Employment Law & Business Immigration - A Roundup

Introduction

Throughout 2023, we have seen employers looking to support their workforce through the on-going cost-of-living crisis, while also dealing with their own economic challenges.

Against this backdrop, this webinar will consider the key cases and legal developments over the past twelve months as well as looking at what lies ahead. Given Labour’s current lead in the polls, this round-up will include a look at their proposals for far-reaching employment law reforms if they are elected, including their proposals for trade union reform.

Consideration will be given to the impact of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 on employment law issues - much of which, including, for example, rules on holiday pay, is EU-derived.

We will also make sure you are up to date on other reforms that are planned for family-friendly rights, agency worker rights and the prevention of sexual harassment. As well as looking forward at what is potentially to come, the session will also consider what lessons have been learned from recent case law on discrimination and other key decisions from the Employment Tribunals and higher courts.

In a competitive recruitment market, the ability to recruit from overseas is moving higher up many business’ agendas and as employers continue to get to grips with the immigration rules post Brexit, this session will also look at the key immigration changes we have seen over the last year.

This session offers an opportunity for those responsible for HR, recruitment, resourcing, and immigration matters within their organisation to get an overview of key developments in employment law and business immigration. Looking back at key developments and highlighting what is on the horizon, this session will flag the changes you need to look out for in the coming months allowing you to confidently plan for the year ahead.

Content may be subject to change to ensure that the session is as up to date as possible.

What You Will Learn

This webinar will cover the following:

• Round-up of latest ‘need to know’ cases including:
• Discrimination round-up
• AECOM Ltd v Mallon (disability discrimination - reasonable adjustments during recruitment)
• McQueen v GMC (disability discrimination - aggression was not ‘something arising from’)
• Lynskey v Direct Line Insurance Services Ltd (disability discrimination - menopause and performance)
• Dobson v North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (indirect sex discrimination - objective justification)
• Higgs (belief discrimination - manifesting belief)
• Round up of other key cases
• Agnew (holiday pay/unlawful deductions - three-month break)
• Brief update on any increases to minimum and living wage, limit on a week’s pay, compensation cap, etc.
• What’s on the horizon:
• Labour’s proposed employment law reforms including proposals for trade union reform
• The impact of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 - a high level summary of what the REUL Act means from an employment law perspective (including the potential impact on case law and overview of the proposed WTR and TUPE reforms)
• Round-up of other reforms
• New legal obligations to prevent sexual harassment
• Flexible working reforms
• Right to request predictable working pattern
• Family-friendly rights
• Pregnant employees’/returners’ redundancy protection
• Carers’ leave
• Neonatal leave & pay
• Changes to paternity leave
• Statutory limit on non-competes
• Allocation of tips
• Key changes to immigration rules and what they mean for the employment of overseas nationals including:
• Changes for sponsors including increased fees for sponsorship, minimum salary requirements for sponsored roles and changes to the Sponsor Management System
• Changes to key visa options including:
• A new requirement of genuineness for Global Business Mobility, Scale-up and Temporary Worker routes
• New Zealand Youth Mobility Visa (visas extended to 3 year)
• Student visa - restrictions on switching to work visas until completed course and new restrictions on dependents for some individuals
• Overview of the new Innovator Founder route (replaced old Innovator route)
• Start-up visa closed to new applications from July 2023
• Status of the European Settlement Scheme
• Increased maximum penalties for illegal working
• Roll-out of Electronic Travel Authorisation

This webinar was recorded on 24th April 2024

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