A recruitment agency has been ordered to reimburse more than £1,380 of unpaid wages.
Isis Management Consultancy Limited was prosecuted by the Employment Agency Standards (EAS) inspectorate for withholding wages from seven workers.
The company, along with its...
Lorraine Owens considers changes to determining the self-employed and smartphones.
This tax update is about two recent changes which, I fear for some of you, will be advising of solutions to problems you never knew you had.
Categorisation of Earners’ Regulations
The first change relates to the recent HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) announcement that the...
Agency doctors are being paid up to £20,000 per week to make up for staffing shortfalls due to the Working Time Directive.
An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph found that the Regulations, which limit how many hours can be worked in a week, is forcing hospitals to...
Businesses should court the views of their staff
I read with interest Julia Turney’s recent article on flexible benefits, “Money Well Spent?”. I strongly agree with the author’s central point that businesses need to give careful consideration to the cost involved before...
Businesses are being urged to be prepared for the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) as the 12-week qualifying stretch comes to an end.
The initial period ended on 24 December for those who were employed as of 1 October 2011. The penalties for non-compliance include compensation awards...
Elaine McIlroy asks if following the Swedish derogation model is the ideal solution or a risky strategy when it comes to the Agency Workers Regulations.
In the lead-up to the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (AWR), which came into effect on 1 October 2011, many businesses were concerned about the additional red tape and expense they would face. The Government has estimated that implementation of the AWR will cost UK businesses £1.8 billion...
More than half of retailers are not planning on hiring seasonal employees.
Figures from Hay Group show growing sales optimism in the high street for Christmas. However, this is not being mirrored by the appointment of temporary workers, as less than a fifth of businesses expect to...
Pauline McArdle considers some of the most significant employment law changes affecting payroll and benefits in 2011.
Despite Government attempts to reduce its impact on business, employment law has continued to raise challenges for employers.
Abolition of default retirement age
When age discrimination regulations were introduced in 2006, there was an exception for retirement at age 65, the so-...
With the festive season fast approaching these are some of the busiest trading months for the retail industry, and a time when many seasonal workers are taken on.
Although these employees may only be working for an organisation during a certain period of the year, they may still be...
The Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) are already having a negative impact on the temporary jobs market, according to the CBI and Harvey Nash Employment Trends Survey.
The findings of Staying the Course show that, despite optimistic job prospects in the private sector, serious...
Following on from Christian Berenger’s article in October’s issue regarding the introduction of the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR), this month we take a closer look at the implications of the legislation.
The AWR were laid before Parliament on 21 January 2010 and came into force...
Tesco’s temporary staff have re-signed their contracts to waive their rights which are set out in the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR).
Agencies used by the supermarket have taken up the “derogation” model, whereby temporary employees are hired directly by them ...
More employers are using non-monetary benefits to attract and retain staff.
More than 80 per cent of HR directors have implemented an additional measure to improve the workplace environment, according to research from OfficeTeam.
Flexible working hours is the most popular benefit. More...
Changes to employment law have been condemned as “counter-productive” by the CBI.
The boost of the National Minimum Wage (NMW), the abolition of the default retirement age (DRA) and the introduction of Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) all come into force from 1 October and...
Christian Berenger discusses how technology can ensure compliance for AWR.
From 1 October temporary employees working 12 consecutive weeks will be given the same basic rights – including holidays, overtime allowances and pay – as permanent staff at the same company.
Inevitably, this will result in significant challenges for payroll departments at...
