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Workers determined to stick with remote working 

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Workers determined to stick with remote working

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “What are your views on this?  As previously commented, I find it works both ways and as long as your team have the correct tools to do the job such as IT, telephone access etc, the workforce should be more flexible.  This, however, needs to be managed correctly and trust put in your team to work productively and professionally or else, as this article from the BBC comments and as some companies expect, employees will have to return to work in the office five days a week!  Personally., I cannot say this is easy to achieve in a work environment where you have become accustomed to the team being in the office all the time during work hours but do believe it is the way forward in business sectors that can accommodate it.  Unfortunately, many business sectors will never be able to offer it as an option such as retail and hospitalities but as reports / news articles show, many workers prefer to stick to the ‘old’ way and return to the office and companies will need to reflect on what, if any effects it has on retention within the team..  Let’s wait to see what the overall consensus is once we are back to normal!  Whatever the new ‘normal’ is?

NEWS ARTICLE – Workers determined to stick with remote working :

Employers are finding that staff remain resistant to returning to the office and some are willing to quit rather than go back to the workplace, reports the BBC. Despite nearly two-thirds of workers saying they are more productive in a hybrid or remote work environment, a third of companies in the UK are planning to cut back on flexible working in the coming months, according to a poll by LinkedIn. Chantelle Brown, who works for the UK recruitment company Latte, says companies who expect staff to work five days a week in the office risk losing out on talent. But if, as many predict, the UK enters a protracted recession and competition for talent weakens, companies may find it easier to demand a return to the office.

BBC

Workers determined to stick with remote working

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100 firms move to permanent four-day week

100 firms move to permanent four-day week

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100 firms move to permanent four-day week

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott of Consensus HR Comments: “Talk of the four-day week has been going on for some time now and especially since the Pandemic occurred but what are your views and the companies on this?  It will be interesting to see the feedback in the future with this initial 100 British companies and the affect it has had on moral, health, motivation and company profits.  We await the outcome, but have you considered it?  Is it the way forward?   Personally, I believe as long as the correct Policies and Procedures are put in place for the team and company and the required results are achieved, then why not have a four-day week?  I look forward to hearing client’s views in the future and seeing how many do actually give it a go!”

NEWS ARTICAL:

One hundred British businesses have signed up for a permanent four-day working week that will see no loss of pay for staff. Around 2,600 employees are set to benefit from the new working pattern. The two biggest companies to have signed up are Atom Bank and global marketing company Awin, which each have about 450 UK staff. Accredited firms have demonstrated that they have genuinely reduced hours for workers rather than forced them into longer days. A global trial has seen more than 3,300 employees across 70 companies and charities taking part in a six-month experiment. At the half-way point in September, the trial – which involves researchers at the universities of Cambridge and Oxford, Boston college and think-tank Autonomy – saw 88% of the UK respondents say the four-day week was working well for their business. Around 95% said productivity had either stayed the same or improved. However, it was noted that only around half of those taking part responded to the survey canvassing opinion at the three-month mark.

The Daily Mail

The Guardian

The Human Times

100 firms move to permanent four-day week

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This article talks about 100 companies going over to a four day week, but what are your views? If you would like to discuss how this could be achieved from a HR perspective, give us a call email now.
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Can I change an employees Terms & Conditions (T&C’s)

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Can I change an employees Terms & Conditions (T&C's)

Can I change an employees Terms & Conditions (T&C’s) – All employees Terms and Conditions (T&C’s) of employment can be changed, if it is reasonably needed by the company for its success.

If a business needs to change an employee’s T&C’s it must consult, consult, consult with the affected member(s) of the team to fully explain the need for the change, whilst gaining valued feedback and suggestions from the employee or team.

Changes should never be made without consulting or a sound business case for the change, as failure could result in a claim of constructive dismissal, bad reputation for the company and poor moral within the team.

If you / your business is considering making changes to an individual or teams T&C’s, then please contact us to discuss and avoid any financial / operational repercussions.

We are a plain-speaking HR and H&S Consultancy who help businesses with the complexities and best practice in the world of Human Resources and Health and Safety. 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. 

We can support you on site, over the telephone or email and help you grow your business without any difficulties or stress of employing a team and keeping up with ever changing Employment Law, Health and Safety and best practice.

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Are you having to consider changing a member of the teams Terms and Conditions of Employment and not sure how to do it correctly, to best practice and the law?
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Here are a few of our previously written blogs on Health & Safety and information received from the HSE.

HSE publishes annual statistics for 2021/22

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HSE publishes annual statistics for 2021/22

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott the owner of Consensus HR comments: “The statistics are a very good read and very interesting to find out exactly what has been happening in the workplace when it comes to Health & Safety.  Stress, depression and anxiety rates very highly with 914,000 cases and which is an area we find a lot of our clients have been asking a lot of questions on and requiring support and advice to ensure the welfare of their teams and the successful running of the business.

A total of 36.8 million days were lost due to work-related ill health and non-fatal workplace injuries in 2021/22 and the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact on the workplace. Of the 1.8 million suffering a work-related illness, an estimated 585,000 reported it was caused or made worse by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.  The HR / Health & Safety strategy of all companies is vital for the company’s success to adhere to legislation but also best practice and employee welfare and company sales / turnover.  Employers and Line Managers need to ensure that they get the best support / advice so that these issues can be dealt with quickly, efficiently and cost effectively.”

NEWS ARTICLE:

The estimated number of workers in Great Britain suffering a work-related illness is 1.8 million with stress, depression, and anxiety making up around half of cases, new figures show.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has today (Wednesday November 23) published its annual statistics on work-related ill health and workplace injuries.

The figures from Great Britain’s workplace regulator show there were an estimated 914,000 cases of work-related stress, depression, or anxiety in 2021/22.

An estimated 17 million working days were lost due to work-related stress, depression, or anxiety in 2021/22. This is over half of all working days lost due to work-related ill health.

HSE has been warning of a growing crisis in stress and poor mental health related to work. The workplace regulator launched a major campaign last year to remind employers of their responsibilities to their employees’ mental health.

HSE’s Chief Executive, Sarah Albon, said: “Stress and poor mental health is the number one cause of work-related ill health. The effects of stress, depression, and anxiety can have a significant impact on an employee’s life and on their ability to perform their best at work.

“Britain is one of the safest places in the world to work but we need all employers to do more and take seriously their responsibilities to support good mental health at work. That’s why improving mental health in the workplace is a key priority in our 10-year strategy ‘Protecting People and Places’, and why we’re developing new partnerships across industry to help employers support their employees.”

HSE’s annual statistics release shows the impact work-related ill health is having on Great Britain’s economic performance:

  • 36.8 million working days were lost due to work-related ill health and non-fatal workplace injuries in 2021/22.
  • The annual economic cost of work-related injury and new cases of ill health (excluding long latency illnesses such as cancer) was £18.8 billion in 2019/20.

The figures also show that 123 workers were killed in work-related accidents in 2021/22 and a further 565,000 workers sustained a non-fatal injury.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact on the workplace. Of the 1.8 million suffering a work-related illness, an estimated 585,000 reported it was caused or made worse by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Around a quarter of these workers were in human health and social work. In addition, 123,000 workers suffering with COVID-19 believed they were exposed to the virus at work.

HSE publishes annual statistics for 2021/22
HSE publishes annual statistics for 2021/22
HSE publishes annual statistics for 2021/22

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What is your Health & Safety (H&S) strategy? How do you currently ensure all your team have received the appropriate H&S development?
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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

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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.

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