Top 10 HR questions July 2023: Strikes and agency workers

From 10 August, employers cannot use agency workers to cover work during strikes.

The High Court has found that the government acted unlawfully when it amended legislation to allow employers to use agency workers to cover the work of striking workers.

The Court held that Kwasi Kwarteng, who was business secretary when the legislation was amended in July 2022, had failed to consult properly on the change and had not taken into account evidence that it could have an adverse impact on the government’s ability to settle ongoing industrial disputes.

This issue is dealt with in one of the questions in the month’s top 10. Two other questions in the list look at when an employer can dismiss an employee because of their conduct out of work, including where this has resulted in a prison sentence.

Questions on ill-health dismissals, the calculation of holiday pay, and payments in lieu of notice also feature in the top 10.relx_copyright – This article is Brightmine content – Copyright 2024 LexisNexis Risk Solutions

The top 10 HR questions in July 2023:

1. When can an employer dismiss an employee on the grounds of ill health?

2. When does overtime have to be included in holiday pay?

3. Where employees take strike action, can their employer hire temporary staff to cover their work?

4. If an employee receives a payment in lieu of notice, will their annual leave entitlement accrue up to the termination date, or the end of the notice period?

5. Should an employer deal with an employee’s poor performance through its disciplinary or capability procedure?

6. Can an employer dismiss an employee because they are in prison?

7. Is time spent on call “working time” for the purposes of the Working Time Regulations 1998?

8. What is the potential impact of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 on HR?

9. In a redundancy situation, what obligations does an employer have with regard to offering suitable alternative employment?

10. Is it permissible to dismiss an employee on the grounds of misconduct that occurred outside the workplace?

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