Practical Legal Updates
1. Getting an EMI Share Option Scheme Right
Providing staff with a way to participate in company ownership helps motivation and retention. And a great way of doing this is via an EMI scheme, which allows you to keep control of the company and is tax efficient. Getting it right from the start is key though – so, with the help of Postlethwaite, we’ve pulled together a list of the top 10 mistakes we come across. If you want to discuss this please get in touch at info@legaledge.co.uk
2. Changes to Pre-employment Checks
From 6 April your Right to Work (RTW) checks must be done using the Home Office’s online right to work check service for anyone with a biometric residence card (BRC), a biometric residence permit (BRP) or a frontier worker permit (FWP). You’ll no longer be able to do manual checks. And you must do the checks before staff start work and do follow-up checks as per the timings set out in the guidance.
For non-migrants and British/ Irish citizens, i.e. where you can’t use this service, you can (but don’t have to) use a certified identity service provider (IDSP) to do identity checks via a new online system. The cost is likely to be between £1.45 to £70 per check. And you’ll still be able to carry out manual checks for these employees. For more information see this blog from Laura Devine, the immigration experts.
Please get in touch if you want to discuss this at info@legaledge.co.uk
3. Extra Bank Holiday on 3 June
Are you planning to give staff an additional day off? Do you have to? You’ll find some guidance here. But briefly, check your staff contracts and communicate to staff ASAP. They may be expecting an extra day off so you may need to manage expectations if that’s not going to be the case.
If you need any help updating contracts, policies or communicating with your team, please get in touch at info@legaledge.co.uk
4. Bug Bounty Programmes
Bug bounty programmes are becoming increasingly popular in both the public and private sector. They allow companies to leverage the hacker community to discover and report vulnerabilities and bugs in websites and software in return for compensation. It’s easy to see the appeal and why they can be useful for a vulnerability management process.
With the help of Evalian here’s some FAQs to help you decide if you should implement a Bug Bounty Programme. If you need help or want to discuss this get in touch at info@legaledge.co.uk
We’re here to support you and your business – if you want to discuss any of the above or anything else please get in touch.