In December 2021 the Statutory Sick Pay (Medical Evidence) Regulations 2021 that were introduced by the DWP and HMRC meant that the rules around self-certification of sickness absence changed. As of 27 January 2022,  the temporary change in the law has ended and the self-certification period has reverted back to seven days.

In December 2021 guidance was introduced that meant employees should work from home “wherever practical”. It has now been announced that these restrictions will be eased on 31 January 2022. Nicola Sturgeon made the announcement due to a decrease in Covid infections across the country.

The government has made a commitment to introduce a new form of statutory leave. Neonatal leave and pay will apply to all parents of babies receiving neonatal care.

The Statutory Sick Pay (Medical Evidence) Regulations 2021 have come into force as of 17 December 2021. These regulations introduced by the DWP and HMRC change the rules around self-certification of sickness absence.

The rates of those undergoing IVF treatment have increased ten-fold in the last thirty years. Therefore it is becoming increasingly important that employers are aware of their obligations in this area. There is no statutory right for time off for IVF treatment, but the Equality and Human Rights Commission Code suggests that employers view any such requests “sympathetically”. Some companies have dedicated policies regarding such treatment in which an employee is allowed to take time off work for up to five days. If there is no dedica

New legislation is being introduced to protect hospitality workers. Tips that are paid by card will legally have to be paid to the staff. This puts all forms of tips on the same level of legal protection as cash tips have been protected in this way for some time. It has been revealed in recent years that some employers were using card tips to pay chefs’ wages or were kept as profits. Other companies were retaining tips due to “processing fees”.

The government has announced this right will be introduced in response to a consultation on carer’s leave. This is intended to give workers greater flexibility and ability to manage their work lives alongside care responsibilities. The consultation stated that there are approximately 5 million people in the UK who have unpaid care responsibilities, with around 50% of those people in employment. These numbers are only set to increase given the aging demographic of the UK. The government has acknowledged that this has become even more necessary given the COVID 19 pandemic.

Recently, there has been a notable increase in the number of Employment Tribunal cases in the UK which specifically revolve around a Claimant’s menopause. There are many preconceptions and much misinformation regarding this topic. However, it is an issue worth understanding as women aged between 45-59 make up a significant percentage of the workforce. A recent survey has shown that 25% of women with menopausal symptoms have considered leaving the workplace.

The working landscape has dramatically shifted since the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic. While some companies are comfortable with the working from home set up, others are anxious to return to the office. A topic that is proving quite controversial is the issue of pay. Some have suggested that those who will be working from home permanently should have their pay cut. An example of this in the US is that Google has launched a pay calculator which has resulted in some employees being left with a pay cut. Google’s response to this is to say that pay has always been based on location and the expense of living.

The government has recently published the outcome of its Consultation on Sexual Harassment in the Workplace. The key take away from this is a commitment from the government that they will legislate to introduce a duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment and create explicit protections from harassment by third parties.

A new scheme has been launched by the Scottish Government which will remove the need for employees in certain sectors to self-isolate. Under current rules a person who has been in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID 19 must isolate for ten days.

All employers in the UK have a duty to prevent illegal working. This involves carrying out right to work checks on all employees before they start work. Since March 2020 the rules for employers carrying out right to work checks have been relaxed to account for the difficulties caused by the COVID 19 pandemic.