Employment News

Care workers not entitled to minimum wage for sleep-in shifts

Lewis Silkin – 18 July

Lewis Silkin discusses the case of Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake. The Court of Appeal (CA) has overturned the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) and ruled that care workers carrying out ‘sleep-in’ shifts are not entitled to national minimum wage when they are asleep. Employees are only entitled to the national minimum wage for the hours that they are awake and working, even if they must sleep on site.

Supreme Court Rules on "Self-Employed" Plumber

Employment Law Blog – 15 June

The long awaited case of Pimlico Plumbers and their work status has gone to the Supreme Court, where the previous decision that a ‘self-employed’ plumber was to be considered a worker has been upheld. This decision will likely change the status of those operating in the ‘gig’ economy and the employment rights they are entitled to.

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot: dealing with hot weather in the workplace

Farrer & Co – 13 July

Britain is currently facing its third warmest summer on record since 1910 and much of the country is unprepared for the hot spells. But, do employers have any obligations to their employees when dealing with the hot weather? Farrer & Co explores what employers can do to keep their employees comfortable.

Voluntary overtime to be included in holiday pay for NHS staff

Lewis Silkin – 12 July

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has determined that non-guaranteed and voluntary overtime should be included in the calculations for holiday pay for NHS staff. This follows a number of cases arguing that voluntary overtime should be included in holiday pay, most recently a group of NHS employees took their case to the Employment Tribunal (ET).

Pensions News

One in 10 will cash in pension pot in one go – Prudential

Professional Adviser – 20 July

Research conducted by Prudential suggests that 10% of respondents who plan to retire this year, expect to withdraw their entire pension savings in one lump sum. The study found that people taking their retirement fund out would often invest their money in other areas as opposed to spending it all at once.

14,000 people sign petition calling on government to retain dashboard support

Professional Pensions – 19 June

Esther McVey, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, announced earlier in the week that the government was not going to involve itself in the proposed pension dashboard plans anymore. Since that announcement, a petition urging the government to continue their support has received 14,000 signatures.