We're thrilled to announce that Starford has been shortlisted for a prestigious Law Society Award, the highest accolade for law firms in England and Wales.

We're thrilled to announce that Starford Legal HR has been shortlisted for a prestigious Personnel Today Award in the HR Consultancy of the Year category.

In April 2021, Channel 4 launched what is thought to be the world's first Pregnancy Loss Policy to support employees experiencing different forms of pregnancy loss including abortion, miscarriage and stillbirth. The policy, which will benefit both male and female employees, is part of Channel 4's initiative to end the stigma around women's health and counter taboos in the workplace, making them more visible.

New Furlough Treasury Direction has been issued, here are the headline points:

HMRC has updated its guidance to state that employers can (not must) furlough employees whose health has been affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) or any other conditions, including if they are unable to work from home.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has issued a consultation paper on measures to reform post-termination restrictive covenants.

The HMRC Guidance for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was released yesterday evening and there are a number of deadlines in the Guidance to be immediately aware of.

“An Act to make it unlawful to discriminate against disabled persons in connection with employment, the provision of goods, facilities and services or the disposal or management of premises; to make provision about the employment of disabled persons; and to establish a National Disability Council.”

The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has announced that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (also known as the furlough scheme) will remain open until 31 March 2021. For claim periods running to January 2021, employees will receive 80% of their usual salary for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £2,500 per month, hence the scheme is more generous than the scheme running in September and October. The percentage may be reviewed for February and March.

HM Treasury has today announced that the Government contribution to employers’ wage costs under the Job Support Scheme (JSS) will be increased. Employers will be expected to pay 5% of the cost of unworked hours instead of the 33% originally announced.

The government has published details of the one-off bonus that employers can claim if they keep previously furloughed employees on their books for three months after the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme closes on 31 October.

On 24 September 2020, the Chancellor announced the Job Support Scheme (JSS) that will run for six months from 1 November 2020. Read more here.

How can businesses move to better represent their customers and workforces following the cultural shifts aided by the Black Lives Matter movement? Advertising boss Karen Blackett OBE - who was made race equality business champion by former Prime Minister Theresa May - has a series of tips for bosses seeking to tackle racism and to diversify their firms.

In Varnish v British Cycling Federation t/a British Cycling, the EAT has held that an employment tribunal was entitled to conclude that a professional cyclist was neither an employee nor a worker of the British Cycling Federation (a not-for-profit organisation) within the meaning of S.230 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

As lockdown restrictions begin easing and we move into the new normal, now is the ideal time to develop your employees and enable them to competently manage their teams. We're offering bespoke live video training sessions for up to 8 members of your team.

Starford Legal HR and Liberty First Consulting have announced the complete merger of their business operations to offer a fully integrated Legal HR and Management Consultancy solution to the market. Starford will acquire Liberty First assets, people and client contracts and the merged business will operate under the Starford Legal HR brand.

An excellent summary of what is changing for the furlough scheme has been produced by Caroline Harwood, a partner and head of Share Plans and Employment Tax at Crowe UK LLP. Read more about what is changing here…

The Government has published a step-by-step guide on how to claim for your employees' wages through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).

The Treasury has issued a Direction to HMRC under powers conferred by the Coronavirus Act 2020, containing authority and instructions for making payments under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

The government has published further guidance for apprentices, as well as for employers, training providers, end-point assessment organisations and external quality assurance providers.