What happens if an employee is publicly named following arrest?
The attack in Southport, resulting in the deaths of three girls in a Taylor Swift yoga class, has shocked the nation. Following the incident and riots that have taken place across the country, several individuals were arrested, and their identities have been widely publicised. This has created a ripple effect, not only in the immediate […]
Health and Safety at Work Act Celebrates 50 Years: Calls for Enhanced Support
The Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974 was introduced following a period marked by numerous industrial accidents. One of the most tragic incidents during this time was the Aberfan mining disaster in 1966, which claimed the lives of 116 children and 28 adults Today, 31 July, marks the 50th anniversary of the Health […]
Government Commits to a Genuine Living Wage for Working People
In a significant step towards increasing the earnings of working individuals, the government has announced a major overhaul of the Low Pay Commission (LPC) remit on Tuesday, July 30th. This reform marks the beginning of the government’s commitment to ensuring a genuine living wage for all workers. The updated remit will now require the LPC […]
Council Worker Loses Belief Discrimination Claim Over Controversial Email Sign-Off
A council worker who signed off emails with “XYChromosomeGuy/ AdultHumanMale” instead of using preferred pronouns has lost his claim for belief discrimination. Although the judge criticised East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s pronoun policy as “poorly thought through and badly executed,” the tribunal ruled in favor of the council. Case Background James Orwin, an ICT […]
New Code of Practice on ‘Fire and Rehire’ Now in Effect
As of 18th July 2024, the statutory Code of Practice on ‘Fire and Rehire’ officially came into force. However, its long-term application remains uncertain. The Department for Business & Trade has introduced the Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement, which employment tribunals are now required to consider in relevant cases, such as those involving […]
Legal update: The King’s speech – what you need to know
The King’s Speech is a pivotal event in UK parliamentary democracy, setting out the government’s legislative agenda for the upcoming parliamentary session. On July 17, 2024, the newly elected Labour Government delivered its inaugural King’s Speech, unveiling plans for two major employment-related bills: The Employment Rights Bill The Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill While the previous […]
Legal update – EHRC Updates Guidance on Preventing Workplace Sexual Harassment
On July 9, 2024, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) released updated guidance for employers on complying with the new duty to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. This new chapter will be added to the existing EHRC technical guidance titled “Sexual Harassment and Harassment at Work,” published in 2020. The updated guidance is open for […]
Scotland’s Manufacturing & Engineering Skills Survey
The Scotland’s Manufacturing & Engineering Skills Survey is now live! We are kindly asking member companies to complete the survey as we need the support of Scotland’s manufacturing and engineering companies to help us address the single biggest threat to our industry: skills shortages. The aim is to generate the best possible response as this […]
Employment law update – Immigration Law Updates in 2024
Immigration law is frequently evolving and 2024 will see a significant number of changes we feel members should be aware of. The UK Government has recently set out its five-point plan for immigration, which, if implemented in full, will see a number of changes to various immigration routes in the coming year that could impact […]
Dingwall Consultancy Service
Author Andy Beattie Managing Director at Dingwall Consultancy Services Ltd X minute read In today’s ever evolving business world software applications have and will continue to play an important part in helping businesses thrive. Are you interested in sweating the capability of your investment you have made to date or will make in the […]
Spring Budget – What you need to know
You will have seen the Spring Budget announced by the Chancellor on Wednesday. There are a number of areas for our members to note. One of the major announcements is that the starting rate for NI will change from 10% to 8% for 27 million workers across the UK from 6 April 2024. Since 6 […]
Employment law update – Further Gender Critical Beliefs Case
A claim has succeeded at Employment Tribunal against the Open University (OU) brought by a former Professor who worked for the OU, for direct discrimination, harassment, victimisation and constructive dismissal, all related to her gender critical beliefs. The Tribunal found that her views, including that a person cannot change their biological sex and that sex […]
Legal update – tribunal fees
The government is considering the reintroduction of fees for taking claims to an Employment Tribunal and appealing to the Employment Appeal Tribunal. Members may remember the previous attempt to do so, which was struck down as unlawful following a challenge by Unison on the basis that the level of fees acted as a barrier to […]
The Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024
The Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024, if enacted in their current form will make the following changes: – Employees will be able to take their paternity leave as 2 separate weeks rather than being required to take either just a single week or 2 consecutive weeks. The leave will be able to be taken at […]
Engineering Apprentice of the Year Award 2024
Submit your application for Engineering Apprentice of the Year Award 2024 We are delighted to announce that applications are now open for Engineering Apprentice of the Year Award. This incredible opportunity for our industry’s apprentices will recognise the enthusiasm, innovation and imagination of up-and-coming engineers and manufacturers. Is there an engineering apprentice in your […]
YEYA 2024
Submit your application for YEYA 2024 The Scottish Engineering Young Engineer of the Year Award (YEYA), has recognised and celebrated the best young engineers in Scotland for over 25 years. Is there a young member of your team who has shown excellence, innovation, and imagination within your industry? Encourage them to submit an application […]
Important Employment Law Changes in 2024
Early 2024 promises to be a busy time for changes in Employment Law, with a particular focus on family friendly policies. It’s particularly busy because the Government did not issue an employment bill in 2022/23, so much of the legislation that was being proposed and under discussion has waited until 2024 for implementation. The first […]
See what we have been up to in 2023
Our 2023 review video is here A huge thank you to all of our members for helping make 2023 such a success, here’s what we got up to this year:
Metalworking Inspections: Looking After Your Metalworking Fluid
Maintenance of fluid quality is key to controlling risk The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has announced that it will be inspecting manufacturing businesses that use metalworking fluids or ‘white water’ in their machining processes until March. One of the common reasons that manufacturing companies, particularly smaller businesses, fail compliance is that regular fluid quality […]
National Minimum Wage changes for 2024
National Minimum Wage changes for 2024 The Government have now published the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates for 2024. Please note, these do not come into effect until 1 April 2024. The new rates are: 21 and over (National Living Wage): £11.44 18 to 20: £8.60 Under 18: £6.40 Apprentice: £6.40 Members will notice that […]
Breathe Safe Campaign
The Breathe Safe Campaign is seeking to raise awareness across the engineering sector on the potentially serious health effects of exposure to welding fume and they have asked Scottish Engineering to share information on this critical issue with our members. There are estimated to be up to 80,000 welders in the UK, and every day […]
AI use
The Legal & HR Team at Scottish Engineering are reviewing the use of generative AI applications such as Chat GPT in the context of the workplace. This technology is new and ever-advancing, however, we would like to draw your attention to some FAQ and the associated risks with using such applications. What is generative […]
ACAS Code of Practice Flexible Working
ACAS is reviewing its Code of Practice on Flexible Working in response to proposed changes to the Flexible Working Provisions contained in the Employment Rights Act 1996. ACAS has now launched a consultation seeking comments on the draft updated Code of Practice. One of the main features relates to the duty on employers to consult […]
Worker Protection Bill Back on Track?
The Worker Protection Bill which sought to bring new protections against sexual harassment in the workplace, appeared to have been dropped following concerns by government back benchers about the impact on employers. There had also been concerns expressed about potential impact on free speech arising from the provisions of the Bill which would have made […]
Changes to UK Immigration Rules
Changes were made to the immigration rules with effect from 17 July 2023. The government published a statement of changes on that date. The changes mean that: From September 2023, the holders of pre-settled status under the EU settlement scheme will automatically have their leave extended by 2 years without any need to apply for […]
Trade Unions and Judicial Review Case
13 Trade Unions have won their judicial review challenge as the High Court in England has found that regulations implemented late last year, allowing employers to use temporary agency staff during strike action by their employees, are unlawful. In the case of Unison v Secretary of State for Business & Trade, the court found that […]
Get Ready For Changes To The Flexible Working Regime
The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill 2022/2023 continues to make its way through the Parliamentary process. This is a Private Members Bill with government support and is likely to be enacted into law. Employers should therefore be ready to make these changes to their own flexible working application processes. The changes contained in the new […]
Employment Law in the news – May
Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill Update The government has recently announced an amendment to the upcoming Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill. The original Bill was set to have a ‘sunset clause’ which meant that at the end of 2023, unless legislation had been put in place to retain it, retained EU […]
Legal support offer from full-service Law Firm – Ledingham Chalmers
Scottish Engineering is delighted to announce a partnership with law firm, Ledingham Chalmers. Our partnership will give members access to a suite of benefits including a free initial telephone consultation, 15% discount on legal fees and free use of central meeting facilities. Ledingham Chalmers is a full service, independent Scottish law firm and is experienced in […]
Government Guidance for Employers on Positive Action
The Equality Act 2010 permits employers to use positive action (not positive discrimination) to help overcome barriers to employment and to increase employment of groups which are underrepresented within their workplace. The UK Government has now issued useful Guidance for employers on this topic. What is positive action? It is additional assistance for groups […]
Legal update – Increase to Tribunal Awards
The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2023 has been published, which details the annual increase for awards at the employment tribunal. These changes will come into force on 6 April 2023. They include: Compensatory Award – £105,707 (was £93,878) A ‘week’s pay’ (used when calculating basic award and redundancy pay) – £643 (was £571) […]
Legal update – National Living Wage update
The Legal & HR Team would like to remind members of the increase to national minimum wage rates coming into effect on 1 April 2023. The government have accepted the Low Pay Commission’s proposed increased to the national living wage (NLW) and the national minimum wage (NMW). In particular, the 9.7% increase to the NLW […]
Legal update – Government response to Menopause and the Workplace consultation
The government has now published its response to the consultation carried out by the Women and Equalities Committee on ‘Menopause and the Workplace’. The report from the WEC made several recommendations which they believed would help alleviate the struggles faced by woman in the workplace who are experiencing menopausal symptoms. The government largely rejected the […]
Chief Exec’s report Q1 2023
Read the full Q1 2023 Quarterly Review 6 minute read Two consecutive years of order and output growth are not trivial given the times we live in, but it’s worth rewinding to the only time that metric has been exceeded in the last 23 years. From March 2003 to December 2007, the same set of […]
March Breakfast Briefing – Cycling Friendly Employer Award
Catch up with March’s Breakfast Briefing – Cycling Friendly Employer Award This breakfast briefing highlights Cycling Scotland, which is the nation’s cycling organisation. Amongst other roles, it oversees the Cycling Friendly Employer Award and Development Fund grant. Cycling Friendly Employer is a nationally recognised programme that provides an award scheme and grant funding to help […]
Legal update – Fire and Rehire
BEIS have issued a draft Statutory Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-Engagement to cover situations where this is used as a means of achieving changes to terms and conditions. The draft Code takes account of advice received from ACAS and has been published for a public consultation which will end in April 2023. Once the […]
Engineering Apprentice of the Year Award
Submit your application for Engineering Apprentice of the Year Award 2024 We are delighted to announce that applications are now open for Engineering Apprentice of the Year Award. This incredible opportunity for our industry’s apprentices will recognise the enthusiasm, innovation and imagination of up-and-coming engineers and manufacturers. Is there an engineering apprentice in your […]
YEYA 2023
Submit your application for YEYA 2023 The ScotEng Young Engineer of the Year Award (YEYA), formerly known as “The Incorporation of Hammermen of Glasgow Award” has recognised and celebrated the best young engineers in Scotland for over 25 years. Is there a young member of your team who has shown excellence, innovation, and imagination […]
How will employment law be affected by the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill?
The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill has caused grave concern across employment law circles. Opposition members have even gone as far as to label it ‘reckless’ during the recent Parliamentary debate, given its potential to remove huge swathes of modern employment law without plans for replacements. If the bill is passed, it will […]
Changes to flexible working
Government has recently published its response to the 2021 consultation on an update to the flexible working regime. In summary the Government’s response included: 1. That the right to request flexible working will become a day 1 right as opposed to after 26 weeks continuous service. However, it remains a ‘right to request’ not a […]
Member company rebrands and launches ambitious new development plans
Falkirk-based engineering firm John Jenkins & Son has set out its positive and ambitious plans for future growth and development as it launched a new name and new branding. The third-generation family business, which won the President’s Award at this year’s Scottish Engineering Awards, has doubled its turnover in the past three years and […]
December Breakfast Briefing – Employee Conduct Outside The Office
Catch up with December’s Breakfast Briefing – Employee Conduct Outside The Office Hear from our Employee Relations Adviser, Dermot Cole, on how we deal with employee conduct away from work, especially misconduct away from the workplace. It’s especially timely, given that we enter the Christmas party season and maybe the first work social Christmas […]
Chief Exec’s report Q4 2022
Read the full Q4 2022 Quarterly Review 6 minute read It’s tempting to think that life is increasingly chaotic, but the last three months really has taken the biscuit. When we wrote in September of our deep concerns about the cost of energy crisis for business, we welcomed the imminent end of an absence of […]
Chief Exec’s report Q3 2022
Read the full Q3 2022 Quarterly Review 6 minute read In asking if there could possibly be a worse time to have a lack of direction from our UK Government, for our Engineering sector I am afraid I struggle to see a worse scenario than the timing of the absence of leadership we are experiencing […]
Chief Exec’s report Q2 2022
Read the full Q2 2022 Quarterly Review 6 minute read As an opening summary, a fifth successive quarter of positive principal measures might feel like something worth celebrating, and whilst there are signs of softening in the upward rate, we surely expected a sharper response than the levelling seen here, given the escalation in global […]
The Managing People Hub
Tuesday saw the launch of our People Management Hub; this is a meeting point for all of those within our membership who have a role advising Line and Senior Managers on people issues within their workplace. Our inaugural meeting was very well attended and had fantastic participation, with immediate positive benefits for some of those […]
Inclusive Engineering Programme 2019/2020
Naziyah Mahmood Gender Equality Officer, Scottish Engineering Funded by Impact Funding Partners Delivered in partnership with EQUATE Scotland In order to further our goals, grow our businesses and successfully become equal and inclusive organisations, it is imperative for individuals and companies to continuously review their equality and inclusion stances, and to implement positive practices […]
Chancellor shows his support for continuation of the R&D tax relief scheme
In this latest Member’s Briefing article, Member company and Innovation Funding specialists ABGI-UK shed light on recent developments in the R&D tax relief scheme. Despite rumours over the last few months of significant changes to the R&D tax relief scheme, the Chancellor’s spring statement made only a brief reference to the scheme. It’s clear that […]
Chief Exec’s report Q1 2022
Read the full Q1 2022 Quarterly Review 6 minute read Welcome to our first review of 2022, taking stock of what feels like a stabilising pandemic position, and especially pleased to report that the positive demand we cautiously tracked through 2021 appears to not only be holding but in many cases strengthening. Four successive positive […]
Diversification Opportunity with Frog Bikes
Catch up with this informative webinar which provides an in-depth look at the typical manufacturing essentials and components Frog Bikes require from suppliers. The UK’s bike industry is worth over £2bn per annum and growing faster than any market as governments around the world look to decarbonise transport and clean up our towns and cities. […]
