What's New

Enforcement action against employers failing to report their gender pay gap was suspended for the reporting year 2019/20 in March last year at the start of pandemic.

The rights and wrongs of the gig economy have been argued out once again this week as the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) challenged a previous High Court ruling that Article 11 (Freedom of Association) in the Human Rights Act does not apply to Deliveroo riders.

Arguing that it is impossible to totally eliminate the threat of Covid, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set out his plan for lifting the current lockdown, balancing continued caution with the need to restore freedoms and boost the economy.

Despite the fact that its data protection rules largely mirrored the EU’s own General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), when the UK came out of the transition period on 1 January 2021, it was no longer recognised by the EU has having “adequacy” in this regard.

Children aged between three and seven return to face-to-face teaching in Wales from Monday 22 February, mirroring similar provisions also being seen in Scotland.

According to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS Test and Trace has maintained its strong start to the year, reaching more than 270,000 people in the latest reporting week with over 2.9 million people tested.

We reported in May 2020 that the Supreme Court would consider Uber’s appeal against previous rulings that its drivers they should be classed as “workers” (see Supreme Court is due to rule in gig economy case). With full details available at https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/docs/uksc-2019-0029-judgment.pdf, the Court has now ruled in favour of the drivers and unanimously dismissed Uber’s appeal.

According to a new survey carried out by the TUC, almost 10% of workers have been told to re-apply for their jobs during the pandemic on worse terms and conditions or face the sack.

Emphasising that the situation in Scotland is still very fragile, with infection rates having only just returned to the levels being recorded in early December, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said that the way ahead involves trade-offs.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Public Health England (PHE) have issued revised guidance on shielding and protecting people who are clinically extremely vulnerable from Covid-19.