Employers in England may be getting a strong feeling of déjà vu after the announcements on 8th December 2021 that bring back some Covid restrictions once again. It was confirmed that the Government’s Plan B, first announced in September as the stricter measures that would be implemented if needed, will be phased in from Friday 10th December 2021. This is as a result of recent data regarding the Omicron variant, which is quickly spreading throughout the UK.

The following changes will be implemented:

From Friday 10th December, masks must be worn in most public venues, including theatres and cinemas, unless someone is medically exempt. This will not apply in premises where people are eating or exercising (such as gyms or nightclubs).

From Monday 13th December, guidance to work from home wherever this is possible will be reintroduced.

By Wednesday 15th December, Covid passes will become mandatory for nightclubs, unseated indoor venues with more than 500 people, unseated outdoor venues with more than 5000 people and any venue with more than 10,000 people.

Two doses will be sufficient for a Covid pass, as will a negative lateral flow test but this requirement will be kept under review as the booster programme is rolled out.

Whilst employers are likely to be used to swiftly facilitating homeworking now, each instance still comes with its challenges. Employees who don’t have an adequate environment to work in at home due to lack of space or robust internet connection, for example, may struggle to be productive, and others may fear that their mental health will decline after having experienced a similar impact during previous enforced homeworking periods. Employers will need to spend time dealing with individual circumstances to make it work as best it can, and provide support and assistance to those who need it.

Those who can’t work from home, such as supermarket staff, must be sufficiently protected in work amidst heightened Covid spread and news of new variants that are less effected by current vaccines. Some employers, on the other hand, who were able to embrace homeworking fully and didn’t return their staff to the workplace once it was permitted again, will not feel substantial impact by this latest move, however, may still be affected as their supply lines from other companies adjust again to working at a distance.

Real Living Wage rates increased

Not to be confused with the compulsory National Living Wage (NLW), the Real Living Wage is voluntarily paid by nearly 9,000 UK businesses and is based on calculations of the cost of living covering everyday needs.

These are carried out by the Living Wage Foundation which has just made its annual announcement of the rates to be paid in 2021/22 by accredited employers – £11.05 an hour for London and £9.90 an hour for the rest of the UK.

Accredited employers should implement the rise as soon as possible and within 6 months. All employees of accredited employers should receive the new rate by 15 May 2022.

The Living Wage Foundation says almost 300,000 employees have received a pay rise as a result of the Living Wage campaign and the Foundation enjoys cross-party support. It has a broad range of employers accredited with the Foundation including half of the FTSE 100 and big household names including Nationwide, Google, Brewdog, Everton FC and Chelsea FC.

Katherine Chapman, Living Wage Foundation Director, said “with living costs rising so rapidly, today’s new Living Wage rates will provide hundreds of thousands of workers and their families with greater security and stability.

For the past 20 years the Living Wage movement has shaped the debate on low pay, showing what is possible when responsible employers step up and provide a wage that delivers dignity. Despite this, there are still millions trapped in working poverty, struggling to keep their heads above water – and these are people working in jobs that kept society going during the pandemic like social care workers and cleaners. We know that the Living Wage is good for businesses as well as workers, and as we rebuild our economy post pandemic, the real Living Wage must be at its heart.”

Government proposes to extend flexible working requests

The Government has launched a consultation into changing current flexible working legislation. This is open until 1st December 2021, where the responses will then be reviewed and a decision on any changes confirmed. Until then, all current rules and processes will remain in place as usual.

Its proposal is to introduce measures to help make flexible working the default, unless employers have good reasons not to. It aims to bring more employees into the scope of the legislation by making the right to request flexible working available from day-1 of employment. The government has recognised that external events (for example, the Covid-19 pandemic and its associated impact on home-life and caring responsibilities) are not limited to people who have worked in their roles for 6 months. It has also been raised that underrepresented groups, like new parents and disabled workers, are more in need of flexible working opportunities. However, there is a wider belief that the introduction of these measures will benefit productivity, motivation, retention and competitiveness, as well as help attract more talent to organisations.

The consultation is also assessing whether the current 8 business reasons for refusal are still valid, although the assumption is that fundamental changes are not needed in this area.

A separate assessment is being completed into the administrative processes associated with managing flexible working requests; specifically, the time scales for responding and the ability for employees to make more than one request per year, which is currently all they are entitled to. The government is considering allowing employees to submit a higher number of requests, to remove any unnecessary barriers to accessing flexible working arrangements amongst those whose personal situations might be impacted more frequently than every 12 months.

Similarly, the statutory Code of Practice outlines that employers should respond to requests within a 3-month period but the government is debating whether to make it a requirement to respond more promptly and the effect on organisations if this was introduced. Organisations should already be prepared for processing flexible working requests without any unreasonable delays, with many of them not needing the full 3 months to respond. As such, it is expected that this change, if implemented, won’t have a detrimental impact on organisations. But, employers may need to be prepared to manage a surge in requests being submitted by their workforce. This might involve hiring more HR personnel and undertaking training courses to ensure managers know how to deal with requests efficiently.

In addition, if the proposal is approved, employers should be prepared to amend their current policies and procedures on flexible working, to ensure they are compliant with the new legislation. We await the outcome of the consultation to see the exact impact on current practices and better understand what organisations will have to do moving forwards.

Coronavirus Vaccinations and the workplace

New research by Acas has found that a quarter of British employers have not been giving their staff paid time off for Covid-19 vaccinations and have no plans to do so in the future.

Furthermore, a similar percentage are refusing to provide full company sick pay to staff who are off work sick due to vaccine side effects.

On the plus side, the arbitration service found that 59% have been giving staff paid time off while 4% have not been doing it but plan to do so.

Its advice is that employers should support staff to get the vaccine once it is offered to them. This support could include ensuring employees have paid time off for Covid-19 vaccine reasons.

Acas Chief Executive Susan Clews said: “It’s in businesses best interests to have a vaccine policy that supports staff to take time off as fully vaccinated workers are less likely to need longer periods of time off work to recover from Covid-19.”

To support staff to get the vaccine, Acas advice is that employers may want to consider paid time off for vaccination appointments and paying staff their usual rate of pay if they are off sick with vaccine side effects.

While some organisations may have a review or ‘trigger’ point to keep track of sickness absence for their staff, employers could consider not counting vaccine-related time off sick as part of this absence record system, Acas suggests.

Should digital Right to work checks continue permanently?

Over 300,000 people a week could have been delayed in starting work if the Home Office had refused to allow Right to Work (RTW) checks to be conducted digitally now that the final stage of unlocking has been delayed.

This warning came from REC (the Recruitment and Employment Confederation) and refers to the fact that, since 30 March 2020, digital RTW checks have allowed employers to hire new staff without having to meet them in person to check documents.

This system has, the Confederation argues, kept people safe, saved companies time and resources during the pandemic and helped to slow the spread of Covid-19. It also levelled the playing field between UK and foreign nationals by allowing digital checks for both, rather than just for foreign nationals.

The Home Office seems to have agreed as it has now announced that digital right to work checks will be extended until the end of August.

It was, it said, “reviewing whether there are changes we can make to the right to work scheme to increase the digital checking aspects, including through the use of specialist technologies”.

The REC was quite clear what those changes should be with Chief Executive Neil Carberry welcoming the new concession but arguing that the next logical step should be a move to a permanent digital system.

“It makes no sense for Government to shoot themselves in the foot and return to mandating in-person checks when the use of digital checks has been a success story of the pandemic,” Deputy CEO Kate Shoesmith said.

She also highlighted the contradiction of the Government seeking to return to mandating in-person checks for UK nationals, thereby disadvantaging UK jobseekers in the labour market, while also trying to incentivise employers to not rely on workers from abroad.

Managing employees during periods of hot weather

With longer days and higher temperatures, summer is likely an exciting time for both you and your employees. That said, you need to be ready for the issues the hot weather can cause in the workplace.

Summer Issues for Employers & How to Deal with Them

1. Keep everyone cool!

Whilst the law does not say how hot or cold your workplace should be, temperatures need to be ‘reasonable’.

Keep staff cool by allowing them to switch on fans and air conditioning or ‘dress down’ on hotter days if possible.

2. Remember more vulnerable workers

Some members of staff may be more affected by hot weather, such as those with a disability or pregnant women.

You can help by allowing these employees to take more breaks, move to cooler areas or even work from home temporarily.

3. Prepare for transport disruption

Hot weather can cause issues in the daily commute and you should try to be more understanding if staff are late for work. For example, trains may go slower to prevent tracks from buckling.

Employees should also be encouraged to plan ahead of their journeys and make allowances for delays.

4. Be ready for holiday requests

Everyone can’t be off at once and leave requests are likely to overlap, for instance during the school summer holidays.

It is a good idea to have a first-come, first-served system in place. That way, you can help to avoid one employee being prioritised over another.

5. Look out for unauthorised time off

Employees who are refused a holiday request may take the time off anyway. Alternatively, you may suspect a member of staff is ‘pulling a sickie’.

It is important not to jump to conclusions and conduct a full investigation into the absence. From here, it may become a disciplinary issue.

6. Check on your homeworkers

You aren’t expected to install air conditioning in your employees’ homes, but they should have the same rights as those working in the office. For example, more vulnerable staff should take more breaks, even when working remotely.

July furlough changes – what you need to know

A brief reminder of the changes to the structure of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furlough scheme) from 1st July 2021.

By designating employees as “furloughed”, organisations have been able to recover a portion of employee wage costs up to a £2,500 cap. As confirmed by the Government Budget delivered on 3rd March 2021, the scheme will continue to operate until the end of September 2021 with some adjustment to funding levels from July 2021.

Until the end of June 2021, the grant was 80% to a maximum of £2,500 per employee per month for hours unworked. Employees on full furlough (not working any hours at all), got 80% of their wages per month unless their employer decides to top it up to 100%. Where an employee is on flexible furlough (working only some hours), they were paid in full by their employer for the hours they work and the grant will cover 80% of pay for their unworked hours only, subject to a cap which will be less than £2500.

Now into July, for 1st July 2021, the Government’s grant will reduce to 70% of furloughed employees’ wage costs for their unworked hours at a cap of £2,187.50. Pay for furloughed employees must remain at a minimum of 80% at a cap of £2,500 which means that organisations must contribute 10% up to £312.50 from their own pocket. Further changes continue into August.

From 1st August 2021 until the scheme ends, the Government’s grant will reduce a final time to 60% of furloughed employees’ wages for their unworked hours at a cap of £1,875. With the 80% rule still intact, organisations will need to contribute 20% to staff wages up to £625. Therefore, from July through to the end of September, organisations will have to cover a portion of the employee’s actual wages, as well as the national insurance and pension contributions.

The furlough scheme has been somewhat of a saving grace for a lot of organisations whilst lockdown restrictions have been in place. As these restrictions are slowly eased, based on coronavirus data, organisations may find that they no longer need to make use of the scheme, or it may be that flexible furlough takes centre stage. Either way, organisations will need to consider how they can accommodate the upcoming changes with redundancy as a last resort.

End of virtual right to work checks postponed

We previously published the below article on virtual right to work checks, outlining plans for them to come to an end on 21st June 2021. However, the government has since confirmed that this will be delayed until 31st August 2021. Please read below for more information.

As a result of the pandemic, last year the government made it possible for organisations to conduct right to work changes virtually on a temporary basis. This is now due to end on 31st August 2021. 

What are right to work checks?

To ascertain whether an individual originally from overseas (including the EU) has the right to work in the UK, and to prevent illegal working, organisations should carry out right to work checks. In normal times, there are three steps they must complete. These are:

  • obtain original right to work documents (such as a passport) from the individual
  • check the validity and authenticity of the documents in the presence of the individual
  • copy the documents and keep a secure, dated copy which includes the date for follow-up checks.

Alternatively, from 29th January 2019, organisations can use the Home Office’s online right to work checking service to carry out immigration checks.

What changed due to the pandemic?

In 2020, the government changed the right to work checking process so that organisations did not need to meet with staff directly. Under this temporary system, a scanned copy or photograph of documents necessary to prove a right to work should be sent to the organisation via an email or mobile app.

A video call is then arranged with the worker, where they are asked to present their original documents to the camera. These documents are then compared with the digital versions previously sent. The date of this check is recorded and noted as ‘adjusted check undertaken on [insert date] due to COVID-19’.

Previously, it was expected that organisations would need to carry out a retrospective check through the usual method outlined above once this temporary option was stopped, however the government has since confirmed that this will no longer be the case.

What’s happening from 31st August 2021?

The temporary provision to conduct these checks virtually is to be discontinued from 31 August onwards (previously 17th May then 21st June), meaning that, generally, in-person checks will need to be conducted. Whilst video calls will still be permitted for this, a crucial difference is that the organisation will need to be sent the original versions of the important documents, not copies, which may cause inconvenience for the employees in question.

The change to this guidance originally caused confusion for organisations due to the fact that working from home guidance is not changing. Currently, it is expected that, at least in England, staff will continue to be encouraged to work from home if they can until at least 19th July 2021. This reversion to the usual right to work checking process prior to this date therefore did seem to go against this as it would have resulted in more direct, in-person contact between organisations and their employees.

New right to work checking system expected

It should be remembered that a new right to work checking system is currently expected to come into force from 1st July 2021 due to Brexit, as this is when the grace period between the UK and the EU comes to an end. The government has yet to confirm what this will involve.

End of virtual right to work checks postponed

Last week, we published the below article on virtual right to work checks, outlining plans for them to come to an end on 17th May 2021. However, the government have since confirmed that this will be delayed until 21st June 2021. Please read below for more. 

As a result of the pandemic, last year the government made it possible for organisations to conduct right to work changes virtually on a temporary basis. This is now due to end on 21st June 2021. 

What are right to work checks?

To ascertain whether an individual originally from overseas (including the EU) has the right to work in the UK, and to prevent illegal working, organisations should carry out right to work checks. In normal times, there are three steps they must complete. These are:

  • obtain original right to work documents (such as a passport) from the individual
  • check the validity and authenticity of the documents in the presence of the individual
  • copy the documents and keep a secure, dated copy which includes the date for follow-up checks.

Alternatively, from 29th January 2019, organisations can use the Home Office’s online right to work checking service to carry out immigration checks.

What changed due to the pandemic?

In 2020, the government changed the right to work checking process so that organisations did not need to meet with staff directly. Under this temporary system, a scanned copy or photograph of documents necessary to prove a right to work should be sent to the organisation via an email or mobile app.

A video call is then arranged with the worker, where they are asked to present their original documents to the camera. These documents are then compared with the digital versions previously sent. The date of this check is recorded and noted as ‘adjusted check undertaken on [insert date] due to COVID-19’.

Previously, it was expected that organisations would need to carry out a retrospective check through the usual method outlined above once this temporary option was stopped, however the government has since confirmed that this will no longer be the case.

What’s happening from 21st June 2021?

The temporary provision to conduct these checks virtually is to be discontinued from 21st June onwards (previously 17th May), meaning that, generally, in-person checks will need to be conducted. Whilst video calls will still be permitted for this, a crucial difference is that the organisation will need to be sent the original versions of the important documents, not copies, which may cause inconvenience for the employees in question.

The change to this guidance originally caused confusion for organisations due to the fact that working from home guidance is not changing. Currently, it is expected that, at least in England, staff will continue to be encouraged to work from home if they can until at least 21st June 2021. This reversion to the usual right to work checking process prior to this date therefore did seem to go against this as it would have resulted in more direct, in-person contact between organisations and their employees.

In response, a number of industry bodies contacted Home Secretary Priti Patel, asking her to reconsider the change. It has since been confirmed that the change will be pushed back to 21st June 2021.

New right to work checking system expected

It should be remembered that a new right to work checking system is currently expected to come into force from 1st July 2021 due to Brexit, as this is when the grace period between the UK and the EU comes to an end. The government has yet to confirm what this will involve.

Virtual right to work checks to end from 17th May 2021

As a result of the pandemic, last year the government made it possible for organisations to conduct right to work changes virtually on a temporary basis. This is due to end this month.

What are right to work checks?

To ascertain whether an individual originally from overseas (including the EU) has the right to work in the UK, and to prevent illegal working, organisations should carry out right to work checks. In normal times, there are three steps they must complete. These are:

  • obtain original right to work documents (such as a passport) from the individual
  • check the validity and authenticity of the documents in the presence of the individual
  • copy the documents and keep a secure, dated copy which includes the date for follow-up checks.

Alternatively, from 29th January 2019, organisations can use the Home Office’s online right to work checking service to carry out immigration checks.

What changed due to the pandemic?

In 2020, the government changed the right to work checking process so that organisations did not need to meet with staff directly. Under this temporary system, a scanned copy or photograph of documents necessary to prove a right to work should be sent to the organisation via an email or mobile app.

A video call is then arranged with the worker, where they are asked to present their original documents to the camera. These documents are then compared with the digital versions previously sent. The date of this check is recorded and noted as ‘adjusted check undertaken on [insert date] due to COVID-19’.

Previously, it was expected that organisations would need to carry out a retrospective check through the usual method outlined above once this temporary option was stopped, however the government has since confirmed that this will no longer be the case.

What’s happening from 17th May 2021?

The temporary provision to conduct these checks virtually is to be discontinued from 17th May onwards, meaning that, generally, in-person checks will need to be conducted. Whilst video calls will still be permitted for this, a crucial difference is that the organisation will need to be sent the original versions of the important documents, not copies, which may cause inconvenience for the employees in question.

The change to this guidance has caused confusion for organisations due to the fact that working from home guidance is not changing. Currently, it is expected that, at least in England, staff will continue to be encouraged to work from home if they can until at least 21st June 2021. This reversion to the usual right to work checking process therefore does seem to go against this as it will result in more direct, in-person contact between organisations and their employees.

To this end, a number of industry bodies have contacted Home Secretary Priti Patel, asking her to reconsider the change. However, the government have so far not deviated from this and organisations will need to prepare for the change.

New right to work checking system expected

It should be remembered that a new right to work checking system is currently expected to come into force from 1st July 2021 due to Brexit, as this is when the grace period between the UK and the EU comes to an end. The government has yet to confirm what this will involve.