Resources

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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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Updating your template contracts in light of upcoming changes

As readers will be aware, under Section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 organisations are required to provide employees with a written statement containing certain basic terms of their employment. With effect from 6 April 2020, there are a number of substantive changes to: the requirements regarding what information needs to be included in …
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Suspension: a bridge too far?

We are often asked to advise charities and social enterprises about whether they can or should suspend employees where there are concerns about their conduct. Lucy McLynn advises charity and social enterprise employers to be very cautious when considering suspension of an employee.
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ICO warns schools about use of children’s images

What are the rules around using photographs of children? Do we need to get parental/ PR* holder consent for every child in a group photo? These are questions that regularly vex organisations and parents alike. And no organisations more so than schools. The ICO has published a blog highlighting legal warnings that it has issued …
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The Government’s quick solution to cutting migration – make it unaffordable

Hidden away in last week’s budget news was confirmation that the Immigration Health Surcharge will be increasing from October 2020.  This will pose a significant additional cost on employers and visa applicants and it should be noted that this cost will also apply to new arrivals from the EU from 1 January 2021. The new …
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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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Acquiring and investing in B Corps – our top tips

If you’re considering acquiring or investing in a B Corporation, then this guide is for you. We set out the key things you should consider before starting the process.
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Helping young people in care

We have provided young people in the social care system with the advice and assistance necessary to resolve their immigration status for good, enabling them to live in the UK with the same opportunities as their peers. What happened? We were contacted by a local authority concerned about a child in their care, Maria. Maria …
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Considering a career in law?

We’ve prepared a short series of videos to help you gain an insight into the profession. Bates Wells is committed to improving social mobility and access into the legal profession. We normally partner with organisations and local schools to deliver work experience in our offices. As you can imagine, in 2020 that was all turned …
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Transgender inclusion and beliefs

Some employees, volunteers and beneficiaries who object to a charity’s transgender inclusion policies say that their objections are based on their ‘gender critical beliefs’. In the second of our series of articles on transgender inclusion and the law, Mindy Jhittay explores the relationship between transgender inclusion and beliefs.
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