The field of employment law has been busy in 2021 and 2022 is shaping up to be no different. In this article, the first of a series of two, we look back on key case law and legislative developments over the past 12 months. The second article in this series will be published in early January and will look ahead to what 2022 might bring.
Covid-19 – where are we now?
2021 was the second year in which the legal and political landscape was dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic. As the Covid vaccination was rolled out, employers had to consider whether a return to the workplace should be dependent on a worker being vaccinated, particularly in the light of vaccines being mandated for care workers and frontline healthcare staff. Most employers have adopted a policy of encouraging rather than mandating and it will be interesting to see how employers continue to approach this issue in 2022.
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme finally closed on 30 September after a number of extensions.
Hybrid working arrangements
Although at the time of writing the Government is recommending a return to working from home “where possible”, hybrid working has been high on the agenda in 2021, with many employers grappling with the demands of ensuring a safe return to the office and adapting to the demands of today’s workforce, many of whom have benefitted from the flexibilities that working from home has brought. To recognise the new demand for hybrid working, ACAS published a guide in July to help...
The Department of Health and Human Services capped off a week of intensive anti-fraud activity with the launching of a six-month healthcare False Claims Act self-disclosure pilot program in partne...