News

Coronavirus and your charity: Bates Wells address charities’ key questions in new webinar

With the entire charity sector raising a range of legal questions in relation to the impact of coronavirus in recent weeks, Bates Wells, in association with NCVO, have produced a webinar which addresses charities’ most common queries. The webinar, which you can view here after registering your details, covered the following topics: HR and employment …
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Bates Wells covers employment law implications of coronavirus in new webinars

With the disruption caused by the coronavirus continuing into April, this week Paul Seath, partner in our employment team, delivered two webinars focusing on how the ongoing turbulence has impacted on employment law. In the first online session Paul covered everything from the rules governing sick pay that employers need to be aware of, through …
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Coronavirus and your organisation (25 March)

The coronavirus situation continues to disrupt and reshape “business as usual”. In this week’s roundup, we examine key employment issues; immigration issues; and new procurement guidance. Employment Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: how it worksFollowing the government’s announcement that employers will be able to ask HMRC for a grant to cover 80% of furloughed workers’ wage …
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Coronavirus – What is going to happen to my employment tribunal claims?

Regardless of which side of the claim you fall on, if you have an upcoming hearing you may be concerned about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Below we set out a brief summary of recent guidance from the Employment Tribunal and what you can expect to happen to any pending hearings. All content on …
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Releasing restricted funds and endowments

This article was published in 2020. Click here for an updated guide, including information on changes brought by the Charities Act. With charities facing a significant decline in income due to the coronavirus pandemic, many are in urgent need of alternative sources of funding to tide them over. Many will be looking for external support …
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Charity Trustee Meetings – A Coronavirus Guide

Offices are closed, we are not meeting face to face, but we still need to take decisions. There will be forgiveness for not following procedures to the letter of the law and procedural errors can be put right later. Both the Charity Commission and OSCR have stated they will be relaxed about technicalities. What matters …
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Coronavirus and your staff: what if working from home is not an option?

Following the government’s advice that people avoid non-essential contact, many organisations will be asking their staff to work from home. But what options are left when working from home is not possible? Please see our latest update on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme here. We examine what routes are available in this situation – and …
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Our commitment to clients during coronavirus

As a result of the current situation regarding coronavirus (COVID-19) We are following government and best-practice guidelines to avoid any preventable risks. We have already advised people, in line with government guidelines, to work from home. We have been an agile office for over two years so we are fully equipped to continue to deliver …
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The ICO and GDPR enforcement: Victoria Hordern writes for Privacy Laws & Business UK

In the latest edition of Privacy Laws & Business UK, Victoria provides her views on how the ICO has sought to enforce the GDPR. Victoria begins her article with a summary of what the GDPR seeks to do, namely to ‘strengthen the rights of individuals and the powers of regulators’ whilst adopting a deliberately anti-trust …
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The GDPR should not thwart a sensible approach to COVID-19 concerns

A disease that few of us had even heard of until recently has now become the main topic of conversation in workplaces and homes. Given how quickly COVID-19 can spread it’s no surprise that employers are introducing measures to prevent the disease causing serious problems to their day to day activities as well as taking …
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Bates Wells publishes Gender Pay Report 2019

Today we publish the ‘Bates Wells Gender Pay Report 2019’, our annual analysis of our gender pay data and what we plan to do to address our gender pay gap. At Bates Wells, we are motivated and driven by our purpose and values. We believe in creating a workplace that is fair, inclusive and allows …
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Victoria Cook speaks to People Management on how HR teams can prepare for impact of coronavirus on their workplace

Victoria Cook, Senior Associate in Bates Wells’ employment team, has provided commentary to People Management on what employers can do to put themselves in the best position to deal with coronavirus’ impact on the workplace. With many employers now tempted to take far-reaching decisions in light of the virus’ spread, Victoria explains how important it …
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