We round up the latest employment news.
Coronavirus vaccine roll out
The UK is the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (that’s the one that has to be stored at minus 70°C or lower). The government has started to vaccinate people in order of priority. Pregnant woman won’t receive the vaccine, nor will most children under the age of 16. Read more about who’ll get the vaccine first.
Early conciliation rule changes
The Acas early conciliation default time period has been extended from one month to six weeks. This is the period where Acas helps the parties to explore settling their dispute before the claimant proceeds with their tribunal claim. The parties can’t agree to extend early conciliation beyond this six-week period.
UK governments agree rules on Christmas celebrations
The England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland administrations have published their agreed UK-wide approach to Christmas celebrations. This allow Christmas ‘bubbles’ of up to three households to form over a five-day period.
International travel ‘test to release’ scheme is now open
From Tuesday 15 December, passengers arriving in England from a country not featured on the travel corridor list may be able to reduce the number of days they have to self-isolate. Under the new ‘test to release for international travel’ scheme, individuals can take a coronavirus test after five days of self-isolation. If the test is negative, they don’t have to continue to self-isolate.
Passengers who want to take advantage of this will have to book their test with a private provider (specified on a government list) before they travel, pay for that test, complete a passenger locator form, and self-isolate for five days before taking the test.
Businesses should make sure that any staff who plan to travel abroad over the Christmas holidays know about the scheme.
Quarantine exemption for senior executives
Some senior company executives won’t have to quarantine for the usual 14-day period when returning to or visiting England from abroad. The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has published guidance on the Business Jobs and Investment Exemption which sets out the qualifying conditions.
Information Commissioner's Office updates guidance on workplace COVID-19 testing
On Tuesday 24 November, the Information Commissioner’s Office updated its guidance on COVID-19 testing. If your organisation conducts workplace testing, you’ll need to follow the guidance.
National Minimum Wage rate increases announced
From April 2021, the rate of the National Living Wage will increase to £8.91 per hour and will be payable to workers aged 23 and above (currently, only workers aged 25 and above qualify). The National Minimum Wage rates will also increase as follows:
- Those aged 21 to 22 will receive £8.36 per hour – an increase of £0.16
- Those aged 18 to 20 will receive £6.56 per hour – an increase of £0.11
- Those aged 16 to 17 will receive £4.62 – an increase of £0.07
- Apprentices under the age of 19 or in their first year will receive £4.30 – an increase of £0.15.
Consensus statement published about reducing coronavirus risks for BAME workers
Public Health England, Health and Safety Executive and the Faculty of Occupational Medicine have issued a consensus statement setting out the best way for employers to reduce occupational risk for workers at higher risk. It builds on the review of disparities of risk and outcomes of coronavirus (COVID-19) which showed that there’s an association between belonging to some ethnic groups and the likelihood of testing positive and dying of coronavirus.
The statement examines how employers can mitigate occupational risk for BAME groups.
Government consultation on extending exclusivity clause ban to low-income workers
BEIS has launched a consultation on a proposal to extend the ban on exclusivity clauses beyond zero hours contracts to include contracts where the workers’ guaranteed weekly income is less than £120. The change seeks to allow low-income workers to seek additional work elsewhere if they can’t secure their desired amount of work hours from their current employer.
The consultation closes on Friday 26 February 2021.
Government launches another review into restrictive covenants
BEIS has also launched another consultation on reforming post-termination non-compete clauses in contracts of employment. It’s considering two options:
- Requiring employers to financially compensate any employee who wants to set up a competing business or work for a competitor
- Banning non-compete clauses altogether.
Read our analysis.
The consultation closes on Friday 26 February 2021.
Latest gender pay gap statistics released
The Office for National Statistics has published its report on gender pay gap statistics for 2020. For full-time employees, the pay gap fell 2.4% between April 2019 and April 2020. For all employees, the gap fell by 1.9% within the same period. The ONS commentary is based on the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings and the Labour Force Survey.
Read more – December 2020
For general enquiries
0808 291 3524
Or we can call you back at a time of your choice
Phone lines are open 24/7, 365 days a year
