HR Training

Yes, absolutely, but EU nationals will no longer have the automatic right to check by virtue of the freedom of movement. If staff are being recruited from the EU and are arriving in the UK after the end of the transition period (1 January 2021) they are subject to the same immigration rules as everyone else.

Employers are under a legal duty with civil and criminal penalties for employing someone without the right to work in the UK.

This is the process by which EU nationals resident in the UK prior to 31 December 2020 can apply for either ‘pre-settled’ and/or ultimately ‘settled’ status in the UK. It is an immigration scheme, not an employment one, although obtaining either status does give an individual the right to work in the UK.

‘Pre-settled status’ is an interim position as full settled status requires 5 years’ continuous residence. The pre-settled status allows individuals to remain living and working in the UK for up to 5 years, thereby allowing them to reach the threshold to apply for full settled status at a later date.

Paul Burton says: "An employer is only obliged to be fair in all its decision-making processes which result in a dismissal including in redundancy situations. The consideration of reasonable alternative roles is particular to redundancy situations and may go to the fairness of the redundancy itself but not the resultant dismissal."

Read the full article on unfair dismissal and redundancy here.

It is probably safest to assume that Long Covid could be within the definition of a disability when making workplace decisions and to act accordingly. In most cases this will mean:

• Consulting with the individual about the effects of the illness;
• Seeking appropriate medical advice either from the employee’s own GP or an independent clinician;
• Ensure managers are trained in the sickness absence policies and how these related to absences which could arise from a condition which is a disability; and
• Be prepared to consider appropriate adjustments to accommodate the effects of the condition if it is a disability.

S109(4) of the Equality Act introduced the so-called ‘statutory defence’ to discrimination claims. If an employer ‘took all reasonable steps to prevent’ the discriminatory conduct they will not be liable for the offending behaviour.

Reasonable steps are likely to include:

·         Appropriate and up-to-date polices in relation to harassment and bullying, communications and diversity and equal opportunities;

·         Ensuring staff are aware of those policies and receive relevant training;

·         Effective management of grievance and disciplinary processes where unlawful conduct occurs

Problems will arise where businesses may have such policies and training in place but there it is outdated or ineffectual. 

For further guidance, please contact our experienced Employment Team here.

Settlement Agreements are legally binding contracts which are signed between an employee and employer. They settle claims which an employee may have arising from their employment such as pay claims or discrimination, or claims following termination of employment such as unfair dismissal.

Usually but not always, settlement agreements will involve a payment by the employer in exchange for the employee agreeing not to bring proceed with any legal claims they may have.

Compromise agreements is just an older name for what was basically the same thing until 2012. There were some slight differences in the regulations which mean that some (increasingly rare) claims still have to be dealt with under the old compromise regime.

Read more here.

Unless and until a case is heard to the contrary, the general rule of thumb seems to be that an individual is free to hold a belief and even to express it providing that doing so does not infringe on the rights of another person.

This position is clearly unsatisfactory as it requires not only judges but also employers to undertake a balancing exercise of the two rights.