Employment Law Update - Heptonstalls Solicitors June 2016 Issue 186

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1 Welcome to the latest edition of our Employment Law update. If you have any questions arising from these articles or any other queries, please do not hesitate to contact Shaun Pinchbeck, Head of Employment Law. Shaun Pinchbeck LL.B Tel: We can help employers in all aspects of employment law including: Contents + In this month's issue we look at: Blowing the Whistle on Euro 2016 We provide guidance on how to manage staff absence during the up and coming Euro 2016 football tournament. Disciplinary / grievance issues Contracts of Employment Unfair dismissal / redundancy Settlement agreements / termination packages Discrimination claims Employment Tribunal claims including representation at the Employment Tribunal Brexit v Remain We offer a further update on the key issues for employers as we near the day of the EU vote 23rd June. The Immigration Act Employers face new

2 Heptonstalls have created a very useful summary to guide you through the key points of current employment legislation. This covers key qualifying periods and limits including a schedule of forthcoming changes. To obtain your own FREE copy Sarah.Leddy@Heptonstalls.co.uk putting "FREE Summary" in the subject box pressures to ensure the legitimacy of those they recruit and public bodies need to be understood?we take a look at the Immigration Act and its likely impact on employers. This Month Blowing the Whistle on Euro 2016 Euro 2016 featuring football teams representing England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will kick off on Friday 10 th June. No doubt fans will be eagerly awaiting the initial group stage games and keen to see that their teams qualify for the knock out rounds. Experience of previous tournaments has highlighted the need for employers to be proactive and communicate with staff well in advance. It s a perfect opportunity for a timely reminder to staff of your policy on requests for leave, cover, sickness absence monitoring and working whilst under the influence. Trending? The "Old boys' Network" it's still out there, Suited and Booted? charity provides long term unemployed with complete outfits for interview and levelling the playing fields? should we really be asking questions of candidates public school? Of course any reasonable employer would not want to focus purely on the negative, there ll no doubt be plenty of time for post-match negativity from the pundits. Consideration should therefore be to offer a balanced message. As a suggestion, employers may decide to offer the opportunity for staff to view any games featuring their particular team on large screens set up in meeting rooms. One word of caution would be to resist making this too relaxed with cans of lager which may give some the sense of being in the pub. Passions and tempers can run hot at times of national pride or disappointment and a sensible word regarding appropriate staff conduct and not lapsing into language and behaviour which some may find abusive would be wise. In addition, you may consider reminding employees that whilst you understand the excitement of the tournament they are engaged to work during their scheduled hours and it will be noted if staff are becoming preoccupied with talk, web browsing and ing of footie related matters.

3 The first England game falls on a Saturday 11 th but their big group clash versus Wales is Thursday 16 th with kick off at 2.00pm. Be aware of the games scheduled and what may occur if England progress through to the final stages. Reasonable adjustments such as screening games may be a possibility but be prepared for hastily submitted holiday requests and potential absences following a game. In the midst of this excitement remember not all members of staff will be English or come to that matter football fans and any reasonable request for leave should be treated fairly and in line with your policy. It might be wise to review your policies at this time to ensure they reflect events such as the Euros and that they cover the key risks and concerns highlighted above. For further information on match timings if reading online click on the link UEFA Euro 2016 Fixtures Brexit v Remain The debate rumbles on as we enter a period of Purdah which will see the end of engaging Government resources such as the Treasury for purposes of supporting a position on the EU referendum. This might explain why the Remain bandwagon had gained momentum recently with a series of Treasury reports highlighting the negative impact of Brexit for pensioners and home owners. Such tactics have seen Remain head the campaign but with those resources now removed the Brexit campaigners will no doubt be looking to turn up the heat. Cutting through the rhetoric from politicians isn t easy at the best of times but the EU referendum has left a large majority of the voting public frustrated and bewildered as to the lack of genuine hard facts. With regard to an employer s position post 23 rd June it is likely there will be very little immediate change either way. Most employment legislation introduced has been broadly welcomed by UK business and many laws actually pre-date EU directives. If the UK leaves the EU there will be a requirement to seek out trade deals and commonality in employment legislation between respective nations would be seen as a positive aspect.

4 Brexit If we vote to leave the EU we will face a period of at least two years where the Government will be required to negotiate out, if we so wish, the various EU Directives of which there are 35+. Alternatively, the Government may decide to adopt a model already engaged by Norway and Switzerland whereby the UK retains its application to EU social and employment legislation. The shortest odds on the laws most likely to go post Brexit are Working Time and Agency Workers regulations. In addition, it is expected that compensation limits and collective redundancy rules may well be amended. During this two-year period the UK will effectively remain a member of the EU and therefore continue to adhere to its laws. Remain If we remain within the EU we can expect matters to be more certain in as much as it will result in the continuation of our obligation to be governed by the directives. Those matters that will have an impact if we remain in the EU are where there are changes to or additional directives. There s certainly a planned addition with one to address gender imbalance on the boards of listed companies. There s also talk of a consolidation of three directives into one relating to consultation within the Working Time Directive. Of perhaps greater concern to employers would be the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation due Spring Very likely to be a more onerous version of the current standards of the Data Protection Act 1998 and one the UK will very likely wish to negotiate. The Immigration Act Employers are now exposed to prosecution where they are considered to have had "reasonable cause to believe" that a person is an illegal worker. Reducing the burden of proof, from actual knowledge of illegality is expected to produce a greater volume of criminal prosecutions. The Immigration Act, now having received Royal Assent, will be put into effect over the next few months as regulations are introduced. The Act demonstrates a tougher approach by Government to both illegal working and exploitation of vulnerable workers.

5 The Immigration Act: Introduces new sanctions on illegal workers and rogue employers Provides better co-ordination of regulators that enforce workers rights Prevents illegal migrants in the UK from accessing housing, driving licences and bank accounts Introduces new measures to make it easier to enforce immigration laws and remove illegal migrants Introduces charges for recruiting from outside the EEA Introduces a language fluency requirement for certain public sector employees Employers need to ensure they are carrying out thorough checks on prospective employees right to work. If they fail to do so they will not only be more likely to face prosecution but also be subject to an increased penalty equating to imprisonment from the current two to as much as five years. Businesses repeatedly breaching the Act face closure for up to 48 hours. Charging employers for recruiting from outside EEA The Act gives the Secretary of State the power to introduce an "immigration skills charge" of 1,000 on employers who sponsor skilled workers from outside of the European Economic Area. The charge will apply to each Tier 2 worker brought into the UK. Regulations will seek increase the minimum salary to 30,000, (Autumn introduction of an interim increase to 25,000 is expected). New language fluency requirement Public bodies must now ensure that staff in customer facing roles speak fluent English (or English & Welsh in Wales) in order to be effective in their job. We don t have clarity on what fluency actually means as this will arrive in a Code of Practice due to be released to those bodies affected in due course. There must also be a readily accessible complaints procedure for those accessing services from the public bodies to raise any concerns over language. This aspect could lead to issues of discrimination and dispute if not managed effectively.

6 Trending? Old Boys Network it would appear that a significant number of our larger corporations still rely on that rather outmoded method of recruiting executives. No wonder women continue to lack representation on the boards of the UK s top 350 listed companies. So says EHRC research into the FTSE350 board appointments. The Equality & Human Rights Commission published a report confirming the continued use of male only networks which resulted in fewer female board appointments with a tendency for women to be represented at Non-exec rather than executive levels. Here s a link to the EHRC six steps to good practice: How to Improve Board Diversity: a Six Step Guide to Good Practice (PDF) Dressed to Impress - Charity Suited and Booted provide vulnerable homeless or long term unemployed with a suit, shirt, tie and shoes. Looking the part can make such a difference to confidence levels and help secure that all important job. Nice work! it reminded me of high street chain Timpson and their offer to clean a suit for an unemployed job candidate so they could be ready for interview. Levelling the Playing Fields It appears the Government want us to avoid recruiting too many public school candidates and ensure that the questions as to education are asked at interview. Not sure about you but I think that level of information is usually covered in a CV and of course can be discussed at interview. Telegraph: Companies should ask job applicants whether they went to private school, says Minister. Disclaimer: This newsletter is a summary of legal issues not intended to provide specific legal advice nor intended to be comprehensive. If advice is required, please contact your solicitor. This transmission is intended solely for the addressee (s) and is confidential. If you are not the named addressee, or if the message has been addressed to you in error, you must not read, disclose, reproduce, distribute or use this transmission Delivery of this message to any person other than the named addressee is not intended in any way to waive confidentiality. If you received this transmission in error, please contact the sender or delete the message.