News - 1-9 February 2023

Here is the news.

We start this week with a few updates on the government’s next raft of wacky legislation with implications for the employment landscape.  Firstly, we have the consultation on the code of practice proposed for fire-and-rehire.(1)We have an update on the ongoing battle between the government and its proposed Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill.(2)  The Bar Council has reported and the likely disastrously damaging effects of Jacob Rees-Mogg’s foamy, Retained EU Law Bill which recently received its second reading in the Commons.(3)   

Moving on a new study is assessing the drastic impact of ‘long COVID’ now confirmed in caselaw as a disability, on the workplace.(4) We look next at parents rights during teaching strikes.(5) The Global recruiter reports that the cost of living crisis and government mismanagement have left almost half of workers fearing for their jobs.(6)An even more detailed article can be found here.(7) The government have now responded to the Women & Equalities Committee report on the menopause and its response is as expected, disappointing.(8)Despite Jeremy Hunt’s hopes, it appears re-hiring older (often retired) workers is not going according to plan.(9)      

The TUC has four articles of note this week the first looks towards the Spring Budget 2023.(10)The second is a set of childcare submissions for the Education Select Committee.(11) The third is a response to the ICO consultation on Data Protection.(12) The final article cites resent research from by the TUC which shows that the Conservative Party have cost the UK £400Bn in lost revenue since 2010!(13)