Osborne Clarke Employment Law Coffee Break | The second lockdown and CJRS extended
Published on 6th Nov 2020
Welcome to our Employment Law Coffee Break in which we highlight the latest developments and issues impacting UK employers.
Lockdown #2
England is now in a second lockdown, requiring some businesses to shut and more employees to work from home. This lockdown is set to end on 2 December, although we must all now wait and see whether the circumstances permit. We look here at the immediate issues for employers for dealing with the new restrictions and the importance of ensuring your premises are Covid Secure.
Stepping aside from the technicality of the new regulations and government guidance for lockdown #2, having strategies in place to deal with employee well-being and mental health is increasingly a top priority for businesses. We can provide training on this to support your organisation at this time.
As always, our employment and health & safety teams are on hand to support and will be hosting a webinar on Thursday 12 November 2020 exploring what this latest lockdown means for businesses. Please sign up here.
CJRS extended
As widely reported, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) has been extended and the Job Support Scheme postponed. Whilst the increased financial support the CJRS brings is welcome, employers must continue to consider carefully whether or not accessing public funds under the CJRS is right for them.
Our podcast discusses claiming under the extended CJRS, the interaction with redundancies and what employers should be doing now. Please do contact your usual OC Contact for advice on what the extended scheme means for you.
Listen to the episode and subscribe the the series:
Are your employment contracts fit for purpose?
Covid-19 has accelerated changes in how businesses work. We have seen many more employees working from home; changes to shift patterns and management of holiday requests to match economic activity; and employers holding back on salary reviews and bonuses in light of the financial situation. Now more than ever, it is important to balance the need to ensure that your employment contracts adequately protect your business, against the attractiveness of those terms to the talented and diverse workforce needed to drive your business forward.
We recently hosted a webinar looking at what changes employers may wish to make to their employment contract, as well as ensuring that your terms do cover the new statutory particulars introduced in April 2020. Please do speak to your usual OC contact for more information on how we can assist you in this respect.
