Category Archives: Employment Law and Rights

Why people risk insecure work

Posted on July 18, 2023 by Paul Evans

An interesting report from The Work Foundation (via Lancaster University) has just landed. Published in partnership with Unison, it looks at the choices and experiences of those in insecure work, and the kinds of interventions that could support them into … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Employment, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gig economy workers, Productivity, Welfare and benefits, Wellbeing | Tagged , | Comments Off on Why people risk insecure work

Freelancers and the welfare system

Posted on July 14, 2023 by Paul Evans

This site has carried plenty of posts about freelancing and employment status, tax status, their pension status, and it probably needs a bit more on the generality of freelancing. We often debate whether ‘freelancer’ is even a thing. It doesn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Law and Rights, Employment status, Equipment and kit, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gig economy workers, IR35, Management, Personal Service Companies, Productivity, Skills & capacity, Tax, Universal Credit, Welfare and benefits, Wellbeing, Work-life balance | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Freelancers and the welfare system

Meal expenses – update

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Paul Evans

It’s a couple of years since I posted here about meal expenses, so a small update is probably due – particularly given the inflationary leap that we’ve seen over the past couple of years. Prior to 2016, HMRC had a … Continue reading →

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Flexible working, and work-from-home update

Posted on May 11, 2023 by Paul Evans

The question of flexible and ‘WFH’ employment has become a vexed one in recent years. Anecdotal claims about how WFH damages work-life balance with people voluntariliy working longer hours have been quite widespread (along with other downsides). Other surveys have … Continue reading →

Posted in Coronavirus, Coronavirus, Family rights, Long hours, Management, Productivity, The working environment | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Useful resources for working abroad

Posted on May 2, 2023 by Paul Evans

Post-Brexit, working abroad has become a minefield for some workers. A small fraction of the kind of questions people are asking include… do I need a visa? how long can I work in a particular country? what happens if I … Continue reading →

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TUC report on Long CoViD

Posted on April 3, 2023 by Paul Evans

The TUC have published a report on Long CoViD – here. It covers issues like the financial impacts on workers, issues that they have with their employers, and how it is (and could be) addressed in employment situations.

Posted in Coronavirus, Employment Law and Rights, Illness and disability | Tagged | Leave a comment

Unexpected rise in self-assessed tax receipts

Posted on February 21, 2023 by Paul Evans

Public sector finances are looking unexpectedly rosy following better-than-expected tax receipts. As the FT reports… “Jeremy Hunt has received an unexpected £30bn windfall in the public finances ahead of his March Budget, giving the chancellor scope to provide extra support … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Employment, Employment status, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, IR35, Tax | Tagged | Leave a comment

‘Don’t discuss your pay’ clauses

Posted on February 10, 2023 by Paul Evans

Have an employer told you that you can’t discuss your pay with anyone? Or that you cannot show anyone your offer of work, or contact? Many contracts in the entertainment industry contain clauses that aim to keep the information regarding … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Contracts, Employment Law and Rights, Equality, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gender equality, Gender pay, Wages and Pay-rates | Tagged | Leave a comment

The “freelancers can’t be safety reps” thing that people keep saying.

Posted on January 11, 2023 by Paul Evans

For some years, I’ve been told that “freelancers can’t be safety reps”. I knew it was shorthand for a more detailed explanation, but I finally got around to finding out what it meant in practice. I asked Chris Warburton, Prospect’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Law and Rights, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gig economy workers, Health & Safety, Trades Unions | Tagged | Leave a comment

What health records relating to employees can an employer hold?

Posted on January 4, 2023 by Paul Evans

In 2022 the ICO launched a consultation on the Employment Practices Code. This Code provides guidance on the use of data in various aspects of work including recruitment, employment records, monitoring, and information about workers’ health. Since then, the ICO … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Law and Rights, Illness and disability, Management, Personal data | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill – unions concerns

Posted on November 24, 2022 by Paul Evans

I’m sure that you’ve picked up some commentary about “The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill”, which was introduced to Parliament on 22 September 2022. This is a key element of the UK Government’s post-Brexit agenda and affects a … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Contracts, Employment intermediaries, Employment Law and Rights, Employment status, Equality, EU & Brexit, Freelancer rights, Gender equality, Gender pay, Gig economy workers, Health & Safety, Illness and disability, Long hours, Safe working practices, Safe working standards, Welfare and benefits | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Government response to Employment Status Review

Posted on October 31, 2022 by Paul Evans

The government has now responded to the results of their 2018 consultation on Employment Statuses. (The full response can be seen in this document – pdf). The Tl;dr version of it is (paraphrasing very liberally) “people who don’t like the … Continue reading →

Posted in CJRS & SEISS, Employment Law and Rights, Employment status, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gig economy workers, IR35, Tax | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Freelancers and their parental rights

Posted on October 27, 2022 by Paul Evans

I’ve had a request to write a briefing on UK parental rights for freelancers on my to-do list for a while, so I was very pleased to discover the website of Maternity Action which seems to answer most of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Law and Rights, Family rights, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gender equality, Welfare and benefits, Wellbeing, Work-life balance | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

IR35 is back (it never went away). What reforms are needed?

Posted on October 24, 2022 by Paul Evans

I had planned to post this a few weeks ago, but then Kwasi Kwarteng’s Growth Plan scuppered all of that with its oddly-framed decision to “scrap IR35”. However, we can carry on as usual now that Jeremy Hunt has reversed … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment intermediaries, Employment Law and Rights, Employment status, ESM4118, Gig economy workers, IR35, Loan arrangements, Productivity, Tax | Tagged | Leave a comment

Individual liability for safety breaches

Posted on August 17, 2022 by Paul Evans

There’s an interesting article here on Safety and Health Practitioner about a trend towards assigning liability for breaches to individuals instead of companies. “Whilst any potential breach by a business is likely to be associated with failings on the part … Continue reading →

Posted in Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gig economy workers, Health & Safety, Safe working practices, Safe working standards | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Bectu guide to DGA rules covering 1st ADs working on US productions in the UK

Posted on July 21, 2022 by Paul Evans

If a production wishes to engage a UK-based 1st AD, Bectu can issue a waiver letter that releases the production from the contractual obligation to engage a DGA 1st AD. The DGA recognises Bectu as the appropriate regulatory agency under … Continue reading →

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TUC update on insecure work

Posted on July 11, 2022 by Paul Evans

The TUC have published a report on the economy’s increased reliance upon insecure work (there are 500,000+ more insecure workers now than there were in 2016), calling for “Government inaction has left 3.7 million people in insecure work. Despite the … Continue reading →

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Bectu mental health hub

Posted on April 29, 2022 by Paul Evans

This webpage on the Bectu site includes links to our campaign to give workers the right to switch off from work along with guidance on managing mental health and stress at work, along with some of the union’s work on … Continue reading →

Posted in Bullying and Harassment, Health & Safety, Illness and disability, Mental Health, Wellbeing, Work-life balance | Tagged | Leave a comment

Labour market enforcement – update

Posted on April 28, 2022 by Paul Evans

Reading my copy of PIRC’s quarterly Work newsletter, I see that there’s no mention of the budget / timetable for the proposed Single Enforcement Body (SEB) that we are hoping to see from the UK government. There is an ongoing … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Contracts, Employment Law and Rights, Gig economy workers, Low pay, Minimum wage rates, Wages and Pay-rates | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Halyna Hutchins – Rust producers – “demonstrated plain indifference to employee safety”

Posted on April 22, 2022 by Paul Evans

There’s a lot more investigating to take place, not least into the question of how a live round ended up in a prop gun. But here’s CCN’s account of the report released by New Mexico Environment Department’s Occupational Health & … Continue reading →

Posted in Equipment and kit, Health & Safety, Safe working practices, Safe working standards, Whistleblowing | Tagged | Leave a comment

Useful bookmarks on freelance employment and tax policies

Posted on April 21, 2022 by Paul Evans

Here’s something written by Alan Lockey for Demos – “Free Radicals – Britain’s self-employed millions urgently need a new deal…” [pdf], and an IPSE’s 2017 ‘tax manifesto’ paper on “A Fairer, More Efficient Tax System” [pdf] (h/t Martin McIvor)

Posted in Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gig economy workers, IR35, Personal Service Companies, Tax, Welfare and benefits | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Your day-one right to a written statement of particulars (and a wider written statement within two months)

Posted on March 8, 2022 by Paul Evans

You may already be aware that, since 2020, employees and workers now have a right to a written statement of employment particulars before they start work. Details of what should be on that ‘principal statement’ can be seen on that … Continue reading →

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Understanding self-employed pension tax relief

Posted on February 14, 2022 by Paul Evans

I occasionally have contact from freelance members who aren’t happy that they have been enrolled into a pension scheme as a result of the statutory auto-enrolment. My normal response is – firstly – to remind members that they are turning … Continue reading →

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Understanding ‘Umbrella Companies’

Posted on February 2, 2022 by Paul Evans

I’ve just been preparing an explanation of how Umbrella Companies work to a Bectu member. Just writing it down is a reminder of what an obnoxious arrangement this is when you move people onto these – and this is what … Continue reading →

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What do employers need to do to retain talent?

Posted on December 15, 2021 by Paul Evans

It’s something of a recurring theme from the Pensions & Investment Research Consultants (PIRC), but all of the research (including their own work with Autonomy and Survation – [pdf]) point to a need to pay people better, treat them with … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Employment, Employment Law and Rights, Long hours, Low pay, Management, Mental Health, Productivity, Wellbeing, Work-life balance | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Tax avoidance and Umbrella Companies

Posted on December 7, 2021 by Paul Evans

I’ve been to a presentation from HMRC about a website that they have launched that is aimed substantially at people who are being asked to work through an Umbrella Company. It tells them how they can avoid charges of tax … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Contracts, Employment intermediaries, Employment Law and Rights, Employment status, Gig economy workers, IR35, Loan arrangements, Tax | Tagged | 1 Comment

Working terms in Swedish productions

Posted on November 29, 2021 by Paul Evans

It’s always worth looking at how other countries do work hours in the film and TV industry, and it is a commonplace view that the Swedish drama sector manages a high quality of production on working hours that also give … Continue reading →

Posted in Bectu Agreements, Employment Law and Rights, EU & Brexit, Factual & Entertainment sector data, Feature film data, Film & TV industry data, Health & Safety, High End TV data, Long hours, Major Motion Picture Agreement, Productivity, SVoD, Tax incentives, Trades Unions, TV Drama Agreement, Work-life balance | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“… the self-employed remain something of an inconvenient afterthought”

Posted on November 22, 2021 by Paul Evans

There’s a useful post here from Paul Johnson of the Institute of Fiscal Studies highlighting a number of factors that leads to the conclusion that our ecoomy and employment / tax / benefits framework has been designed around an economy … Continue reading →

Posted in CJRS & SEISS, Coronavirus, Economics, Employment Law and Rights, Employment status, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gig economy workers, Management, Personal Service Companies, Productivity, Welfare and benefits | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Fire and Rehire – ACAS put down a few pointers

Posted on November 18, 2021 by Paul Evans

In 2020, a few VFX facilities threatened to ‘fire and rehire‘ to force members to accept lower terms. It’s a big issue in the wider trades union movement too. It’s an unpopular practice, and the government recently scuppered a bill … Continue reading →

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Why ‘the freelance deal’ is a big deal – and not just for the workers concerned.

Posted on November 18, 2021 by Paul Evans

There’s a long read on this site about the ‘contingent production army’ that manages large parts of the entertainment industry. Thinking about this issue, and processing it has allowed me to get a clearer idea of what our grievances are … Continue reading →

Posted in Bullying and Harassment, Disability equality, Employment, Employment Law and Rights, Employment status, Equality, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gender equality, Gig economy workers, Health & Safety, IR35, Long hours, Management, Mental Health, National Insurance Contributions (NICs), Occupational Health, Personal Service Companies, Productivity, Race equality, Tax, Theatre and Live Events data | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

BEIS consultation on flexible working

Posted on November 17, 2021 by Paul Evans

The BEIS is currently consulting on flexible working – “Making Flexible Working the Default” – here [pdf]. “This consultation includes a set of proposals which are built around the principle that working arrangements are best decided through a constructive, open-minded … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Contracts, Gender equality, Gender representation, Health & Safety, Long hours, Productivity, Safe working practices, Safe working standards, Wellbeing, Work-life balance | Tagged | Leave a comment

Natasha’s Law – UK Food Labelling Resource

Posted on November 17, 2021 by Paul Evans

You will probably have noticed the fact that there has been a change in legislation relating to the responsibilities caterers face on food labelling, specifically relating to allergies. The new food labelling legislation in the UK such as the UK … Continue reading →

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Violation Tracker UK

Posted on November 2, 2021 by Paul Evans

Violation Tracker UK is a search tool that brings together data on a range of regulatory infringements committed by companies across the United Kingdom, including employment tribunal data. It has been put together by the Corporate Research Project of Good … Continue reading →

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Flexible working – Arup explore the seven-day week

Posted on October 18, 2021 by Paul Evans

From Arup’s website: “Arup, the employee-owned global engineering and design firm, has today announced it is adopting an innovative hybrid model – known as Work Unbound – that will give its 15,500 employees, known as members, greater flexibility in deciding … Continue reading →

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Homeworking will help improve women’s careers

Posted on October 5, 2021 by Paul Evans

The option to work from home is likely to help employers retain valuable workers, and can make the balance of work and childcare a lot easier to manage. It is likely to result in more ‘returners’ after periods of maternity … Continue reading →

Posted in Equality, Family rights, Gender equality, Gender pay, Remote working, Work-life balance | Tagged , , | Leave a comment