We would like to remind any students and seasonal staff that work part time, for example in a summer job, to ensure they are being paid the National Minimum Wage (NMW). All workers are legally entitled to be paid the NMW. This includes temporary seasonal staff, who often work short-term contracts in bars, hotels, shops and warehouses over the summer. 

HMRC helped some 155,000 people recover more than £16 million in pay which was due to them. HMRC is reminding workers to check their hourly rate of pay, and to also check any deductions or unpaid working time. The most common causes of minimum wage underpayment are deductions and unpaid working time such as travelling time between work locations and training time.

The current National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) rates came into effect on 1 April 2021. The NLW is the minimum hourly rate that must be paid to those aged 23 or over. The hourly rate of the NMW (for 21-22 year olds) is £8.36. The rates for 18-20 year olds is £6.56 and the rate for workers above the school leaving age but under 18 is £4.62. 

Employees that are not being paid correctly can make an official complaint through GOV.UK or contact the ACAS Pay and Work Rights Helpline on 0300 123 1100.

With England having moved to step 4 of the roadmap out of lockdown from 19 July 2021, the government has published updated guidance on working safely during coronavirus. The guidance, which is to be kept under review, has been re-categorised into the following six sector-specific guides:

• construction and outdoor work
• events and attractions
• hotels and guest accommodation
• offices, factories and labs
• restaurants, pubs, bars, nightclubs and takeaway services
• shops, branches and close contact services.

There is also a general step 4 overview which makes clear that the government is no longer instructing people to work from home and businesses no longer need to implement social distancing in the workplace. However, it warns that businesses still have a legal duty to manage risks to those affected by their business, and the way to do this is to carry out a health and safety risk assessment, including the risk of COVID-19, and to take reasonable steps to mitigate the identified risks. The onus is on businesses to decide what mitigations are appropriate to adopt. The guidance also states that the government expects and recommended a gradual return to the workplace over the summer, and employers should discuss the timing and phasing of a return with their workers. 

The sector-specific guides each set out six priority actions for businesses to take from 19 July 2021 to protect their staff and customers. These are:

1. Complete a health and safety risk assessment that includes the risk from COVID-19
2. Provide adequate ventilation
3. Clean more often
4. Turn away people with COVID-19 symptoms
5. Enable people to check in at the business venue
6. Communicate and train.

Employers are advised to give extra consideration to workers who are at higher risk, discussing their individual needs and supporting them in taking any additional precautions advised by their clinicians, and those facing mental and physical health difficulties. 

Public Health England has published a new guide for employers on COVID-19 vaccination. The guide encourages employers to support the government’s COVID-19 vaccination programme and it covers the following subjects:

• why supporting vaccination of employees against COVID-19 is important
• what employers can do to support the vaccination of their workforce
• resources to help employers promote vaccination to their workforce.

In particular, the guide links to the previously published employer toolkit (which has now been updated) on supporting employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The toolkit can be downloaded as a zip folder and comprises an employer briefing sheet, posters, email signatures, a Q&A document, web banners and other resources.

The rules for individuals providing services to certain private sector organisations via an intermediary such as a personal service company (PSC) changed from 6 April 2021. The new rules mean that medium and large-sized clients are now responsible for deciding whether the intermediaries’ legislation applies to their workers. This includes charities and third sector organisations. The changes mainly apply to businesses with an annual turnover of more than £10.2 million.

HMRC has laid out some helpful best practice points to be aware of in complying with the rules:

• consider how the changes affect your organisation
• upskill those responsible for making decisions
• review current workforce
• talk to your contractors
• operate PAYE where appropriate
• use the RTI flag
• have a clear process in place for disagreements
• maintain an audit trail – this is a legal requirement
• utilise the resources and guidance available to you including HMRC’s off-payroll working guidance.

This is also relevant to agencies of any size who supply contractors that may be affected by these rules.

The government has published its response to its consultation on making COVID-19 vaccination a condition of deployment for workers in care homes in England and has confirmed that it will now bring forward regulations to implement a mandatory vaccination requirement to protect all care home residents who are clinically vulnerable to COVID-19. These regulations, which will amend the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, will require all service providers of nursing and personal care regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), in care homes in England, to allow entry to the premises only to those who can demonstrate evidence of having had a complete course of an authorised COVID-19 vaccine (or evidence that they are medically exempt from vaccination). 

The requirement will only apply indoors and will exclude residents, friends or relatives of residents who are visiting, persons providing emergency assistance or urgent maintenance work in the care home, and those under the age of 18. 

The consultation response also lists three key changes to the proposals set out in the original consultation document:
 

• extending the scope of the policy to all CQC-registered care homes in England which provide accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care, not just those with residents over the age of 65
• extending the vaccination requirement to all persons who enter a care home building, regardless of their role, rather than just care home staff and volunteers. This will therefore include other healthcare professionals, tradespeople, hairdressers, beauticians and CQC inspectors, but will not apply to people who only work in the outdoor surrounding grounds of care home premises
• widening of the proposed exclusions.

If approved by Parliament, there will be a 16-week grace period from when the regulations are made to when they come into force to enable staff who haven’t yet been vaccinated to take up the vaccine, which means the mandatory vaccination requirement is likely to apply from October 2021. 

A further consultation will be launched shortly on whether to make COVID-19 vaccination a condition of deployment in other health and social care settings.