The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health and Social Care have issued a call for evidence to explore recently announced proposals to reform the fit note process. Proposal The Government recently announced its proposal to reform the fit note process as part of its Back to Work Plan for welfare reforms. In particular, the Government wishes to change the way fit notes are issued. If the Government's proposals are confirmed, fit notes would no longer be issued by GPs. Instead they would be issued by specialist work and health professionals who would assess the person's heal ..read more

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has confirmed that in whistleblowing detriment cases, the Tribunal should not look behind the motive of the decision-maker in order to consider whether a third party was manipulating the situation. Whistleblowing protection Whistleblowers are protected from detriment and dismissal as a result of having blown the whistle. The two types of statutory protection are found under sections 47B and 103A of the Employment Rights Act 1996 respectively. The fact that protection against detriment and dismissal derive from different parts of the Act means that the two t ..read more

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has considered how to recover a 'series of deductions' for holiday pay purposes, in light of last year's Supreme Court judgment in the case of Agnew. Background It is possible to bring a claim for unpaid holiday as an unlawful deductions from wages claim under the Employment Rights Act 1996 (Act). The Act permits claimants to claim for a "series of deductions". In other words, claimants can link a series of underpayments into one claim. The claim must be brought within three months of the last deduction in the series and up to two years' worth of underpayme ..read more

Economic, demographic and political headwinds are presenting independent schools with a financial challenge to operate efficiently and take good commercial decisions to strengthen their positions. It is rare, but not unheard of, for charity owned schools to pay any governors, and the suggestion that a charity may want to pay some or all of their governors who at present act as unpaid charity trustees appears to run contrary to the drive for financial efficiency. However, schools are telling us that they are finding it difficult to recruit suitably experienced and commercially minded charity t ..read more

A number of new and enhanced employment law rights took effect on 6 April 2024. The changes include the new right to unpaid carer's leave, enhanced redundancy protection for family leave returners, and changes to the flexible working regime. Holiday Pay Guidance The new Holiday Pay regulations which amend the Working Time Regulations come in to place for holiday years falling after 1 April 2024. These regulations permit the pro-rating of statutory holiday entitlement for casual/irregular hour workers and those who work for only part of the year. Following feedback the government has now revise ..read more

If done well, the outsourcing of catering provision allows schools to benefit from expertly-run catering facilities, delivering the highest standards of produce and service. By working with catering providers, schools are often able to share in the financial and operational efficiencies that come from providing services of this nature at scale. However, if the arrangements are not carefully thought through, you can find yourself locked into contracts which represent poor value, and which potentially expose you to significant risks. Based on our experience working with schools in setting up ne ..read more

The DfE published guidance in February 2024 to help schools develop and implement policies to prohibit mobile phone use, along with other similar smart technologies, as part of a plan to "minimise disruption and improve behaviour in classrooms". The guidance is non-statutory and is not prescriptive in its recommendations. Schools are encouraged to develop policies that suit their individual contexts/circumstances. Different approaches could be adopted for different groups of students, for example some schools may wish to limit (rather than prohibit) use of devices by sixth-form students to th ..read more

The law entitles every child of compulsory school age to an efficient, full-time education suitable to their age, aptitude, and any special educational need they may have. School attendance is a key indicator for pupil attainment, wellbeing and future life chances and an important protective measure for vulnerable children. At the end of February, the DfE announced a number of changes to the law relating to pupil registration and attendance. The changes will come into effect on 19 August 2024 and are set out in new regulations and the DfE guidance Working together to improve school attendance ..read more

The Supreme Court has confirmed that the lack of statutory protection against detriment for participating in industrial action breaches the right of freedom of assembly under article 11 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Background In the case of Secretary of State for Business and Trade v Mercer, Mrs Mercer was employed as a support worker by AFG and was a workplace representative for the trade union UNISON. She was involved in planning strike action. She gave media interviews about the strikes and participated in the strikes herself. She was then suspended from work, and was told th ..read more

The Government has confirmed that the new statutory Code of Practice on dismissal and re-engagement will be brought into force by July 2024, subject to parliamentary approval. Background The Government committed to publishing a new statutory Code of Practice on dismissal and re-engagement (Statutory Code) in order to encourage transparent practices and meaningful staff consultation in scenarios where an employer is considering dismissing staff and offering them re-engagement on new terms. Importantly, the Code does not change the law in this area, but is intended to help employers follow the c ..read more