HR news briefing News and analysis
what November means for you
Brexit deadline extended to 31 January 2020
What you should know:
On 19 October Boris Johnson
won the support of MPs in
principle for his amended
Brexit deal. However, Tory MP
Oliver Letwin’s amendment,
which pauses Johnson’s Brexit
deal until parliament passes
the legislation to enact it, was
passed by a majority of 322 to
306, preventing the vote from
taking place.
Letwin said this was an
“insurance policy” to ensure
the UK does not crash out of
the EU without a deal on 31
October. The amendment
brought the ‘Benn Act’ into
play, which requires Johnson
to ask the EU for an extension.
At the time of going to press
the EU had agreed to an
extension up to 31 January –
with the option for the UK to
leave earlier if a deal is signed
off – and the government had
tabled a motion calling for a
12 December election.
Concerns have also been
raised regarding the
replacement of the word
‘adequate’ with ‘appropriate’
within the UK-EU Political
Declaration where
mechanisms for enforcing
common social,
environmental and labour
standards are described.
Conservative party chairman
James Cleverly rejected
suggestions this represents an
attempt to relax workers’ rights.
What you should do:
In light of yet more
uncertainty, employers must
create an action plan
flexible enough to
withstand potential
changes to Brexit strategy,
advised Yuichi Sekine,
senior associate and head
of business immigration
at Bird & Bird.
“Given the lack of
certainty that employers
have endured since June 2016
UK employers have been
understandably struggling
to manage their risk on
operations and business
continuity. In any eventuality,
we would advise them to
conduct a deep analysis of
their workforce and reconfirm
employees’ legal right to work
status,” he said.
“Employers will also
need to map out action
plans for each group of
affected employees and
continue to reassure those
employees with a robust
communications strategy.”
Photography: UK Parliament - GOV.UK
Our pick of HR online
Banning out-of-hours emails could harm
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While some countries have introduced or are considering a ban on
email outside of working hours to reduce stress, a study from the
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bit.ly/HRafterhrs
Is flexible working for menopausal
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In September the Labour party announced that
it would introduce new policies to support
women going through the
menopause at work.
But there’s a danger this
kind of legislation would
constitute special
treatment, argues barrister
Kevin Charles.
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The
month in
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Ed Balls: Physical
and mental health
conditions can be
useful at work
Speaking at The
Mad World Summit
former Labour MP
Ed Balls shared his
experience of learning
to manage a stammer
in a public role, and
urged others not to hide
their conditions.
bit.ly/HRedballs
37% of workers
would be put off
applying to a company
that doesn’t have a
‘pet-friendly’ policy
23% of workers who
don’t take holiday say it’s
because they are not sure
where they would go
38% say it is because
they are too busy at work
Tombola
92%
of 18- to
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admit
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Love Energy Savings
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54%
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poor
Dreams
hrmagazine.co.uk November 2019 HR 7
/GOV.UK
/hrmagazine.co.uk