As coronavirus dominates the news for a second year, we look at what happened in employment law in 2021.
January
Brexit finally meant Brexit with a new relationship between the UK and the EU beginning on 1 January 2021, with the points based immigration system applying to EU nationals from that date. A planned post-Brexit review of worker's rights was confirmed and then swiftly scrapped, following media reports suggesting it would remove protections such as the 48 hour limit on the working week.
The immediate impact of Brexit was eclipsed by the start of a further significant period of lockdown for the whole country. This resulted in the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and other similar measures being extended, ultimately, until 30 September 2021. As the vaccination campaign progressed, the question of whether or not employers would be able to require employees to be vaccinated became a hot topic.
February
As we waited (and still await) the Government response to the consultation on making employment status rules clearer, the judgment in the case of Uber BV & Others v Aslam and Others was handed down by the Supreme Court. In what was seen as a blow for similar gig economy businesses, the Supreme Court judgment not only found that the drivers were workers but took a broad view on what their working time amounted to, increasing liabilities for national minimum wage and holiday pay.
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