Unemployment down by over 1.1 million since 2010 v Companies House Incorporations

GOV.UK STATES:

Unemployment down by over 1.1 million since 2010

The UK’s unemployment rate of 4.0% has not been lower since the 1970s and the employment rate remains at a near record high 75.5%.

Interesting statistics.

Company House statistics show an approximate increase from 360,000 to 610,000 incorporations since 2010. Chart shown on website below.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/companies-register-activities-201516/companies-register-activities-2015-16.

Even more interesting statistics.

How many of these are entrepreneurs who have started their own business and do not claim unemployment?

DBS

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has updated the identity (ID) checking guidelines for all levels of disclosure check.

Gov.uk stated:

Registered Bodies and Responsible Organisations are required to check the identity of people that apply for basic, standard or enhanced certificates via their organisation.

The new guidelines can be used from 3 September 2018. However, to ensure a smooth transition, the old guidelines will run in parallel until 3 December 2018. They will then cease to apply and only the revised ID checking guidance will be valid.

The guidelines for Responsible Organisations carrying out basic checks can be found here and the guidelines for Registered Bodies carrying out standard or enhanced checks can be found here.

RIGHT TO LEAVE FOR BEREAVED PARENTS

UK Government announced on 13 September 2018 that a new workplace right to leave for bereaved parents has been approved under the Parental Leave and Pay Bill.

Employed parents who lose a child under 18 will receive 2 weeks’ leave under the Act. This is expected to come into force in 2020.

The new Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Act will give all employed parents a day-one right to 2 weeks’ leave if they lose a child under the age of 18, or suffer a stillbirth from 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Employed parents will also be able to claim pay for this period, subject to meeting eligibility criteria.

24 JUNE 2016 - THE UK EU REFERENDUM IMPACT ON BUSINESS & HR - PART 1

What a strange day.  I never thought I would be writing a blog based on the UK exiting the European Union. 

Regardless of your views on the subject, we have to be practical moving forwards.  There are a number of questions that subsequently arise and due consideration of the impact this will have on the workplace - especially in relation to the movement of employees.

It is difficult to say exactly how it will impact us at this point in time as there are a number of uncertainties as to how it will play out.  However it is unlikely to have a huge impact on employment for approximately two years while the UK enters into "divorce" negotiations.

What actions do you need to take now?

1. Communicate
   People will have questions over what it means for employees, whether they are migrant workers or not.  It is essential that you communicate with all your employees that nothing will change immediately (unless you have plans to do otherwise) and that you will keep them informed of any impact/change when it becomes clearer.  Either way consult and inform.
    
2. Be aware and Care
   Be aware of your duty of care - this decision may well have a significant impact on your employees wellbeing - Occupational Health can help counsel employees and help them to cope with pressure.  
    
3. Be informed
   Keep up to date with the latest news and the impact it has on your business through the gov.uk website.

I will be posting updates on this through my blog as well as the HRV newsletter. If you wish to subscribe then email me on info@hrvision.co.uk or through the Contact page on our website and we will add you to the list.

Feel free to give me a call if you have any immediate concerns. 

Karen

Gibbs v Leeds United Football Club [2016] EWHC 960 (QB)

LUFC’s manager left and the claimant, as Assistant Manager was asked if he was interested in becoming head coach but the claimant declined.  He was happy to continue in his current post under a new manager.  After being excluded from various activities, LUFC advised the claimant that he was expected to work with the Youth Acadamy which was a distinct change from his contractual duties.  He resigned as a result of this demotion and change of duties and claimed he had been constructively dismissed.

LUFC suggested that as they were in negotiations the claimant was prepared to leave his employment and there was no breach of contract.  The High Court disagreed and said that LUFC was in breach as they had amended his contractual duties.  An award of £331K adjustable by bonus was ordered.

The lesson here is – where there is ambiguity about a person’s role in your organisation, whether you are in exit negotiations or not - do not change the contractual agreement or expect the employee to do different work other than his contractual work - it can become costly!

Collective Consultation - Redundancies

Collective Consultation obligations are changing

As a result of a ruling at the Employment Appeal Hearing (EAT) (Usdaw v Ethel Austin Ltd (in administration); Usdaw and another v WW Realisation 1 Limited and others) if you are proposing to make 20 or more redundancies across your organisation within a period of 90 days or less you will now trigger the collective consultation obligations.

Before this ruling if the employees were across different sites and were less than 20 then the collective consultation obligations did not apply.

Apart from the consultation requirements you will also need to inform the Insolvency Service Redundancy Payments Service at the start of the consultation period - otherwise there can be a fine up to £5000 and a criminal record. 

If you need further information on what your consultation obligations are then get in touch.