Protecting jobs and livelihoods of the British People - The Budget at a glance
Executive Summary
Rishi Sunak’s budget follows a year of extraordinary economic challenge as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Like that of many other countries, the UK’s economy has been hit hard, with both the direct effects of the virus and the measures necessary to control it leading to an unprecedented fall in output and higher unemployment.
In the face of this threat, the government acted swiftly to provide support to protect businesses, individuals and public services across the UK, adapting its economic response as the pandemic evolved. Thanks to people’s hard work and sacrifice, supported by the success of the initial stages of the vaccine rollout, there is now a path to the reopening of the economy.
The Budget sets out how the government will extend its economic support to reflect the cautious easing of social distancing rules and the reopening of the economy in the government’s roadmap.1 Support in the Budget reflects the easing of restrictions to enable the private sector to bounce back as quickly as possible.
As the economy reopens, the Budget sets out the steps the government is taking to support the recovery, ensuring the economy can build back better, with radical new incentives for business investment and help for businesses to attract the capital, ideas and talent to grow.
Myth Buster - Verbal Contracts are NOT Valid Contracts
This is a fairly common myth, but an important one. Why? Because a verbal employment contract, or one that is only ‘implied’, can be legally binding, meaning you can make a job offer without realising it.
If you make any form of promise relating to the individual’s employment, this refers to an ‘implied’ contract. If you discuss contract details with the individual, such as job duties, work hours, or pay & benefits, then this is an explicit verbal employment contract.
A binding agreement can be formed on the basis of verbal statements or via information from an employee handbook or company policy. This is because a large portion of the details in the handbook will be similar to those found in a written contract.
How to avoid an implied contract
Avoid making specific promises during the interview stage, or in the job offer letter should you choose to hire the individual. Such promises can include things like:-
“We’ll never fire you”
“You’re guaranteed to have a job here for the next 5 years”
But they can also be more subtle:
“Your pay & benefit package will be…”
“When your probationary period finishes…”
Boris Johnson’s Roadmap Announced
On 22nd February 2021, the Prime Minister announced the lockdown ‘roadmap’ that should bring England out of Lockdown. His announcement was filled with a certain amount of trepidation and caution, making it clear that there’s still quite a way to go before resuming “normal” lives.
Key Dates
8th of March: All schools reopen for all age groups. However, work-from-home guidance stays the same.
Moving towards the longest day - 21st June 2021
As the Prime Minister announced the roadmap towards relaxing the restrictions of lockdown, it felt as though there were a universal cautious sense of relief about what could, should or would happen next. Airlines reported a spike in bookings, hotel rooms begin to sell out and festival organisers website’s crashed.