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Matthew Chilcott

About Matthew Chilcott

https://consensushr.com/mpc

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Employment Checks

7 HR – Back to basics – 3 Employment checks

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7 HR – Back to basics – 3. Employment checks

7 HR – Back to basics – 3 Employment checks

What are the checks and possible repercussions?

All employers within the UK have a responsibility to prevent illegal working. Since Brexit, there are additional needs for employers to check the legality of employees right to work in the UK and the correct checks must be made.  We advise every client, to obtain copies of employees Passports and/or Visa’s and keep this securely on an IT system with the employees’ consent. It is important that as part of 7 HR – Back to basics – 3 Employment checks, Companies have all the relevant checks in place.

The Government now has a system that allows employers to check somebody’s legality to work in the UK and can be obtained by a job applicant giving you their ‘Share Code’. By visiting  https://www.gov.uk/check-job-applicant-right-to-work and checking that the documents they have provided allows them to work in the UK.

Failure to ensure this is completed correctly can result in an employer being sent to jail for 5 years and pay an unlimited fine, if their found guilty of employing someone who they knew or had ‘reasonable cause to believe’ did not have the right to work in the UK.

This includes, for example, if you had any reason to believe that:

  • they did not have leave (permission) to enter or remain in the UK
  • their leave had expired
  • they were not allowed to do certain types of work
  • their papers were incorrect or false
7 HR – Back to basics – 3. Employment checks

CHECK YOUR EMPLOYEES ELIGIBILITY TO WORK CORRECTLY:

You can also be penalised if you employ someone who does not have the right to work and you did not do the correct checks, or you did not do them properly.

If this happens, you might get a ‘referral notice’ to let you know your case is being considered and that you might have to pay a civil penalty (fine) of up to £20,000 for each illegal worker.

You’ll be sent a ‘civil penalty notice’ if you’re found liable and you’ll have 28 days to respond.

The notice will tell you how to pay, what to do next, and how to object to the decision.

Your business’s details may be published by Immigration Enforcement as a warning to other businesses not to employ illegal workers.

Read more about illegal working penalties.

Contact Us Now

If your company needs a comprehensive employee Contract, then why not call us now for a non obligatory discussion?
Click Here

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Designed by JCP Web Designs

Employee, Worker or Self-Employed … What’s the Difference

7 HR – Back to basics – 2 Employment Contract

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7 HR – Back to basics – 2. Employment Contract

Here is our 7 HR – Back to basics – 2 Employment Contract

Since the change in the law in April 2020, employees are entitled to an Employment Contract from day one of employment when previously it was within 3 months.  We are still finding that many companies do not provide this on day one of employment, but this should be produced when the decision to employ the person has been made and signed, dated and sent to them for their viewing, with the agreement signed and dated.

As part of the 7 HR – Back to basics – 2 Employment Contract; it is important that your employee contract includes specific legal clauses and others which need to be adapted to suit your business and service/product you offer, such as the clause for deduction of wages.  Unauthorised deduction from an employee’s wages can result in an employee, current or past making a claim to an Employment Tribunal regardless of length of service.  Although this should make no difference, as companies need to work to best practice and the law or face the possible consequences that could occur, such as an award of £2,100.

We work with clients to draft a company specific Contract of Employment such as full-time, part-time, self employed, home working etc and by getting to know their business ensure clauses are adapted to ensure maximum usefulness for the employee and business.

As previously mentioned, failure to provide an Employment Contract from day one can result in a claim to an Employment Tribunal, claims for an authorised deduction of wages due to money being subtracted from an employees pay, and the company not contractually permitted to do so, even after consultation with the member of the team.

Areas which should be covered in an Employment Contract can be found by clicking here. 

7 HR – Back to basics – 2. Employment Contract

Contact Us Now

If your company needs a comprehensive employee Contract, then why not call us now for a non obligatory discussion?
Click Here

Copyright © Consensus HR All right reserved.

Designed by JCP Web Designs

Latest HR Surgeries

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FREE, initial consultation at our Latest HR Surgeries - Questions and Answers Attend or book a meeting with our local, trusted Chartered Advisors and ask any HR / Employment Law questions you may have.

We’ve set up a series of one-to-one face to face Human Resources -HR surgeries with a mix of practical advice and guidance to help you take your organisation to the next level. Detail of our Latest HR Surgeries are found below.

Research indicates that with the right HR management practices in place, organisations can significantly improve their staff commitment and performance, flexibility, resilience and adaptability. Plus equality and inclusion, which are essential for business performance and innovation, and for social justice.

Latest HR Surgeries – Business and Technological Centre, Bessemer Drive, Stevenage, SG1 2DX – 10:30 am – 11:30am.

Alternatively book a 15 minute consultation when you want via our meeting booking system.  Click here

professional services

 

Wednesday 14th December 2022

outsourced HR

 

Wednesday 11th January 2023

HR Surgery

 

Wednesday 15th February 2023

professional services

 

Wednesday 15th March 2023

outsourced HR

 

Wednesday 12th April 2023

HR Surgery

 

Wednesday 10th May 2023

professional services

 

Wednesday 7th June 2023

outsourced HR

 

Wednesday 12th July 2023

HR Surgery

 

Wednesday 16th August 2023

professional services

 

Wednesday 13th September 2023

outsourced HR

 

Wednesday 11th October 2023

HR Surgery

 

Wednesday 15th November 2023

 

Contracts & Handbooks

If you need urgent support, please contact us.

Take a look at our pricing and packages.

Employment Contracts & Handbooks as one of the key HR foundations for any business. They ensure that all your team members know what is expected from them. This includes their salaries and hours to how poor misconduct may be dealt with in line with employment law. They set out the rules for ensuring that everybody within the team knows what action can be taken by the company should expectations not be met. Two examples are Disciplinaries and Grievances; initial actions and steps of last resort would be included.

Our Employment Contracts & Handbooks are legally written by the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) and our HR business professional. We take into account all your specific business areas, ensuring legal adherence. Consensus HR offers a monthly service of unlimited telephone and HR advice. Your Contracts & Handbooks would be updated as and when needed ensuring continual adherence should legislation change.

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN A CONTRACT?

​All employees are legally entitled to a Contract of Employment within their first 8 weeks of employment. We ensure that ​a Contract ​of Employment is written specifically for our client’s company and include restrictive covenants if identified as a business need.

We visit our clients to gain all the information required to draft the Contract​ ​to​ ​ensure it meets the business needs and includes:

●  Name of employer and employee

●  Pay and whether it’s weekly, monthly pay etc

●  Job description/job title

●  Pensions and pension schemes

●  Date employment and continuous employment started

●  Working hours

●  Details of any collective agreements that directly affect the employee’s conditions of employment

●  Disciplinary and grievance procedures

●  Job location

●  Holiday entitlement

●  Sick leave and pay entitlements

● Appeals procedure under the Discipline & Grievance​ ​Policy​.

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN AN EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK?

When a new employee starts with the business​, ​it is ​best practice to ensure they are aware of what is expected of them and an employee handbook plays a key part in assisting them with this – ​it is always good to set out the ground rules with your employees from the very beginning. An Employee Handbook puts all the key information and rules in one easy place ​and ​allows them to access the information as and when required ​without needing ​to ask a member of ​staff which, during the first few days of a role​,​ can sometimes be quite daunting.

A Company Employee Handbook allows the team to gain an understanding of what is expected from them and the company with areas such as pay, hours of work and benefits to communication and team events to name a few. We also ensure that important company policies are included such as disciplinary & grievance, equality and sickness.

We work with our clients to ensure that the handbook is ​tailored to the business, ​reflecting ​the organisation’s values​/​vision, and ​on occasion, a welcome letter from the management team.

WHY DO I NEED A HANDBOOK AND CONTRACT?

These are two completely different items and by having a handbook it allows you to enter all the Company Policies in one place. ​Unlike your Contract of Employment, ​it ​is non-contractual, thus allowing you to update policies when needed without the need to re-issue contracts.

Copyright © Consensus HR All right reserved.

Designed by JCP Web Designs

Diversity

7 HR – Back to basics – 1 – Recruitment

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7 HR – Back to basics – 1 – Recruitment

1. Recruitment and Selection:   

When making the decision to recruit, business owners need to ensure that a set company Policy and Procedure is in place that ensures you work to best practice, the law and maintain consistency throughout, when recruiting members of the team. This is step 1 of the 7 HR – Back to basics.

Companies need to be able to demonstrate why somebody got the job rather than another candidate. 

  • Was it their qualifications?
  • Was it their experience?
  • Their Competence when answering questions?
  • Why?

Failure could result in somebody claiming they were discriminated against for one of the protected Characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 such as age, sex and disability.

Further information on what is included within Recruitment and the packages that we offer can be found by clicking below: 

Our company mission statement is “Helping companies take the pain out of managing people, whilst preventing people problems” but what does this actually mean?

Continually, throughout industry and with the current climate, high inflation and the end of Pandemic support measures, such as Furlough. What ‘Back to Basics’ are we are hearing about when out talking to clients and businesses in general?  What can you do or put in place to ensure you are proactive, working to best practice and an employer of choice?

Getting your companies ‘Seven HR – Back to basics’ and ‘Foundations (previous blog)’ in place is vital for the success of your business and helping you to prevent people problems.  Whilst creating a company where people wish to work, which leads to an increase in the bottom line and productivity.  Where there are no concerns for demotivating the team or threats of Employment Tribunal (ET) claims, plus bad working atmosphere.

Contact Us now
7 HR – Back to basics – 1 – Recruitment

Copyright © Consensus HR All right reserved.

Designed by JCP Web Designs

recruitment

Seven HR – Back to basics

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Anti-Slavery Day | Consensus HR in Herts & Beds.

Our company mission statement is “Helping companies take the pain out of managing people, whilst preventing people problems” but what does this actually mean? We can help you and your Company put in place the ‘Seven HR – Back to basics’.

Continually, throughout industry and with the current climate, high inflation and the end of Pandemic support measures, such as Furlough. What the ‘Back to Basics’ are we are hearing about when out talking to clients and businesses in general?  What can you do or put in place to ensure you are proactive, working to best practice and an employer of choice?

Getting your companies Seven HR – Back to basics and ‘Foundations (previous blog)’ in place is vital for the success of your business and helping you to prevent people problems.  Whilst creating a company where people wish to work, which leads to an increase in the bottom line and productivity.  Where there are no concerns for demotivating the team or threats of Employment Tribunal (ET) claims, plus bad working atmosphere.

Seven HR – Back to basics for business owners / managers:

1. Recruitment and Selection:   

When making the decision to recruit, business owners need to ensure that a set company Policy and Procedure is in place that ensures you work to best practice, the law and maintain consistency throughout, when recruiting members of the team.

As part of the Seven HR – Back to basics; Companies need to be able to demonstrate why somebody got the job rather than another candidate. 

  • Was it their qualifications?
  • Was it their experience?
  • Their Competence when answering questions?
  • Why?

Failure could result in somebody claiming they were discriminated against for one of the protected Characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 such as age, sex and disability.

Further information on how we can help and what is included, can be found here. Plus, details on what is included overall in ensuring you recruit successfully can be found here.

Therapy sessions start for long-term sick | Consensus HR – Herts
Seven HR – Back to basics

2. Employment Contract: 

Since the change in the law in April 2020, employees are entitled to an Employment Contract from day one of employment when previously it was within 3 months.  We are still finding that many companies do not provide this on day one of employment, but this should be produced when the decision to employ the person has been made and signed, dated and sent to them for their viewing, with the agreement signed and dated.

It is important that your employee contract includes specific legal clauses and others which need to be adapted to suit your business and service/product you offer, such as the clause  for deduction of wages.  Unauthorised deduction from an employee’s wages can result in an employee, current or past making a claim to an Employment Tribunal regardless of length of service.  Although this should make no difference, as companies need to work to best practice and the law or face the possible consequences that could occur, such as an award of £2,100.

We work with clients to draft a company specific Contract of Employment such as full-time, part-time, self employed, home working etc and by getting to know their business ensure clauses are adapted to ensure maximum usefulness for the employee and business.

As previously mentioned, failure to provide an Employment Contract from day one can result in a claim to an Employment Tribunal, claims for an authorised deduction of wages due to money being subtracted from an employees pay, and the company not contractually permitted to do so, even after consultation with the member of the team.

Areas which should be covered in an Employment Contract can be found by clicking here. 

3. Employment checks: References and Right To Work in the UK

All employers within the UK have a responsibility to prevent illegal working. Since Brexit, there are additional needs for employers to check the legality of employees right to work in the UK and the correct checks must be made.  We advise every client, to obtain copies of employees Passports and/or Visa’s and keep this securely on an IT system with the employees’ consent.

The Government now has a system that allows employers to check somebody’s legality to work in the UK and can be obtained by a job applicant giving you their ‘Share Code’. By visiting  https://www.gov.uk/check-job-applicant-right-to-work and checking that the documents they have provided allows them to work in the UK.

Failure to ensure this is completed correctly can result in an employer being sent to jail for 5 years and pay an unlimited fine, if their found guilty of employing someone who they knew or had ‘reasonable cause to believe’ did not have the right to work in the UK.

This includes, for example, if you had any reason to believe that:

  • they did not have leave (permission) to enter or remain in the UK
  • their leave had expired
  • they were not allowed to do certain types of work
  • their papers were incorrect or false

Check your employees eligibility to work correctly:

You can also be penalised if you employ someone who does not have the right to work and you did not do the correct checks, or you did not do them properly.

If this happens, you might get a ‘referral notice’ to let you know your case is being considered and that you might have to pay a civil penalty (fine) of up to £20,000 for each illegal worker.

You’ll be sent a ‘civil penalty notice’ if you’re found liable and you’ll have 28 days to respond.

The notice will tell you how to pay, what to do next, and how to object to the decision.

Your business’s details may be published by Immigration Enforcement as a warning to other businesses not to employ illegal workers.

Read more about illegal working penalties.

Seven HR – Back to basics
Diversity
outsourced HR

4. Not following procedures and the law: 

HR is covered under Civil Law and the ‘Balance of Probabilities’ and not Criminal Law and ‘Beyond Reasonable Doubt’.   There are set procedures to follow which are outlined in the Acas Code of Practice which gives clear instructions on how to deal with employee issues within a business.

Failure to follow the Acas Code of Practice can result in claims for unfair dismissal, unauthorised deduction of wages as well as many other areas such as Age Discrimination, Sex, Gender, Race and all other protected Characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 where awards to an employee can be unlimited in certain circumstances.

Employers have to be able to demonstrate that they acted reasonably in dealing with an issue and followed the correct procedure of investigating the incident, holding the appropriate meeting and an offer to appeal should a penalty be place on an employee.  It is up to the manager who is Chairing the meeting and making the decision to be able justify why the action they took is reasonable and what a reasonable employer would do and not HR.  Questions to consider include:

  • What Policies and Procedures are in place?
  • Was the member of the team adequately informed and giving the appropriate development?
  • Are the right tools provided?

5. Failure to take an employee’s concerns/moans seriously:

As managers of a team, we all know that team members can raise a number of concerns that affect them and their motivation to do their job, which can result in certain people occasionally being ignored or seen as moaners.

However, managers need to ensure that they take the necessary action, as needed, as failure could result in the employee raising a grievance.

Grievances should initially be dealt with informally, if possible, but should this not resolve the matter, then the Acas/Company Grievance procedure should be followed as soon as possible.  Managers should never just ignore it, as a mole hill could turn into a mountain and result in awards being adjusted by up to 25% by an Employment Tribunal (ET).

Employee, Worker or Self-Employed … What’s the Difference
Back to basics

6. Not managing Performance of a team member: 

Business owners and managers need to ensure that they have an adequate Performance Management Process in place to make sure that each employee is clear about what is expected from them in their job​, whilst also understanding what they are doing well, to identify what the manager can do to support and coach the employee to work differently or better.  Working towards the same company SMART goals ensures success for the business, as well as individuals working within it.

Each person should prepare for their Performance Management Meeting by reviewing their job description and any set objectives. These ​may be what were agreed during or since the last review meeting and completing a preparation form. Any discussions and comments for the previous year should be written down and discussed; with objectives agreed for the coming six months​, using the job description relevant to ​the role and the company.

All members of the team should be working towards the same company goals whilst also having personal SMART goals to ensure success for the business, as well as individuals working within it.

We know ​that having a suitable performance review process in place helps to ​facilitate effective performance management – of your teams and your business. These steps allow for individual SMART objectives to be written and rewarded appropriately if achieved​,​ ​development identified​ or corrective action taken.

Six-monthly structured ​one-to-one performance management meetings (appraisals) are recommended. These allow the individual and company management representative to sit down in a friendly environment and set SMART objectives. Both company and personal goals are agreed for the team member to achieve. Feedback should be sought throughout the year. Plus, everyone is fully aware of initial actions and steps of last resort.

SMART – Specific, Measurable, Accountable, Realistic, Time Based.  Failure to manage a team members performance effectively can result in a range of issues for a company from demotivation, loss of sales, poor customer service, Employment Tribunals and high turnover in employees.

7. Employee Handbook:

Employee Handbooks are one of the key HR foundations for any business. They ensure that all your team members know what is expected from them. This includes holidays and hours to how poor misconduct may be dealt with in line with employment law. They set out the rules for ensuring that everybody within the team knows what action can be taken by the company, should expectations not be met. Two examples are Disciplinaries and Grievances; initial actions and steps of last resort, would be included.

Our Handbooks are legally written by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and our HR business professional. We consider all your specific business areas, ensuring legal adherence.

An Employee Handbook puts all the key information and rules in one easy place ​and ​allows them to access the information as and when required ​without needing ​to ask a member of ​staff which, during the first few days of a role​,​ can sometimes be quite daunting.  We encourage these to be easily accessible and available online through the use of our Breathe HR IT system

As part of the Seven HR – Back to basics; a Company Employee Handbook allows the team to gain an understanding of what is expected from them and the company with areas such as pay, hours of work and benefits to communication and team events to name a few. We also ensure that important company policies are included such as disciplinary & grievance, equality and sickness.

We work with our clients to ensure that the handbook is ​tailored to the business, ​reflecting ​the organisation’s values​/​vision, and ​on occasion, a welcome letter from the management team.

Failure to provide an Employee Handbook may result in members of the team claiming they were not aware of a Policy or where to find out about that Policy and can help managers manage more effectively as they can direct team members to the handbook for information thus allowing them to manage more effectively.  We also suggest that all Policies and Procedures, Company Handbook, a member of the teams Contract of Employment and Job Description are easily accessible to them via a user-friendly IT system such as Breathe HR.

Back to basics

Are all your HR basics in place? If not and you need some help and guidance, contact us now by clicking here.

Copyright © Consensus HR All right reserved.

Designed by JCP Web Designs

Cycle to Work Day

Cycle to Work Day

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Cycle to Work Day

 

Yesterday was Cycle to Work Day

Do you want to start a cycle to work scheme and don’t know where to start?

Do you want to increase your Companies engagement in your existing Cycle to Work scheme?

 

To find out more on how we are support you and your Company give us a call on Cycle to Work Day or book a FREE 15 minute consultation with us at Consensus HR, click here for more information.

For more information about Cycle to Work Day, click here.

 

Why don't you give us a call or email to discuss and 'Click Here"?

Consensus HR are a personal, professional and fully Chartered HR Consultancy who are here to help you and your business.
Click Here

Welcome to Consensus HR…..Our Mission Statement is “Helping Companies take the pain out of employing people whilst preventing people problems’

Consensus HR are a plain speaking Consultancy who help businesses with the complexities and best practice in the world of Human Resources. Whether you’re a start-up, SME or bigger business we help businesses from 1 – 250 employees, to enable successful business delivery, growth and change whilst Preventing People Problems.  We help you  find suitable people solutions whilst providing accredited legal expert Human Resources advice. 

Whatever your Human Resources business needs, we can help with our no obligation initial FREE HR audit. Book here and let’s get started!

Copyright © Consensus HR All right reserved.

Designed by JCP Web Designs

Thermals

HR Legal Round Up

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HR Legal Round Up Current Government planned changes and guidance.

Holiday

In a significant case for part-year workers, including term-time only, zero-hours and casual staff, the Supreme Court has confirmed that employers should not be pro-rating annual leave in line with the weeks in the year they work.

What do you need to know about Harpur Trust v Brazel

The outcome in Harpur Trust v Brazel has also caused a stir for holiday calculations, by rejecting the use of the “percentage method”, i.e. 12.07 percent of hours worked, in calculating variable hours holiday.

Government backs Bills on tips and neonatal leave

The government has confirmed its backing for two separate bills; one, giving the right to neonatal leave and pay (to eligible employees), and another guaranteeing that 100% of tips (including service charges) will go to hospitality staff.

Mothers
Therapy sessions start for long-term sick | Consensus HR – Herts

Government guidance to education-sector employers to complete online checks in recruitment

The government has produced draft guidance on completing online due diligence checks of publicly available information for shortlisted candidates to identify any incidents or issues that may need to be discussed.

Legislative ban on using temporary workers to cover for striking staff lifted

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has confirmed that a change in the law came into force on 21 July, under which businesses can provide skilled agency workers to fill staffing gaps caused by industrial strike action.

priscilla-du-preez-F9DFuJoS9EU-unsplash
cipd

Featured case law

In Forstater v CGD Europe, it was held that discrimination had occurred against an individual who expressed their gender-critical views on their personal twitter account, and were not offered ongoing employment as a result. 

Thanks to CIPD – HR Inform for updates.

Further advice To discuss any of these updates and case law and how they may affect your, please click here.

Copyright © Consensus HR All right reserved.

Designed by JCP Web Designs

Thermals

Latest July 2022 HR blog Newsletter

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Welcome to our July 2022 HR blog Newsletter

blog Newsletter

Employment Law Newsletter – July 2022

Welcome to our Employment Law Newsletter – July 2022.  This newsletter covers:

  1. Early Conciliation: How to Avoid the Employment Tribunal

  2. Part-Time Workers Rights

  3. “Wellness” in the Workplace

  4. Was Dismissal of Employee Fearful of Covid-19 Fair?

See more

Herts Visual Arts – The Big art Fair

Herts Visual Arts – We were honoured to sponsor this event.Congratulations to Daniella Coronel Saavedra for winning our award.

We were privileged to sponsor the Herts Visual Arts Awards again for a third year and see the range of fantastic arts on display by a group of talented individuals.  Daniella Coronel Saavedra  won our award this year for her inspirational colourful art with a hidden gem(s) that only became visible when fully viewing her range of paintings.

See more

blog Newsletter
blog Newsletter

Positive Key HR lessons that can be learnt from Boris Johnsons resignation?

HR Lessons –

The last week has seen our current Prime Minister –  Boris Johnsons, resignation and now the ever-increasing numbers of MP’s who wish to become the leader of the Conservatives and then ultimately the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.  What can business owners learn from this whole situation to ensure their long-term success?

Our Chartered Institute, the CIPD wrote this recent news article (July 2022) and we have included our comments as well

See more

Prestige Awards – London & South East England 2022

 

Proud winners of: Prestige AwardsPrestige Awards – London & South East – 2022

We are proud to announce that we have been awarded another award for this year from Prestige Awards – London & South East England 2022.  This award is for HR Consultancy firm of the year 2022.

See more

blog Newsletter
blog Newsletter

World Chocolate Day 7th July 2022

Are you celebrating World Chocolate Day ?

Our favorite World Chocolate Day facts

We couldn’t write about World Chocolate Day without sharing a few chocolate facts.

See more

Copyright © Consensus HR All right reserved.

Designed by JCP Web Designs

Big Art Fair

Herts Visual Arts – The Big art Fair

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Herts Visual Arts

Herts Visual Arts - We were honoured to sponsor this event. Congratulations to Daniella Coronel Saavedra for winning our award.

We were privileged to sponsor the Herts Visual Arts Awards again for a third year and see the range of fantastic arts on display by a group of talented individuals.  Daniella Coronel Saavedra  won our award this year for her inspirational colourful art with a hidden gem(s) that only became visible when fully viewing her range of paintings.

Click here to see a range of Daniella’s art.

Consensus HR are a plain speaking Consultancy who help businesses with the complexities and best practice in the world of Human Resources. Whether you’re a start-up, SME or bigger business we help businesses from 1 – 250 employees, to enable successful business delivery, growth and change whilst Preventing People Problems.  We help you  find suitable people solutions whilst providing accredited legal expert Human Resources advice. 

Whatever your Human Resources business needs, we can help with our no obligation initial FREE HR audit. Book here and let’s get started!

Click here to find out the benefits of outsourcing HR?

 

Herts Visual Arts

About Us………….Let us work with you and take the HR pain away………

“With us, you are never just a number!!”

Award

Our Pledge to you:

  • We get to know your business and become your companies personal HR Department

  • We help business owners with any HR​/​Development issues they may have​, from setting up their employment contracts, restrictive covenants, policies and procedures​, to managing those difficult issues such as performance, absence, disciplinaries​/​grievances or redundancies.

  • We always ensure that your business follows the law​/​best practice and we will write all the legal letters required. Our advice is provided by phone, email or on-site.

  • We ensure that your company always gets the fully insured guidance that it needs and at a fraction of the price of an in-house HR Dept.

  • We have the highest HR​/​Legal Qualifications available​, ​accredited by the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) and other leading professional bodies, including the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board.

  • We will ensure through the use of our Employment Tribunal (ET) Insurance that should your business have to go to an ET and you have followed all our advice​, that all costs are covered, (Note: Monthly fee paying customer only, T&C’s apply)

  • We will always aim to ensure that you talk​/​work with the same member of the team each time, so they are up ​to date on your company and what action has previously been taken so that you do not have to go over areas you have spoken to us about before.

  • We will listen carefully to your concerns and clearly set out your options.

    We will highlight the merits and potential pitfalls so you can make an informed decision.

    Consensus HR has been operating for in excess of 12 years. It was founded by Matthew Pinto-Chilcott in 2010, who himself has accumulated over 32 years of Operations Management & Human Resources (HR) experience in fast footfall and multi million pound turnover businesses.

    Make use of our free HR health check conducted by one of our experienced team members by getting in touch (within 40 miles of SG postcode).

Contracts & Handbooks

If you need urgent support, please contact us.

Take a look at our pricing and packages.

Employment Contracts & Handbooks as one of the key HR foundations for any business. They ensure that all your team members know what is expected from them. This includes their salaries and hours to how poor misconduct may be dealt with in line with employment law. They set out the rules for ensuring that everybody within the team knows what action can be taken by the company should expectations not be met. Two examples are Disciplinaries and Grievances; initial actions and steps of last resort would be included.

Our Employment Contracts & Handbooks are legally written by the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) and our HR business professional. We take into account all your specific business areas, ensuring legal adherence. Consensus HR offers a monthly service of unlimited telephone and HR advice. Your Contracts & Handbooks would be updated as and when needed ensuring continual adherence should legislation change.

Copyright © Consensus HR All right reserved.

Designed by JCP Web Designs

Thermals

Employment Law Newsletter – July 2022

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Welcome to our Employment Law Newsletter – July 2022.  This newsletter covers:

  1. Early Conciliation: How to Avoid the Employment Tribunal

  2. Part-Time Workers Rights

  3. “Wellness” in the Workplace

  4. Was Dismissal of Employee Fearful of Covid-19 Fair?

Employment Law Newsletter - July 2022
Employment Law Newsletter - July 2022
Employment Law Newsletter - July 2022
Newsletter - July 2022

1. Early Conciliation: How to Avoid the Employment Tribunal

The obvious route to avoid the employment tribunal is for employees and employers to discuss workplace issues as they arise and to resolve them before they become disputes. However if informal workplace conversations or more formal approaches such as a grievance procedure don’t work, employers can find themselves facing a claim in the employment tribunal. The question is, how to avoid the claim being heard, in public, in the employment tribunal.

Before commencing a claim in the employment tribunal the employee must inform Acas – please note strict time limits apply at every stage so don’t delay. Acas will offer the employee what is known as “early conciliation” (to distinguish it from “conciliation”, also offered by Acas but available once the employment tribunal claim is underway). If the employee wants to pursue early conciliation, Acas will contact the employer and see if employer is prepared to take part too.

And an employer can contact Acas for early conciliation if they thinks a dispute with an employee could lead to employment tribunal

If either party doesn’t want to go ahead with early conciliation, or if it’s not possible to reach an agreement, Acas will issue a certificate which the employee will need to lodge with their employment tribunal claim if they decide this is the course they want to take – again please note strict time limits apply.

So what is early conciliation? Early conciliation is a free and swift method of settling a workplace dispute, thereby preventing a costly and time consuming claim in the employment tribunal.

How does early conciliation work? The employee will provide the Acas conciliator with a full account of the issues as the employee sees it, for example the amount of wages they claim are owed to them and the employer’s response so far. The Acas conciliator is impartial and does not give advice but helps both parties to identify the issues and to reach an agreement. If either participant requires advice they will need to contact for example the CAB or a solicitor who specialises in employment law.

Acas has recently highlighted the emotional toll workplace disputes can have on employees. Visit the Acas website for a list of the sources of support, from Mind to the NHS. See the Getting emotional support section of the webpage, What you need to do: Getting an agreement by early conciliation.

Agreement reached in early conciliation is recorded in Acas document COT3 and is legally binding. COT3 can contain agreements the employment tribunal cannot order such as to provide a reference.

However if no agreement is reached it is up to the employee to make their claim to the employment tribunal within the strict time limits.

As is the case with employment tribunal settlements, if an employer fails to make a payment to an employee under a COT3 the government can help. See the gov.uk webpage, Employment tribunal: penalty enforcement and naming scheme. Under this scheme the employer is fined and named publicly. Another option is an enforcement scheme, the Acas and Employment Tribunal Fast Track Scheme. Alternatively there’s a Court procedure using form N322B.

Newsletter - July 2022
Newsletter - July 2022

2. Part-Time Workers Rights

Part-time workers and employees have rights under the Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000. When compared to a full-time worker they must receive comparable – and where relevant – pro rata:

  • Wages
  • Career, training, promotion, career breaks and job transfer opportunities
  • Holiday, sickness, maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave
  • Pension and benefits
  • Redundancy selection and pay

If a part-time worker or employee considers they are treated unfavourably in comparison to a comparable worker or employee who is full-time, they can ask the employer for a written statement of reasons for less favourable treatment. The employer must provide the statement within 21 days. If they fail to provide the statement, this could count against them in the employment tribunal.

The worker or employee can make a claim to the employment tribunal if they can find no objective justification within the employer’s reasons for their less favourable treatment.

Part-time workers and employees can make a claim to the employment tribunal if they consider they are treated less favourably or are victimised or dismissed for pursuing rights under the Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000.

In the case of workers, they can make a claim to the employment tribunal for part-time worker detriment. Whilst employees can make a claim to the employment tribunal even if they have not been employed for a full two years.

Newsletter - July 2022
Newsletter - July 2022

3. “Wellness” in the Workplace

Mental health apps, menopause support, mindfulness sessions, gym subsidies, counselling helplines … workplaces are increasingly focussed on the welfare of their employees.

The celebration of dog ownership in the workplace is having a moment. ‘Bring Your Dog to Work’ Day falls in June (this year on 24 June) and has been going for over 20 years.

Employers are giving dog owners adoption and bereavement leave, paying for pet insurance and encouraging employees to bring dogs into work. Research shows that dogs reduce stress and promote sociability and exercise. But is an office full of dogs everyone’s cup of tea?

Why are employers so focussed on the wellness of their employees? Employer awareness of the mental health challenges and the wellbeing of employees has undergone a revolution since the onset of the pandemic, whilst multiple lockdowns and the advent of working from home and hybrid working has changed employee attitudes to work forever. Many employees now want the option to work at home, and many have ditched one career for another or retired early. Meanwhile, employers face difficulties in retention and recruitment. It’s clear something needs to change.  

Last month a trial started of the 4-day working week in 70 companies involving more than 3000 employees. This is led by two 4-day week campaigns together with researchers at Cambridge and Oxford universities. A whole spectrum of businesses are involved, from banks to fish and chip shops. The aim is to study the 100:80:100 paradigm, in other words is it possible to earn 100 percent of your salary for a four day week on the basis your productivity is not reduced.

Researchers will consider the effect on employees’ health, happiness, productivity, and use of fossil fuels, the latter because researchers will also look at the effect on the environment of a reduced working week.

The study will continue for 6 months. Similar studies are proceeding across the globe.

Employment Law Newsletter – July 2022
Employment Law Newsletter – July 2022

4. Was Dismissal of Employee Fearful of Covid-19 Fair

Mr Rodgers was employed by Leeds Laser Cutting Ltd when the pandemic struck and lockdown imposed. Although the employer implemented safeguards as recommended by the government, Mr Rodgers informed his workplace he would be isolating to protect the health of his sick child and young baby.

The employer dismissed Mr Rodgers. Although Mr Rodgers did not have two years continuous service, under section 100 of the Employment Act he made a claim to the employment tribunal based on automatically unfair dismissal. Section 100 sets out an employee is automatically unfairly dismissed if he left the workplace:

“in circumstances of danger which the employee reasonably believed to be serious and imminent and which he could not reasonably have been expected to avert … or .. refused to return to his place of work”.

Or if he took steps to protect himself:

“in circumstances of danger which the employee reasonably believed to be serious and imminent”.

However Mr Rodgers failed to convince the employment tribunal his workplace contained risks of Covid-19 infection. Furthermore the employment tribunal found he had driven a friend to hospital, and had worked in a pub during lockdown. The employment tribunal held he had not been automatically unfairly dismissed.

Mr Rodgers appealed this decision. The employment appeal tribunal upheld the decision of the employment tribunal. However it acknowledged that Covid-19 could potentially amount to relevant circumstances under section 100 of the Employment Act. “In my judgment, whilst conditions pertaining to Covid-19 could potentially amount to circumstances of serious and imminent danger in principle, I do not consider that they did so in this case.”

 

Contact us for free advice on the issues raised in this Newsletter. In this thirty-minute session we will review your situation and how you can achieve your objectives.

The topics covered in this Newsletter are complex and are provided for general guidance only. Therefore, if any of the circumstances mentioned in this Newsletter have application to you, seek expert legal advice.

 

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Boris Johnsons

Positive Key HR lessons that can be learnt from Boris Johnsons resignation?

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HR Lessons –

The last week has seen our current Prime Minister –  Boris Johnsons, resignation and now the ever-increasing numbers of MP’s who wish to become the leader of the Conservatives and then ultimately the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.  What can business owners learn from this whole situation to ensure their long-term success?

Our Chartered Institute, the CIPD wrote this recent news article (July 2022) and we have included our comments as well

Importance of succession planning

New concerns over how government will run and if there are sufficient staff levels to facilitate basic operations are now being raised by MPs. This highlights the importance of having an effective succession planning strategy in place, to ensure there are trained and capable individuals ready to take over the role of a departing employee. This becomes increasingly important for senior leadership positions.

Successful succession planning may involve a pre-made handover outlining the individual’s regular duties and how these are completed. It should also outline any relevant login details for the platforms they have access to on internal and external systems. Contact details of people they routinely speak with can also be useful, as can a list of company equipment which may need to be returned should they leave. Doing so can make a leadership transition easier and quicker for all.  Matthew Pinto-Chilcott comments “The importance of succession planning within any business is key and should be part of your yearly appraisal process.  Companies should be continually looking at their team and seeing how they can up skill them to take on parts of other roles and accountabilities so that should anybody leave the team and go onto pastures new, there is somebody still present that can step up and take on their whole role or part of it.  Various members of the team could shadow another part of the business for a few hours a week / month to develop their skills in another area of the business”

What a new Prime Minister will mean for UK employment laws

There will be no immediate changes to employment law in the UK following Boris’s resignation. The legislation outlined in the Queen’s Speech at the beginning of May will remain government’s focus for the upcoming months. When a new Prime Minister takes over, it’s possible that their focus and priorities will be different. However, they will still have to follow the plan which has already been laid out. “When anybody leaves your business, it can leave a hole and cause unwanted problems but unfortunately it is one of the privileges of owning a business.  However, ensuring that the effect on you and your business is minimalised and preparing your HR with the right strategies in place can make your success and that of the business a lot easier.”

Support staff through leadership changes

Where multiple or senior staff members resign, the knock-on impact for those remaining can be devastating. As such, employers must ensure they have adequate measures in place to support people who stay, in both a professional and personal capacity.

Employees may find themselves with overwhelming workloads to try and cover for staff shortages, which can quickly lead to burnout and stress-related absences. Requiring them to juggle too many things at one time will end up causing more problems than they started with. As such, it’s important for to prioritise essential tasks, and leave others to one side until there is sufficient resources to handle them.  Matthew Pinto-Chilcott of Consensus HR comments “Companies who ensure multi-skilling of team members whilst ensuring they fully understand that this does not mean a permanent change to their current role / accountabilities will help to ensure that should any member of the team leave the business, work can continue for the short term whilst a new member of the team is found.”

Opportunity for restructure

A staff exodus of this nature can provide a unique opportunity to review existing functions and implement a dynamic restructure. This might be by introducing more middle or senior managers or removing a hierarchical structure completely. In any case, where changes impact employees’ existing terms and conditions, employers must first get their agreement to implement them.  Matthew comments “When a member leaves your team, this is the ideal opportunity to review your recent appraisals and the exit interview you completed with the member to see if there is a need to restructure and change job descriptions, accountabilities and reporting structures.  The team should be included within this to gain their thoughts and the best way to achieve any changes whilst maintaining the company culture.”

HR Lessons

Tel: 01438 576750

Email: [email protected]

Prioritise organisational culture

Losing one employee can cause a significant impact on business operations. But resignations similar to the unprecedented rate seen by the government can grind functions to a halt. Whilst this can happen for a number of different reasons, one cause might be attributable to a wider cultural issue. Where this happens, HR teams should work with senior leaders to investigate the root cause and take appropriate measures to alleviate the problem.

Pay will, undoubtedly, remain forever near the top of employees’ priority lists, especially as the cost-of-living crisis continues. But, where there is a poor organisational culture, staff may be more inclined to look for external opportunities on lower wage rates, if they facilitate an effective work-life balance and offer genuine support. Where an employer priorities staff wellbeing and implements measures to meet their expectations, they are more likely to reap the rewards of an engaged, motivated, and satisfied workforce.  Matthew comments “We have had many conversations with clients when they grow and take on their first employee and then their second about the importance of maintaining the company’s culture as this is why the majority of the time people come to your business rather than others who offer the same service.  Company standards need to be written and lived by the team that incorporates the culture and how policies and procedures should be followed”

Contact us now if you wish to discuss and see how we can help you to ensure that if a high-profile resignation happens in your business. how we can prepare now to prevent people problems.” Matthew – Consensus HR – Owner.

Copyright © Consensus HR All right reserved.

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world chocolate day

World Chocolate Day 7th July 2022

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Are you celebrating World Chocolate Day ?

World Chocolate Day 7th July 2022

 

Our favorite World Chocolate Day facts

We couldn’t write about World Chocolate Day without sharing a few chocolate facts.

The first eating chocolate

It wasn’t until 1847 that we started to eat chocolate as a solid. The Fry and Sons chocolate company in the UK invented the first hard chocolate by combining cocoa butter, sugar and liquor.

The cacao bean as currency

The Aztecs and Mayans both revered the cacao bean to such an extent that it was used as currency in their ancient civilizations. The Aztecs believed the cacao bean was more valuable than gold and often bartered and traded with the bean.

The cacao tree

The cacao tree can live for more than 100 years! It’s unusual because it produces flowers directly on its trunk and branches, rather than on new shoots.

The most Ferrero Rocher chocolates stacked

The most Ferrero Rocher chocolates stacked is 12, achieved by Silvio Sabba (Italy), in Pioltello, Milan, Italy, on 30 January 2012.

The largest individual chocolate

The largest individual chocolate was a chocolate Hershey’s Kiss weighing 13,852.71 kg (30,540 lbs). The chocolate was made to celebrate Hershey’s Kisses 100th anniversary and was displayed at Chocolate World, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA, on 7 July 2007.

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