First published on Tuesday, May 21, 2024
Last updated on Tuesday, May 21, 2024
Welcome to HR Heartbeat, where we give you a rundown of the week's top employment law stories. Stay on the pulse of current trends impacting your business, plus get up-to-the-minute commentaries on all things HR and legal.
More proposed changes to TUPE regulations
The government has launched a consultation on proposed changes to TUPE to confirm that it only applies to employees, not workers.
The consultation follows a recent employment tribunal case where there was some confusion about which kind of employment type TUPE applies to.
The consultation runs till July 11th and also proposes to amend the TUPE regulations to clarify an employment contract should only be transferred to one employer, not split between multiple employers.
From 1 July 2024, new TUPE reforms will remove the need to hold elections for employee representatives during TUPE consultations for small businesses and transfers involving less than 10 employees.
For instant advice on this topic ask our super-fast AI HR answer tool, Brainbox: - Do all employees have to TUPE transfer?
Unchartered waters: Unfair dismissal claim for superyacht employee
A superyacht employee’s location of work has muddied the water in a recent employment tribunal case.
A stewardess working on a superyacht managed by a company registered in Guernsey recently brought forward an unfair dismissal claim. The employment appeal tribunal upheld the decision that it had jurisdiction to hear the claim despite the vessel never entering UK waters.
The organisation she worked for does not conduct any UK business and their management of payroll and HR functions are all outside of the UK, making the question of jurisdiction difficult.
The business argued the tribunal didn’t have territorial jurisdiction to hear the employee’s claims. But ultimately it came down to factors like the claimant's home in the UK, the governing law of her employment contract, the bank her salary was paid into, and her accounting to HMRC for tax.
For more advice on this topic, ask Brainbox:
2 months to go till NEW fire and rehire Code of Practice
There’s just under 2 months to go until the new statutory Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement (‘fire and rehire’) comes into force on 18 July.
The new statutory code of practice on dismissal and re-engagement, also known as fire and re-hire, sets out the general principles for a fair dismissal which has been done to change an employee's terms and conditions.
The new code will focus on meaningful consultation with employees which avoids a threat of dismissal if they don’t agree to the change.
The code does not make dismissal and re-engagement unlawful, but it sets out expectations for employer behaviour. If employers do not follow the code and an employee is found to have been unfairly dismissed, compensation can be increased by up to 25%.
70% of UK utilities risk failing HSE inspections
A new study reviews a huge proportion of utility companies are at risk of not passing HSE inspections.
The main reason for this? Inaccurate data, meaning records are not up to scratch with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 regulations.
Keeping detailed and accurate data when it comes to your organisation’s health & safety is super important. The penalties for non-compliance are hefty and can have a long-lasting impact on your reputation.
For an accurate digital trail and real-time health & safety reporting, check out BrightSafe’s accident and near-miss reporting feature.
And that’s a wrap. Tune in next week for more headlines and make sure you stay ahead of major employment law changes!
