This edition of Employment weekly highlights includes: (1) an announcement that the State Opening of Parliament and the King’s Speech will both take place on 17 July 2024, (2) an EAT judgment concerning contractual entitlement to lifelong travel benefits, (3) a Court of Appeal decision about whether contract workers could bring an indirect discrimination claim against the client relating to being paid less than directly employed staff, (4) the Finance (No 2) Act 2024, (5) an EAT decision about whether an employer’s pandemic holiday policy was indirectly discriminatory to non-British employees, (6) a report by PwC on mandatory gender pay gap reporting in 2023–2024, (7) the Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 2024, (8) a High Court decision refusing an injunction to a trade union member who wanted legal representation at a disciplinary appeal hearing, (9) analysis of the failure to prevent fraud offence faces expected to come into effect in 2025, (10) an EAT judgment on whether redeployment should be considered by the tribunal as a matter of course when considering claims of unfair dismissal or failure to make reasonable adjustments, (11) updated guidance from NHS Employers on the use of settlement agreements and confidentiality clauses when resolving a workplace dispute or ending an employment contract, (12) a reminder that MyHMCTS went live for the North West England region on 3 June 2024, (13) an EAT judgment concerning case management orders in Tesco’s equal pay litigation, (14) an EAT decision on the documents required to properly institute an appeal, (15) an immigration election policy tracker published by the Migration Observatory, (16) dates for your diary, and (17) updates to our legislation and consultation trackers and horizon scanner.

This Practice Note deals with custody time limits (CTLs) on the length of time a defendant can be kept in custody before trial (pre-trial detention). It deals with the effect of expiry of the custody time limits, when an application should be made to extend custody time limits, and the criteria for extending the custody time limits, including good and sufficient cause and due expedition. Finally, it deals with the procedure for applying to extend the custody time limits and how to appeal against a custody time limit decision. For more information relating to case management during court proceedings, see Practice Notes: Case management in the magistrates’ courts and Pre-trial and case management hearings in the Crown Court. The Prosecution of Offences (Custody Time Limits) Regulations 1987 (CTLR 1987), SI 1987/299, as amended, made under the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (POA 1985), impose time limits on the length of time an accused can be kept in custody before their trial. They impose the following maximum time limits: • 70 days between the defendant’s first appearance in

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) has updated users on its current power of attorney (PoA) wait time position, confirming that backlogs and processing delays have now exceeded 12 months due to the impact of the pandemic, increased PoA submission volumes, system limitations with its 25‑year‑old Sigma platform, and rising maintenance demands from 900,000 live cases. OPG states it is taking steps to reduce delays through the phased rollout of its new PAIGE case management system, additional temporary staff and overtime work, while urging users to reserve the expedited registration service, which processed 1,564 PoAs in September 2025, for genuine urgency only as inappropriate requests extend standard wait times.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has announced the prosecution of an accountant for defrauding multiple coronavirus (Covid-19) support schemes. Zeeshan Ashraf has been sentenced to three years and eight months in prison after pleading guilty to five counts of fraud under the Fraud Act 2006. Ashraf fraudulently claimed £268,102.07 and attempted to claim an additional £52,732.66 from various pandemic support initiatives, including the 'Eat Out to Help Out' scheme, from which he swindled £26,928. The CPS emphasised its commitment to pursuing fraudsters who exploit government support grants and loans, and will seek to recover the remaining fraudulent gains to return them to the public purse.

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Alok Sharma has written to those working in the construction sector, thanking them for their 'invaluable contribution’ to the UK economy since the outset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Sharma paid tribute to workers and expressed admiration for the work they are doing. Sharma added that construction workers have performed a ‘vital role’ in the past six months in building the Nightingale Hospitals, accelerating delivery of infrastructure projects, supporting vital public services, and helping the country adapt to make their buildings coronavirus secure.

The Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee has published a report examining housing conditions in the social rented sector. The report reveals that progress in improving the quality of social housing has largely stalled since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, leaving many tenants living in substandard homes. The Committee recommends establishing a new Decent Homes Programme that incorporates pooled funding and a unified housing quality framework for social landlords. Additionally, the report calls for the urgent publication of timelines to extend Awaab's Law to all hazards and advocates for regular ten-year reviews of housing standards.

Dispute Resolution analysis: The High Court, in United Technology Holdings Ltd v Chaffe and others and Jackson v Hayes and Jarvis (Travel) Ltd, confirmed that witnesses must attend trial in person in the absence of good reasons to the contrary. The courts ruled against remote attendance for witnesses and parties not living in the jurisdiction or facing difficulties travelling to England during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as the default position is that hearings should take place in the court ‘unless there are good health‑related reasons’ not to. If there are, these should be detailed in evidence by provision of a witness statement. Written by Westley Walker, senior associate, at Bristows LLP.

Arbitration analysis: Starting in 2020, the world took a new approach to work due to the coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic. Despite the inability to meet in person, work needed to continue, and this included arbitration hearings. This led to the heavy adoption of virtual meeting rooms and has had a significant impact on the way that arbitrations are conducted. The legal community is still learning how to deal with the impacts of switching to a virtual environment, a trend that has continued since COVID 19 due to its convenience. Amber Barto, summer intern at P.R.I.M.E. Finance explores the implications of virtual arbitration.

The Cabinet Office has published the UK government's response to the Covid-19 Inquiry Module 2 report, which examined core political and administrative governance during the pandemic. The government accepts all 19 formal recommendations from Baroness Hallett's report, published on 20 November 2025 and commits to specific actions to implement these measures. Among the key actions, the government will enhance representation by inviting devolved government representatives to Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) meetings from the outset of emergencies. Additionally, it will initiate the socio-economic duty under section 1 of the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) in England and review the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (CCA 2004) by March 2027.

The Insolvency Service has published its Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA) outcomes and providers for 2023. The Insolvency Service found that, in England and Wales, one in 18 IVAs (5.6%) registered with the Insolvency Service in 2022 terminated within one year of being approved. This was higher than the record-low one-year termination rate in 2020, which coincided with temporary support measures in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The data further shows that the two-year termination rate for IVAs registered in 2021 was 14.4%, which was higher than for IVAs registered in the two preceding years.

The Home Office has announced a new criminal offence for those who organise or facilitate illegal gatherings and breach social distancing restrictions ahead of the bank holiday on 31 August 2020 amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Those who facilitate or organise illegal raves, unlicensed music events, or other illegal gatherings of over 30 people may face a fine of £10,000. The new criminal offence comes into force on 28 August 2020. Fines of £100 will continue to be issued to those who attend illegal gatherings and those who have already received a fine will see the amount doubled on each offence, up to a maximum of £3,200.

The House of Commons Justice Committee has published a report, examining the state of the County Court in England and Wales. The Committee found the County Court to be in a state of dysfunction, describing it as the neglected ‘Cinderella service’ of the justice system. The report identifies that average waiting times for small claims cases now exceed 50 weeks, a trend that predates the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and has been exacerbated by increased demand, staffing challenges, and a rise in litigants-in-person. These delays stem from long-standing issues that the Ministry of Justice and HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) have failed to resolve.