Will vaccinations become mandatory for care home workers?

Yes, subject to certain exemptions, vaccination will become mandatory for care home staff, volunteers, and anyone else entering the care home for work. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published its response to the government consultation on making Covid-19 vaccination a condition of deployment for workers in care homes in England. The…

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Is a job applicant entitled to see their interview notes?

Yes. The General Data Protection Regulation gives job applicants the right to see any interview notes that are held in an electronic format. That includes those held on a PC or in cloud storage. It also includes those that form part of a paper-based ‘relevant filing system’. This could be the interviewer’s handwritten notes filed…

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John Lewis has launched the UK’s first equalised parental leave policy

In autumn 2021, John Lewis will introduce what is thought to be the UK’s first equalised parental pay policy, offering 26 weeks’ paid leave to all employees who have been at the company for a year when they have a baby. This will constitute 14 weeks of full pay and 12 weeks of 50% contractual…

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Holidaying abroad

Foreign holidays are currently banned, and returning travellers have to quarantine. However, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has confirmed the government is planning to let people travel abroad soon, potentially from 17th May. You’ve just got people back to work so you can’t afford Covid-19 related absences. Where do you stand? Here we answer six important…

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An employee dismissed because of Covid-19 concerns is awarded over £23,000

The claimant, Mr Gibson, worked as a chef in a restaurant owned by Lothian Leisure. The restaurant closed temporarily in March 2020 owing to the first Covid-19 lockdown and furloughed Mr Gibson. It asked Mr Gibson to return when it reopened. He was concerned about catching Covid-19 at work and passing it onto his clinically…

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The Uber case – what now?

Last month the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the employment tribunal decision that a group of 35 Uber drivers were workers for the Employment Rights Act 1996, the Working Time Regulations 1998, and the National Minimum Wage Act 1998. The court also confirmed that the drivers’ working time includes any period when they are logged in…

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April 2021 rate changes

NLW and NMW rates from 1st April 2020 From 4th April 2021, the standard weekly rates of statutory maternity, adoption, paternity, parental bereavement and shared parental pay will increase to £151.97. From 6th April 2021, the weekly statutory sick pay rate will increase to £96.35 and the maximum amount of a “week’s pay” (used to…

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