In this seventh episode of our TUPE Podcast Series, Louise Keenan will discuss the restrictions on changing terms and conditions for employees who are transferring. In this episode, Louise will cover: Restrictions on changing terms and conditions Permissible changes to terms and conditions, including those for economic, technical, or organizational…

Data protection is increasingly crucial for HR as regulations evolve and data breaches become more common. In the second episode of the ‘Data Protection Unlocked for HR’ podcast series, Harry Berryman and Shauna Jones, members of the Clarkslegal data protection team, share invaluable insights on how HR can ensure compliance, safeguard employee data…

In the first episode of the 'Data Protection Unlocked for HR' podcast series, Lucy Densham Brown and Sana Nahas from the data protection team at Clarkslegal discuss the data protection issues that HR professionals often encounter. They provide advice and guidance on dealing with these issues, addressing common data protection questions from employe…

In this sixth podcast in our TUPE Podcast Series, Amanda Glover will delve into the automatic transfer principle and what transfers to the incoming employer under TUPE. In the episode, Amanda will explore: What rights and liabilities relating to the individuals transfer under TUPE Contractual rights Non-contractual and discretionary rights and bene…

From October 2024, the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 will strengthen existing protection for workers against sexual harassment. This new law will place a new duty on employers to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment. Tribunals will have the power to increase compensation by up to 25% if they find an emp…

In the third and final podcast in our ‘AI Podcast’ trilogy, Lucy Densham Brown and Rebecca Dowle, members of the data protection team at Clarkslegal, will be discussing how to use AI to process data safely. They will be looking closely at the risks for businesses and the types of data security protections you can put in place. This includes: Regula…

In this fifth podcast in our TUPE Podcast Series, Amanda Glover will be focusing on ‘who transfers’ under TUPE. Looking at the definition of ‘employee’ under TUPE legislation and the tests that apply in deciding if those employees transfer. Determining whether an individual is an employee is by no means an easy task and is extremely fact sensitive.…

In the second of our three-part ‘AI Podcast’ series, Jacob Montague and Lucy Densham Brown, members of the data protection team at Clarkslegal, will be exploring how artificial intelligence (AI) interacts with intellectual property rights (IP rights). This includes: What are Intellectual Property (IP) rights? Can AI produced work have IP rights? Re…

Unfortunately, in this difficult economic period, now officially a recession, businesses of all sizes are being forced to make redundancies, some for the first time. This is inevitably a stressful time for both employees and management at these organisations. As with all unfamiliar processes, knowing what to expect and how to make the most of the s…

In the first of our three-part ‘AI Podcast’ series, Lucy Densham Brown and Jordan Masters, members of the data protection team at Clarkslegal, discuss how using AI and automated decision-making could conflict with GDPR protections and lead to discrimination. This includes: What is AI? What is GDPR and how does the use of AI relate to it? Examples o…

In June this year, the British Standards Institute (BSI) released a new code of practice on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the workplace. The code offers employers helpful resources and practical advice to assist them in creating a work environment that supports, encourages, and promotes DEI. Please see the link here for a copy of the BI…

In this fourth podcast in our TUPE Podcast Series, Amanda Glover will be looking at the second of the three conditions required for a service provision change transfer. In our third podcast Service Provision Changes – Organised grouping and principal purpose, we discussed that the service provision change rules in the TUPE regulations are very wide…

There has been a renewed emphasis on home/work balance and family-friendly rights since the pandemic forced many workers into a hybrid or remote working environment. Employers are quickly finding that they have to update their policies and conform to the new way of working. The government has seized on this momentum and has pushed through some new …

This is the third podcast in our TUPE Podcast Series. The first podcast When Does TUPE Apply? - Relevant Transfers, we discussed the two types of transfer under TUPE, a Business Transfer and a Service Provision change. In our second podcast Service Provision Changes – Same Client and Fundamentally the Same Activities, we reviewed two of the key req…

The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) released updated guidance in May 2023 focused on how employers should respond to data subject access requests (DSARs) from employees. This new guidance is produced for employers in the format of a Q&A, and gives employers an idea on what to do in certain situations if an employee requests a DSAR. In th…

Employee ownership is growing quickly as an option for business owners to sell their business. Employee Ownership provides a way to preserve the long-term ethos, values, and culture of the business. This podcast is a prelude to the Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs) Roadshow, which Clarkslegal LLP is hosting at Thames Tower in Reading on 17 May in co…

Since the introduction of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018, employees have had the right to request access to their personal data from their employer using a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR). In this podcast Ciara Duggan and Oscar Poku members of the Data Protection team at Clarkslegal discuss DSARs in an employment law co…

The UK Government strictly regulates the immigration of migrant workers to the UK. As a part of its immigration system, it requires companies to have a sponsor licence before they can sponsor non-UK employees. In this podcast Rebecca Hone and Monica Mastropasqua members of the immigration team at Clarkslegal discuss how to apply for a sponsor licen…

Same Client and Fundamentally the Same Activities This is the second podcast in our TUPE Podcast Series; the first podcast introduced the two types of relevant transfers covered by TUPE, namely a business transfer and a service provision change . If you want a general introduction on what a service provision change is, make sure you listen to the f…

In this podcast Ciara Duggan and Sana Nahas members of the employment team at Clarkslegal will guide you through the tricky topic of redundancy and settlement agreements, covering what redundancy means for both employers and employees, as well as how settlement agreements work in practise. Topics include: What is a redundancy ? What rights does an …

In this podcast Ciara Duggan and Oscar Poku members of the Data Protection team at Clarkslegal discuss the main developments in the UK Data Protection scene from 2022 and what trends to look out for in 2023. Key developments of 2022 Implementation of the International Data Transfer Agreement and update to Transfer Risk Assessments The Data Protecti…

TUPE can be a very complicated area of law to navigate and so we have designed a series of short podcasts to give you a really good overview of the basics. In this podcast, Louise Keenan, Associate in the employment team at Clarkslegal will be focusing on what TUPE is and when it applies. If you have any questions in relation to TUPE, please contac…

There’s been a lot of publicity recently about the Supreme Court case of Harpur Trust v Brazel and its impact on calculating holiday entitlement and pay for workers. The case specifically concerned holiday entitlement and pay for what were termed ‘part-year workers’. These are workers who are on a permanent contract, who work irregular hours and wh…

In this podcast Melanie Pimenta and Sana Nahas members of the Data Protection team at Clarkslegal discuss some of the issues surrounding non-compliance with subject access requests, commonly known as “DSARs”. This is particularly topical given that the ICO has recently announced that it has issued reprimands to seven organisations for repeatedly fa…

Earlier this year, the UK Government announced the introduction of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill in which the consultation considered specifically on the interplay of AI technologies with the UK’s data protection regime. On 18 July 2022, the UK Government set out its proposals for regulating the use of AI technologies while prote…

Restructuring can cover a vast range of situations, including changes to a company’s structure, business model or processes. It can be similar to a redundancy process in that it may involve a reduction in work of a particular kind being required. Recently, many employers have been considering restructuring their business, particularly in light of t…

Employees can now be signed off work when sick by nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists and physiotherapists who can sign statements of fitness for work, also known as a GP fit note. This change has been brought in to ease the burden on GPs. But what might this mean for employers who suspect that a worker is exaggerating their condition for …

Employment status and how it is determined has been an issue that has vexed the courts recently, with cases in both the employment and tax tribunals. An individual’s employment status determines what type of protections and rights they are entitled to, and establishing status involves the consideration of many different factors. In this podcast lis…

In this podcast Melanie Pimenta and Jacob Montague solicitors in the Data Protection team at Clarkslegal and discuss some of the issues surrounding data protection and hybrid or remote working. Since the pandemic remote and hybrid working have become the new normal and this raises some interesting questions on data protection and how organisations …

Clarkslegal's Data Protection Solicitors Melanie Pimenta and Amanda Glover explain what data breaches are, how they can be risk assessed and an organisation’s obligation to report data breaches. It’s an interesting time to pick up on this topic because the ICO is promoting a back to basics focus on data security, so it’s an area where we’ve seen mo…

Clarkslegal's Employment Solicitor Melanie Pimenta explains the new lifting of Covid-19 restrictions and what this means for employers.بقلم Clarkslegal

Liz Bradley, Senior Employment Solicitor and Data Protection specialist takes a deep dive into the complicated process of employee monitoring. It's a topic that has hit the headlines partly due to remote ways of working and also due to a rise in the range of software allowing tracking of employees. So what is the law on employee monitoring? And wha…

The pandemic has brought the topic of health and wellbeing to the forefront, not least in the employment sphere. With an overnight move for many from office to homeworking, there was an increased focus on mental resilience, loneliness, and the blurred lines between work and rest, and between work and home life. Across the country, many employees su…

It’s inevitable that many employers will now find themselves facing an increasing number of flexible working requests from employees who have been able to work remotely from home in recent months and wish to continue to do so in some form. Under the current statutory framework there are eight grounds on which such requests can be refused including …

Sunday 10 October 2021 marks World Mental Health Day, with this year’s official theme announced by the World Federation for Mental Health as “Mental Health in an Unequal World”. The explanation for the theme by WFMH reflects on the “increasingly polarised” world, with inequalities in race and ethnicity and gender identity highlighted during the pan…

We spend approximately 90,000 hours of our lives at work. The only thing we spend more time doing than working, is sleeping. Where an individual spends such a significant percentage of their lives working, one would assume they would ensure their work makes them happy and is something that they actively look forward to. However, it is no secret tha…

As the UK economy continues to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions of the last 18 months, the number of job vacancies are reaching record highs. Many businesses across a number of sectors have been able to reopen in full in the UK since the final restrictions lifted on 19 July 2021. This has created a serious increase in demand …

Speculators predicted a surge in redundancies this autumn as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme comes to an end on the 30th September. However, this surge doesn’t appear to be forthcoming. Despite 1.9 million workers still being on furlough at the end of June, recent data from the Insolvency Service (the body employers must notify when they are m…

Employment agency Reed has reported a 20% increase in the number of new positions offering unlimited annual leave as part of the benefits packages. Along with flexible working, it seems to be incentive employers are keen to explore and use as they compete to recruit the best talent from a pandemic weary workforce that values well-being and work-lif…

The deadline for EU (including EEA and Swiss citizens) to apply to continue living in the UK is fast approaching, with the EU Settlement Scheme set to close in less than two weeks’ time on 30 June 2021. UK employers should be working with their EU staff to ensure their registration to the Scheme by this date. If an employee intends to apply under t…

The past year has seen a significant increase in the amount of homeworking taking place. Before the pandemic, around 5% of those in employment worked from home, whereas during the pandemic this number increased to around 43% of workers. Homeworking was trialled ‘en masse’ in possibly the worst set of circumstances. It took place in a time of severe…

While the Government grapples with whether to continue with the planned final easing of lockdown restrictions on 21 June 2021, employers are continuing with their preparations to welcome employees (at least partially) back to the workplace. While much of the focus during these preparations will be on preventing infections, employers should also con…

Whistleblowers are in the headlines following the Dyson report into the Panorama interview in 1995 with the Diana, Princess of Wales. Lord Dyson found that Martin Bashir had acted deceitfully in the way he obtained the interview with the Princess of Wales. Since the publication of the report, press attention has also turned to how the BBC may have …

Lockdown restrictions are set to be eased further on 17 May 2021, and many employers are beginning to welcome their employees back to the workplace. While it is understandable that employers will be focused on protecting their employees’ physical health, ensuring that its workplace is Covid-19 secure, consideration should also be given to how emplo…

With the summer months fast approaching and with the fatigue of more than a year of lockdowns weighing on us, many are hoping the second half of this year will provide ample opportunity to enjoy holidays abroad again. Employers are advised to start thinking about how they will deal with annual leave requests and foreign travel. With travel restrict…

HMRC guidance sets out that if an employee is working from home due to COVID-19, a homeworking arrangement will exist for this period. Employees working from home regularly therefore may be able to benefit from certain tax exemptions, although this cannot be where they are working informally. HMRC guidance has confirmed that if an employee is worki…

On 15 February 2021 HMRC published its policy paper explaining how it intends to help and support organisations which must comply with changes to the off-payroll working rules (IR35). The IR35 rules will apply to all medium and large sized businesses in the private sector with a UK connection from 6 April 2021. The policy paper sets out HMRC’s comp…

Major changes are happening this April as businesses become responsible for deciding the employment status of the contractors they engage through an agency or the contractor’s own limited company, known as a Personal Service Company or PSC. Businesses will assume PAYE liability on the payments it makes for the contractor’s services – if it decides …

On 31st January 2020, the United Kingdom formally left the European Union. The UK has now entered into a new trading partnership with the EU under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. New rules now apply on exports, tariffs, data and employing people from within the EU. Although this meant that No Deal was averted, most observers on both side…

The COVID-19 pandemic was probably the most significant disruptor of the world of work since the Industrial revolution. The first development was the move to home working, in April 2015 4.3% of people described themselves as working from home, in 2019 this has grown to 5.1%. Due to COVID-19, in April 2020 49.2% of adults were working from home, wit…