This week I thought it would probably be wise for me to provide an Employment Law update (sorry but it is probably a necessary dull read for you).
-Covid Restrictions ended on Thursday 24th February 2022
All Covid restrictions ended in England on Thursday and free mass testing will stop from 1 April.
The prime minister told MPs the legal duty to isolate for those who tested positive would be dropped as he unveiled his “living with Covid” plan.
From 1 April the provision of free testing would be targeted to the most vulnerable, Boris Johnson said.
It is up to employers how they want to handle this: they may allow all staff to not isolate if they get Covid, or they may still allow the staff member to stay at home paid or on statutory or Company Sick Pay if they are eligible.
–Closure of SSP Rebate Scheme
The Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme will close on 17 March 2022. Employers will no longer be able to claim back Statutory Sick Pay for their employees’ coronavirus-related absences or self-isolation that occur after 17 March 2022.
Employers have until 24 March 2022 to submit any new claims for absence periods up to 17 March 2022 or to amend claims they have already submitted.
After then, there is a return to the normal SSP rules, which means employers should revert to paying SSP from the fourth qualifying day their employee is off work regardless of the reason for their sickness absence.
-Tipping Servers
The government has proposed a new law “as soon as parliamentary time allows” requiring employers to pass all tips to workers.
The legislation will require employers to pass on all tips, gratuities, and service charges to workers without any deductions. Employers will be required to distribute tips in a fair and transparent manner, where employers have control or significant influence over tip distribution.
The proposal also includes a new right for workers to make a request for information relating to an employer’s tipping record, to enable them to bring forward a credible claim to an employment tribunal.
-Using Information After the Dismissal
The Employment Appeal Tribunal in Citizens Advice Merton and Lambeth Ltd v Mefful has recently re-confirmed that an Employment Tribunal cannot consider events after a decision to dismiss had been taken when evaluating the fairness of a Disciplinary Officer’s decision. This means that a Disciplinary/Appeal Officer’s decision will be scrutinized according to what they knew at the time they took the decision to dismiss. They are not allowed to point to the subsequent bad behaviour of the employee, or new-found wrongdoing, to subsequently retroactively justify their dismissal decision. This means employers must ensure they have enough facts to dismiss, at the time they dismiss.
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