COVID-19 pandemic is presenting unprecedented challenges for businesses. The government is issuing new employment laws to deal with the pandemic and protect the employees. As organizations continue to grapple with the continuously changing legal regulations due to COVID-19, 2021 will bring variances to the traditional range of employment law in several jurisdictions.
It is crucial to keep track of the latest employment law updates. In this article, we will discuss a regular round-up of legislation and helpful guides.
Let’s start the article.
Indirect Discrimination Costs
The Court of Appeal has reinforced that saving expenses cannot justify indirect discrimination. The organization’s need to reduce expenses in response to economic constraints can amount to a reasonable aim to provide the justification statement.
In such cases, funding reductions imposed by the government directed the Ministry of Justice making modifications to the rate at which Probation Officers proceeded up an incremental salary scale. It means that it would take three times more effort to climb up the wage scale than earlier when the changes were not executed. Although the law is biased, as it favored those workers who are over 50. The Court of Appeal averred that the law was justified as a proportionate way of achieving a genuine aim.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a difficult time for numerous businesses. This decision of the court will act as welcome news to a lot of organizations as it reinforces that an organization’s need to remain within their means and work in a budget can be a genuine aim that can cause more than just saving expenses.
Health and Safety for Employees
In a recent legal review appeal, the High Court has issued that employees have similar protection for being subjected to an injury on health and safety grounds, the same equities are provided with PPE (personal protective equipment), as workers and the administration has failed to properly execute two EU Directives associating with health and safety at the workplace. The legislation protects workers with the proper Framework Directive and the PPE Directive. If the legislation does not appeal, then the organizations will require to consider the implications of the expansion of the protection to cover employees.
Final words
As compared to previous years, there will be significant new laws and regulations taking effect this year. It is because state legislatures will center on pandemic-related laws in the upcoming session. Nevertheless, organizations will still face numerous new responsibilities and obligations in the months ahead.
To know more about the new employment law updates, attend the Compliance Prime webinar.
