CPA Bulletin

www.cpa.uk.net CPA Bulletin > November 2023 37 LEGAL: 2 Car licence flexibility for alternatively fuelled vehicles At the time of writing, the government was still reviewing their consultation on the flexibility in allowing ‘B’/car licence holders to drive vehicles powered by alternative fuel - electricity, natural gas, biogas, hydrogen, and hydrogen/electricity (hybrid) - without the need for additional training - as stipulated within the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) Regulations 2018. Under those regulations, a category ‘B’ licence holder must undertake 5 hours of additional training before they are permitted to drive an alternatively fuelled vehicle along the public highway which weighs between 3.5 and 4.25 tonnes. This requirement will continue until legislation is amended whenever parliamentary time will allow this change. A petrol/diesel powered engine falls below the 3.5 tonne threshold, and so the 5 hour training requirement does not apply. In addition, the restriction to tow a trailer using an alternatively fuelled vehicle currently remains in place. The membership will be informed of any developments on this issue. Fit note changes in place with more on the way The Department of Works and Pension (DWP) has updated its guidance on ‘fit notes’ for patients and employees, employers and line manager, and healthcare professionals. See www.gov.uk//government/ publications/fit-note-guidance-for- employers-and-line-managers on the GOV UK website. Not only can the guidance document be found there, but there are also annexes on ‘Fit note: checklist for employers’, an explanatory guide in using the checklist, and case studies. The rationale for government’s review of this is to tackle long-term employee illness/absence which promotes economic inactivity. The use of case studies highlights what may be possible for the employee to continue some form of work rather than stop working completely. There are suggestions that during the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor may look to review the entire system, whereby employees are ‘treated first’, rather than having them off long-term sick. Other options being proposed include: • adding more options to the ‘fit note’, such as referrals to new support services, and • a more radical option might be to remove GPs as the first port of call when a fit note is needed; and instead, a new triage process would identify the most appropriate individual which the employee initially sees under the ‘treated first’ proposal. If the government’s proposal is implemented, this may place increasing burdens on the employer’s support structures to combat employee illnesses/ absences. This may be mentioned in either the King’s Speech or the Autumn statement. Update: 20mph speed limit changes in Wales TheWelsh government introduced a default 20mph speed limit on ‘restricted roads’ acrossWales from17th September. These roads are primarily located in residential areas or those with high pedestrian activity, including those near schools. While this change will have the most impact on people who live and drive within Wales, all drivers of commercial and passenger vehicles need to be made aware of this change. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published updated guidance for those employers who are considering whether to monitor their employees. The ICO has emphasised that any monitoring must be ethical, and fully compliant with data protection law, i.e., right to privacy - where post-COVID, more employees are now working alone/ remotely, and with the use of technology has improved, giving greater assistance/ support to this class of employees. The ICO would act against the employer if it felt that employees’ privacy was being threatened. So the guidance suggests that employers consider their employees’ rights to privacy before commencing any monitoring and ensuring that any monitoring is carried out in a fair and transparent manner. The guidance outlines the stages an employer must take if they are considering employee monitoring. These include: • making employees aware of the nature • the extent and reasons for monitoring - which includes a clearly defined purpose and using the least intrusive means to achieve this goal • having a lawful basis for processing employees’ data • explaining and outlining in an easy-to-understand way to employees about any monitoring, and the method being considered • reassuring employees on the method in only retaining the information which is relevant to the monitoring purpose • carrying out a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) for any monitoring that is likely to result in a high risk to the employees’ rights; and • making the employee’s personal information which was obtained through monitoring process available to them upon their request. The guidance explains that regarding ‘fairness’ it means an employer should only monitor employees in ways they would reasonably expect, but not causes unjustified or adverse effects on them. Further information on this subject can be found at www.ico.org.uk/for- organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and- resources ICO publishes updated guidance on employee monitoring