Zero Hour Work & Agencies Tales

15/04/2024

Adebowale Oriku tells a story about a man who finds it difficult to tell a story.

01/01/2024

Wishing my friends - real and virtual - a happy and prosperous New Year. I wish you all the best in this new year. Let us take our destiny in our own hands and strive to achieve whatever goals we have set for ourselves. For those who believe in God, remember the saying that 'God helps those who help themselves.'🙏💚✌️💕

25/04/2021

https://peoplesafe.co.uk/resources/blogs/the-dangers-of-driving-for-work-and-work-related-road-safety/

24/03/2021

23/03/2021

NMRU Milk Scheme

10/03/2021

https://www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/vehicles-you-use-for-work

"Vehicles you use for work

You may be able to claim tax relief if you use cars, vans, motorcycles or bicycles for work.

This does not include travelling to and from your work, unless it’s a temporary place of work.

How much you can claim depends on whether you’re using:

a vehicle that you’ve bought or leased with your own moneya vehicle owned or leased by your employer (a company vehicle)Using your own vehicle for work

If you use your own vehicle or vehicles for work, you may be able to claim tax relief on the approved mileage rate. This covers the cost of owning and running your vehicle. You cannot claim separately for things like:

fuelelectricityroad taxMOTsrepairs

To work out how much you can claim for each tax year you’ll need to:

keep records of the dates and mileage or your work journeysadd up the mileage for each vehicle type you’ve used for worktake away any amount your employer pays you towards your costs, (sometimes called a ‘mileage allowance’)Approved mileage ratesFirst 10,000 business miles in the tax yearEach business mile over 10,000 in the tax yearCars and vans45p25pMotorcycles24p24pBicycles20p20pUsing a company car for business

You can claim tax relief on the money you’ve spent on fuel and electricity, for business trips in your company car. Keep records to show the actual cost of the fuel.

If your employer reimburses some of the money, you can claim relief on the difference."

Claiming tax relief on expenses you have to pay for your work, like uniforms, tools, travel and working from home costs

10/03/2021

https://www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/working-at-home

"Working from home

You may be able to claim tax relief for additional household costs if you have to work at home on a regular basis, either for all or part of the week. This includes if you have to work from home because of coronavirus (COVID-19).

You cannot claim tax relief if you choose to work from home.

Additional costs include things like heating, metered water bills, home contents insurance, business calls or a new broadband connection. They do not include costs that would stay the same whether you were working at home or in an office, such as mortgage interest, rent or council tax.

You may also be able to claim tax relief on equipment you’ve bought, such as a laptop, chair or mobile phone.

How much you can claim

You can either claim tax relief on:

£6 a week from 6 April 2020 (for previous tax years the rate is £4 a week) - you will not need to keep evidence of your extra coststhe exact amount of extra costs you’ve incurred above the weekly amount - you’ll need evidence such as receipts, bills or contracts

You’ll get tax relief based on the rate at which you pay tax. For example, if you pay the 20% basic rate of tax and claim tax relief on £6 a week you would get £1.20 per week in tax relief (20% of £6)."

Claiming tax relief on expenses you have to pay for your work, like uniforms, tools, travel and working from home costs

09/03/2021

Agency staff should be treated with respect and acknowledged for what they do, there are there to support their employers in what they can't to themselves.

09/03/2021

Being a carer should be about providing care for your patients but instead, it seems to be more focused on gossiping between colleagues. There is a strong racial bias present and everyone is looking for faults in someone else, it's rare to see teamwork. Strange to see in the care sector, that's why many people who work within it struggle with mental health issues. We need to improve in helping each other instead of bringing people down.

21/02/2021

The MSc in Public Health is a challenging and rewarding programme designed to provide a comprehensive introduction to public health for students who intend to pursue careers in public health practice, management and/or research at local, national and/or supranational levels.

15/02/2021

Additional rights for agency workers
"What are your additional rights?

You have have extra rights after 12 weeks in the same job with the same employer. These additional rights are:

the same basic pay and working conditions as permanent employeesif you're pregnant, to take paid time off for ante-natal appointments

When does the 12-week qualifying period start

The time that counts towards the 12 weeks started on 1 October 2011. If you started a job for an employer before 1 October 2011, any time you spent working on the job before this date will not count towards the 12-week qualifying period.

What counts as basic pay and basic working conditions

After you have completed a 12-week qualifying period in the same job with the same employer, you will be entitled to the same basic terms and conditions of employment as if you had been employed directly by the employer. These conditions should be written in a contract and cover things such as the hours you work, the amount of holiday you get, and how much money you're paid.

Terms and conditions that are written into a contract may be more generous than the minimum terms and conditions you're legally entitled to. For example, if the employees where you're working are entitled to 30 days holiday a year, you would also get 30 days once you've worked in the same job for 12 weeks, instead of the basic 28 days the law says you can have.

The things that count as basic terms and conditions are:

basic pay. This is the pay you would receive had you been recruited directly. It can also include overtime, allowances for shift work or working unsocial hours, contractual holiday pay, bonus or commission payments, childcare or luncheon vouchershow many days off a week you are entitled tohow long your rest breaks are during your working daythe amount of annual leave you getpaid time off for ante-natal appointments."

15/02/2021

11 February 2021

New testing, self-isolation and quarantine rules from 15 February.

29 January 2021

Burundi, Rwanda and United Arab Emirates (UAE) added to banned countries list.

22 January 2021

Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania added to travel ban list.

18 January 2021

Requirement for a coronavirus test introduced and travel corridors suspended.

15 January 2021

All arrivals from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal (including Madeira and the Azores), Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela must self-isolate.

14 January 2021

Added information about coronavirus (COVID-19) testing before travelling to England.

28 November 2020

Additional transport measures against travel from Denmark ended 4am, 28 November.

18 November 2020

First published."

Countries from which entry to the UK is banned - 'red list' countries.