Parents’ rights: Improved support for families and new parents

Jo Broadbent considers UK and European developments extending rights for expectant mothers and new parents and a consultation paper that could pave the way for a radically different approach to family leave entitlements ‘Policy-makers are extending parental leave rights and encouraging workplace flexibility to increase women’s participation in the labour market and close the gender …
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Casual workers: All you do is take, take, take

Declan Bradley investigates the government’s proposals for ending ‘one-sided flexibility’ and considers what employers can do to prepare ‘It seems clear that the government will legislate in some form to provide workers with the rights proposed in the “one-sided flexibility” consultation document. What is not so clear is how these rights will look when finalised …
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Working time regulations: Calculating holiday pay for part-year workers

Simon Bevan analyses the impact of a ruling that holiday should not be pro-rated for staff who only work for part of the year ‘The decision means that full- and part-time workers may be paid 12.07% of their normal pay as holiday pay, with term-time-only and part-year workers being paid a greater percentage as holiday …
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Immigration: Is an Australian points-based system right for the UK?

Naomi Hanrahan-Soar discusses what we can learn from the Australian points-based system as the UK begins to rewrite its immigration rules for a post-Brexit era ‘One idea might be to reintroduce the Tier 1 entrepreneur category and give points based on how many locals the person intends to employ, how much benefit the business will …
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Employment tribunals: New rulings highlight the importance of open justice

Three recent decisions have shown the difficulties that parties to tribunal proceedings face if they want to avoid being publicly identified. Jennifer McGrandle and Jennifer Hill report ‘The EAT held that where a tribunal is satisfied Art 8 is engaged, it should consider whether the individual’s right to privacy outweighs the right to open justice …
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Staff procedures: Create or update a social media and internet policy

Anne Pritam, Imogen Heywood and Kate Higgins look at how employers can protect their business by implementing a robust and effective social media and internet policy ‘Employers need to decide what their tolerance is towards employees’ social media and internet use in the workplace.’ Use of social media, instant messaging and the internet is continuing …
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Legal news: Employment update

Susannah Donaldson and Ellie Okereke round up the latest case law and developments affecting employers and their advisers ‘Employers should pay particular attention to whether any confidentiality clauses prevent, or could be perceived to prevent, an individual disclosing information to the police, regulated health and care professionals or legal providers.’ Legislation announced to prevent misuse …
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