Articles by ‘James Sage’

The Government has announced a new national lockdown for England from 5 November to 2 December which has led to significant changes to the employment support schemes available to employers.

The Migration Advisory Committee has today recommended that care managers and proprietors, senior care workers and nursing assistants be added to the Shortage Occupation List. It is a move that will be welcomed by a sector facing significant staffing shortages over the next decade.

A flurry of recent court rulings on compliance with the National Minimum Wage (“NMW”) highlight the complexity of this area of law and the need for care providers to check their pay arrangements are compliant.

A recent study by the Daily Express indicated that there has been a significant increase (66%) in complaints made by care staff to CQC during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the majority of concerns raised relating to infection control, social distancing and a lack of PPE.

From 1 August, the Government “paused” shielding for the clinically extremely vulnerable. Shielding employees can return to work if their workplace is “Covid-secure” but should work from home wherever possible.

With approximately 8.4m jobs furloughed, roughly ¼ of the total jobs in the UK, and 1m employers furloughing, costing the Government £15bn, it was inevitable that some changes would have to be made to the furlough scheme. However, the announcements are less draconian than many had feared.

The pandemic has given rise to a range of issues that could give staff concerns about their health and safety at work, including PPE shortages, lack of testing, outbreaks amongst staff and clients, and the increased risk they face due to underlying health conditions, age or pregnancy if infected.

It is critical that you are able to identify and deal appropriately with any health and safety concerns to minimise the risk of potential Employment Tribunal claims.

Our May 2020 employment law update for health and social care providers includes an update on the Job Retention Scheme, details of potential cost savings where staff take holiday during furlough leave and the latest guidance on the SSP rebate scheme.

Amid a flurry of new guidance published at the end of last week, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) portal went live on Monday 20 April, enabling employers to submit their claims for furlough pay to HMRC.

Below is an essential update for care providers issued by our Health & Social Care team on 22 April 2020.

More clarification required from the Government in relation to the eligibility of social care businesses for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).

New government guidance provides a possible lifeline to care providers struggling to recruit staff.

On Thursday 26 March the Government released new guidance on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), which provided some useful clarification but unfortunately left some important questions unanswered.