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29 03 2023

UK government to adopt ‘light touch’ rules around AI

Matthew Chilcott Blog, General #artificialintelligence, #HRblog, #HRStevenage, #outsourcedhumanresources, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's

NEWS ARTICLE – UK government to adopt ‘light touch’ rules around AI :

The UK government says its plans for how it wants to regulate artificial intelligence technology – including the powerful “language model” called Chat-GPT – will “turbocharge” the growth of AI in the UK, while countering the potential risks of rapidly emerging computer intelligence to society. “We’re not denying the risks,” said Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary, Michelle Donelan. “That’s why we’ve got a proportionate framework in terms of this regulatory approach, one that can help the UK to seize the opportunities.” The government is not proposing new laws but is instead looking to existing regulators such as the Health and Safety Executive and the Competition and Markets Authority to apply key principles around safety, transparency, and accountability to emerging AI. “If we legislate now, it will be out of date,” said Ms Donelan. “We want a process that can be nimble, can be agile, can be responsible can prioritise safety can prioritise transparency, but can keep up with the pace of the change that’s happening in this sector.”

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “AI, Artificial Intelligence. Does it worry you? One point, I always think with Human Resources (HR) and operations in general is that you need that personal contact with all members of the team to be able to manage effectively for the business and employees. However, could AI replace some areas of it? Personally, I do not believe so, but may be in the future there may be areas that are allocated to AI but thankfully at the moment there is not. Especially with the prevention of using AI for recruitment but I do now see a number of AI companies that claim they can write you blogs for you, if required. Thankfully at Consensus HR, all our blogs and topics are chosen and written by us but we also have the support when needed by a marketing professional as our Chartered specialism is HR and Employment Law which is accredited by leading professional bodies, including the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board.

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Disability Discrimination: Reasonable Adjustments

07 03 2023

UK gender pay gap widens

Matthew Chilcott Blog, General, Handbook, Rewards & Benefits #equalityact2010, #equalityanddiversity, #genderpay, #HR Herts, #HRblog, #HRStevenage, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “Following several blogs that we have written on Equality and Diversity in the workplace and how it stands now, news is reporting that the gender pay gap widens is driven by high childcare costs and the fact in the current climate, costs are increasing faster than wages. At Consensus HR, we are finding this to be an area of concern with some of our clients and have been helping them for find suitable solutions from a team member, HR, and organisation prospective.”

NEWS ARTICLE: UK gender pay gap widens, driven by high childcare costs.

A new report from PwC reveals that the UK’s gender pay gap has widened as sharp increases in the cost of childcare hamper women’s employment outcomes. PwC’s Women in Work index shows the nation’s average pay gap widened by 2.4 percentage points to 14.4% in 2021, meaning the gap between what the average man and the average women earns in hourly pay has got bigger. With childcare costs rising faster than pay increases, Larice Stielow, senior economist at PwC, says: “The motherhood penalty is now the most significant driver of the gender pay gap and, in the UK, women are being hit even harder by the rising cost of living and increasing cost of childcare. With this and the gap in free childcare provision between ages one and three, more women are being priced out of work. For many it is more affordable to leave work than remain in employment and pay for childcare, especially for families at lower income levels.”

The Times

The Daily Telegraph

The Sun

The Independent

The Human-Times

Previous blogs written on the subject:

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21 02 2023

Firms stick to four-day working week after trial ends

Matthew Chilcott Blog, General, Newsletter, Rewards & Benefits #4dayweek, #fourdayweek, #HR Herts, #HRblog, #HRHertford, #HRLetchworth, #HRStevenage, #hrstrategy, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, Small Business, SME, SME's

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “Further to our previous blog on 28^th January 2022, it would seem that most of the British companies who took part in the four day week are. now sticking to it. Previously we commented: “we 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? Are more companies who can accommodate this due to their business sector / products going to give it a try? We wait to see if cultures / business sectors see the benefit and make the change following what has happened over the previous three years with the Pandemic and major changes to companies having to happen due to not having a choice.”

NEWS ARTICLE: Firms stick to four-day working week after trial ends

Most of the British companies taking part in the world’s largest trial of a four-day week are to continue with the new working pattern. Of the 61 companies that started the six-month trial, 56 have extended the four-day week, including 18 who have made it permanent. The vast majority of companies reported that they were satisfied with productivity and business performance over the trial period. The six-month trial was organised by campaign group 4 Day Week Global, think-tank Autonomy and researchers at Boston College and the universities of Cambridge and Oxford. The findings of the trial are to be presented to MPs on Tuesday as part of a lobbying push to encourage the UK government to change legislation to give staff the right to request a four-day pattern. Joe Ryle, the director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, described the trial as a “major breakthrough moment,” adding: “Across a wide variety of sectors, wellbeing has improved dramatically for staff; and business productivity has either been maintained or improved in nearly every case . . . We’re really pleased with the results and hopefully it does show that the time to roll out a four-day week more widely has surely come.” Juliet Schor, an economist and sociologist at Boston College, observed: “At the beginning, this was about pandemic burnout for a lot of employers. Now it’s more of a retention and recruitment issue for many of them.”

Sky News

Financial Times

The Wall Street Journal

The Guardian

The BBC

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The Importance of Employee Engagement and How to Improve it

02 01 2023

Happy New Year 2023

Matthew Chilcott Blog, General #2023, #HRHertford, #HRStevenage, #HRWelwynGardenCity, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's

May we wish everyone a Happy New Year 2023 and success for the year, and should you have any HR requirements, do not hesitate to contact us, your local Chartered HR Consultants, where you are never just a number!

‘Helping companies take the pain out of managing people whilst preventing people problems’

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If in 2023, we can help you and your company with its HR and team, please contact us now.

29 11 2022

City workers ignore calls to return to offices

Matthew Chilcott Employment Law, General, Health & Safety, Performance Management #HRblog, #HRHertford, #HRLetchworth, #HRStevenage, #hybridworking, #outsourcedhumanresources, #returntowork, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, Small Business, SME, SME's

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott -FCIPD, ACEL, BA (Hons), Owner of Consensus HR – City workers ignore calls to return to offices comments; “It seems now that the statistics for people wishing to continual to work from home following the Pandemic are starting to come in, with this latest story involving City workers. This is something that I thought would happen as how can many businesses say, following the Pandemic that workers can no longer work from home, if it was successful then?

We have found that this is very business sector specific as many of our clients do not have the choice as the services, they offer need face to face customer service / contact but the few that do not are currently considering their options. Many have taken the option that working from home is still permitted for 1 -2 days a week but for the other working days of their week, the member of the team is needed in the office. Why? You may ask? We have found that many prefer to be in the office and work and keep their personal / business lives separate and have a working lifestyle, with meeting team members whilst also having the opportunity to work from home occasionally if needed. Business owners have had to manage this correctly by working with their teams and explaining why they are required to return to the office to work and attend meetings and what the benefits are to the business, team, and the employee themselves.

In these scenarios it is where HR plays an effective part by consulting and working with your team to find the best solution for the business and them as an employee. If there is not business, then there is no employment, but the team should be encouraged to look for solutions on the way forward with businesses explaining the need for them to be present in the workplace and the benefits this has for the team spirit and business sales / success. The team must however understand that they have a job to fulfil and SMART objectives / Job Description to achieve and follow for the company and their success whilst having the opportunity at their regular performance review (appraisal) to have their say / input on the way forward for their career and the success of the company.”

NEWS ARTICLE:

City workers are ignoring calls from executives to be in the office for a minimum number of days each week, according to a new report based on interviews with 100 workers in major companies. The study suggests that staff and managers in the financial and professional services sectors are employing “bespoke” working models that align with their specific operational needs. The report argues that remote-first policies have no detrimental impact on productivity, with survey respondents saying that flexible working policies have the potential to significantly boost productivity and provide greater efficiency. Dr Grace Logan, an economist at the London School of Economics, warns that demands from top level executives that workers come in for a minimum number of days each week are “ego-driven rather than having the best interests of the business in mind.” Anna Lane, president of Women in Banking and Finance, said managers demanding “rigid” schedules, requiring workers come in for “3,4, or 5” days each week, will “lose out to their competitors who do not” make such demands

Financial Times

City AM

The Human Times

12 07 2022

Employment Law Newsletter – July 2022

Matthew Chilcott General #HR Herts, #HRHertford, #HRLetchworth, #HRStevenage, #HRWelwynGardenCity, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Baldock, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, Small Business, SME, SME's

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

Early Conciliation: How to Avoid the Employment Tribunal
Part-Time Workers Rights
“Wellness” in the Workplace
Was Dismissal of Employee Fearful of Covid-19 Fair?

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.

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.

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.

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.

17 05 2022

“You are always moaning and sick!!”

Matthew Chilcott General #Bedfordshire, #Cambridgeshire, #Hertfordshire, #HRStevenage, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, Small Business, SME

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NEWS ARTICLE – UK government to adopt ‘light touch’ rules around AI :

Contact us now

YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

NEWS ARTICLE: UK gender pay gap widens, driven by high childcare costs.

Previous blogs written on the subject:

Contact us now

YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

NEWS ARTICLE: Firms stick to four-day working week after trial ends

Contact us now

YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

May we wish everyone a Happy New Year 2023 and success for the year, and should you have any HR requirements, do not hesitate to contact us, your local Chartered HR Consultants, where you are never just a number!

‘Helping companies take the pain out of managing people whilst preventing people problems’

Contact us now

NEWS ARTICLE:

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

Early Conciliation: How to Avoid the Employment Tribunal

Part-Time Workers Rights

“Wellness” in the Workplace

Was Dismissal of Employee Fearful of Covid-19 Fair?

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

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.