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How will the World Cup 2010 affect your business? Act now to avoid an ‘own goal’!

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

Previous surveys have suggested that increased absence levels are common during major football tournaments – either due to employees watching the match or as the result of a late night or hangover. P3 People Management is recommending that organisations start thinking now about how the World Cup will affect their business in June.

Charlotte Gallagher, director of P3 People Management said, “Statistically, the World Cup and other major sporting events do have an impact on absence which in turn affects revenue. We aim to help employers ensure that the tournament doesn’t affect trade by setting out procedures in advance.”

In a poll by the CIPD of more than 1000 employers it shows that almost all (90%) of organisations have not developed a policy to manage staff absence during the World Cup. Just 5% have developed a policy while a further 5% are currently developing one.

P3 People Management suggests employers communicate with staff in terms of requests for holidays during the World Cup and highlight the fact that attendance will be closely monitored during that period, and sickness absence will be investigated if they coincide with matches, as well as reminding staff that being at work under the influence of alcohol would be a disciplinary matter – pre-empting issues regarding lunchtime drinking or extreme hangovers.

Tips and advice from the HR experts include:

• Employers could think about offering flexible hours – many of the matches will kick off at 5pm so allowing staff to leave work an hour earlier will enable them to see the games
• Arrangements could be agreed to start earlier or later the next day or make up time another day
• Consider screening the matches at the workplace or offering unpaid time off

P3 People Management is a leading Human Resources outsourcing consultancy based in Manchester which works with a range of businesses across the North West.

For information call 0161 493 1963 or visit www.p3pm.co.uk

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Holidays whilst on sick leave

Thursday, May 6th, 2010

In Rawlings v The Direct Garage Door Company Ltd, an employment tribunal held that an employee on long-term sick leave was entitled to a payment in respect of 15 months’ holiday pay unlawfully deducted from his wages.

Background
Under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (‘WTR’), workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks annual leave. Recent high-profile cases, notably HMRC v Stringer and others [2009], have considered how these holiday rights should be treated in the context of long term sick leave. The outcome of the Stringer litigation represented a major shift in the law in favour of the employee. In particular:

•A worker on sick leave continues to accrue annual leave whilst absent from work;
•A worker must be allowed to take, and be paid in respect of, their statutory holiday entitlement;
•Workers can bring claims for unpaid statutory holiday not only under the under the WTR, but also under the deduction of wages provisions of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (‘ERA’) – significant because under the ERA it is possible to recover holiday pay going back a number of years.

Commentary
This case does not represent new law but it is notable for being one of the first decisions concerning holiday pay and sick leave to go before an employment tribunal since the House of Lords judgement in Stringer.

This decision is a reminder that case law currently provides that workers on sick leave continue to accrue holiday pay and that workers may be entitled to bring a claim for unlawful deduction of wages under the ERA in respect of unpaid holiday pay.

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2010 Key Employment Legislations changes

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

New Statutory Compensation Limits and Statutory Benefit Rates
The maximum compensatory employment tribunal award for unfair dismissal claims has decreased from £66,200 to £65,300 from February 1st 2010

Statutory Payment Changes
The statutory maternity (SMP), paternity (SPP) and adoption (SAP) allowance will increase from £123.06 to £124.88 per week (or 90% of normal weekly earnings, if lower) from 6th April 2010. This applies for payment weeks starting on or after 4th April 2010.

The weekly rate for statutory sick pay (SSP) will remain at £79.15.

The lower earnings limit for qualifying for SSP, SMP, SAP and SPP will increase from £95.00 to £97.00
From 1st October 2010, National Minimum Wage rates are expected to increase from:

•£5.80 to £5.93 an hour for workers aged 21 and over
•£4.83 to £4.92 an hour for workers aged 18 to 20
•£3.57 to £3.64 an hour for workers aged 16 to 17

Additionally, the adult rate of the minimum wage will be extended to 21 year-old workers from October 2010. Currently it applies to workers aged 22 years and over.

From October 2010 Apprentice Minimum Wage will be £2.50 an hour. The new rate will apply to apprentices under 19 years old and apprentices aged 19 years and over, but in the first year of their apprenticeship.

Additional Paternity Leave
Additional paternity leave will apply to parents of babies due on or after 3rd April 2011. Employees will be permitted to take up to six months leave if the child’s mother returns to work having not taken her full entitlement.

New Pension Scheme Allowances
The individual allowance will increase from £245,000 to £255,000 from 6th April 2010. The individual lifetime allowance will increase from £1.75 million to £1.8 million.

Training
From April 6th 2010 employees can request time off work to undertake study or training. This right applies to employers with 250 or more employees. To qualify employees must have more than 26 weeks’ service. Any training must be for improvement in the role in which they are employed, and for the performance of the employer’s business. This is expected to be extended to employers with less than 250 employees from April 2011.

‘Fit for Work’ Notes
The new ‘Fit Notes’ will be effective from 6th April 2010. GPs will now only be able to certify that that an employee “may be fit for work”, rather than “fit for work”. The new rules allow GPs to consider if a patient may be able to return to work should suitable support be offered. Employers will still need to carry out their own risk assessment on the employee’s return. Fit notes can be issued for a maximum of three months within the first six months of an employee’s sickness.

Data Protection
From 6th April 2010 the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) will have the power to impose fines of up to £500,000 for breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998.

The ICO’s new power to impose monetary penalties applies where:

•There has been a serious breach of one of the Data Principles;
•This breach was likely to cause damage or distress
•The breach was deliberate, or the data controller knew or ought to have known there was a risk of data breach and that it would be likely to cause substantial damage or distress and failed to take reasonable steps to prevent it.

Failure to follow an enforcement notice may result in a fine of £5000

Future Proposals for Employment Law Reform

•The government has announced in its publication ‘A Smoke-free Future: comprehensive tobacco control strategy’ that it is considering extending the smoking ban to cover the area outside entrances to workplaces and offices.

•The government is proposing to amend the NMW regulations relating to travel and subsistence schemes for temporary workers.

•The European Parliament committee has passed draft legislation to extend maternity leave to 20 weeks full pay. The women’s rights committee voted in favour of extending maternity leave provisions through the Pregnant Workers Directive.

•Online guidance has been published on the BIS and Business Link websites on the interaction between paid annual leave and sick leave. This is ahead of the possible amendments to the Working Time Regulations 1998 to deal with the recent ECJ decisions in Stringer and Pereda.

Equality Bill
The Equality and Human Rights Commission is consulting on draft codes of Practice on Employment and various sets on Non-Statutory Guidance relating to the Equality Bill. The Equality Bill has now completed the final stage of its passage through parliament and will now become law.

The Equality Bill is the biggest overhaul of anti-discrimination law in UK for 35 years. It has been designed to simplify existing – and confusing – anti-discrimination measures including gender and disability discrimination. The bill contains reforms that could see vegans, cult members and atheists having the same protection as those with religious beliefs.

What Employers Should Be Doing Now
Relevant references to handbooks and also policies and procedures should be updated to reflect recent changes.

Should you require any further information on the above or wish to discuss how this may affect your business please contact us on 0161 493 1963.

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Sick note to fit note – helping people stay in work

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

Fit notes, which are set to replace traditional doctors’ sick notes in April, will give GPs the option to declare a patient either “not fit for work” or “fit for some work”.

It is hoped that the new fit note will encourage more employers to help people with health conditions make an early phased return to work as part of their rehabilitation and recovery. It should also prompt all GPs to start a conversation with their patients about the possibility of a phased return to work and provide them with a framework to suggest possible workplace adjustments for employers to consider.

If an employee is deemed fit, the doctor will recommend a course of action for a phased return to work. This may include amended duties, altered hours, and workplace adaptations to help your employee back to work.

Whilst you won’t have to act on the doctor’s advice in a ‘may be fit for work’ statement, it may help you make simple and practical adjustments to help your employee return to work and reduce unnecessary sickness absence. If for any reason the changes necessary to support your employee’s return to work can’t be made, you should for sick pay purposes, consider the statement as if the doctor had advised that your employee is ‘not fit for work’.

If a doctor uses this option, they will give advice about the effects of the patient’s health condition and, if appropriate, some suggestions about the types of adjustment or adaptations you could consider to help your employee back to work.

Your obligations to pay statutory sick pay and make reasonable adjustments under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 will not change.

There seems to be a strong business case behind the revised Statement of Fitness for Work as evidence shows the longer someone is off sick the less likely they are to make a successful return to work.

The DWP claims fit notes will cut the cost of sick leave for British employers and benefit the UK economy by an estimated £240 million over the next ten years.

For more information, contact us.

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Workplace Bullying and Harassment

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

Recent news events have brought the issue of workplace bullying to the nation’s attention and companies across the UK are no doubt questioning whether their company has a culture of bullying and if so, how should they be protecting employees and defending themselves against potential legal implications as well as promoting a positive and supportive workplace culture?

Achieving high levels of performance from people at work is essential in today’s competitive market place. Organisations should treat any form of harassment or bullying seriously, not just because of the legal implications, but because it can lead to under-performance at work and a workplace environment which is free from hostility enables people to contribute more effectively to organisational success and to achieve higher levels of job satisfaction.

An organisation’s public image can be badly damaged when incidents of harassment occur, particularly when they attract media attention. This can affect relationships between an employer, their current and future employees, as well as their customers.

Employees can be subject to high levels of stress which can reduce engagement and may lead to higher labour turnover, increased sickness absence and less productive and effective teams.

Organisations should aim to develop a culture in which harassment is known to be unacceptable and where individuals are confident enough to bring complaints without fear of ridicule or reprisal. Everybody needs to feel responsible for challenging all forms of harassment and for upholding personal dignity.

For more information on how to respond to workplace bullying and harassment contact us or subscribe to our E:Newsletter

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Dealing with Office Romances

Friday, February 12th, 2010

How should HR deal with office romances?

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and once again HR must consider the challenges of office romances. Is the age old saying ‘never mix business with pleasure’ indicate that often one or the other suffers as a result. The question is, should employers outlaw or ignore relationships when love blooms at work?

Employers should also have concerns with distractions, tensions and even jealousy arising from a workplace romance giving the potential to affect employees’ performance and could lead to claims of sexual harassment and discrimination.

Advice to Employers
It seems draconian in modern times to ban relationships between colleagues entirely – and it would certainly be near impossible to manage. A better solution is for the organisation to have some control over workplace liaisons.

As with any policy, guidelines on office romances should be clear, fair, made known to employees and followed consistently. The organisation should determine what it considers to be unacceptable behaviour or misconduct in the workplace. Suggestions include;

• inappropriate physical contact;
• inappropriate use of language; or
• personal use of company communications systems.

Policies might include preventing those in a relationship working closely together and from interviewing, managing or promoting each other. Such rules might be incorporated into relevant existing policies, such as those recognising equal opportunities or dignity at work. Employers might feel that workplace romances warrant their own consideration in certain environments.

As with most policies, they should be thought of as guidance or a code of conduct so that any breach would be seen as misconduct rather than a breach of contract.
Equal opportunities policies should make it specific that everyone will be treated fairly and on merit, limiting the opportunity for favouritism or victimisation occurring during romantic relationships.

Organisations may include a clause in senior employees’ employment contracts prohibiting relationships with subordinate employees within their own teams, departments or locations.

For information call 0161 493 1963

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