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UK Edition
24th September 2021
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THE HOT STORY
Government to ban restaurants from withholding staff tips
The Government has revealed plans to make it illegal for hospitality firms to withhold tips from workers, who often rely on them to top up their income. Under the plans, if an employer breaks the new rules they can be taken to an employment tribunal. In that instance, bosses may be forced to compensate workers or face fines. A statutory code of practice will set out how tips should be distributed to ensure fairness and transparency, and workers will have rights to make a request for information relating to an employer’s tipping record, enabling them to bring forward a credible claim to an employment tribunal. Labour Markets Minister Paul Scully claimed the plans would "ensure tips will go to those who worked for it." Kate Nicholls, UKHospitality chief executive, added the new rules would strengthen the sector's ability to create jobs.
WORKFORCE
Uber to backdate pensions
Uber is to pay out millions of pounds in missed pension payments to UK drivers dating back as far as 2017 under a deal with the retirement savings watchdog. Uber added that its private hire drivers would now be auto-enrolled on to a scheme through which it would contribute 3% of earnings into a pension pot. Drivers can choose to contribute up to 5% of qualifying earnings but will be able to opt out. Uber has been forced to pay pensions and offer other benefits such as holiday entitlement to drivers after the Supreme Court ruled in February that they should be classified as workers, not contractors. The judgment is thought likely to set a precedent for similar platforms. Mick Rix, national officer of the GMB union, which agreed a recognition deal with Uber in May, said: “Uber’s pension scheme is a massive step in the right direction and will no doubt help thousands of drivers as they reach retirement age. GMB urges other platform-based operators to follow Uber’s lead.”
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REMOTE WORKING
Employees abuse working from home, investment boss says
Andrew Monk, the chief executive of London-headquartered investment firm VSA Capital, has criticised UK government proposals for new staff to have the right to ask to work from home. He told the BBC that staff abuse flexible working, at least in financial services, and what these people really want is to work part-time on a full-time salary. VSA Capital, which employs about 20 people in the City of London, has pretty much all its staff back in the office, Monks told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. "Obviously it varies from industry to industry, but in financial services it's more important to be in the office because it’s a very live industry." Commenting on the fact that some firms, such as PwC and Deloitte, have embraced flexible working, Mr Monk said audit work was taking longer as a result. He added that the time it takes for firms to set up a stock market flotation has jumped from three months on average to six.
HIRING
UK tech sector now accounts for one in eight jobs
Tech and IT-related vacancies accounted for 13% of all advertised jobs in the UK in the first six months of the year, up from 12.3% a year earlier, according to figures from Adzuna. Analysis of the data by lobby group Tech Nation found that while tech salaries continue on an upward trajectory, the average salary for all jobs in the UK has decreased in 2021. Software developers are consistently the most in-demand from companies across the industry, with average salaries up 27% since 2018 to £50,000. “It’s been yet another record-breaking year for UK tech – and that means thousands of high-quality jobs for people across the entire country,” said Digital Secretary Nadine Dorries.
STRATEGY
MPs warn foreign investment is too focused on South East
The Commons International Trade Committee has warned that overseas investment in the UK is too focused on London and the South East to provide the broad economic benefits that the Government plans under its levelling up agenda. The regions have accounted for 47.5% of projects announced by inward investors since 2003, the MPs said in a report. They pointed out that new trade and investment hubs, designed to promote local investment initiatives, have been established in each of the devolved nations, but there is only one in the English regions - in Darlington in the North East. Committee chair Angus MacNeil said: "If the Government is serious about its levelling-up agenda, it needs to show it has a plan to maximise the benefits of inward investment in all parts of the UK.”
REMUNERATION
John Lewis faces staff backlash over senior bonuses
Managers at John Lewis Partnership have been heavily criticised by sections of their own workforce after paying bonuses to senior staff at a time when the retailer is making redundancies. The retail group made almost 4,000 “special contribution awards” last year, including to 16 managers. The special contribution award was not given to members on the executive team, but it has enraged thousands of staff who say it goes against the fairness principles of the partnership and neglects staff who also worked extremely hard over the past eighteen months.
MBA gender pay gap halves to 20%
A survey of students from the world’s highest ranked business school programmes found the gender pay gap among MBA graduates has almost halved in the past four years, but men still earn 20% more on average.
TAX
Self-employed pay a record £38bn in tax
Analysis of HMRC tax receipts by UHY Hacker Young shows the amount of income tax paid by self-assessment taxpayers has jumped 31% to hit a record £38bn in the past year, up from £29bn the previous year. Graham Boar, partner at UHY Hacker Young, said the increase in revenues is partly due to the self-employed having to pay tax bills that were deferred as part of the Government’s Covid support measures. “These figures show HMRC is starting to claw back the tax owed by self-assessment taxpayers. It appears we’ve passed peak leniency from HMRC,” Boar added. He advises that the self-employed who still find themselves unable to pay their tax bills should consider making use of Time to Pay arrangements. “This is where payments are staggered in instalments, usually over a 12-month period,” he explained.
UK delays digital tax reforms
The Government has that plans to make self-employed people and small businesses keep digital records and report their income to HMRC every quarter have been delayed for a year following pressure from professional bodies. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax will now be introduced in April 2024. Lucy Frazer, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said: “The digital tax system we are building will be more efficient, make it easier for customers to get tax right, and bring wider benefits in increased productivity. But we recognise that, as we emerge from the pandemic, it’s critical that everyone has enough time to prepare for the change, which is why we’re giving people an extra year to do so. We remain firmly committed to Making Tax Digital and building a tax system fit for the 21st century.”  
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
Workplace challenges remain for LGBT+ lawyers
A landmark report from the Law Society into the experiences of LGBT+ lawyers and LGBT+ equality in the profession has identified good progress on equality and visibility, but adds that there is much more to do. Nearly two-thirds of the 617 survey respondents identify as LGBT+. The findings reveal several pressing workplace issues. The report states that the lack of visibility was a common theme across private practice, national and local government. Over a third of LGBT+ respondents had experienced homophobia, biphobia or transphobia at work. Of those, 18% reported it to their employer. A quarter lacked confidence that the issue would be resolved effectively. Negative experiences felt by respondents included the strain of being able to be their authentic selves, negative language and the need to "repeatedly come out." Respondents also reported positive experiences. Nine in 10 LGBT+ respondents said they had supportive colleagues or allies at work.
HEALTH & SAFETY
Germany to scrap quarantine pay for unvaccinated individuals
People in Germany who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 are to no longer receive compensation for lost pay if they have to quarantine from November, health minister Jens Spahn has said. The government had been paying workers sent into quarantine for at least five days after having contact with an infected person or returning from a "high risk" area overseas. But that policy will end from November 1st, Spahn said after a meeting with the health ministers of Germany's 16 states. Getting vaccinated remained a "personal decision," Spahn said, but that decision would now "also come with the responsibility to bear the financial consequences."
SUSTAINABILITY
General counsel remain wary of ESG disclosure risk and related activism
A survey of nearly 70 general counsel and senior legal officers by the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University has found that three-quarters of respondents have faced pressure, particularly from employees, to grow their companies’ commitments to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) in the past three years, but are wary of disclosure risks and employee-driven activism that could come with such matters. Seventy-two per cent of general counsel either somewhat or significantly believed that ESG investment would improve their companies' long-term financial performance, according to the report, and although half of respondents believe CEO activism can precipitate reputational benefits for an organisation, more than a third fear it would produce reputational, legal, or regulatory harm. "It is notable that over half of the people who are responsible for balancing the risk and reward of corporate actions advocate dialing back some of these efforts and recommitting to the central strategic and profit-making purpose," the report’s authors observed.
INTERNATIONAL
Canada's fossil fuel workers want Trudeau to keep retraining pledge
Workers in Canada’s fossil fuel sector say they expect re-elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau  to keep his promises to retrain them for roles in a clean-energy economy as the country restates its commitment to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Canada will need around C$10bn ($7.8bn) over 10 years to retrain fossil fuel workers, according to oil worker advocacy group Iron & Earth. Luisa Da Silva, executive director of Iron & Earth, said Canada could lose the skilled talent that will be critical to a clean energy economy if the government does not prioritise transition funding, which the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement identified as important to ensure no workers are left behind as the world decarbonises. He is sceptical about government action after past pledges failed to materialise. "At what point do these stop being promises and start being actions? These are people's livelihoods on the line," said Da Silva.
China’s legal system must change to protect sexual harassment survivors
Lijia Zhang, a former rocket factory worker who is now a  social commentator and novelist, writes for the South China Morning Post about the societal prejudice and legal barriers in China that have silenced survivors of sexual harassment. A 2018 study conducted by the Beijing Yuanzhong Gender Development Centre indicated that of the more than 50 million lawsuits filed from 2010 to 2017, only 34 of them involved sexual harassment. Of the 34 cases, only two were brought by victims suing their abusers, and both were unsuccessful. The author says the legal system tends to favour the defendant in civil litigation and courts should place more weight on testimony and reconsider the ‘high degree of likelihood’ standard, which is challenging compared to other parts of the world.
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