Date updated: Monday 26th October 2020
Wellbeing in the workplace: employers responsibilities to employees
The 10th of October 2020 marked World Mental Health Day, which highlights the importance of wellbeing in the workplace whether that be at home, the office or any other work environment. In light of the increasing awareness around this issue, employers should be aware of the importance of staff wellbeing and their legal obligations around this.
DfE publishes updated headteachers standards for 2020
On the 13 October 2020, the Department for Education (DfE) published new standards for Headteachers which replaced the 2015 national standards of excellence for Headteachers. Although only guidance, rather than embedded in law, the standards articulate how headteachers can meet both the additional responsibilities of headship and the requirements of the teachers’ standards. We have outlined the key points below which Headteachers and School Governing Bodies should be aware of.
BREXIT: Recruiting overseas teachers from January 2021
From the 1 January 2021, the UK will no longer be in the EU and free movement will come to an end. In readiness for this date, the Government have recently published guidance for schools on hiring overseas teachers.
An overview of employee’s rights when working from home
With the current Government COVID-19 messaging being ‘work from home where possible’, an increasing number of individuals are working remotely.
Public sector exit payments: impact on Local Government Pension Scheme
In August we provided an update on the Draft Restriction of Public Sector Exit Payments Regulations 2020, which can be found here. In summary, the regulations impose a £95,000 cap on exit payments in the public sector and have been introduced by the Government to prevent employers paying out large sums of public money to individuals leaving their employment. Further details have now been released by the Government including relating to the impact on the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).
Costs: Employment Tribunal makes one of the largest cost awards ever - Tan v Copthorne Hotels
An Employment Tribunal (‘ET’) has made a six figure costs award and ordered a Claimant to pay £432,000 to his former employer after dismissing his claims against them. This is thought to be the largest cost award ordered by the ET to date.
Free tool to help businesses ensure they are Brexit-ready
With Brexit and the end of free movement fast approaching the Employment team at Stone King has developed an easy-to-use, Brexit Self Audit Tool to help businesses assess whether they are Brexit ready and, if not, identify what actions they need to take.
Our free tool is available for the specific requirements of businesses and can be accessed by following the link below.
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
