Only half of employers published their 2018-19 gender pay gap reports

On 24 March and due to the coronavirus outbreak, The Government took the decision to suspend enforcement of the gender pay gap deadlines for this reporting year (2019/20), in relation to gender pay gap data for the year April 2018 – April 2019. This was less than two weeks before the 4 April 2020 deadline. As a result Business in the Community has reported that 50% of businesses have not reported their gender pay gap this year and warned that "the COVID-19 crisis could ‘set back women’s equality a generation". It reported that as of 8 April, 5,081 organisations had reported on the government portal. Since then, about 500 additional organisations have reported. Last year, 10,828 organisations had reported by the April 2019 deadline.

Charlotte Woodworth, gender equality campaign director at Business in the Community, said: “Pay gap reporting is a vital tool in understanding and tackling gender inequality at work. If we don’t have a clear picture of women’s status at work entering.

Self-isolating when travelling to the UK

The Government has published guidance on how individuals should self-isolate if they arrive in the UK on or after 8 June 2020 (subject to certain exemptions). Essentially this means that people are not allowed to leave the place they are staying for the first 14 days they are in the UK, and it is an offence not to do so. Those employees who can work from home during their self-isolation can continue to be paid as normal. The position is less clear for employed individuals who cannot otherwise work from home both in terms of whether they can be paid SSP during their absence, or be required to take a period of annual leave during those 14 days.

Parents returning to work after a period of family leave are eligible for furlough after 10 June

The Government has now confirmed that parents on statutory maternity and paternity leave who return to work in the coming months will be eligible for furlough scheme even after 10 June cut-off date for new entrants. This will only apply where they work for an employer who has previously furloughed employees.

ICO guidance on health checks in the workplace

As more people head back to the workplace, the ICO has issued guidance for employers about what they can and can't do to when checking their employees' health status.