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4 Things to get excited about in 2021

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2020 certainly taught us to assume nothing and expect the unexpected.  After a very challenging and sad year, we thought everyone could benefit from putting the spotlight on elements that organisations, HR departments and employees can look forward to in 2021. 

4 Things to get excited about in 2021
4 Things to get excited about in 2021

1.  Less Strategy, More People

Where it may have been common practice, prior to 2020, to strategically plan for months and years in advance, organisations were suddenly tasked with making plans to cover just the coming weeks, and in some cases, even days.

An advantage of this shift is that it requires more of a focus on the people within the organisation – the vital cogs in the machine that keep the organisation running.

HR’s contribution to the organisation here is vital – it provides support in creating structure and security, while providing the people-centred elements of creating purpose within a role, the opportunity to learn and develop, and that all-important sense of belonging.

Long term planning involves forecasting, strategy and elements that very few people on the shop floor can realistically envisage, but shorter term planning embraces the people within an organisation and how everyone can work together right now to make a positive difference.  And what better time than now to do that?

2.  Working Remotely

Working remotely and working from home were never previously embraced to the level that they are now.  Many were absent from their offices for a few weeks in 2020, while some have yet to set foot back into the office.

While the first few weeks were jarring for everyone, many organisations have since found that they can run adequately, with remote employees being sufficiently productive, if not more productive.  As a result, it may be tough to come up with credible arguments for a return to a full-time office!

Working remotely and from home has provided many employees with benefits they have long wanted – the ability to be more focused and productive, to be better-placed for caring responsibilities, to avoid commutes and to lessen stress.  On the other hand, some employees don’t thrive from working in isolation, possibly in an environment that’s not conducive to productivity, or being alone.

Managing and developing employees at a distance and dealing with opposing employee experiences does pose a challenge, but this can be met with the use of Continuous Performance Management (a people-centred approach to encouraging, improving and measuring employee performance).

Working together with HR professionals, managers can create systems for measuring productivity and engaging regularly with employees, encouraging those thriving in the new arrangement, while alleviating isolation felt by others.

Nothing beats human contact, and a time will come when employees can meet up in premises again (albeit, on a reduced schedule), but in the meantime, there are plenty of ways that an organisation can enjoy the best of remote working, while creatively maintaining an element of connection between employees.

4 Things to get excited about in 2021
4 Things to get excited about in 2021

3.  Top Tech

Never was there more pressure on technological development than in 2020.  Suddenly working remotely demanded effective tools, reliable Internet connectivity, and robust Cloud storage solutions that may never have been adopted by organisations before.

As things start to settle and 2021 progresses, organisations will have the option of considering whether they really need to keep all of their technical operations in-house, or choose to outsource to specialist service providers. 

An in-house practice may have revealed itself to be unnecessary (i.e.: gathering people together for extended, catered meetings, or a paper-based client communication system that no one really missed during lockdown), or outsourcing may offer convenience and speed, even the option to dispense with space as in-house servers and data systems are no longer required.

Either way, the lockdown will likely have shone a spotlight on what is needed and what isn’t, and the opportunities for working more efficiently with technology now abound!

But don’t forget about having fun!  The lockdown inspired many organisations to use technology to host virtual parties, interactive classes, quizzes and challenges for employees, facilitating connections with colleagues and helping them enjoy their roles even more.  This should remain a feature even after things settle down.

4. Employee wellbeing and mental health

Employee wellbeing is directly linked to productivity, and after a challenging 2020, every organisation (including the ones who never gave it much thought before!) knows the importance of investing in employee wellbeing and mental health, especially going forward in 2021.

Look to HR for support in finding a great balance between employees’ personal wellbeing and professional development.

Personal well being could include basics such as sleep, exercise and general health, through to psychological aspects like stress and anxiety management, elements that will all have been affected by the lockdown, isolation measures and ongoing questions of job security.  Pandemic or not, HR professionals are charged with creating a comfortable working environment and experience for all employees.  They therefore understand the complexity of these issues and are trained in noticing when someone is struggling, and knowing how to handle it sensitively.  They provide a crucial conduit between employees and employers as a result.

Professional development will be vital for employees who may be feeling that working remotely and away from the eyes of their employer could slow their career progression.  The lessons learned from the pandemic may highlight areas in which everyone needs to improve, and providing training or a development path to work more effectively in the future will let employees know that they are valued and that their organisation has positive plans for the future – one of the best ways to provide a sense of confidence, purpose and security in their roles.

Everyone can feel excited about future focus on emotional wellbeing and health because there will be a new level of empathy and understanding present amongst organisations, and employers will be abundantly clear on the benefits of working with their employees, not just expecting employees to work for them.

As devastating and challenging as the pandemic has been, it has served as a global ‘reset’, and many of the changes forced on us overnight (changes we may not have been brave enough to adopt beforehand), will undoubtedly create a more positive and people-centred approach to work and life 2021.  Is there anything that you’re excited about this year? 

From all of us at Consensus HR, we wish you a happy, healthy and successful 2021.

Management Development Workshops

We continually run a a range of fact / Knowledge gaining, informal, friendly & exciting HR Management / business owner development workshops designed to equip individuals with the skills required to run their businesses successfully.

If your business would like to run a specific HR Workshop such as Performance Management, Disciplinary & Grievance Management, or Customer Service to name a few, please get in contact today or alternatively book on to one of our next planned events shown below.

Performance Reviews (Appraisals)

Thursday 14th January 2021 – 9:30am – 15:30 pm

Click here for further information.

Communication Skills

Thursday 11th March 2021 – 9:30am – 13:30 pm

Click here for further information.

 Coaching Skills

Thursday 13th May 2021 – 9:30am – 13:30 pm

Click here for further information.

 Delegation Skills

Thursday 8th July 2021 – 9:30am – 13:30 pm

Click here for further information.

Managing Discipline in the workforce (Disciplinary & Grievance)

Thursday 11th February 2021 – 9:30 am – 15:30 pm

Click here for further information.

Team Building

Thursday 15th April 2021 – 9:30am – 15:30 pm

Click here for further information.

Successful Recruitment

Thursday 10th June 2021 – 9:30am – 13:30 pm

Click here for further information.

4 Things to get excited about in 2021

We are a personal, unique HR & Employment Law service, helping employers who cannot support their own in-house Human Resources department. 

Our monthly packages are designed to be affordable and scales with your business as you grow.

We hold the highest Employment Law qualifications (Level 7) with our Chartered Institute and all our advice is fully professionally liability insured and accredited by the CIPD and other leading professional bodies, including the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Bar Standards Board.

We have a range of experiences within all UK business sectors both front & back of house from fast footfall, high turnover retail, hotels & catering and pharmaceuticals to Post Production & Advertising.

We are based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire and cover surrounding areas including Bedfordshire & Cambridgeshire. Get in touch today to see how Consensus HR can help.

 01438 310062
 
 [email protected]
 
 Business Material
Performance Management

Performance Management and Disciplinary During a Pandemic

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Performance Management and Disciplinary During a Pandemic
Performance Management and Disciplinary During a Pandemic

Disciplinary issues can occur in any workplace at any time.  However, the pandemic has brought a new range of issues, from employees refusing to return to work, to individuals exploiting the situation for unnecessary time off.

However, there is also the challenge facing employers of doing all they can to avoid it getting as far as the disciplinary stage in the first place.

As we face going into 2021 with a continuing pandemic and an extended furlough scheme, December’s blog post will focus on prevention and cure (from a workplace standpoint)… How to use performance management to best avoid disciplinary processes during a pandemic, and considerations to make when disciplinary is the only option left.

Managing Performance

Performance ManagementThe main reason that disciplinary matters arise is due to the employee not performing to the employer’s satisfaction.  Many performance-related problems are rooted in a lack of communication, guidance, or even a lack of training for the employee. Much responsibility is on the employer to do everything reasonably within their power to help the employee understand and meet their expectations and the requirements of the role.

Firstly, there should be a clear job description, with accompanying goals and reasonable timeframes.  Performance should be reviewed regularly through an appraisal process, where the employee can learn where they are doing well and where they need to improve.  Appraisals should identify any need for training, and give employees an opportunity to voice any concerns or discuss any challenges.

Particularly appropriate during a pandemic, are employee counselling sessions.  Counselling offers support and assistance to the employee, inviting them to take a step away from the role, and find ways to tackle challenges as a whole, with regards to personal, social and professional issues.  Counselling should form part of the organisation’s stress management policy. 

CounsellingAt Consensus HR, we provide Recorded Counselling sessions, aimed at trying to solve problems before they reach the point of requiring more drastic, formal or official procedures.  Through these, we aim to fill any gaps or remedy any breakdowns in communication between employees and employers (which can often be at the root of problems), and put in place a plan of action for addressing the issue, along with advice as to the consequences if improvement is not seen.  This plan, along with timescales and benchmarks that need to be met, is formulated and agreed upon by both parties.

If a reasonable time passes and the employee’s performance does not improve, despite 1-to-1 discussion, appraisal, counselling and training (where appropriate), the employer may proceed to consider formal investigation and disciplinary processes, in accordance with the ACAS Code of Practice.

These steps apply to all performance management situations, but as we navigate a pandemic, it is important to consider any challenges the employee may be facing outside of their working life.  The lockdowns and accompanying restrictions have led to health, welfare, logistical and mental health issues for a high percentage of the population.  These facts should be accounted for as far as reasonably possible.

Dealing with Disciplinaries

Then, there will be cases where despite every attempt to effectively manage Human Resourcesperformance, the only option left is disciplinary.

Many managers question whether to go through with disciplinary processes at this time, or to put them on hold until things settle down.  Our advice remains the same as prior to the pandemic – a fair process must be ensured for all disciplinary matters.  The process must be ‘reasonable’, and may be conducted away from the workplace through alternative means, but it is essential that it is carried out appropriately given the circumstances.

A few questions employers should ask themselves in considering the disciplinary route…

Is the Employee Furloughed?

Furloughed employees are not permitted to work for the employer, but having them attend a disciplinary hearing could be considered work.  To avoid jeopardising furlough pay claims, the employer should bring the employee back from furlough for the hearing, even if only for one day.

Are They OK With Technology?

Many employees working from home are using video conferencing technology.  However, consideration must be given as to whether the employee in question has access to this technology, as well as whether they feel comfortable using it.  If the employee struggles with either aspect, it puts them at a disadvantage and opens you up to claims of an unfair process.

 

 

Is The Meeting Location Appropriate?

If a hearing is to be virtual, and the employee is working from home, are they caring for young children or other family members?  Do they live in a shared space or in a high traffic area?  Would their situation be subject to noise, disruption or distraction that would not otherwise be present if the hearing was conducted in the workplace?  If so, they may not be a suitable environment for such an important meeting.

Do They Wish To Be Accompanied?

Employees have the right to be accompanied to a disciplinary hearing by a trade union representative or a colleague.  If taking place virtually, everyone involved must be happy with the arrangement.  If, however, the employee wishes to be accompanied but the circumstances make it impossible, and you choose to proceed anyway, you will be at risk of a claim that the process was not carried out fairly.

Can It Wait?

Although virtual meetings are proving successful, with a matter as sensitive as disciplinary, it is ideal to conduct hearings in person.  Therefore, it is important to figure out whether the matter can wait.  Ask yourself whether any sanctions resulting from a disciplinary can actually be implemented while the employee is furloughed or working from home.  Also consider whether the employee feels a matter of urgency, in that they wish to be heard right away.

As with most situations, prevention is better than cure.  Wherever steps can be taken or procedures put in place for effectively managing employees’ performance, they should be.  But if disciplinary action does appear to be the only remaining option, the presence of a pandemic should not delay employers in confronting issues that need to be dealt with.  Conducting a fair process, during peacetime, lockdown or otherwise, is always paramount.

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Performance Management and Disciplinary During a Pandemic

We are a personal, unique HR & Employment Law service, helping employers who cannot support their own in-house Human Resources department. 

Our monthly packages are designed to be affordable and scales with your business as you grow.

We hold the highest Employment Law qualifications (Level 7) with our Chartered Institute and all our advice is fully professionally liability insured and accredited by the CIPD and other leading professional bodies, including the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Bar Standards Board.

We have a range of experiences within all UK business sectors both front & back of house from fast footfall, high turnover retail, hotels & catering and pharmaceuticals to Post Production & Advertising.

We are based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire and cover surrounding areas including Bedfordshire & Cambridgeshire. Get in touch today to see how Consensus HR can help.

 01438 310062
 
 [email protected]
 
 Business Material

Do you know the background of your team? – Uber loses licence.

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An excellent article written by Emily Burt of People management (25th September 2017) highlights the importance to businesses of robust background of your team checking procedures, after Uber had its licence to operate in London pulled by Transport for London (TfL) on Friday 22nd September 2017.

In a statement released on Friday, TfL said the ride-hailing app was not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator licence. Among the reasons given were the company’s deemed failure to report alleged criminal offences carried out by its drivers and a lax attitude towards background checks and obtaining medical certificates.

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, Managing Director of Consensus HR comments “Too many times businesses do not see the importance of carrying out back ground checks on new employees due to it being time consuming and not having the required information needed to make such checks. Employers need to ensure as part of the recruitment process that adequate information is received such as the names & addresses of former employers who can be contacted. This will help to safeguard the business and its employees and allow business owners to make the correct recruitment decisions. Business owners need to look at fully what background checks need to be made relevant to their business.”

“Dara Khosrowshahi [chief executive of Uber] has said the rejection is the cost of a ‘bad reputation’,” Keely Rushmore, senior associate at SA Law, told People Management.  “However, from TfL’s perspective, its decision is about reality and genuine concerns, not reputation. Uber would perhaps be better placed in its appeal against the decision by focusing on addressing those concerns, rather than on seeking the support and peer pressure of its users.”

At the beginning of September, TfL said it had found that up to 13,000 Uber drivers had insufficient background checks and a separate investigation by The Sun, published last year, claimed Uber drivers had been obtaining falsified medical certificates.

Over the weekend, The Sunday Times published a letter from the head of the Metropolitan Police’s taxi and private hire unit, which accused Uber of selectively reporting criminal offences committed by drivers, choosing to report only those that would be “less damaging to [its] reputation”.

Uber’s existing licence expires on 30 September, but the company has 21 days to appeal TfL’s decision, and can continue to operate until it has exhausted the appeals process.

In an open letter tweeted by the company’s media team, recently appointed Khosrowshahi apologised “for the mistakes we’ve made” and added: “We will appeal this decision on behalf of millions of Londoners but we do so with the knowledge that we must also change.”

Meanwhile, Nick Elwell-Sutton, employment partner at Clyde & Co, said the decision flagged further concerns about the limited rights of gig economy workers. “Because they are classed as ‘workers’ rather than employees, there will be no right to a redundancy payment and no obligation to consult,” he said “Instead, Uber just needs to serve contractual notice to terminate.

“40,000 [drivers] are potentially losing their jobs, and while in future they could work as traditional minicab drivers, without the technology overlay of the Uber app they would be self-employed and end up with no rights at all rather than the limited ‘worker’ rights they currently have with Uber.”

Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC, said the decision should act as a “cautionary tale” for employers of gig economy workers. “It is perfectly possible to run a taxi company without treating drivers poorly and cutting corners on customer safety… Unions will expose nasty schemes that cheat workers out of basic rights like the minimum wage and holiday pay,” she said.

On Wednesday, the company is due to head to the Employment Appeal Tribunal to challenge a 2016 ruling, which decided that two of its drivers were workers, rather than self-employed, and therefore entitled to certain rights such as the minimum wage and sick pay.

If you are unsure of what reference checks you should be making or how to conduct them legally / productively, call Consensus HR on 01462 621243 or alternatively fill in our ‘Contact’ form and we will contact you ASAP.

 

 

Is your employee holiday “messed up”?

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Holiday – Ryanair cancelled 82 flights on Sunday after admitting it had “messed up” the planning of its pilots’ holiday.

The budget airline said on Saturday 16th September that it would cancel 40-50 flights every day for the next six weeks.

Marketing officer Kenny Jacobs said, “Affected customers with bookings up to 20 September had been informed.”

“We have messed up in the planning of pilot holidays and we’re working hard to fix that,” he said.

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott from Consensus HR comments “Over the weekend I was amazed to see the news in relation to Ryan air and the mess up it has made of its employees holidays resulting in the cancelling of 40 – 50 flights per day. Holidays are such an important part of an employee’s employment together with their salaries and need to be managed accordingly. In all industries business owners / managers need to ensure that they are continually keeping an eye on what holiday has been taken & what holiday still needs to be taken by its employees and would suggest that the teams managers / HR have this as a subject / KPI in key business meetings.

Most of the cancellations are due to a backlog of staff leave, which has seen large numbers of the airline’s staff book holidays towards the end of the year.

Martin Callanan, the aviation minister, said: “I am very concerned to see all of these reports of stranded Ryanair passengers. We expect all airlines to fulfil their obligations to their customers and do everything possible to notify them well in advance of any disruption to their journey.

“In the event of any disruption or cancellation, airlines must ensure customers are fully compensated and every effort is made to provide alternative travel arrangements.”

The airline is changing its holiday year, which currently runs from April to March, to run from January to December instead.

 

Ryanair said the shift meant it had to allocate annual leave to pilots in September and October.

Passenger complaints

The cancellations could affect up to 285,000 passengers, who will be offered alternative flights or refunds.

Mr Jacobs said affected customers would have been sent an email.

“We advise customers to check the email address used to make their booking,” he added.

Matthew from Consensus comments “Wow! 285,000 customers affected & their plans ruined. Managing the team’s holidays is a relatively easy exercise if you have the right procedures in place whether this is a simple pen & paper exercise to a more sophisticated cloud based electronic method, which we can supply to our customers. Business Owners / Managers need to remember that employees request holiday and it is to be taken when it fits in best with the business as well as the employee. They also need to remember the law and the Working Time Directive which gives all full-time employees 20 days holiday + bank holidays (8). Business owners can also block out specific times of the year if needed and the team are informed appropriately.”

A page on the Ryanair website details flights cancelled up until 20 September. It says 56 flights are cancelled on Monday, 55 on Tuesday, and 53 on Wednesday.

Ryanair has said that less than 2% of its flights would be cancelled and the move would help it hit its annual punctuality target of 90%.

But passengers have complained about the resulting uncertainty.

If you are concerned about your holidays & the managing of them appropriately, contact us to discuss on 01462 621243 or by filling in our Internet ‘Contact’ form.

Consensus HR – ‘Helping Companies with their People Solutions’

 

Holiday are coming!, Holidays are coming!

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As the well-known tune goes, although for different holidays (Christmas), employee’s holidays are soon to be coming in their droves due to the summer school holidays.

This is when the Policies & Procedures you have in place to manage employee holidays becomes extremely valuable.

The Law:

Everybody is entitled to a holiday, which is covered legally by the Working Time Directive, which stipulates that a full-time employee is entitled to 28 days holiday per annum pro-rata (Including Bank Holidays). This is accrued from day one of employment.

Failure to pay when either employed or once they have left employment is classed as ‘un-authorised deduction of wages’ and is an area that is common for former employees to take their employer to an Employment Tribunal. This can be done from day one of employment if somebody is owed monies regardless of length of service.

Policies & Procedures:

Companies should have a clear set policy for employees to use that states what the minimum notice is for applying for holiday and what needs to be completed for this to be accepted. An employee’s holiday is their legal right as explained prior but it should be noted that it is a request when they request their holiday and not a definite as business demands take precedence. However employers should also remember that it is in their business interests to ensure holiday as requested is granted, so as to ensure an employee uses their yearly entitlement up and also for the moral of the team.

A clear holiday form should be used that sets the standard clearly and should be granted on a first come, first served basis dependent on company needs with two copies of the form produced, one for the employee & one for the employer and their files. Both should be signed with the required authorisation to confirm it has been agreed.

Matthew from Consensus HR states “In my time within operations and HR, I have worked for quite a few businesses where the holiday procedure is not clear and has had to be amended due to people booking their holidays with the holiday company prior to having authorisation from their employer. Employees need to be aware that a booking for a holiday should not be made until their holiday at work has been authorised as if the holiday cannot be authorised they could lose out financially.

Our last blog titled ‘The Temperatures Are Rising!’ explains the legalities in relation to heat in the workplace.

If you wish to discuss your companies current Holiday Policy & how best to manage holiday requests going forward, contact us now by telephone – 01462 621243 or fill in our Contact Form.

Happy holidays!!

Mental Health: The HR Perspective

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Mental health has been catapulted into the headlines recently, thanks to Mental Health Awareness Week (8 – 14 May) and royal revelations from Prince Harry about seeking counselling and his support of the charity Heads Together.

There is increased awareness and openness about mental health. How should employers recruit, support and/or manage employees who are affected?

Recruitment

An Employment Appeal Tribunal found that the Government Legal Service’s (GLS) mandatory test (used during recruitment of lawyers) was guilty of indirect discrimination. The claimant has Asperger’s Syndrome. Her psychiatrist had made previous recommendations (in relation to her university courses) that a multiple choice format test would not be appropriate for her. As the GLS test was not available in different formats, the claimant was severely disadvantaged during the recruitment process.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal acknowledged that the GLS needed to test the core competency of ability of its candidates to make effective decisions. However, it found that a psychometric test was not the only way to achieve this.

“It is valid for employers to assess the essential skills required within a job role, “explains Matthew Pinto-Chilcott of Consensus HR. “However, the test method should adapt to the needs of individuals.”

Support

Supporting mental health in the workplace can be challenging and the issues around it are complex. Therefore, it is important that employers are aware of their legal obligations and the issues that arise. Three key issues are involved:

  • Health and safety
  • Disability discrimination
  • Personal injury claims

Employers can manage mental health issues via two key approaches: having policies and procedure in place to deal with mental health issues, and supporting employees via training (for managers especially), return to work interviews and on-going support in the workplace and during periods of absence.

“Professional advice can ensure that policies support both the organisations and its people,” says Matthew from Consensus HR. “With growing awareness and openness about mental health issues, this step is increasingly important.”

Management

Clear, honest communication between employers and employees should determine the nature of support required and the best way to provide that help. However this path relies upon individuals being open about their mental illness. Often, people are concerned about revealing their illness to their employers, leading to deliberate concealment.

Concealment is potentially a problem right from the start as people are not obliged to disclose any health issues during the recruitment process. However Employment Law Consultant Kevin J Murphy explains that if there is a contractual requirement upon an employee to disclose medical conditions which may affect their ability to do their job and the employee has concealed it, there is action you can take.

He explains: “A deliberate concealment can mean that the contract is void if there was a requirement to disclose detailed within it. Further, an employer could rely on the employee’s dishonesty as a reason for dismissal, but might need evidence of their decision to hide their illness.”

“Any dismissal on either of these grounds should still follow the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures to assist the employer to evidence that the dismissal is not based on the employee having a disability – but their dishonesty.”

Matthew from Consensus HR adds: “By thinking through the functions involved with specific job roles and adding clauses to the contract of employment, employers can achieve protection for their organisations whilst supporting the individuals involved. It’s important to get the HR basics right.”

Mental health issues within the workplace is a complex subject and one that is very important to both businesses and people. Further details are available within our article: Employees with Mental Health Issues Face a Lack of Support and Discrimination.

A spare £25,000 anyone? – Employment Contracts

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A spare £25,000 anyone?

This is what it could cost a business in a worse case scenario for not providing an employee with a Contract, read on to find out why.

 Why do you need to provide them?

When we carry out Company HR Health Checks on their current HR provision, one of the main questions we always get asked is why they have to have an Employee Contract & what is the benefit to the business on making this reasonable investment when funds tend to be tight?

Here are just a few of the main answers:

An Employment Contract ensures that all of your team are fully aware of the main terms within the business and ensures everybody is fully aware of the main terms of their employment such as:

  • 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 following the Acas Code of Practice.
  • Job location
  • Holiday entitlement
  • Sick leave and pay entitlements
  • Appeals procedure under the Discipline & Grievance.

You are also required by law to provide employees with a written statement of terms and conditions of their employment (i.e. employment contract), within 2 months of them starting to work with you.  If this is not in place, you could be taken to an employment tribunal and fined between 2-4 weeks pay.

More importantly, if you don’t have any terms of employment put in writing for an employee and there is a disagreement later down the line about what was agreed, you could be looking at a breach of contract claim.  Compensation pay-outs for breach of contract claims can be up to £25,000 if taken to an employment tribunal or £50,000 at the High Court.  Definitely not worth taking any risks.

When we write an Employment Contract we ensure all of these areas are included but also look at what else maybe needed to suit the needs of the business such as ‘Deductions from wages’ an area that is often needed when somebody leaves the business, probation period and compassionate leave for families to name a few.

Forthcoming Employment Law dates at a glance……

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We have compiled a list of the planned Employment Law changes for the rest of 2017 and start of 2018.

  • 14th March 2017 – Consultation changes to Tribunal fees remission closes
  • 31st March 2017 – Gender pay reporting regulations (public sector) expect to come into force.
  • April 2017 – Immigration skills charge applies to Tier 2 (general) and the healthcare surcharge is added to Tier 2 (intra company transfers) visa category
  • 1st April 2017 – National Living Wage rises to £7.50 an hour and NMW rates increase.
  • 2nd April 2017 – Statutory Maternity, Paternity, Adoption and Shared Parental Pay rises to £140.98 a week.
  • 6th April 2017 – Apprenticeship Levy due to take effect.
  • 6th April 2017 – Gender Pay Reporting Regulations (Private Sector) expected to come into force.
  • September 2017 – 30 hours free Childcare becomes available for 3 & 4 year olds in working families.
  • 30th March 2018 – First Gender Pay Reports to be published by public sector organisations with 250 or more employees.
  • 4th April 2018 – First Gender Pay Reports to be published by private sector organisations with 250 or more employees.
  • April 2018 – Tax changes to termination payments due to take effect.
christmas

Our annual 10 HR Christmas Tips – Blog1

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Heres our annual 10 HR tips for your business over Christmas.


Ensure that your business is prepared for the HR challenges during the festive season.

Workplace Christmas parties bring up issues of conduct and discrimination. For example, employees may misbehave, or employers may have to make adjustments to Christmas parties for employees of different religions.

Holiday issues also commonly arise at this time. Annual leave requests can be concentrated around the same days, with employers’ plans to open their business during bank holidays often conflicting with employees’ personal plans.

With Christmas approaching fast, we have ten tips which offer valuable advice for employers and here are the first five with five more next week: 

  1. Employers should prepare for the festive season?

Managers should familiarise themselves with their employer’s policy on Christmas parties or work-related social events.

Additionally, employers should consider the option of issuing a statement to employees in advance of a Christmas party or similar work-related event.

This statement can remind employees of conduct matters, including the dangers of excess alcohol consumption, and behaviours that could be viewed as harassment.

  1. Do employers really need a policy on workplace social events?

Yes. Employers should maintain a policy because they have a duty of care towards staff, and as a matter of good practice.

The Equality Act 2010 makes employers liable for acts of discrimination, harassment and victimisation carried out by their employees in the course of employment, unless they can show that they took reasonable steps to prevent such acts.

  1. Is an employer responsible for what happens at a Christmas party?

It is prudent to assume that an employer will be liable. Legislation refers to the term “in the course of employment”.

  1. Can employees be disciplined for misconduct after a Christmas party?

Yes, if the incident is sufficiently closely connected to work to have had an impact on the working situation.

  1. Is it okay to offer a free bar at a Christmas party?

A free bar will undoubtedly be a morale booster for staff, but employers need to be aware of the dangers of providing an unlimited free bar.

Matthew from Consensus HR comments: “In our experience, Christmas brings a range of HR challenges that employers need to prepare for in order to avoid potential problems.“

Look out for next weeks’ blog with five more festive HR challenges…

Is your business working ‘SMART’?

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Is your business?

Using ‘SMART’ when it comes to setting objectives for the team is a must if you wish success for your team members and business, Matthew states from ConsensusHR.

Your team needs to know what is expected by the business from them in their day to day duties and how they will know if they have successfully completed a personal or business goal and is where ‘SMART’ comes into play.

‘SMART’ ensures that all the key areas of setting objectives are covered and that everybody whether it’s the employee, management or business knows what is expected and has been agreed.

So what does ‘SMART’ mean?

Each letter of ‘SMART’ stands for a different key area that needs to be covered sufficiently for an objective to be effective and to get the best results for the individual and business.

‘S’ = Specific –What is it you are going to ask them to complete? Ensure it is clear and concise.

‘M’ = Measurable – What are you going to measure it against? Is there a company. Government or legal standard that they can measure the objective against? Is it against sales from last year or previous achievements that are documented?

‘A’ = Achievable – Is the objective that you are writing achievable? Are there members of the team that currently achieve the objective with the constraints in place? Could you achieve it?

‘R’ = Realistic – Is what you are asking realistic? Can it be achieved with what is available within the workplace?

‘T’ = Time – How long have they got to complete the objective. This should never be continual and a clear date must be provided of when the completion of the objective is expected.

Objective example:

To improve customer service by 10% on previous years results – 2015/16 to company standard by 12th December 2016.

SPECIFIC – Yes, increasing the customer service by 10% received by mystery shopper in 2016/17 and demonstrated in reports received.

MEASURABLE – Yes you can measure this against last year’s results and check that this years results increase by 10% to obtain objective.

ACHIEVABLE – Yes, based on your experience and knowledge of the business, do you believe this is achievable and not unachievable as if so can result in demotivated staff and bad moral.

REALISTIC – Yes, Is what you are asking realistic and its possible 10% increase on previous year?

TIME – Yes, Is giving to December 2016 adequate to begin to gain a 10% increase?

When writing objectives you have to ensure that they are motivational and cover all the areas highlighted within ‘SMART’ and agreed once written by the employee and manager. Objectives are always alive and may need amending as time progresses as they could be found to be unrealistic or too easy and hence amendments will need to be made.

Nobody should ever believe that once they have written their objectives at a performance review / appraisal that that is the end of it as you should always be referring to the objectives set and making any amendments necessary for the employees and businesses success.

Set objectives however should not be changed for the sake of changing and should be an exception and not the norm. If you find it becomes the norm, then you need to ask yourself, why? Is enough thought not being put into them in the first place? Are you not ensuring that when setting that you are covering all areas of ‘SMART’ and agreeing the objective once set with the employee?

As ConsensusHR we know writing good ‘SMART’ objectives is not easy at first but once you gain the knowledge / expertise of writing them correctly and covering all the elements your business and employees will benefit tremendously as everybody will know what is expected of them? What the outcome will be? Have the opportunity to agree / discuss what is expected within their role.

SMART objectives also ensure that everybody is singing from the same hymn sheet and that there is a set standard with the ‘Measurable’ aspect playing a key part as this will be the company standard that everybody regardless of role must adhere to and may mean companies having to write company standards to ensure business success.

Take a Break!

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Wow! UK employees use just 77% of their annual leave each year to take a break. The Harris Poll survey also found that only half of workers use up all of their holiday entitlement. (Research commissioned by Glassdoor.)

Undoubtedly, technology had a big impact upon the nature of annual leave. More than two-fifths of employees admit to working while they are on leave.

‘Burn out’ is a very real risk affecting business as well as employees. These research snippets show how this is happening:

·       Younger employees, aged 16-24, are least likely to use all their annual leave. Just 12 per cent agreeing that they use their full holiday allowance

·       25% of 25-34 years olds also reported that it was difficult not to think about work while on leave, (the overall average was 20%).

·       18% reported that a colleague has contacted them about a work-related matter while they were away.

·       13% said that their boss contacted them about work during a break.

But why is this happening? Some interesting statistics emerged from the research:

  • 11% feel they have to work on holiday for fear of falling behind and facing a bigger workload upon their return
  • 10% staff said they worked while away from the office because they wanted a pay rise
  • 9% said they felt that no one else at their company could do their work

Joe Wiggins, senior jobs community manager at Glassdoor UK, said: “While there is always work to be done, employees should be conscious of using time off they’ve earned to recharge. In turn, employers should consider being more clear to everyone about what it means to be on holiday, actually let others be on leave, and go beyond just encouraging employees to use time off. Some real rest and relaxation will help employees return to work energised, ready to contribute and make them less susceptible to ‘burn out.”

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott of Consensus HR adds: “Business owners need to manage their teams’ holidays. It’s part of employers’ duty of care to ensure that everybody takes the holiday owed. This can also avoid two issues that are far larger problems than managing holidays: payment for accrued holidays when employees leave, plus employee ‘burn out’. Both have a detrimental affect upon the business and are easily avoided through proper procedures.”

 

 

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Top Five HR Tips

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Top Five HR Tips – People are a vital and volatile asset for any business. Effective HR saves time and offers business owners flexibility. These TOP Five HR Tips will help keep your team working efficiently and harmoniously.

  1. Know Your Team

It’s crucial that you know who is fully engaged with your business and it’s direction – and who isn’t. The sickness absence of disengaged employees is almost 230% that of engaged team members. (Gallup research shows 6.2 days compared with 2.7 days per year.) Can your business afford to lose these extra days?

Top tip: Listen to and involve all team members so that everyone feels a key part of your business, promoting commitment and flexibility.

  1. Manage Unique Individuals

Acknowledge and support team members’ skills, style and requirements to get the most from each individual. Everyone is unique! If you have employees, you need a Performance Management system (Appraisal), which will capture business and personal goals. Matthew from Consensus HR explains: “Performance management involves regular conversations and meetings with your team. It will help you to highlight who is going the extra mile to make the business a success and who shirking responsibility.”

Top tip: Include SMART goal setting within your Appraisals, (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic & Time based).

  1. Get the Right Talent in the Right Place

Research shows that on average the cost for recruiting an employee in the UK is £8,000. It is therefore vital that your recruit the right person for the role. “Too many business owners recruit people based upon first impressions, on their gut feel,” explains Matthew Pinto-Chilcott. “When recruiting you need to look at the Job Description and identify what skills & competencies are required for the ideal candidate.”

Top tip: Create a thorough Job Description
Top tip: Avoid rash or personal recruitment decisions

  1. Avoid Chinese Whispers

Chinese whispers are common in business; you must communicate effectively. Remember that some people like to listen and others prefer to read. Ask your team how they would like to be communicated with. Then, put in place the best solution and manage it going forward.

Top tip: Check! Make sure that employees have understood what you’ve communicated.

  1. Know Where You Are!

Your workforce is one of your key business assets. It needs to be managed correctly. Do you know who is your worst offender for sickness absence? How are you managing this? In 2014/15, 23.3 million days were lost due to work-related ill health and 4.1 million due to workplace injuries (Health & Safety Executive). Measuring your business’ HR performance gives an essential understanding of where you are. Only then can you realistically decide where you want to be. Plus – simple key measures make HR processes such as performance management or redundancy far more effective and save valuable time.

Top tip: Set Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for your HR function

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