the start date of the earliest pay period you’re claiming for. The end date of your claim is the end date of the most recent pay period you’re claiming.

You must keep records of SSP that you’ve paid and want to claim back from HMRC.

You must keep records for 3 years after the date you receive the payment for your claim which needs to include the dates the employee was off sick, which of those dates were qualifying days, the reason they said they were off work - if they had symptoms, someone they lived with had symptoms or they were shielding - and the employee’s National Insurance number.

You can choose how you keep records of your employees’ sickness absence. HMRC may need to see these records if there’s a dispute over payment of SSP.

For more details about the SSP Rebate Scheme click here .

If you are not confident that your absence recording is accurate, you may want to consider using Breathe HR Software. It has been designed for small and medium sized businesses. For more details and a free trial click here .

Furlough and holidays

mark.pearce@alifeatwork.co.uk (Mark Pearce) — Tue, 19 May 2020 18:38:21 GMT

Managing holidays and bank holidays whilst on furlough

Here is a summary of the key points to consider:

Furloughed employees continue to accrue leave as per their employment contract.
The employer and employee can agree to vary holiday entitlement as part of the furlough agreement, however almost all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks of statutory paid annual leave each year which they cannot go below. Therefore it is only contractual holiday over the statutory entitlement that can be varied.
Employees can take holiday whilst on furlough. Make sure you keep accurate records of the type of leave.
Working Time Regulations require holiday pay to be paid at the employee’s normal rate of pay or, where the rate of pay varies, calculated on the basis of the average pay received by the employee in the previous 52 working weeks. Therefore, if a furloughed employee takes holiday, the employer should pay their usual holiday pay in accordance with the Working Time Regulations.
Employers will be obliged to pay additional amounts over the grant for any holiday days, though will have the flexibility to restrict when leave can be taken if there is a business need. This applies for both the furlough period and the recovery period.
It is possible to require employees to take some of their holiday during the furlough period, however correct notice must be given when doing so.
If an employee usually works bank holidays then the employer can agree that this is included in the grant.
If the employee usually takes the bank holiday as leave then the employer would either have to top up their usual holiday pay, or give the employee a day of holiday in lieu.
Holiday that has not been taken because of the crisis can be carried forward by up to 2 years.

Weighing up the options when furlough ends

Mon, 18 May 2020 11:50:10 GMT

Changing terms and conditions, short-time working, layoffs, restructures and redundancy

If you are expecting a reduction in trade and business when the furlough support ends, then it is going to be necessary to make some plans about what kind of business and what roles you will need.

There are a few options worth considering:

Changing terms and conditions of employment may be a way of avoiding making redundancies. This could include changing what employees are required to do in their roles, changes to their contracts, pay or benefits. In short, everything is up for review. Any changes however need to be done with an employee's agreement which would involve consulting with affected employees, and in some circumstances employee representatives.

Short-time working is when the hours worked are reduced for a period of time (in agreement with the employee) but the employment contract hasn't changed. This arrangement is helpful if it is expected that business will pick up. Some contracts will have short-time working explicitly stated in the employment contract. If not, then the employee would have to agree to this arrangement in writing. This is usually agreed for a temporary period of time.

Layoff is a term that often gets misunderstood, with many people think this means redundancy, however it does not mean an end to the employment, it is a period of time (a minimum of 1 day) where no work is available. There is no limit to the length of time an employee can be paid off, however after 4 weeks of layoff an employee can request to be made redundant. Employees laid off are entitled to a payment of £29 for each day laid off, to a maximum of 5 days in a 3 month period. The furlough scheme is a form of layoff whereby there is no work, but the individual remains an employee.

Restructures can help to review the structure of the business and make sure that it is set up in a way that meets current and future challenges. This may lead to reductions in headcount, new reporting lines and changes to roles and responsibilities, including multi-skilling and outsourcing some activities. It's best to think about the roles that you need rather than think about the people who are currently in the organisation when creating a new structure. Considering the individual's skills, knowledge and suitability for the roles would be a next step. Such changes may lead to changes in terms and conditions as set out above.

Redundancy will take place when a role is no longer required. This can be individual roles or multiple roles. There are formal procedures that must be followed to ensure that the selection process is fair. Remember that a redundancy is a dismissal and employees can bring about claims for unfair dismissal if they feel they were unfairly selected for redundancy. If you have had some employees furloughed and others working, you must have a separate redundancy procedure, as you cannot rely on the decisions that were made to furlough selected individuals.

If you would like to discuss any of these options in more detail, please get in touch.

COVID-19 Return to Work Guidance Published

Thu, 14 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT

8 Sectors Provided with Advice for Employers

Who can go to work?

Workers should continue to work from home if possible for the foreseeable future. From Wednesday 13th May, those who cannot work from home are allowed to travel to work if their workplace is open, avoiding public transport where possible.

Sectors of the economy that are permitted to be open from Wednesday 13th May are:

Food production

Construction

Manufacturing

Logistics

Distribution

Scientific research in laboratories.

For each sector there is specific guidance as to how to maintain a safe working environment as summarised below:

Construction and outdoor work

Stagger arrival times.
Have multiple entrances to sites.
If necessary screen barriers to separate workers.
Introduce fixed teams or partners and be allocated a single ‘zone’ within a site to reduce the number of people they come into contact with.
Reduce job rotation so workers have a single task for the day and limit the number of tools they touch.
Prevent non-essential trips to other buildings or worksites.
Where social distancing is not possible, workers should work back to back or side by side, as opposed to face to face.

Factories, plants and warehouses

Stagger arrival times.
Reduce movement within factories, work in fixed teams.
Reduce job, tool and machinery rotation.
Layout of factories to allow people to work further apart from each other and mark out areas to help with this.
Break times should be staggered to reduce the number of people in break rooms.
Breaks should be taken outside or in separate parts of the worksite.

Labs and research facilities

Staggering work times.
Revise the layout of workspaces.
Limit the number of employees in labs to help maintain social distancing and try to reduce the use of ‘high touch’ items – for example, test equipment – and other shared office equipment.
In areas where there is a high risk of airborne particles, employers should ensure access to air handling and filtering systems.

Offices and contact centres

Rethink the layout of offices, moving workstations apart and introducing one-way systems to reduce the number of people coming into contact with one another.
Screens should only be used where it is not possible to move workstations apart.
Hot desking should be avoided where possible. Where not possible, workstations should be cleaned between use by different occupants.
Employees should attend meetings only when absolutely necessary, and should maintain social distancing throughout.
Ideally meetings should be held in well-ventilated rooms or, if possible, outside.

Other people’s homes

Ahead of visiting someone’s home, workers should discuss with that household whether social distancing is possible and ask that all internal doors are left open to minimise contact.
They should identify busy areas in the household and try to minimise movement here.
Workers should wash their hands on arrival and maintain social distancing where possible.
Where jobs are repetitive, the same workers should be assigned to the same households.
Where possible, they should travel alone and use their own means of transport. If not possible – for example, for delivery teams – shared journeys should be made by the same individuals each time and good ventilation maintained in vehicles.

Restaurants offering takeaway or delivery

Kitchen access should be limited to as few people as possible and interaction between kitchen staff and other workers minimised – including during breaks.
Contact at handover points when food is given to waiting staff should also be minimised. The guidance recognised it can be difficult in kitchens to rearrange workstations such as sinks, hobs and ovens, but employers should consider installing cleanable panels to separate them in larger kitchens.
Access to walk-in freezers and pantries should be limited to one person at a time.

Shops and branches

Shops should limit the number of customers who can enter at once so they can reasonably practice social distancing – taking into account floor space and pinch points.
Employers should consider limiting the customer service they provide to services that can be offered safely, with clearly designated positions that maintain social distancing.
All payments should be made contactless where possible.

Vehicles

Vehicles should be cleaned regularly and have a sufficient supply of hand sanitiser and cleaning products.
Where there is more than one person working in the same vehicle, they should work in fixed teams and if possible be separated by screens.
Contact should be kept to a minimum with customers by minimising in-person payment and signing of packages, and pre-arranging areas for goods to be dropped off at.

For more more information on the guidance to employers click here

For more information on Health and Safety Risk Assessments click here

Download the HSE Working Safely During the Coronavirus Outbreak - A Short guide

Furlough Fraud

Wed, 13 May 2020 15:27:56 GMT

Employees are reporting their employers to HMRC

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was introduced to help employers who would have otherwise made employees redundant.

A requirement for an employee to be eligible is that they cannot work for their employer whilst being furloughed, with the exception of doing training.

Hundreds of workers have reported their employers over claims that they are fraudulently taking furlough money from the government whilst requiring them to continue to work.

HMRC confirmed it has received 795 reports of potential fraud related to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Update - as of 29 May, HMRC had received 1,868 reports to its digital reporting service.

Returning to work after furlough

Mon, 11 May 2020 08:38:13 GMT

3 tests that all employers (and employees) should consider

The UK Government has advised that people can start to return to work, but many employers and employees are concerned about the safety of doing so. The following three tests should be considered before asking employees to return to work:

1. Is it essential? 

If people can continue to work from home they must continue to do that for the foreseeable future.
If they cannot work from home, is their work deemed essential?
Could some work be split between coming to the workplace and working at home?
Could the business continue to use the Government’s Job Retention Scheme for longer, allowing more time to put safety measures, clear employee guidance and consultation in place?

2. Is it safe?

Employers have a duty of care to identify and manage risks to ensure that the workplace is sufficiently safe to return to.
Employers will be required to carry out risk assessments to identify and minimise the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
Social distancing measures may require reconfiguring workspaces and common areas such as reception areas and employee canteens.
Provide PPE where appropriate.
Possible changes to working hours to reduce risk of exposure. 
Increase cleaning and sanitation measures. 
Employers should take their time with gradual returns to work to test these measures in practice and ensure they can work with larger numbers before encouraging more of their workforce back.

3. Is it mutually agreed?

CIPD research found that 4 in 10 people are anxious about returning to work and there are concerns people could be forced back. 
Consider which roles are required to start working first and also consult with employees regarding if they prefer to return to work or remain on furlough.
There needs to be clear dialogue between employers and their people so concerns, such as commuting by public transport and  maintaining social distancing can be raised and responded to. 
There will need to be flexibility on both sides to accommodate different working times or schedules as ways of managing some of these issues.

For further advice regarding your individual circumstances please contact us for more information.

April 2020: Employment Law Changes

Sun, 05 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Employment law changes taking effect this year

Here's a quick summary of some some of the changes taking effect this year:

Parental Bereavement leave

The Parental Bereavement Act took effect from April 2020. This means that parents and carers will be entitled to two weeks paid leave following the death of a child.

Contract changes

6th April 2020 will also see changes to legislation concerning employee contract. All workers will now be entitled to a contract. This has been extended to those on casual hours (zero hours) agreements.
Contracts will also have to include additional details, such as entitlement to contractual benefits, training, details of probationary periods, and specification of days and hours that the employee is contracted to work.
Contracts will need to be provided to the employee by the first day of employment at the latest.

Increase to the minimum wage

£8.72 for workers aged 25 years or more from the 1st April 2020.

Extension of the holiday pay reference period

The holiday pay reference period is used to work out the average pay of employees who work part-time or irregular hours.
From 6th April 2020, the holiday pay reference period is extended from 12 weeks to 52 weeks, and employers will be required to keep a record of employee hours worked over the year, including overtime.
The latest employment law changes will benefit employees with variable hours, especially seasonal workers.

Reporting of the CEO pay ratio

Greater transparency is the theme of this change. Quoted companies with more than 250 employees will have to include details of their CEO pay ratio as part of their directors' remuneration reports.

If you would like further advice regarding any of these changes, contact us for informed support and advice you can rely on.