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Top stories |
The implied right to impose garden leave
In a comforting decision for employers, the High Court in SG&R Valuation Service v Boudrais has recently implied a right to place an employee on garden leave. Read more.
The Financial Services Authority's proposals for reforming bonus structures
Out of the recent problems in the financial services markets one message has been conveyed loudly and clearly: there has to be a major change to the way in which employees in the financial services industry are incentivised. Read more.
Length of service as a redundancy selection criterion
Rolls Royce plc recently asked the High Court whether it was possible to use length of service as part of a redundancy selection matrix. Read more.
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Immigration issue |
New business visitor visa
The UK Border Agency has published guidance about a new business visitor visa, which is due to launch in November 2008. The provisions of the new visa are intended to clarify the activities which business visitors are permitted to undertake whilst in the UK for the benefit of non-UK businesses.
The permitted activities will include: attending meetings or conferences; arranging deals; negotiating or signing trade agreements or contracts; undertaking fact-finding missions; checking details or goods; and conducting site visits and promotional activities. It is important to note however that business visitors will, as now, be prohibited from conducting actual work for a UK entity.
Individuals who are performing business-like activities who may apply for the new business visitor visas include, amongst others, film crews on location shoots in the UK, academic visitors, speakers at conferences (provided they are "one-off"), representatives of computer software companies coming to install or maintain their products and board-level directors attending board meetings in the UK.
It is not clear whether non-executive directors who are non-EEA nationals and who are paid a fee by a UK company will be able to enter the UK and attend board meetings under the terms of the new business visitor visa. We have requested specific guidance from the UK Border Agency on this point to help our clients obtain clarity.
The Immigration Rules relating to the new business visitor visa are due to be amended and published in November 2008 and are the guidance may change in due course. Please contact Tracy Evlogidis or Nick Hobson for more information on immigration issues.
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Other stories |
Rights for agency workers
After years of resistance from the UK government, the European Parliament has now adopted the Temporary Agency Workers Directive. The directive must be implemented under national law within three years of it coming into force. Of particular significance within the directive is the right for agency workers, during their assignment, to receive the same pay and conditions as those that would apply had they been recruited directly to occupy the same job (usually a comparable permanent employee). This right to equal treatment will apply after 12 weeks.
Another, less significant, right for agency workers was introduced on 27 October. If an agency worker is an "employed worker" for National Insurance Contributions purposes, they could claim Statutory Sick Pay, subject to the qualifying conditions. The Court of Appeal had previously held that such agency workers who were on contracts for a specified period of three months or less were not entitled to SSP. The Fixed Term Employees regulations have recently been amended so that such agency workers on contracts of less than three months are now entitled to SSP.
List of respondents to employment tribunal proceedings to be made public
The Information Commissioner's Office has ruled that the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) must disclose the names of all respondents to employment tribunal proceedings under a Freedom of Information Act request. There is no reciprocity however and claimants' details do not need to be disclosed.
Until 2001 there was a register in which such details appeared, although this was abolished. Whilst this may be bad news for employers, as it will be easier to obtain respondents' details following this decision, it is currently possible to obtain this information during employment tribunal proceedings in any event.
For more information, please contact Matthew Whelan