At Royds Withy King we are still able to serve all your legal needs during the Coronavirus pandemic. Find out more.
Posted by James Sage, Partner
A flurry of recent court rulings on compliance with the National Minimum Wage (“NMW”) highlight the complexity of this area of law and the need for care providers to check their pay arrangements are compliant.
Posted by James Sage, Partner
A recent study by the Daily Express indicated that there has been a significant increase (66%) in complaints made by care staff to CQC during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the majority of concerns raised relating to infection control, social distancing and a lack of PPE.
Posted by James Sage, Partner
From 1 August, the Government “paused” shielding for the clinically extremely vulnerable. Shielding employees can return to work if their workplace is “Covid-secure” but should work from home wherever possible.
Posted by Hazel Phillips, Partner
Following on from her blog about rights and responsibilities for care home visits during Covid, partner and co-head of Health & Social Care team Hazel Phillips is highlighting some of the issues that arise when considering visits to supported living settings.
Posted by Hazel Phillips, Partner
With many care homes starting to think about opening up to visitors again, it is important that operators strike the right balance between their legal responsibilities to safeguard their staff and residents and the rights of their residents and families.
Posted by Mei-Ling Huang, Partner
The Coronavirus has challenged us like nothing before and the operational strain is more than anyone should have to bear. Unfortunately, the legal reverberations from this pandemic could go on for some time, even after we have controlled the spread of the virus.
Posted by James Sage, Partner
With approximately 8.4m jobs furloughed, roughly ¼ of the total jobs in the UK, and 1m employers furloughing, costing the Government £15bn, it was inevitable that some changes would have to be made to the furlough scheme. However, the announcements are less draconian than many had feared.
Posted by Hazel Phillips, Partner
We are regularly asked by operators whether they can protect their income where a resident cannot pay their full private fees until their property is sold. This may be particularly pertinent in the current climate where the property market has been slow.
Posted by Mei-Ling Huang, Partner
Contributing authors: Hazel Phillips and James Sage
Despite the ongoing frontline challenges, you will need to look ahead, anticipate the next set of challenges and put appropriate measures in place to protect your organisation.
Our Health & Social Care team has prepared a Briefing for Boards, CEOs and in-house counsel in the social care sector to help you identify risks that may lie ahead and deal with them appropriately to minimise the impact.
Posted by James Sage, Partner
The pandemic has given rise to a range of issues that could give staff concerns about their health and safety at work, including PPE shortages, lack of testing, outbreaks amongst staff and clients, and the increased risk they face due to underlying health conditions, age or pregnancy if infected.
It is critical that you are able to identify and deal appropriately with any health and safety concerns to minimise the risk of potential Employment Tribunal claims.
Posted by James Sage, Partner
Our May 2020 employment law update for health and social care providers includes an update on the Job Retention Scheme, details of potential cost savings where staff take holiday during furlough leave and the latest guidance on the SSP rebate scheme.
Posted by Hazel Phillips, Partner
Contributing authors:
While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic creates extraordinary and unprecedented challenges for the care sector, there is increasing and considerable support from the Government designed to help providers navigate the weeks ahead.