We’ve updated several of our employment documents this month, to reflect changes in the law. If you have a current Clickdocs annual subscription that includes employment documents then you can order the update version free of charge.
Immigration Act 2016
As you’re hopefully aware, the Immigration Act 2016 requires to carry out ‘Right to Work’ checks on all employees before employment commences. Employers can be fined up to £20,000 for employing someone who doesn’t have the legal right to work in the UK.
Prior to 12 July 2016 the employer would have committed a criminal offence under The Act if they “knowingly” employ someone who doesn’t have the right to undertake the work for which they have been employed. This has now changed and “knowingly” has been extended to include employers who have “reasonable cause to believe” that the employee can’t work because of their immigration status.
Penalties for the criminal offence have risen from 2 to 5 years maximum imprisonment. The employer be fined (no upper limit) as well as imprisoned.
A new criminal offence that penalises the individual who works without the correct immigration status has also been introduced. The maximum penalty is 6 months in prison. Personal assets can also be seized.
The following Clickdocs employment documents have been updated to reflect this change in the law:
Psychoactive Substances
The Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 came into force on 26 May 2016 to control the production, sale and supply of substance known as “legal highs”. As a result, our Alcohol and Drug Misuse Policy has been updated to include psychoactive substances withing the definition of “drug abuse”.
As an amusing aside: whilst this law was making its way through parliament the Home Office reassured church officials that the use of incense during church services would not be covered by the bill (see this Guardian news article).
British Transport v Sparks
We have updated several employment policies and the template contract of employment in light of a recent Court of Appeal case. This case highlighted the need for employers to use careful wording to avoid employment polices being construed by the courts as a contractual obligation on the part of the employers.
Summary of Updated Legal Templates
- Alcohol and Drug Misuse Policy
- Contract of Employment
- Recruitment Policy and accompanying notes
- Grievance Procedure
- Disciplinary Procedure
- Recruitment Procedure
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