Category Archives: Employment Contracts

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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‘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 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

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

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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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

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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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

DNEG to pay overtime

Posted on September 13, 2021 by Paul Evans

A major UK VFX facility has finally broken ranks and agreed to pay overtime rates for all work recorded over 40 hours in a week. “Beginning in October, we will pay overtime at 1.5x rate for any incremental time that … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Contracts, Long hours, Recruitment and organising, Trades Unions, Work-life balance, Workplace conflict | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Freelance Deal: 1. Employment Rights, Tax and Pensions

Posted on August 24, 2021 by Paul Evans

This is the first draft of the policy document that has been agreed by the Tax, Employment Rights and Pensions Working Group of London Production Division (LPD) on the 7th May 2020. It is a contribution to Bectu’s proposed ‘New … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Contracts, Employment Law and Rights, Employment status, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gig economy workers, IR35, Long hours, Management, Pensions, Personal Service Companies, Skills & capacity, Tax, Welfare and benefits, Wellbeing, Work-life balance | Tagged | Leave a comment

Ban Umbrella Companies?

Posted on August 5, 2021 by Paul Evans

The TUC is calling for a ban on Umbrella Companies [pdf]. The document under that link also outlines what they define as an Umbrella Company – I’ll be reading this in some detail as I think there may be some … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Contracts, Employment intermediaries, Employment Law and Rights, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Personal Service Companies | Tagged | Leave a comment

Lord John Hendy QC – The Status of Workers Bill.

Posted on July 19, 2021 by Paul Evans

Lord Hendy’s bill The Status of Workers Bill was introduced to the House of Lords on the 26th May 2021. It is… “A Bill to make provision for the creation of a single status for workers by amending the meaning … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Contracts, Employment intermediaries, Employment Law and Rights, Employment status, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gig economy workers, IR35, Personal Service Companies | Tagged , | Leave a comment

TUC insecure work report

Posted on July 15, 2021 by Paul Evans

The TUC have published a special edition of their Jobs and Recovery monitor,and this time it’s focussed on Insecure Work [PDF]. From the exec summary… The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the reality of insecure work in the UK. Care workers, … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment, Employment Contracts, Employment Law and Rights, Employment status, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gig economy workers, Low pay, Welfare and benefits | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Unenforceable employment rights in film & TV

Posted on July 9, 2021 by Paul Evans

TUC have authored a guide to enforcing workplace rights here (it’s an MS Word doc that downloads instantly). There are two obvious ones in film & TV that we’d like to be considered in any updates. The 11-hour break between … Continue reading →

Posted in Bectu Agreements, Employment Contracts, Employment Law and Rights, Film & TV industry policy, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gig economy workers, Long hours, Safe working practices | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Covid Riders to contracts

Posted on June 9, 2021 by Paul Evans

At the start of the return-to-work in the late summer of 2020 we started seeing a lot of ‘covid waiver’ clauses in contracts. These were often called things like ‘acknowledgment of risk’. They sought to absolve the production of liabilities … Continue reading →

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TUC report on labour market enforcement

Posted on June 7, 2021 by Paul Evans

A May 2021 TUC report into non-compliance with labour market regulations is available here. Here’s the takeaway: “To put it bluntly, our labour market enforcement system is under-resourced. There are not enough labour market inspectors to investigate and enforce breaches … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Contracts, Employment Law and Rights, Freelancer rights, Gig economy workers, Long hours, Safe working practices | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Force Majeure

Posted on May 18, 2021 by Paul Evans

There’s a useful thread here from @davidallengreen explaining the origins and application of Force Majeure. The threadreader version is here. David has written this to comment on HMG’s speculation that they may use it in respect of the Northern Ireland … Continue reading →

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Right to a written statement of particulars

Posted on May 4, 2021 by Paul Evans

From 6 April 2020, every new employee and worker has have the right to the current statement of written particulars from day one of their contract. For more details see this article on the ACAS website.

Posted in Employment Contracts, Employment Law and Rights | Tagged | 2 Comments