Did you know?

Did you know… 

• The JRS has been extended until the end of April 2021 and will continue to be paid at 80% for hours unworked (this was due to be reviewed at the end of January 2021). Employers can no longer use the JRS for any employee serving contractual or statutory notice (including of resignation or retirement). from. Employers will need to factor in notice costs as well as any accrued but unused holiday pay and any redundancy pay which will still need to be paid at the employers’ own expense
• Parliament have enacted the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020, which ends the free movement of people from 11pm on 31 December 2021.
• Employers can no longer use the JRS for any employee serving contractual or statutory notice (including of resignation or retirement) from 1 December 2020 until 31 January (although expect this date to change when the terms of JRS#2 are reviewed).  Employers will need to factor in notice costs as well as any accrued but unused holiday pay and any redundancy pay which will still need to be paid at the employers’ own expense
• Claims under the JRS for days in November should have been  must be submitted by 14 December (claim windows are much tighter under JRS#2). HMRC will send reminder emails to employers before the deadline each month which is helpful. Employers should maintain records to support the amount of CJRS grant being claimed, in case HMRC needs to check them later.#
• That in November, according to media reports, nearly £400million of JRS grants have been repaid to the Treasury.
• As at 15 November 2020, 9.6m workers remain on the JRS at a total cost of £43.0 billion and the rate of UK unemployment in the three months to September 2020 was estimated at 4.8%, 0.9 percentage points higher than a year earlier and 0.7 percentage points higher than the previous quarter (see the ONS for details).
• That the UK unemployment rate rose to 4.9% in the 3 months to October 2020. According to official data from the ONS 370,000 people made redundant – this is the largest annual fall in employment for a decade. To compare, the unemployment rate at the end of 2019 was 3.8%. According to figures from the ONS hospitality - which includes bars, restaurants and hotels - has seen nearly 300,000 jobs go since February. Retail has lost 160,000 jobs and culture has seen 89,000 jobs go. There is always a lag in reporting unemployment figures and this only includes those who were on employer payrolls, so does not include freelancers or casual workers.  However, jobs in health and social care and in public administration have seen an increase in appointments.
• The ICO has fined hotel group Marriott International Inc. £18.4m for breaching data protection rules.  The personal data of over 300 million guests was compromised following a cyber-attack in 2014 on a hotel chain Marriott later acquired. 
• The government has begun consultation on whether to reform post-termination non-compete clauses in contracts of employment. Proposals under consideration are: to allow workers greater freedom to seek alternative employment and compensation to be paid to the employee for the duration of a non-compete restriction. Consultation closes on 26 February 2021.
• The government is also consulting on whether the ban on exclusivity clauses in contracts should be extended to include workers who earn less than the Lower Earnings Limit.  If accepted, this would mean that such workers could not be prevented for seeking additional work.
• The off-payroll working rules, known as IR35, are due to come into force in April 2021 – watch our latest webinar where we review the upcoming changes
• According to HR Grapevine, employees have reported that their pets and access to their fridges are the biggest productivity killers whilst working from home!
• That in 2022 we will have another public holiday! To celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022, the late May bank holiday will be moved from Monday 30 May to Thursday, 2 June with an additional bank holiday on Friday, 3 June. 
• There are less than 2 weeks to go now until the end of the Brexit transition period and the new Immigration Points Based System Being Introduced – visit our Brexit Hub has information. 

For information about any of these changes (or upcoming changes), please contact our Employment Team on 0118 9527284 or via our email 

This is our last People in Focus for 2020.  Thank you for reading our updates, watching our webinars and listening to our podcasts in 2020.  May we take this opportunity to wish you, your colleagues and your families Season’s Greetings.  We will be back in 2021!