HR Articles

In recent days, the government has faced criticism of its treatment of people from the so-called Windrush Generation. Those who arrived in the UK between 1948 and 1971 from Caribbean countries have been labelled the Windrush generation, after the ship which brought them here as a response to post-war labour shortages in the UK. Almost 500 migrants from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados came to the UK at the invitation of the British government.

In Chidzoy v BBC, the EAT has upheld an employment tribunal's decision to strike out a claim because the Claimant was overheard by the BBC’s lawyers discussing her case with a journalist during an adjournment while she was still under oath.

After much press coverage in the build up to the reporting deadline of 4 April 2018, organisations employing more than 250 employees have now published their gender pay gap data and the results are now available for all to see. While the BBC reported that around 1,500 organisations missed the deadline to report, the results that are in make for tough reading.

Are you ready for GDPR? With less than 30 working days left until the General Data Protection Regulation comes into force, is your organisation complaint?

Procurement law has featured heavily in the news this week after it was widely reported that the incumbent British supplier had lost the contract for producing the iconic, blue, post-Brexit British passport, which is to be awarded to a French company.

The Tier 2 visa cap has been reached for the fourth month in a row resulting in sponsors being unable to employ workers under the Tier 2 General category from overseas. UKVI data shows that the minimum points required to be successful was 56 – a stark contrast to the usual 21. Many businesses have been trying to secure Restricted CoS since December.

In SoS BEIS v Parry and The Trustees of the Williams Jones’s School Foundation, the Court of Appeal (overturning the EAT’s decision) confirmed that even if a claim form has no particulars attached, in some circumstances a Respondent can still respond to the claim.

In the wake of various high profile sexual harassment stories in both the UK and the US, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) have taken several steps to improve the situation for employees in the UK. This has led to them publishing a report in March this year entitled “Turning the tables: ending sexual harassment at work”.

Further to our previous blog on the tribunals issuing a response to the Vento band consultation for cases presented from 11 September 2017, the Presidents of the Employment Tribunals in England, Wales and Scotland have now issued updated joint guidance increasing the Vento bands used to calculate awards for injury to feelings (most commonly seen in discrimination and whistleblowing claims).

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has published its interim report on its assessment of the UK labour market after the UK leaves the EU. Whilst the final report is expected to be published in September, the interim report summarises over 400 responses from businesses, industry bodies and government departments.