December 2020 Newsletter

As we rapidly move towards the end of 2020, a year most of us would like to consign to the dustbin, we bring you our final Newsletter of the year, a ‘bumper issue’ thanks to the further changes to Government guidance on the Covid-19.

Hopefully since our last Newsletter you’ve had time to recover from the Government’s surprise changes to its financial support policy. After all the preparation for the Job Support Scheme, it seems that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furlough) is now here to stay instead until the end of April 2021, replacing both the Job Support Scheme and Job Retention bonus.  We bring you up to date on the detail of these changes.

We also update you on the requirement for employers to help enforce self-isolation rules, the Government’s consultation on the future of non-compete clauses, the cap on public sector exit payments, updates to the National Living, Minimum and Real Living wages and ICO guidance on Subject Access Requests.

In our case update this month we cover;

• the risk of constructive dismissal during the redundancy process where an employer seeks to “map” their role into a new role
• whether an employer is liable for an employee’s practical joke
• when an act of indirect discrimination can be justified under the ‘costs plus’ rule and, – the extension to workers of the right not to suffer a detriment on health and safety grounds.

News from the Menzies Law Team

• A successful first online Employment Law Update in more ways than one
• Another gong for Menzies Law

 

Here are all of the Government reforms and case updates we cover this month:

• Coronavirus (Covid-19):  Return of furlough!
• Coronavirus (Covid-19): Self-isolation – Legal requirements
• Government reforms (1): Non-compete clauses – consultation
• Government reforms (2): Public sector exit payments – CAPS LOCK ON…
• Government reforms (3):  Increase in national living and minimum wage
• Data protection: ICO Guidance on subject access requests
• Case update (1): A constructive unfair dismissal case
• Case update (2):  Employer’s liability – the tribunal finds nothing to laugh about in an employee’s practical joke
• Case update (3):  An employer is justified in discriminating against an employee if the actions reduce company costs and the employer is suffering an absence of means satisfying the ‘COSTS PLUS’ rule
• Case update (4):  Workers protected in the same way as employees from being subject to detriments on both Health and Safety grounds and the right to be provided with PPE

 

The ‘nothing the do with employment law’ bit

We thought you might like this great infographic from the team at Delayed Gratification – How to build a Christmas novelty number one.

 

And a final thank you

As this is our final Newsletter of the year, it’s a good time to thank our clients and all our contacts for their continued support, along with our subscribers, followers, suppliers.  It’s been a busy year and we’re looking forward to a bit of a rest before it all starts again.

We wish you all the best for a happy and healthy 2021 which we hope is a little less tumultuous than 2020.

With best wishes from the Menzies Law team