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. […]
An inside look at Autonomous iOt
Autonomous iOt joined us at the recent Low Carbon Logistics event during COP26 to speak about their company and its capabilities in an SME in the spotlight slot. Unfortunately, as happens on occasion with live events, there was a technology challenge on the day and the five minutes allocated to Autonomous iOt were used up […]
Chief Exec’s report Q4 2021
Read the full Q4 2021 Quarterly Review 4 minute read Welcome all to our final review of 2021, a year of surprising welcome levels of order recovery in one sense, dampened by the reality of raw material, component, logistics and resource shortages and costs. One member couldn’t have described it more clearly in their response […]
Digital allies in the battle against supply chain disruption
In this latest Member’s Briefing article, Member company and Innovation Funding specialists ABGI-UK give a fantastic insight into what can be achieved when manufacturing businesses adopt digital tools available to them. Make UK’s Q2 Manufacturing Outlook painted a very encouraging picture for post-Covid recovery with many companies reporting higher numbers of both UK and […]
Digital solutions for VUCA markets
In this latest Member’s Briefing article, Member company ABGI-UK provide detail on how digital solutions can help manufacturers in dealing with the volatile global market conditions being experienced at the moment. It looks like the disruption created by the last 15 months of pandemic isn’t over. In fact, if anything, the opening up of […]
Celebrating International Women in Engineering Day 2021 – In Partnership with Women in Rail Scotland
Above you can view the recording of our recent INWED21 Celebration session, hosted by Sarah Carvill of Scottish Engineering and Shona Clive, Chair of Women in Rail Scotland. Event description This session, in partnership with Women in Rail Scotland, celebrates International Women in Engineering Day 2021, and we’ve teamed up with 3 amazing guest speakers […]
Mediation In The Workplace Webinar
Above you can view the recording of our recent “Mediation in the workplace” session, hosted by Bill Porterfield: People Development Director at Aurellien HR and Charlie Irvine: Director and Course Leader at Strathclyde University Mediation Clinic. Click here for session slides Event description This session was delivered by fully accredited and experienced mediators, Bill […]
Fuel Change Challenge – Now is the time for you to make a difference
Think you’ve got what it takes to help Scotland reach its #NetZero target? Next challenge starts 26 April 2021…It’s time to Fuel Change! Fuel Change is a platform for the next generation to take control of the climate crisis and drive Scotland towards Net-Zero. Through real challenges set by industry, apprentices will develop solutions […]
UK-EU Future Relationship Agreement
The Brexit Transition Period ended at 11 pm on 31st December and the UK has now entered its new relationship with the EU under the EU-UK Trade and Co-operation Agreement which was finalised on the 24th December. A summary of the agreements and the full document can be found here, and the UK Government continues to […]
Scottish Government Announces New Apprenticeship Support
Scottish Engineering has been urging the Scottish Government to clarify its announcement some months ago indicating support for employer incentives to ensure apprentice levels in industry. Yesterday First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced details on a key apprenticeship initiative that has been developed by Skills Development Scotland and will be available in January 2021. The […]
Opportunity to be involved with NMIS Smart Manufacturing Centres
Looking to start or accelerate your Industry 4.0 journey? NMIS (National Manufacturing Institute Scotland) is inviting manufacturers to get involved with new centres dedicated to industrial robotics and digital systems research. Scottish Engineering would like to highlight an opportunity that could benefit members looking to digitise and automate their production processes. NMIS and the wider […]
Engineering Fundamentals with University of Strathclyde
The Faculty of Engineering at Strathclyde is delighted to offer a newly developed module in Engineering Fundamentals which launched on 5 November 2020. The University of Strathclyde Engineering Fundamentals course is open for registrations once again. This online course provides an insight into studying engineering and an opportunity to develop skills relevant across different engineering […]
Scottish Apprenticeship Awards 2020 – Nominations Open
Nominations for the Scottish Apprenticeship Awards 2020 are now open Entries are being sought to showcase innovation of the learning providers who have worked with employers and apprentices to support their efforts in exceptional times. The awards will also highlight the resilience and hard work of Foundation, Modern and Graduate Apprentices during 2020. They will shine […]
Scottish Engineering Mentoring Programme
Last year we established the Scottish Engineering Mentoring Programme as part of our commitment to the development of a new generation of professionals and leaders in our industry. Mentoring can be a powerful tool in nurturing personal and professional growth for the individual and in supporting the achievement of business goals. The scheme is open to all member companies […]
Virtual Awards Ceremony Video Release
Our sincere thanks to everyone who was able to join us live today on our virtual Awards Ceremony, and help us give recognition to all of our fantastic Award winners! In a year which has been hugely challenging for every manufacturing and engineering company, it has never been more important to celebrate excellence within our […]
Scottish Engineering Virtual Annual Awards – Award Nominees
Our thanks to those who have already registered for our upcoming Awards Ceremony, we can’t wait to welcome you to this exciting new virtual celebration! This time last year no one could have foreseen what lay ahead in 2020 with COVID-19 affecting our lives so much. Let’s press pause on the worry and uncertainty that this […]
On track for greener railways
Project to deliver opportunities for Scottish SMEs. Work is underway to make Scotland a world leader in creating net zero emissions railways. Scottish Enterprise is behind a series of projects designed to find more environmentally friendly train and track solutions, as well as bringing jobs and inward investment to Scotland’s manufacturing and engineering sectors. The […]
“Protecting our Future” – Adopt An Apprentice
As we move towards what is hopefully a tentative restart of the economy post lockdown, there are patently wide ranging issues and concerns that are impacting today on the short to medium term viability of the Engineering and Manufacturing sector in Scotland. It is of course difficult to consider how your business, and more widely […]
Members Briefing – Furlough Scheme & Redundancy payments
Dear Member, Many companies have made use of the UK Government’s Furlough Scheme in an effort to retain staff and avoid redundancies. Unfortunately, for some the economic impact has been so severe that redundancies of furloughed staff has been unavoidable. There was initially some dubiety about whether any statutory redundancy payments would be at […]
Members Briefing – UK Points Based Immigration System
The UK Government’s new Points Based Immigration System will be introduced from 1st January 2021 as the Brexit transition period comes to an end. From that date, there will no longer be free movement for EU citizens. Anyone who wants come to the UK to live and work, whether from the EU or elsewhere, will need […]
Headtorch Mental Well-being Breakfast Session – Thu 2nd July
Now is a critical time to prioritise your mental health and well-being to enable you to stay well and focussed whilst working during these extraordinary times. Therefore, we’d like to extend this invitation to join our Mental Well-Being Breakfast Webinar, in partnership with Member company Headtorch on the morning of Thursday 2nd July 2020. With […]
New Online Career Enhancement Programme (CEP) for Women
It is a well-known fact that women have historically been under-represented in the engineering and construction sectors, and although there has been a significant push for gender equality within these fields in recent years, there’s still a lot of work to be done. From facing obstacles in applying for promoted roles and experiencing a lack […]
Members Briefing – Migration Policy Update
Dear Member, The UK Government’s new point based immigration system is due to come in to operation on 1st January 2021 and will have significant consequences for any employer looking to sponsor foreign nationals, including those from EU states, to live and work in the UK. Click here for a summary of the policy. Scottish […]
Chief Exec’s report Jun 2020
The contents of this quarter’s review should come with a health warning, as reading it will not be a pleasant experience, and those of a nervous disposition should perhaps look away now. It is widely anticipated that we are now in the second UK wide recession of this century, and its perhaps helpful to compare […]
The Good Work Plan – Changes in April 2020
Changes to Statement of Terms and Conditions – A Day 1 Right. Previously, employers had 8 weeks to provide new employees with a Statement of Terms and Conditions, which for most employers was via an employment contract. From 6 April 2020, this becomes a first day right – meaning that the employer is required to […]
