HR Network TV Programmes
1) 3rd party harassment – renewed calls for reinstatement of s40 EqAct
2) Harassment investigations – one person’s word against another
3) Other News (1) Change to NICs on termination payments (2) Apprenticeship levy proposed changes (3) The Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2018's Royal Assent
4) Confidential information – organisations are “like sieves”
5) Postponement of disciplinary hearings – Talon case
6) HMRC enforcement – employers urged to audit pay practices
Watch these programmes as they are released on Twitter.
Training
HR Master Class: A Bolder & Better Approach
This course (one of the most popular in our programme of events) explores with delegates how they carry out their role in terms of:
• evaluating the legal risks involved in a case and balancing these against other commercial/organisational objectives and goals
• working in partnership with managers/stakeholders and influencing them as to the appropriate strategy in each case
• demonstrating their value to the organisation by showing that HR are much more that the “policy police”
Delegates attending this course will be able to strike a fair balance between their organisational objectives and individual/ equality rights (e.g. when assessing flexible working requests, reasonable adjustments for disability and accommodations for religious beliefs).
They will also take away useful practical tools such as template documents enabling managers to record their own considerations when making decisions on e.g. disciplinary outcomes/ requests for flexible working.
A ‘3 for 2’ discount is available. Book now to avoid disappointment.
Upcoming Webinars of interest for HR:
Webinar: National Minimum Wage - Are you ready for HMRC's call? 18 Oct 2018
This webinar will cover how HMRC has significantly expanded its National Minimum Wage Taskforce and has embarked on a more proactive approach to enforcement.
Webinar: Shifting IR35 risks - how prepared is your business? 01 Nov 2018
In this webinar, Ian Hyde and Chris Thomas will discuss how changing the IR35 rules is likely to affect businesses and how your business can ensure that it is fully prepared to effectively manage these increased HR tax risks.
Click the links to register.
In Other News
Brexit and skills shortages
Ed Goodwyn comments on post-Brexit immigration issues for the construction sector, highlighting the ongoing skills shortages experienced in the industry, and arguing it's essential post-brexit immigration system allows industry to thrive
Government Announcements – from tips to parental pay transparency
As part of its modern Industrial Strategy, the government announced plans to ensure that all tips go to the workers, and can't be subject to deductions by employers. A previous BEIS consultation ran in 2016, but didn't go further. New legislation is to be brought in "at the earliest opportunity" – we don't yet know what that timescale looks like. As payroll systems can often take a long time to update, it would be prudent to start planning for this now.
Plans have also been announced to increase the availability of flexible working. The government is considering putting in place a duty for employers to consider whether a job can be done flexibly, which may also include an obligation to specify this when advertising the role.
Separately, Philip Hammond in his speech at the Conservative party conference announced a package of reforms to boost apprenticeships (the lack of apprentices is a key factor in the ongoing skills shortage noted by Ed Goodwyn in his article featured above). There is also a planned £95m boost for the Apprenticeship Levy and some changes to how that operates. Employers will be able to allocate their levy down their supply chain, which may increase usage of the levy. This article in the further education sector commented on the government's own statistics that only 10% of employers were actually using their levy to fund apprenticeships. The previously announced National Retraining Scheme with an initial budget of £100m will also be rolled out in 2019.
Finally, in an effort to improve transparency of pay available for those on parental leave, the government is considering an additional transparency obligation for employers. For employees with more than 250 employees (who of course already have to publish their gender pay gap), there could be an obligation to publish parental leave and pay policies.
News from Out-Law.com
Universities can still influence pay strike action ballot
Businesses called on to address modern slavery supply chain risks
Most UK businesses still to complete Brexit risk assessment
The newsletters and updates we send do not constitute legal advice. Specific legal advice should be taken before acting on any of the topics covered.