The Government has launched a further consultation on draft regulations to implement the EU Agency Workers Directive into domestic law.  The Government is said to be 'committed' to implementing the legislation by the end of this Parliament with a view to the law coming into force in... read more

A recent sting operation conducted by researchers at the National Centre for Social Research (NCSR) on behalf of the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has uncovered widespread bias amongst employers against ethnic names.  NCSR researchers sent out nearly 3,000 job applications under... read more

The ongoing MPs’ expenses scandal offers a timely reminder to employers to ensure their expenses policies and procedures are clear and effective. As a result of public outrage at the level and nature of their expenses, MPs are currently being subject to a retrospective expenses audit. ... read more

The Court of Appeal has held that a group of 20 car valets employed under terms and conditions that professed them to be self-employed were, in reality, employees.  Although the contracts contained terms inconsistent with status as an employee, the tribunal was entitled to look beyond... read more

The recent and well publicised case involving Baroness Scotland serves as a reminder for all employers to ensure they check (and in some cases re-check after 12 months) and copy documents showing that their employees can work in the United Kingdom.  The Attorney General was found to have... read more

Fans of the BBC’s flagship Saturday night show, Strictly Come Dancing, will recognise Anton Du Beke as one of the original ‘stars’ of the show; indeed, it has even been suggested that he would be the natural replacement for Bruce Forsyth as host of the show.  However, anti-racism... read more

The new Vetting & Barring Scheme, which follows the Birchand Inquiry into the Soham murders, provides that new employees and volunteers working with children or vulnerable adults should be registered with the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA). The Scheme is due to be phased in on 12... read more

It has recently been reported that teachers often find themselves falsely accused of violence or even indecent behaviour towards their students, by their students! Motive for such accusations appears to be malice or even a form of ‘pay back’ for disciplining these students. The irony being that... read more

The Government has confirmed its proposal for father's to take "additional paternity leave" of up to six months, meaning that parents will effectively be able to "split" twelve months' maternity leave between them. The proposal was originally announced in December 2004 but was put on hold.... read more

On 1 October 2009 the cap on a week's pay for calculating statutory redundancy payments and unfair dismissal compensation will increase from £350 to £380. The increase was announced in the 2009 Budget. The weekly cap is usually increased in line with the retail prices index in February each... read more