News

New self-isolation requirements announced today New filtering rules for DBS certificates Keeping children safe in education: proposed revisions 2021 1. Covid-19 new announcement today – Self-isolation cut to 10 days from Monday 14th December Self-isolation for contacts of people with confirmed coronavirus will be shortened from 14 to 10 days across the UK from Monday … Read more

There is a common misconception that a current or former employee is entitled to a ‘good’ reference or, more accurately, that an employer cannot make any negative comments about an employee.  This is simply wrong. In the education sector a useful starting point is the School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/2680) which states that … Read more

Summary The PM gave a statement at the coronavirus press conference on 26 November 2020.  The full statement is here. In addition, the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, made a statement to the House of Commons and announced which regions would be in each tier. The full guidance on the different tiers is here – Local … Read more

Summary The PM made a statement in the House of Commons today on the Covid-19 Winter Plan.  The full statement is here. By the Spring, the advances in treatment, in testing and vaccines should ‘reduce the need for the restrictions we have endured in 2020.’ A new regional tiered approach was announced.  Full details below. … Read more

In a landmark decision, R (Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and another [2020] EWHC 3050 (13 November 2020), the High Court (Chamberlain J) has held that workers are now entitled to the same protection as employees against suffering detriment if they take steps to protect themselves … Read more

Summary We are seeing increasing requests in relation to pregnant employees over 28 weeks (i.e. in their third trimester) to be working from home. The basis for these requests was because the Guidance for full opening: schools makes specific reference to Occupational Health guidance published by the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (RCOG).  Part … Read more

On 5th November 2020 the Policy Paper relating to the Extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was published. Latest Guidance (health) A reminder of the definitions:- Clinically extremely vulnerable You may be at high risk from coronavirus if you: have had an organ transplant are having chemotherapy or antibody treatment for cancer, including immunotherapy … Read more

The government have released guidance for individuals who have been identified as clinically extremely vulnerable. Any individual in this group will have previously received a letter from the NHS or their GP. The latest guidance applies to clinically extremely vulnerable individuals only. Others living in a household with someone who is clinically extremely vulnerable are … Read more

Latest Guidance New Guidance was published on 1st November following the PM’s announcement of a national lockdown in England between 5th November and 2nd December.  Further details are below. The PM’s Commons statement on coronavirus: 2 November is here. We are still waiting for guidance on the Clinically Extremely Vulnerable, although the latest guidance from … Read more

On 21st October 2020, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) published detailed guidance for organisations on how to deal with subject access requests. The full guidance is here – right of access detailed guidance During the consultation period the ICO received over 350 responses from organisations of all sizes and sectors and as a result the … Read more