Mark Lewis, HMCTS service manager for Employment Tribunals, has passed on the following message: Please be aware that all Employment Tribunal online services (affecting submission of ET1s, ET3s and digital applications) will be subject to a planned upgrade between 20:30 and 00:30 on Thursday 31 July 2025. The usual 'this service is temporarily unavailable' message will appear for anyone trying to submit via the digital portals during this period. Any party with a time limit expiring in this period should plan accordingly.

Mark Lewis, HMCTS service manager for Employment Tribunals, has passed on the following message: Please be aware that all Employment Tribunal online services (affecting submission of ET1s, ET3s and digital applications) will be subject to a planned upgrade between 20:30 and 23:00 on Tuesday 12 August 2025. The usual ‘this service is temporarily unavailable’ message will appear for anyone trying to submit via the digital portals during this period. Any party with a time limit expiring in this period should plan accordingly.

Mark Lewis, HMCTS service manager for Employment Tribunals, has passed on the following message: Please be aware that all Employment Tribunal online services (affecting submission of ET1s, ET3s and digital applications) will be subject to a planned upgrade on Wednesday 4 February between 20:00 and 23:30. The usual 'this service is temporarily unavailable' message will appear for anyone trying to submit via the digital portals during this period. Any party with a time limit expiring in this period should plan accordingly.

This edition of Employment weekly highlights includes: (1) an independent review of the UK’s whistleblowing framework conducted by Grant Thornton UK LLP, (2) the announcement of a new fit note trial by the government, (3) consultations on proposed reforms to the senior managers and certification regime (SM&CR) from the PRA and the FCA, (4) new Presidential Guidance on open justice in the Scottish employment tribunal from the President of the Employment Tribunals in Scotland, (5) a consultation on a digital justice inclusion framework and pre-action model for courts and tribunals, (6) dates for your diary, and (7) other news items of interest to employment practitioners.

This Practice Note provides a full analysis of the legislation regulating the private recruitment industry, including the Employment Agencies Act 1973 (EAA 1973) and the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 (Conduct Regulations 2003), SI 2003/3319. It examines the scope of the legislation, the definitions of employment agency, employment business and work-finding services, umbrella companies, tax treatment, opting-out of the Conduct Regulations 2003 and the position of a work-seeker operating through a personal service company (PSC). It sets out the requirements before services are provided (notice of charges and terms) or a work-seeker is introduced (information and suitability). The note goes on to address the obligation on employment businesses to provide a key information document (KID), charges to hirers, specific rules applying in the entertainment, sport and modelling sectors, client accounts and remedies and enforcement action for breach of the regulatory regime. Quick view The table below sets out the key issues to consider in relation to EAA 1973 and the Conduct Regulations 2003, SI 2003/3319 and where they are covered. In some

Ireland—Employment analysis: This article, written by A&L Goodbody’s Employment and Disputes & Investigations Team, examines the legal and reputational risks arising from workplace relationships and outlines best practices for employers in developing an effective crisis response strategy.

ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note provides this year’s annual round-up reviews some of the most significant developments of 2017 and previews what is on the horizon for 2018. This includes the abolition of employment tribunal fees, mandatory gender pay gap reporting, ‘gig economy’ cases on worker status, and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Also included are updates on LexisNexis®’s content, including news of exciting developments from the past year and what is coming up in the next 12 months. Reviewing 2017 Employment tribunals What happened? The employment law landscape changed dramatically on 26 July 2017 when the Supreme Court in R (on the application of Unison) v Lord Chancellor [2017] IRLR 911 held that the Employment Tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal Fees Order 2013 (‘the Fees Order’), SI 2013/1893, which had been in force since 29 July 2013, was unlawful ab initio (ie from the start). This was because the Fees Order: • had the effect of preventing access to justice, and • was also indirectly discriminatory because a higher proportion

THIS PRACTICE NOTE APPLIES IN RELATION TO MULTI-EMPLOYER DEFINED BENEFIT OCCUPATIONAL PENSION SCHEMES This Practice Note considers the issues which trustees of a multi-employer defined benefit (DB) pension scheme should consider where an employment cessation event occurs which triggers a section 75 debt. An employment cessation event will occur where the participating employer of a multi-employer DB scheme ceases to have active members at a time when another participating employer in the scheme still has at least one active member. On the occurrence of an employment cessation event, a statutory debt (known as a 'section 75 debt' or 'employer debt') is triggered under the Pensions Act 1995, ss 75–75A and the Occupational Pension Schemes (Employer Debt) Regulations 2005, SI 2005/678 (the Employer Debt Regulations) on that participating employer. The debt triggered is equal to the share of the scheme's full section 75 debt that is attributable to that employer. That share is referred to in legislation as the liability share. For further information, see Practice Notes: When is a section 75 debt triggered? and

Scottish civil courts, like their counterparts in England and Wales, can and do decide certain employment disputes. However, there are very significant differences between the civil court systems in Scotland and in England and Wales which practitioners need to be aware of. This Practice Note provides an overview of: • the most common orders sought by employment lawyers in Scottish civil courts • the structure of the Scottish civil court system • the jurisdiction and key features of each relevant court • rights of audience • rules of procedure • important points about: ◦ breach of contract claims in Scotland ◦ injunctive (interlocutory) relief in Scotland ◦ dawn raids in Scotland ◦ industrial relations disputes in Scotland ◦ equality of terms claims in Scotland The purpose of this Practice Note is to provide an introduction to the key features of the Scottish civil court system for employment lawyers. It is not intended to and does not purport to be a comprehensive account of all features and intricacies

Contract of employment dated [insert date] Parties 1 [Name of Employer] [of [insert address] OR a company incorporated in [England and Wales] (registered number [insert number]) whose registered office is at [insert address]] (we or us); and 2 [Name of employee] of [insert address] (you). 1 Appointment 1.1 We will employ you on the terms and conditions set out in this contract. 1.2 [ [ Option 1: Continuity (no previous PERIOD of employment counts): ]Your employment with us under this contract [will start OR started] on [insert date] (the 'Start Date'). Your period of continuous employment with us [started on OR will start on] the Start Date, and no period of employment with any previous employer counts as part of your period of continuous employment with us. OR 1.3 [ Option 2: Continuity (previous PERIOD of employment counts): ]Your employment with us under this contract [will start OR started] on [insert date] (the 'Start Date'). Your period of continuous employment with us [started on OR will start on] [insert date], as your employment with [insert name of previous employer] counts as part of your period of continuous employment with us. OR

Contract of employment dated [insert date] Parties 1 [Name of Employer] [of [insert address] OR a company incorporated in [Scotland] (registered number [insert number]) whose registered office is at [insert address]] (we or us); and 2 [Name of employee] of [insert address] (you). 1 Appointment 1.1 We will employ you on the terms and conditions set out in this contract. 1.2 [ [ Option 1: Continuity (no previous PERIOD of employment counts): ]Your employment with us under this contract [will start OR started] on [insert date] (the 'Start Date'). Your period of continuous employment with us [started on OR will start on] the Start Date, and no period of employment with any previous employer counts as part of your period of continuous employment with us. OR 1.3 [ Option 2: Continuity (previous PERIOD of employment counts): ]Your employment with us under this contract [will start OR started] on [insert date] (the 'Start Date'). Your period of continuous employment with us [started on OR will start on] [insert date], as your employment with [insert name of previous employer] counts as part of your period of continuous employment with us. OR

Contract of employment dated [insert date] Parties 1 [Name of Employer] [of [insert address] OR a company incorporated in [England and Wales] (registered number [insert number]) whose registered office is at [insert address]] (we or us); and 2 [Name of employee] of [insert address] (you). 1 Appointment 1.1 We will employ you on the terms and conditions set out in this contract. 1.2 [ [ Option 1: Continuity (no previous PERIOD of employment counts): ]Your employment with us under this contract [will start OR started] on [insert date] (the 'Start Date'). Your period of continuous employment with us [started on OR will start on] the Start Date, and no period of employment with any previous employer counts as part of your period of continuous employment with us. OR 1.3 [ Option 2: Continuity (previous PERIOD of employment counts): ]Your employment with us under this contract [will start OR started] on [insert date] (the 'Start Date'). Your period of continuous employment with us [started on OR will start on] [insert date], as your employment with [insert name of previous employer] counts as part of your period of continuous employment with us. OR