Key employment law developments: June 2020

Coronavirus - employment issues in the UK

On 10 May 2020, the Government announced its roadmap for lifting the lockdown in a series of phases. Workers who cannot work from home were encouraged to return to work, prompting employers to turn their minds to their health and safety duties. Other key developments for employers are highlighted below.

• Returning to work safely:

  • The Government published eight workplace-specific guides on Working
    safely during coronavirus (including for office-based work), which
    aim to help employers make adjustments to their workplaces to
    maintain social distancing.
  • There is a plethora of government, ACAS and HSE guidance in relation
    to COVID-19 and return to the workplace. Read our overview here.

• Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS):

  • It has been announced that the CJRS will be extended until 31 October
    2020 when it will close. The 10 June will be the last day that
    employers can place employees on furlough for the first time.

  • There will be modifications to the scheme from July. From 1 July,
    furloughed workers will be able to return part-time, known as
    flexible furloughing. From 1 August, employers will be required to
    contribute to the scheme, initially national insurance and pension
    contributions, then 10% of wages from 1 September and then 20% of
    wages from 1 October. Further guidance is expected.

  • On 22 May 2020, the Government published a new Treasury Direction,
    amending the legal framework of the CJRS and extending it until 30
    June 2020. Any claims from that date must comply with the new
    Direction. See our Insight for more details.

• Test and trace process:

  • The Government launched its new test and trace process requiring
    those who have been in close contact with someone who tests positive
    to isolate for 14 days, even if they have no symptoms.

  • There is specific guidance for employers including to encourage
    workers to heed notifications to self-isolate and employees to notify
    employers of any symptoms.

  • Anyone required to self-isolate under the test and trace scheme is
    entitled to SSP.

• Workplace testing:

  • The ICO published workplace testing guidance for employers, including
    Covid-19 tests and temperature checking.

  • Read our Insight - 10 takeaways from ICO guidance on employee
    Covid-19 testing

• Statutory Sick Pay (SSP): Following new regulations, the SSP rebate
  scheme was launched 26 May 2020. More details here. Those incapable
  of work for SSP purposes has also been extended to include those
  required to self-isolate under the new test and trace process.

• Holiday: A new guidance note on holiday entitlement and pay during
  coronavirus was published. It is guidance only and largely reflects
  the ACAS guidance on holidays, including that furloughed employees
  can be asked to take holiday.

• Travel: There will be a 14-day quarantine period for most people
  arriving in the UK from overseas from 8 June 2020.

• Home office costs: HMRC has announced a temporary tax exemption for
  employer reimbursed expenses to cover the cost of home office
  equipment. Read our Insight.

• Mental health: ACAS published new guidance on workers mental health
  during the pandemic.

• SMCR: The FCA announced that the 12-week rule on re-allocation of
  prescribed responsibilities to individuals providing cover for a
  Senior Manager has been extended to 36 weeks. Further details are
  here.

• Courts and Tribunals:

  • The Presidents of the Employment Tribunals have conducted another
    review of their Joint Direction, confirming that it remains in force
    and that it will shortly issue a roadmap regarding the conduct of
    hearings in the forthcoming months. All hearings on or after Monday
    29 June will be proceeding.

  • The Judiciary has published new guidance on PDF bundles with a view
    of achieving consistency for use by judges in hearings. The guidance
    is not intended for use in tribunals.

  • A High Court Judge has also issued guidance on electronic bundles
    (following an insolvency application) with the intention of assisting
    the legal profession generally, which stated that bundles should also
    include documents which are essential for the hearing and that
    bundles should be searchable.

IR35: Update on the off-payroll working rules

As you know, we previously reported that the implementation of off-payroll working rules in the private sector has been delayed until 6 April 2021. The Government has proposed amendments to the Finance Bill 2020 to include this revised start date, and the proposed new law otherwise largely reflects the original draft legislation.

However, the House of Lords Economic Affairs Finance Bill Sub-Committee, which were tasked with reviewing the draft Finance Bill, have published their report Off-payroll working: treating people fairly, which raises a number of concerns. It flags that the proposals have already encouraged blanket status determinations, early termination of contracts and contractors left as zero rights employees. The Committee welcomes the delay and calls on the Government to use the extra time to rethink fundamentally its approach to the legislation. Nonetheless, the Government has been clear that it remains fully committed to introducing the reforms next year.

UK negotiations with EU following Brexit

The third round of negotiations between the UK and the EU took place via videoconference from 11-15 May. The key message from the statements of Chief Negotiators on both sides was that very little progress has been made and that positions remain very far apart, Read Michel Barnier’s statement here. These latest talks raise questions about whether the transition period could be extended and whether the UK is headed for the default position of trading under WTO rules if a free trade agreement cannot be reached. The fourth round of talks will take place on 2-5 June.

For more key employment law updates from us:

• read our key cases over the last month;
• stay Ahead of the Curve with our summaries covering the key aspects
  of employment law under review by the government;
• scroll through our key dates timeline showing recent and anticipated
  changes to employment law; and
• attend our upcoming events or catch up on training.