Top 10 HR questions February 2020: Coronavirus and right-to-work checks

How to respond to the risk of the spread of coronavirus is the subject of February’s most popular FAQs.

Employers were also asking about how to carry out right to work checks for EU nationals, now that the UK has left the EU.

New rules on written statements of employment particulars come into force on 6 April 2020, along with the changes to the IR35 rules in the private sector. FAQs on these developments also feature in the top ten.

The top 10 HR questions in February 2020:

1. Is there any duty on employers to close their workplace if a risk of contact with coronavirus is identified?

2. Can an employer instruct an employee who may be at risk of having contracted coronavirus not to come to work?

3. What should an employer do if an employee is concerned about the risk of contracting coronavirus and does not want to attend work?

4. What is IR35?

5. How should employers carry out right to work in the UK checks for European nationals following Brexit?

6. Which individuals will be entitled to a written statement of employment terms from 6 April 2020?

7. If an employer has a high proportion of employees self-isolating to avoid the spread of coronavirus, can it require other employees to work extra hours to cover the work?

8. Do employers have a duty to take special measures to protect those employees who are most at risk if they are exposed to coronavirus?

9. What impact will Brexit have on EU nationals currently working in the UK?

10. What is the time period over which the employer must consult on a TUPE transfer?