COVID-19 - Sick Pay
Covid-19 - Sick Pay
If your employees are unwell because of the virus then you need to decide whether statutory sick pay (SSP) applies.
There are various reasons why an employee may need time off work, including self-isolation. Currently, the following will be treated as sickness absence:
- your employee has coronavirus;
- your employee has coronavirus symptoms, for example, a high temperature or continuous cough;
- someone in your employee’s household has coronavirus symptoms;
- your employee has been told to self-isolate by a doctor or NHS 111.
In the event of any of the above, the absence must be treated as sickness absence. In relation to pay, SSP will apply from day one (this is another new rule following the outbreak of coronavirus). However, if your contract of employment provides for greater sickness pay then that will need to be applied.
The government has also introduced new rules that enable employers to recover the first two weeks of SSP from the Government.
If an employee self-isolates they can self-certify for the first seven days off work without having to get a fit note from a doctor oh NHS 111.
Those self-isolating owing to coronavirus for more than seven days can now get an online self-isolation note from the NHS website or NHS mobile phone app.
If an employee take time off work that is not sickness absence, for example, they choose to self-isolate, for example, not because they have symptoms, but because they just want to avoid catching coronavirus, you should discuss their absence with them. This could be taken as holiday or unpaid leave but is unlikely to qualify as sickness absence. You do not need to agree this time off and if your employee refuses to attend work or work without a valid reason, it can mean you are entitled to take disciplinary action.
Part 3 - Home working - Practical Considerations, will to follow tomorrow.
A full time employee that is over 21 will soon be earning nearly £24,000 per annum which could mean that more employees are close to the minimum wage. Having an employee working close to the minimum wage poses risks to businesses. For example, if an employee works any overtime, they may then fall below the minimum wage.
Kilgannon & Partners outlines key steps to comply with the new UK duty to prevent workplace sexual harassment. Services include risk assessments, policy updates, staff training, and confidential reporting. Contact us for support.
The UK Home Office has expanded its sponsor licence priority services to offer greater flexibility and faster processing for prospective and current sponsors of migrant workers.
Removal of the Pre-Licence Priority Service Cap
Previously, the Home Office limited the number of daily applications for its pre-licence priority service to 30. This daily cap has now been removed. The pre-licence priority service is designed for organisations that have applied for a sponsor licence and seek to bring skilled workers to the UK more swiftly. By paying a £500 fee, applicants can reduce their waiting time from approximately eight weeks to around ten working days.
Kilgannon and Partners are pleased to post that our client, Carmen Chevalier-Firescu, has succeeded in defending an appeal from HSBC about the strike out of her claim in the Court of Appeal. Carmen’s claim was initially struck out by the East London Employment Tribunal. One of the reasons given was that it was not just and equitable to extend time. The Employment Appeal Tribunal decided that this needed to be revisited by the Tribunal. This led to HSBC appealing to the Court of Appeal to try and reinstate the original decision.
An employer must check right to work through one of the following three methods before the employee commences employment
Extension of whistleblowing protection: A case of public importance: Disclosures made before commencement of employment and disclosures made by charity trustees.
At Kilgannon and Partners, we are proud to support the movement towards more flexible working arrangements, as emphasised in the recent report by Pregnant Then Screwed. This groundbreaking report sheds light on the transformative impact flexible working can have on employees, employers, and society as a whole.
Unfair dismissal claims are among the most common types of cases brought before employment tribunals. Defending these claims effectively requires careful strategy, meticulous preparation, and a strong understanding of the legal complexities involved. This article outlines key strategies for UK employers to maximise their chances of success in unfair dismissal cases.
The concept of a 4-day work week—where employees work the same number of hours but compressed into four days instead of five—has been gaining momentum globally. With a large-scale UK trials showing overwhelmingly positive results, many businesses are pondering if this could be the future of work.
The Labour Government has set itself a big target to modernise the world of work by promising to introduce legislation within 100 days of entering government.
