Modern slavery is an umbrella term for practices which share a common element of force or coercion. The International Labor Organization estimated that, globally, 40.3 million people were working in conditions which could be described as modern slavery in 2016. As a result of the increasingly international reach of modern slavery legislation, many companies with global footprints are modifying their organization to ensure compliance across their business, for example by preparing modern slavery statements which tick off compliance requirements in several jurisdictions. Legislative change is expected in the UK, Canada, and under the EU’s proposed Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence directive.
Draft regulations that extend the ban on exclusivity clauses in employment contracts from those on zero-hours contracts to include those earning on or less than GBP 123 per week have been laid before Parliament.
In a briefing published by Regulatory Intelligence, Annabel Mackay and Samantha Pickett explain the importance of cultivating an ethical culture from a financial regulatory, employment law and employee engagement perspective, and suggest how leaders can use communication strategies to do so.
In an article for Compliance & Risk Journal, Kim Sartin and Rachel Farr discuss the tricky course employers have to navigate in a shifting compliance landscape and explain what to focus on in 2022.
The UK government has begun a consultation on disability workforce reporting. The consultation includes questions on current practice and explores the possibility of voluntary or mandatory reporting practices.
In this article, we highlight some key decisions and legislation of which employers should be aware in 2022 such as the Employment Bill, increase in statutory pay rate in April 20202 and decisions on discrimination and holiday pay
On 19 July 2021, most COVID-19 related restrictions were lifted in England. However, the government cautioned against an immediate full return to the office, saying that it expects and recommends a gradual return over the summer, emphasizing employers’ obligations to ensure a safe place of work.
Indirect sex discrimination claims about working patterns and hours are sometimes based on the premise that women are less able than men to comply with an employer’s requirements because they are more likely to have childcare responsibilities.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that the lack of protection from detriment for participating in industrial action under section 146 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA) was a breach of Article 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) which guarantees the right to freedom of assembly and the right of workers to form and join trade unions. The EAT held that it was possible to read such protection into section 146.
The government has published its response to its consultation on sexual harassment in the workplace, which closed in October 2019. When parliamentary time allows, the government will legislate to introduce a new duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace and introduce explicit protections for harassment from third parties such as customers and clients.