Category Archives: Overseas workers

What Impact Will Brexit Have on Employment Law?

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Although much UK employment law is derived from EU law, the UK’s withdrawal from the EU is unlikely in itself to have an immediate impact on employment law as most EU Directives are implemented in the UK by regulations or Acts of Parliament. It will be for Parliament to decide whether to retain, amend or repeal domestic legislation.

It is possible that the UK will be required to continue to implement elements of EU legislation as a condition of a negotiated trade deal between the UK and EU.

Many areas of domestic law that are derived from EU law have been heavily influenced by decisions of the European Court of Justice (ECJ), for example working time, TUPE and discrimination law. ECJ decisions will continue to apply in the UK until the Government or the UK courts determine otherwise.

What impact will Brexit have on EU nationals currently working in the UK?

It is not yet known what rules on immigration and free movement of people will be in place following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. However, employers can reassure employees who are EU nationals that there will be no immediate change in their right to live and work in the UK. The same is true of nationals of the other countries of the European Economic Area (EEA) (Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein) and of Switzerland.

EEA and Swiss nationals who have lived in the UK for five years or more as a “qualified person” have acquired the right to permanent residence. A qualified person is someone who is working, studying, self-employed, self-sufficient or looking for work. A person who has qualified for permanent residence can apply for a document certifying this.

The UK will have a period of up to two years within which to negotiate the terms of its withdrawal. The rights of EU nationals to come to the UK to live and work in the future will be a key element of the negotiations. It is likely that EU nationals who are already living in the UK will be afforded special status, with reciprocal arrangements for UK nationals living in EU countries.

One option for an immigration framework, in the absence of a negotiated deal allowing freedom of movement between the UK and the EU, is that the current points-based system that applies to workers from countries outside of the EEA could be extended to EEA nationals. For most employers, the main route for employing foreign workers under this system is by sponsoring skilled workers, where they can show that there is a shortage of suitably qualified applicants within the resident labour market. There is scope for a points-based system to be extended to allow the employment of non-skilled workers as well as skilled workers.

On 18 October 2016 we’ll be running our next Employment Law Update workshop, to bring you right up to speed on any changes that might affect your business. You can book your place online here.

 

Information Source: XpertHR

Modern Slavery Act 2015 – What Do You Need to Know?

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Modern slavery refers to the institutions of slavery that continue to exist in the present day. Estimates of the number of slaves today range from around 21 million to 29 million. While the majority of slaves are found in developing countries, slavery also exists on a smaller scale in advanced democratic nations, for example the UK, where Home Office estimates suggest 10,000 to 13,000 victims.

In order to combat this situation, large commercial companies with a turnover of at least £36 million per year now have to prepare a slavery and human trafficking statement for each financial year. The statement must set out the steps that the company has taken during that year to make sure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in any of its supply chains, or in any part of its own business. If the company has not taken any such steps, it must still publish a statement to that effect. The duty to produce a statement applies to financial years ending on or after 31 March 2016.

While this might not apply directly to your business – if your turnover is below £36 million – you might still want to know about it, when considering larger businesses to trade with.

While you might not have to produce a statement, you might like to produce one to show to potential clients.  There is no set template for a slavery and human trafficking statement yet, but we recommend that your statement covers issues such as your countries of operation and supply, the process by which your company assesses whether or not particular activities or countries are high risk in relation to slavery or human trafficking and which of your company’s activities are considered to be at high risk of slavery or human trafficking. The statement should also cover any training that your company requires your staff who are working in specific countries or with certain supply chain managers to complete, to make them aware of the issues of modern slavery and how to prevent it.

If you would like some help in putting together the most appropriate statement for your business, call us on 0118 940 3032 or click here to email us.

What Are The Latest Employment Law Updates?

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What Are The Latest Employment Law Updates?

On 1 May 2014 we held our latest Employment Law Update workshop, when we looked at some of the recent changes that you need to know about, as an employer. Here is a summary of some of the changes.

  • Workers from overseas – from 1 January 2014, restrictions on working in EU states were lifted for Bulgarian and Romanian workers. Remember to check the right to work in the UK for all employees.
  • Employing illegal workers – from 6 April 2014, the maximum civil penalty for employing an adult subject to immigration control, who does not have the right to work in the UK, increased to £20,000 from £10,000. New guidance has been issued by the Home Office in the “Full guide for employers on preventing illegal working.”
  • Employment Allowance – from 6 April 2014 a £2000 reduction in the NIC bill for all businesses and charities has been introduced. HMRC has a calculator and information you can use here.
  • Employment tribunal fees – from 6 April 2014 some re-categorisation of claims has been done. As a reminder, Type A claims are £160 for the issue fee plus £230 for the hearing fee; Type B claims are £250 for the issue fee and £950 for the hearing fee. Type B claims include unfair dismissal. The Tribunal can order the employer to pay if the claim is successful.

These are just a few of the recent changes and we’ll cover more in future blogs. More changes will continue to be made throughout the year to Employment Law. To keep up to date, subscribe to our newsletter here, keep reading these blogs, or come to our next workshop, which will be held in the autumn.