News

In Clifford v IBM United Kingdom Ltd [2024] EAT 90 the EAT held that: The settlement agreement was signed by the parties following the claimant’s continuous absence from work due to ill health and his submission of a grievance against his employer. The claimant was continuously absent from work as a result of ill-health from … Read more

The new Keeping Children Safe in Education statutory guidance has been published by the DfE. There are minor changes, with the full list set out in Annex F on page 183 in the link below.  This is for information only at this stage as the changes do not come into force until September 2024.Details of … Read more

The upcoming UK General Election has significant implications for the education sector. Key policy changes and funding allocations proposed by major political parties could bring notable changes to schools across the country. In addition, the Election has the potential to significantly impact upon our people practices, with proposed changes in employment law and workplace regulations.Some … Read more

While it’s unusual, yes, permanent employees can transition to fixed-term contracts. Both employers and employees can agree to modify employment terms whenever required. However, this change can only be made with the explicit consent of the employee. Though legally permissible, such a shift doesn’t happen frequently due to the complexities tied to continuity of service … Read more

Updated resources to support  the education staff wellbeing charter were released on 8th May 2024. The education staff wellbeing charter is a declaration of support for, and a set of commitments, to the wellbeing and mental health of everyone working in education. The charter is for education staff in England. This includes temporary and support staff. … Read more

The EYFS statutory framework sets out the requirements for staff:child ratios in settings delivering the EYFS and the qualification levels practitioners must hold to be included within those requirements. To be included in the staff:child ratios at level 2, level 3 or level 6, staff must hold a qualification that is recognised by the Department … Read more

On 19th April 2024 the DfE updated the guidance ‘Information sharing: advice for practitioners providing safeguarding services’ to provide more clarity on the use of consent and the legal frameworks needed to support the sharing of information. This advice is for: The Guidance sets out seven golden rules for sharing information, including personal information which are … Read more

On 1st April 2024 the Department for Business and Trade updated their guidance on holiday entitlement and holiday pay following the implementation of the Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/1426).  The guidance is rather optimistically titled ‘Simplifying holiday entitlement and holiday pay calculations.’ It provides guidance on calculating holiday entitlement and … Read more

The Maternity Leave, Adoption Leave and Shared Parental Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (SI 2024/264) (MASPA Regulations) were made on 28 February 2024. The current position is an employee on maternity leave is protected in a redundancy situation and must be offered suitable alternative employment first.From 6th April this is extended to:- This applies to those taking … Read more

On 19th March 2024, the DfE released an update to the School Teachers Pay and Conditions document 2023 to include annex 5 which lists administrative tasks teachers should not ordinarily be expected to do. These are as follows:1. Managing data and transferring data about pupils into school management systems (e.g. Question Level Analysis) or printing … Read more