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24 11 2022

Business and unions demand Sunak scraps..

Matthew Chilcott Employment Law, General, Health & Safety #employmentlaw, #EuropeanUnion, #herts, #outsourcedhumanresources, Business, Business Owners, employment law, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, Owner of Consensus HR comments: -Business and unions demand Sunak scraps planned bonfire of EU rules – “This is a subject that has been in discussion since Brexit took place and the promises / suggestions that some Politicians made in relation to the benefits of no longer being part of the EU but as, yet no changes have been made. Depending on who you listen to, it goes from one extreme to the other. Total abolition of all employee rights, no access to the European Court to no, we will keep some of it and change little bits. The truth is, that until anybody begins to sift through the range of legislation that effects HR and businesses within the UK, nobody knows what to expect. Conversations I have heard randomly is the abolition of the Working Time Directive, a part of legislation that was / is only applicable to the UK and the restriction of employees only working 48hrs a week unless they opt out. We look forward to seeing the planned and actual changes when they do happen but do not expect it to be for a while but watch this space.”

NEWS ARTICLE:

Over a dozen organisations have called on UK prime minister Rishi Sunak to drop plans to automatically strip EU-derived legislation from the British statute book, arguing that it would cause “significant confusion and disruption.” In a letter sent to Grant Shapps, the business secretary, the alliance, including the Trades Union Congress, the Institute of Directors and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, said: “Getting to grips with any resulting regulatory changes will impose a major new burden on business which it could well do without.” The letter says the proposal would overturn “decades of case law” and make the “interpretation of the law highly uncertain.” This could affect holiday pay, safe working hours and laws governing the labelling of some foodstuffs. Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former minister for Brexit opportunities, has previously praised the Retained EU Law Bill, saying it is vital to create distance between the UK and the EU.

The Financial Times

The Times

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If you are worried about what Employment Law changes may happen in the future and wish to ensure your HR is ready, give us a non obligatory call now.

Here are a few of our previously written blogs on Health & Safety and information received from the HSE.

23 11 2022

HSE publishes annual statistics for 2021/22

Matthew Chilcott Employment Law, General, Health & Safety #Health&Safety, #Health&Safety #HealthandSafety, #hse, #statistics, Business Owners, Hertford, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

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.

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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?

23 11 2022

Menopausal women and flexible working patterns

Matthew Chilcott Blog, General #NHS, #outsourcedhumanresources, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, menopause, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

Menopausal women and flexible working patterns

Helen Watson, HR Advisor at Consensus HR writes; “Adding to our previous blog on the menopause, the NHS have announced a new guidance for employees and managers. This is a great step in reducing the stigma in talking about the symptoms of the menopause, as well as putting in place practical steps to support those affected by the menopause.”

The NHS outlines why this matters in their guidance:

The NHS employs over 1.3 million people and around 1 million of these people are women. This is over 75% of the entire workforce. Women between the ages of 45 and 54 alone make up a fifth of all NHS employees, and so up to a fifth of our workforce could be experiencing menopausal symptoms.

Six out of every 10 women experiencing menopausal symptoms say it has a negative impact on their work. With the right support, women do not need to press pause, struggle through, or leave their careers during this natural transition. Many women will continue to suffer in silence unless we break the taboo and start talking openly about the menopause at work.

NEWS ARTICAL

Menopausal women and flexible working patterns

Women working in the NHS will be able to work from home if they are suffering symptoms of menopause, the head of the health service has said. Writing for the Telegraph, Amanda Pritchard says female health workers who were “silently suffering” should not be expected to just “grin and bear it.” The guidance instructs NHS employers to consider “any reasonable adjustments to their working pattern” – including shorter hours, flexible breaks and remote working. “Women approaching or going through menopause should not have to put up with feeling uncomfortable at work, or feel any shame in talking about a transition which is simply a part of life,” Pritchard writes.

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Do you have a Menopause Policy? Do you want to increase your and your team’s knowledge on the subject? why don’t you contact us now?

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

23 11 2022

Investigation reveals harsh conditions at Boohoo factory

Matthew Chilcott Blog, General, Health & Safety, Recruitment, Redundancy #hrstrategy, #outsourcedhumanresources, #workingconditions, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Support, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, Owner, of Consensus HR comments: Investigation reveals harsh conditions at Boohoo factory – “An interesting article in ‘The Times’ in relation to working conditions at a UK company where the team call themselves “Slaves”! How can any company employ a team where they make comments such as this and in extremely poor conditions. A reputation of a company is vital for its success and employees making extremely poor comments about it, does not help. In this article, they comment about temperatures reaching 32 degrees which I could understand in the height of summer but in November! There is no legal limit on how high a temperature can get in a workplace but surely if you had an environment like this, you would aim to get some sort of air-conditioning in so that the team felt comfortable when working and producing more!

This investigation gives perfect examples of how not to look after your team and how to go against everything a good HR strategy would provide. The current economic climate may not give companies surplus funds to provide excessive HR benefits, but all of these listed within this article are conditions that do not cost a fortune and are purely down to mismanagement by the team and failure to work to best practice and Health & Safety regulations. I dread to think what their sickness / absence and retention must be and the continual additional costs of recruiting more employees both financially and in view of their reputation!”

NEWS ARTICLE – Investigation reveals harsh conditions at Boohoo factory :

An undercover investigation by The Times has revealed the harsh conditions at Boohoo’s warehouse in Burnley, where workers label themselves “slaves” and have complained of racism, sexual harassment, gruelling targets, inadequate training and ill-fitting safety equipment. The investigation found the conditions, where workers are forced to walk the equivalent of a half-marathon per shift in a sweltering warehouse in which night-time temperatures can reach 32C, have led to workers collapsing in the aisles. An undercover reporter revealed staff complained they are treated as “fodder,” with managers timing their lavatory breaks and no allowances made for injuries they said they had suffered as a result of the manual work. Justin Madders, Labour’s shadow minister for employment rights and protections, said: “These shocking revelations must be a wake-up call for ministers. The government has repeatedly failed to deliver their promised Employment Bill to tackle conditions in warehouses run like Victorian workhouses.” He said there needed to be “urgent guidance for safe indoor working temperatures.”

The Times. The Human Times

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22 11 2022

Slips, Trips and Falls

Matthew Chilcott Blog, Employment Law, Health & Safety #falls, #Health&Safety, #outsourcedhumanresources, #slipstripsfalls, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott the owner of Consensus HR comments: ” Slips, Trips and Falls have always been some of the most frequent events that happen under Health & Safety in the workplace and this week’s report from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) demonstrates this, with two fatal accidents involving falling occurring with one resulting in the death of the employee and the other, the employee in a coma.

In both of these cases the HSE ruled under the following clauses within the Health & Safety Act 1974 and Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 and the clauses that both of these incidents were referred to can be seen below:

Health & Safety at Work Act 1974:

Section 37 – If a company commits a health and safety offence then it’s Directors or senior managers can be prosecuted for breaching section 37, if the offence was due to their consent or connivance or attributable to their neglect.
Section 2(1) – “It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health safety and welfare of all his employees.” Under this provision, it is only required that an employer has compromised this duty for a prosecution to take place.

Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015

Duties of a principal contractor in relation to health and safety at the construction phase

13.— (1) The principal contractor must plan, manage and monitor the construction phase and coordinate matters relating to health and safety during the construction phase to ensure that, so far as is reasonably practicable, construction work is carried out without risks to health or safety.

(2) In fulfilling the duties in paragraph (1), and in particular when—

(a)design, technical and organisational aspects are being decided in order to plan the various items or stages of work which are to take place simultaneously or in succession; and

(b)estimating the period of time required to complete the work or work stages,

the principal contractor must take into account the general principles of prevention.

(3) The principal contractor must—

(a)organise cooperation between contractors (including successive contractors on the same construction site).

(b)coordinate implementation by the contractors of applicable legal requirements for health and safety; and

(c)ensure that employers and, if necessary for the protection of workers, self-employed persons—

(i)apply the general principles of prevention in a consistent manner, and in particular when complying with the provisions of Part 4; and

(ii)where required, follow the construction phase plan.

(4) The principal contractor must ensure that—

(a)a suitable site induction is provided;

(b)the necessary steps are taken to prevent access by unauthorised persons to the construction site; and

(c)facilities that comply with the requirements of Schedule 2 are provided throughout the construction phase.

(5) The principal contractor must liaise with the principal designer for the duration of the principal designer’s appointment and share with the principal designer information relevant to the planning, management and monitoring of the pre-construction phase and the coordination of health and safety matters during the pre-construction phase.

These just two examples of where poor Health & Safety have resulted in extreme outcomes and full details of the cases can be found by clicking below”:

Company fined after skylight fall puts worker in a six-week coma

Fatal skylight fall – company and director sentenced

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This is a question that we get asked a lot and especially when a member of the team is not performing and is ill and needs to be managed correctly with no assumptions made. Employers need to act correctly and compassionately should the need arise.

18 11 2022

Fire Alarm – when was yours last checked?

Matthew Chilcott Blog, General #Fire, #firesafety, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, hr outsourcing, HR Support, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

Promoting Flexible Working and Employee Well-being |Consensus HR in Herts & Beds

Helen Watson, HR Advisor at Consensus HR comments on Fire Alarm – when was yours last checked? “What a lovely day for a fire alarm, I was glad it was dry, unlike the last few days! I wonder when the last time was you checked your fire evacuation procedures?

Fire preventions is so important to businesses of all sizes, why do you need to carry out fire drills?

It is the law – Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, the responsible person has a legal duty to provide procedures for serious and imminent danger (Article 15). They must support these procedures by providing appropriate training and instruction, which includes fire drills. Carrying out regular fire drills will ensure compliance with fire safety laws. We recommend that fire drills are carried out every 6 months.”

Fire Alarm – when was yours last checked?

When did you last check your fire safety procedures? We had a fire drill this morning at the BTC, all went well and it ran very smoothly. But when did you last check your businesses fire alarm and evacuation process?

The HSE recommends you consider how you will protect people if there is a fire.

Carry out a fire safety risk assessment
Keep sources of ignition and flammable substances apart
Avoid accidental fires, eg make sure heaters cannot be knocked over
Ensure good housekeeping at all times, eg avoid build-up of rubbish that could burn
Consider how to detect fires and how to warn people quickly if they start, eg installing smoke alarms and fire alarms or bells
Have the correct fire-fighting equipment for putting a fire out quickly
Keep fire exits and escape routes clearly marked and unobstructed at all times
Ensure your workers receive appropriate training on procedures they need to follow, including fire drills
Review and update your risk assessment regularly

At Consensus HR we can provide training for new staff or exiting employees on the basics of Health and Safety. We also can provide your company with a Health and Safety Handbook, to give you all your employees.

Have you had anyone leave recently? Were they a fire marshal or first aider? Remember to allocate the right number of fire marshals and fire aiders, ensuring that they have the right training for their role.

Fire Alarm – when was yours last checked?

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Do you need to refresh your Health and Safety training? Do you need to send a Health and Safety Handbook to all your employees? Give us a call today.

04 11 2022

£600,000 fine for building contractor after fire risk failings

Matthew Chilcott General, Health & Safety #Fire, #firesafety, #Health&Safety, #Health&Safety #HealthandSafety, #outsourcedhumanresources, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

A £600,000 fine for building contractor has taken place with its director being ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work and fined £4,200 following serious and repeated failings in managing the risk of fire during work at a construction site.

In January 2018 the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) undertook a proactive inspection to investigate health and safety failings by S&S Quality Building Contractors Limited at a construction site at Regent House, Brentwood, Essex after a concern was raised that people were sleeping on site.

The subsequent HSE investigation, which was assisted by Essex Fire & Rescue Service, identified failings in fire management at the site which created risks to workers and members of the public who were visiting show flats outside of business hours.

The environment at Regent House was poorly managed and the construction work was being carried out in an unsafe manner which could have resulted in a fire.

S&S Quality Building Contractors had previously been subject to HSE interventions after risks of a fire had been identified across a number of sites over several years. Evidence gathered during the proactive HSE investigation indicated that the company director Shlomo Pines regularly attended the Regent House site and failed to implement improvements from previous HSE interventions.

S&S Quality Building Contractors Limited of Hawthorn Business Park, Granville Road, London, pleaded guilty to breaching 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £600,000 and ordered to pay costs of £36,894 at Basildon Crown Court on 25 October 2022.

Company director Shlomo Pines, of St. Johns Road, Golders Green, London pleaded guilty to contravening Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. He received a community order to complete 100 hours of unpaid work and was fined £4,200.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Prentiss Clarke-Jones said: “S&S Quality Building Contractors Limited completely ignored the importance of fire safety measures on a construction site led by a director who wilfully chose to ignore the risks despite evidence he knew how to make things safe. This unsurprisingly resulted in a site where risks were also ignored by his workers.

“Follow the guidance, get competent advice and take responsibility that the law requires at the very least, or someone may get hurt, which thankfully did not eventuate here.”

Matthew, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “All employees should be taught basic Health & Safety at Induction and talked through the Health & Safety Policy and Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and their responsibilities in relation to this and business owners must take ownership of the managing of this. Too many times, Health & Safety is seen as an hindrance and tick box exercise but failure can result in severe consequences to a persons health. We ensure all our clients have access to the relevant Health & Safety Policies & Procedures and support / development in implementing and managing these.”

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31 10 2022

Latest monthly HR blog Newsletter – October 2022

Matthew Chilcott Blog, Employment Law, General #hertfords, #outsourcedhumanresources, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

Welcome to our Latest monthly HR blog Newsletter – October 2022 which includes a vast number of our blogs for the month:

Happy Coffee day
“They are always sick, what can I do?”
Stoptober
World Mental Health day
How many holidays are employees entitled to?
The History of Human Resources Management
World Menopause day
Maternity
Disability Discrimination
Health & Safety – COSHH
Quarterly Employment Law Newsletter.
Recession Ready
Health & Safety Weekly Bulletin

Happy Coffee Day !

International Coffee Day takes place on October 1 every year. Making the daily journey from tropical Africa to the breakfast mugs of households all over the world, coffee beans have been scattered all over the world for more than 600 years

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NEWS ARTICLE:

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NEWS ARTICLE:

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NEWS ARTICAL

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NEWS ARTICLE – Investigation reveals harsh conditions at Boohoo factory :

Contact us now

Health & Safety at Work Act 1974:

Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015

Duties of a principal contractor in relation to health and safety at the construction phase

Contact us now

Fire Alarm – when was yours last checked?

Contact us now

Contact Us

Welcome to our Latest monthly HR blog Newsletter – October 2022 which includes a vast number of our blogs for the month:

Happy Coffee day

“They are always sick, what can I do?”

Stoptober

World Mental Health day

How many holidays are employees entitled to?

The History of Human Resources Management

World Menopause day

Maternity

Disability Discrimination

Health & Safety – COSHH

Quarterly Employment Law Newsletter.

Recession Ready

Health & Safety Weekly Bulletin

Stoptober 2022

Our FAQs – 3 – How many holidays are they legally entitled to?

The History of Human Resource Management (HRM)

World Menopause Day

Our FAQ number 4 – Maternity leave:

Disability Discrimination

Chemicals company fined after releasing cloud of chlorine gas into factory.

Global recruitment company PageGroup reported a “slight softening” in employers’ confidence across the majority of its regions as uncertainty creeps into the labour market.

The poster explains British health and safety laws and lists what workers and their employers should do.

Quarterly Employment Law Newsletter.

Recession Ready

Health & Safety Bulletin

As part of our new weekly Health & Safety Digest with information received from the Health & Safety Executive Website please find:

guidance about those working at home

details of our new podcast about protecting construction workers from MSD

advice on avoiding slip and trip accidents as the winter months begin

Maternity leave, what is it?

When somebody tells you they are pregnant, there are set procedures that you must take immediately.

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HR Lessons –

Importance of succession planning

What a new Prime Minister will mean for UK employment laws

Support staff through leadership changes

Opportunity for restructure

Tel: 01438 576750

Email: [email protected]

Prioritise organisational culture

WELCOME……. To our June 2022 HR Blog Newsletter. Every month we will be providing a roundup of all our blogs for the month so that should you have missed any, you will have the opportunity to catch up. In this month’s edition we talk about:

HR Surgeries

When it gets hot

HR Consultancy of the year

Changes to ‘Fit Notes”

Employers urged to avoid Tokenism during Pride month.

Home Workers Pay

If you wish to discuss any of the subjects within our June 2022 HR Blog Newsletter further or to see how Consensus HR can help you and your company / team, why not book a 15 minute, non obligatory call to discuss how we can help you and your business?

HR Surgeries

When it gets hot……

HR Consultancy of the year 2022…

Fit Notes………

Home Workers Pay

Employers urged to avoid tokenism during Pride month

Please contact us now, if you wish to discuss your companies HR –

Telephone: 01438 576750

Email: [email protected]

We hope you enjoyed our June 2022 HR Blog Newsletter

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

Our Pledge to you:

With the ever changing British weather and when it gets hot!, what are some of the issues and how can we deal with them?

HRInform -June-2022