Employment

Pregnancy and Maternity (Redundancy Protection) Bill receives its first reading

Bill seeks to prohibit redundancy during, and for six months after, pregnancy and maternity leave

More than a third of employment tribunal claimants say that they were left dissatisfied with the workings of the system

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy publishes findings from recent survey of employment tribunal applications

Claims worth more than £35bn have been made to the Coronavirus Job Retention and Self-Employment Income schemes

New HMRC figures also highlight that 9.4 million jobs have been furloughed and there have been 2.7 million claims for support from self employed people

Court of Appeal rules that DWP did not fail to make reasonable adjustments and that there was no disability discrimination in its treatment of employee with sight problems

[2020] EWCA Civ 859

Government should extend parental leave and pay for all new parents affected by COVID-19 pandemic, says Select Committee

Committee says government needs to 'follow the science and stay alert' to the support needs of new parents if it is to avoid the effects of the pandemic continuing to impact on families for years to come

Treasury Committee chair seeks confirmation from Chancellor of whether CJRS or SEISS flexibilities might be introduced in response to local lockdowns

Mel Stride says that, for new lockdown measures to succeed, people and businesses within any affected area must feel that they are being materially supported

More than two thirds of furloughed employees received wage top-ups from their employers in addition to CJRS payments during first two weeks of June

New ONS figures also show that just under a quarter of the workforce were on furlough in the same period

Flexible furlough scheme begins, allowing employers to bring back furloughed workers on a part-time basis

New rules mean that employers can bring furloughed employees back to work for any amount of time and any work pattern, while still being able to claim a CJRS grant for hours not worked

Total value of Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme claims rises to more than £25 billion

Weekly HMRC statistics also show that number of employees furloughed increased by 100,000 in week up to 21 June 2020, taking the total furloughed since the scheme launched to 9.3 million

Scottish Government calls for extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for hardest-hit sectors

Blueprint for post-coronavirus economic recovery also includes welfare reform proposals, a jobs guarantee for young people, and measures to tackle household debt

Boldness of CJRS must be followed by equally bold wage subsidy measures to protect jobs in next, more challenging, phase of jobs crisis, says Resolution Foundation

New report also recommends payroll tax cuts to encourage employers outside hardest-hit sectors to take on those unemployed as result of COVID-19 economic shock

Employment case law round up

Carers are struggling to combine work and care, with just two-fifths of working carers believing that their employer is carer-friendly

Highlighting that supporting carers has substantial benefits for employers, CIPD sets out recommendations on how to become a carer-friendly workplace

Total value of CJRS claims is now almost £23 billion, with increase of more than £2 billion in last week alone

Weekly HMRC statistics also show that number of employees furloughed increased by 100,000 in week up to 21 June 2020, taking the total furloughed since the scheme launched to 9.2 million

Employment case law round up

Almost 60 per cent of businesses have not provided top-ups to furloughed workers’ pay

New ONS figures also show that, by end of May 2020, 30 per cent of workforce had been furloughed

Working Families calls on government to continue the ‘unlocking’ of flexible working achieved during lockdown by reforming ‘outdated’ statutory rules

Charity's call for reform responds to survey findings showing parents and carers want more autonomy over flexible hours and where work is carried out, and a 'cultural shift' in attitudes to flexible working