Fun at work

PEOPLE BUSINESS HR NEWSLETTER

Fun preferred to higher pay in Britain’s workplaces!

Fun is not on the agenda in Britain’s workplaces, despite British workers preferring working in a fun environment to having a higher pay recent research results conducted by Adeco reveal.

74% of employees surveyed said that they would prefer a workplace that encouraged a fun atmosphere as opposed to one where they received better pay.  86% said that they think that having fun is important and yet 70% of them also say they have worked in places where their employer has failed to promote fun in the workplace.  67% admitted that they feel less committed and loyal to their job if there isn’t a fun, competitive spirit and this results in them doing the minimum that is required of them.

We spend a lot of time at work and if we can have fun whilst working then ultimately this should improve productivity.

All good news for employers who in the current economic climate can take heart from these indications that there are other steps they can take to improve business that don’t necessarily need to involve more money.

So can you as Employers improve fun at work?

Fun doesn’t need to be about larking around.  Generating loyalty and commitment in current times involves focussing on the wellbeing and happiness of your employees. It is also about improving communication, encouraging self worth and respect and promoting a more relaxed environment.  All which in turn help to improve staff engagement, overall productivity and therefore the bottom line.

What practical steps can you take?

Here are some suggestions:

·         Review your internal communication strategy; are there improvements that you could make?

·         Consider setting up small focus groups to discuss possible improvements to the working environment.

·         Conduct a team building event

·         Introduce a “dress down” day where employees can wear more casual clothes.

·         Introduce employee of the week/month

·         Get senior managers to talk informally to staff (small Companies)

·         Conduct a staff survey (larger Companies)

·         Consider setting up a “Wellbeing Committee” who can be responsible for coming up with ideas and organising social activities.

·         Join “The Workplace Games” an Olympic campaign headed by hurlder Colin Jackson which aims to get workers competing with each other in workplace-based challenges, which are filmed and then posted on Facebook.

·         Introduce a workplace quiz night or lunch

·         Get involved in Macmillan coffee mornings

·         Hold a bring your kids/pets to work day

·         Hold a fun event for charity

·         Hold a Christmas party or evening meal

If you would like advice or further guidance on encouraging employee engagement to improve the working environment we would be happy to assist you with this.

Please email us at julie.ware@peoplebusiness.co.uk or call us on 01932 874944 or respond at http://people-insight.blogspot.com/

For refresher tips on things to consider when holding your Christmas party please see our last years December newsletter http://www.peoplebusiness.co.uk/files/Christmas_Party_Advice_newsletterfinalv2(1).pdf

Agency Workers Regulations

PEOPLE BUSINESS HR NEWSLETTER

Agency Workers Regulations 2010

The Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) 2010 came into force on 1^st October 2011.

The regulations give agency workers the entitlement to the same or no less favourable treatment than comparable permanent employees. This is with respect to basic employment and working conditions after they complete a qualifying period of 12 weeks.

Demand for temporary workers is expected to remain strong (according to recent statistics from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation) therefore a high proportion of employers are likely to be affected.

Is it just agencies that need to comply with the new regulations?

Agencies take a lot of the responsibility but employers that hire agency workers still have obligations under the regulations. If your business hires temps, you need to provide the agencies with information about your own company’s employment conditions.

Who is an agency worker?

The regulations cover agency workers supplied by a temporary work agency to a hirer. This includes most agency workers that people refer to as ‘temps’.

Agency workers supplied via intermediary/umbrella companies who are then supplied to hirers via staffing companies are likely to be agency workers under the AWR.

What rights will agency workers have?

The AWR gives temps, who suspect their rights have been infringed, the right to make a request for information in relation to basic employment terms and conditions of comparable employees and day 1 rights to shared facilities and information about vacancies.

From day one of their employment, an agency worker will be entitled to:

§  Access to shared facilities and amenities or services provided by the hirer. For example, staff restaurant, crèche facilities, transport services (local pick up service, inter-site transport)

§  Information on job vacancies with the hirer

After a 12 week qualifying period, an agency worker will be entitled to the same basic conditions of employment and equal treatment in terms of:

• Pay including bonus linked to performance. It does not include loyalty bonuses, occupational pensions, financial participation schemes, redundancy pay, contractual sick pay and maternity, paternity and adoption pay over and above statutory entitlement
• Holidays
• Night work
• Rest periods/breaks
• Duration of working time

Agency workers will also be entitled to paid time off to attend ante-natal appointments during their working hours. 

The new rules however do not mean that agency workers become permanent employees after the 12 week period.

What is meant by equal treatment in relation to pay?

Pay includes a comparable permanent employee’s salary. So, in practical terms, that comparable employee’s annual salary should be converted to an hourly or daily rate and that information provided by the hirer to the agency.

If a worker is absent or has a break from the assignment, will the 12 week period be re-set?

Certain breaks taken by the worker will only pause the time during which the worker accrues service during the qualification period. Breaks between assignments with the same organisation will pause the clock if they last for six weeks or less. Some other absences, such as sickness, jury service and annual leave will also pause the clock.

For a full list of absences that will pause the qualification period, please refer to:

http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/employment-matters/docs/a/11-949-agency-workers-regulations-guidance.pdf

Do self employed people have rights under the regulations?

Self employed workers will not be covered by the regulations if the agency or hirer is considered to be a client or customer of the self employed person. If the individual, the hirer and the agency intend for the worker to be considered self employed and not covered by the regulations, there will need to be clear evidence in a written contract and in practice to this effect.

What practical steps does my organisation need to take?

Here are some suggestions:

·         Review current systems for advertising internal permanent vacancies to ensure they are made available to any temporary workers

·         Review any on site facilities that temporary workers are entitled to have access to

·         Audit your current arrangements to consider whether agency workers are likely to be appointed for more than 12 weeks

·         Consider what roles you currently fill with temporary agency workers and determine who the relevant permanent comparators for these roles are

·         Review what the basic working and employment conditions of those comparators are

·         Collate information which will have to be given to the agencies (for example, put together a summary sheet of terms and conditions which can be provided)

·         Determine how and when this information will be passed to the agencies

·         Look at how you will share this information with any agency workers who may request it

·         Agree processes with the providing agencies to include checking when a worker meets the 12 week qualifying period

·         Consider whether you will enter into a confidentiality agreement with agencies before you disclose information to them about your terms of employment

Failure to comply

Falling foul of the AWR could result in a fine of £5,000 at an employment tribunal, which would be multiplied if more than one temporary worker at the organisation is found to have received unequal treatment under the regulations.

ACAS Chief Executive John Taylor advises “businesses really need to make sure that they have a handle on these changes. It is not something to think about down the line and get it wrong as it can be costly to your business. Some employers may try to get round the Regulations by hiring and re-hiring temps on a succession of shorter periods. But they need to be careful of the many provisos within the new law. We would always advise employers to take a fair approach as the basis for any workplace relations.”

Finally the equality given to temps is not as extensive as many thought it might be, therefore should prove not to be an administrative burden or deter your organisation from hiring agency workers in the future.

If you would like advice or further guidance regarding the Agency Workers Regulations we would be happy to assist you with this.

Please email us at julie.ware@peoplebusiness.co.uk or call us on 01932 874944 or respond at http://people-insight.blogspot.com/

Careless comments about ex-employees

PEOPLE BUSINESS HR NEWSLETTER

Beware of careless comments about

ex-employees

Employers need to take care in making any comments or sending communications about an employee, whether they are currently employed or have left the organisation.

This was highlighted earlier this year when the High Court handed down judgement in the case of McKie v Swindon College. The case acts as a reminder to all employers to watch what their employees communicate about ex-employees, even outside of a formal reference.

Mr. McKie was a lecturer at Swindon College for many years and left with a glowing reference saying that he was ‘highly recommended’ and that the college was ‘sorry to be losing him.’

Sometime after leaving Swindon College he joined Bath University where part of his role was to oversee courses at various colleges, one of those being his former employer Swindon College. This meant he would be back on their premises in a different capacity.

A few weeks after Mr. McKie started the new job, the HR Director at Swindon College sent an email to Bath University in the most damaging terms saying that they could not allow Mr. McKie back onto their premises for reasons relating to staff relationship problems and that no formal action had been taken against him because he left their employment before action was instigated.

As a result of these comments, Mr. McKie was called to a meeting with his managers at Bath University and told he could not perform the duties required by the post if Swindon College would not allow him on the premises. For this reason he was dismissed from his job with Bath University.

The High Court found that the contents of the email were largely “fallacious and untrue” and its preparation “sloppy and slapdash.” Although it was not a reference, Swindon College were found liable for losses suffered by Mr. McKie.

Points to note

·         Give careful consideration to any communications entered into in relation to ex-employees, regardless of the purpose of that communication.

·         Think twice about passing even casual comment regarding a former employee where there is a prospect that this may have a detrimental effect on that person’s career prospects.

·         Do not make any negative comments about former employees without good grounds

·         Comments made should be fair, factual and balanced

Providing references

Responding to reference requests can be either straightforward or troublesome for employers. Organisations should balance the potential liability against a broader concern for providing accurate references in hopes that other employers will reciprocate.

Think about establishing your policy, designating certain employees to give references, and confine remarks to objective, truthful information. These steps may reduce the risk of both defamation and negligent reference claims, help good employees obtain new positions, and prevent bad employees from exposing the organisation to losses, legal liability and unnecessary costs.

Telephone or verbal references

Although requests for telephone or verbal references are frequently received, it is advisable to decline such requests other than in exceptional circumstances, since information given in this way may be misinterpreted. If, as an exception, a verbal reference is given, steps should be taken to verify the identity of the enquirer and notes should be kept of the conversation. The person giving the reference should not make any statements that he/she would not be willing to make in writing.

Content of a reference

You might like to think about what you would say in response to a request, for example, for an ex-employee who:

·         Was dismissed from their position for gross misconduct

·         Resigned whilst in the middle of disciplinary proceedings

·         Had a poor sickness absence record

·         Had a grievance brought against them by another employee

The risks of claims have led to many employers simply providing very basic references with name, dates of employment and position held. A less said the better approach may be the safest way in many other situations too.

If you would like advice about establishing a policy regarding references or need help with responding to reference requests we would be happy to discuss this with you.

Please email us at julie.ware@peoplebusiness.co.uk or call us on 01932 874944 or respond at

http://people-insight.blogspot.com/

Bribery Act Newsletter

PEOPLE BUSINESS HR NEWSLETTER

The Bribery Act comes into force – 1^st July 2011

The Bribery Act 2010 aims to promote anti-bribery practices amongst businesses and came into force on 1^st July 2011.

Organisations need to take steps to address the risks of bribery and demonstrate that they have put clear practical prevention policies in place to avoid prosecution.

Failing to prevent bribery

An employer commits an offence if a person “associated” with it bribes another person for that company’s benefit. Associated persons include all those performing a service for or on behalf of your company, not just employees.

Your organisation therefore needs to think about how to prevent bribes being made by contractors, consultants, agents, employees, partners, subsidiaries and any other persons performing services for your company.

Making out a defence

The government has published the final version of its guidance on procedures that organisations can put into place (see link below). The guidance sets out the following six principles employers should consider when seeking to prevent bribery taking place. They are not prescriptive but are intended to allow flexibility.

1          Proportionate procedures – your organisation’s procedures must be proportionate to the risks it faces and the nature, scale and complexity of your organisations’ activities. The guidance notes that small organisations are unlikely to need such extensive procedures as a large multi national organisation.

2          Top level commitment – top level management need to be committed to preventing bribery and foster a culture in which bribery is not acceptable.

3          Risk assessment – your organisation needs to assess the nature and extent of its exposure to risks of bribery on a periodic basis relevant to the size and structure of your organisation. Organisations will not be required to carry out the expensive exercise of putting together lengthy policies where the risk of bribery is very low.

4          Due diligence – this is about having a risk based approach to business relationships, taking into consideration who you deal with and who provides services for you.

5          Communication – your organisation needs to seek to ensure its prevention policies are embedded and understood through communication and training.

6          Monitoring and review – risks to your organisation may change over time therefore you are advised to carry out regular reviews and re-assessments.

Corporate hospitality

The guidance from the government addresses in more detail the issue of corporate hospitality and promotional expenditure (see link below).

The guidance expressly states “Bona fide hospitality and promotional, or other business expenditure which seeks to improve the image of a commercial organisation, better to present products and services, or establish cordial relations, it is recognised as an established part of doing business and it is not the intention of the Act to criminalise such behaviour”

Examples of what may or may not be considered acceptable are included in the guidance.

What steps can your organisation take to prevent bribery taking place?

The main message contained within the guidance is one of proportionality. It is advisable to look at where your risks are and how you respond.

Recommended steps to take:

·         Take a clear anti-bribery stance. A tone should be set throughout your organisation which communicates and enforces anti-bribery.

§  Assess where risks might lie. Compliance measures should be directed towards the operations that might be particularly exposed to bribery such as sales functions.

§  Management responsibility. Senior management should take responsibility for anti-bribery compliance within the business and ensure the tone is appropriate.

§  Have clear policies. Consider whether your business's existing policies (such as expenses) cover anti-bribery and corruption.

§  Spread awareness and record it. Anti-bribery policies and procedures should be communicated to all 'at risk' employees and third parties who conduct business on the organisation's behalf.

§  Due diligence should be conducted on all key employees and business partners who could be "at risk" including acquisition targets, pre and post engagement. Again this is one of proportionality as background checks and references may not be necessary if the risk is low.

§  Monitor and audit. Proportionate measures should be implemented that monitor and audit "at risk" functions, contracts and transactions.

§  Encourage reporting of misconduct. Consider whether your whistle-blowing and other reporting procedures are open and publicised to employees and relevant third parties. Employees should be certain that they do not face retaliation if they use these channels.

§  Consistent and robust disciplinary processes. Ensure that misconduct is dealt with consistently and proportionately and that employees are aware of the consequences of breaching the rules. Termination clauses in contracts should be reconsidered.

What can your organisation do to check whether “bribery” is taking place?

We would suggest some of the following practices:

·         Keep financial records and internal controls in place which evidence the business reasons for making payments to third parties

·         Keep a record of any charitable donations made by the company with details of which organisation the donation was made to, reasons for making the donation, when prior approval was sought and by whom

·         Check a proportion of expenses and ask employees about the purpose of dinners and lunches

·         Introduce a gift register where every item given or received over a certain amount is logged

·         Arrange for certain employees to be trained regarding the Bribery Act so individuals who are unsure can ask them for advice to ensure they do not fall foul of the law

·         Analyse annual spend with suppliers and assess what has been received over the year

·         Review on an annual basis client revenues and consider what marketing, hospitality or gifts have been offered and to which organisations to secure the sales.

Finally……whilst it may be clear what is and is not bribery at either end of the scale, there are still shades of grey in between. Inevitably the guidance does not make everything completely clear so we will have to wait and see how actively the Serious Fraud Office pursue prosecutions under the Act in the current climate, as well as what guidance is produced by the courts in case law.

http://www.justice.gov.uk/guidance/making-and-reviewing-the-law/bribery.htm

If you would like help with putting your own bribery act policy together we would be happy to discuss this with you. If you would simply like to purchase ours at £25 please email us at julie.ware@peoplebusiness.co.uk or call us on 01932 874944 or respond at http://people-insight.blogspot.com/

HR Policies

Do you groan when you receive another new or updated policy & procedure from your HR department? You may question the value of having written policies or think that it’s just another piece of legislation imposed upon you as an employer. At least you just have to read them…….spare a thought for the person who has to write these riveting documents!

The attention given to this is probably at the bottom of a lengthy to do list however having no policy or a poorly drafted one may present problems.

Although most of the time you only need to refer to a policy when there is a problem to sort out, a sense of the company’s stance is needed so having clear guidance is critical.

Policies and procedures are helpful for many reasons, for example:

• They guide both managers and employees as to what is expected and can prevent misunderstandings

• Supervisors and managers are more likely to consistently apply policies that are clearly communicated in writing

• Carefully written policies should protect against legal claims

• Policies can be used to illustrate your commitment to a positive work environment and non-discriminatory employment practices

By way of light reading, here’s an example of what happened after a poorly thought through HR policy was issued. A chain of emails were sent over a number of weeks about Dress Down Fridays:

Week 1 – email 1

The company is adopting Fridays as dress down day. Employees are free to dress in the casual attire of their choice.

Week 3 – email 2

Spandex and leather miniskirts are not appropriate attire for dress down day. Neither are string vests or fancy dress.

Week 6 – email 3

A seminar on how to dress for Fridays will be held on Friday in the restaurant. A fashion show will follow. Attendance is compulsory.

Week 9 – email 4

A team have been appointed as Dress Down Task Force and produced a manual with guidelines for proper casual dress. A copy has been distributed to every employee.

Tip for today: Don’t introduce a new HR policy or procedure or revise an existing one without thinking through all the potential issues. Understand the potential upsides and downsides of the new/revised policy. Brainstorm how the policy will work in your organisation with a group of your managers.

You could always ask your HR Consultancy to do it for you! I’m off now to write another policy……….

Dress down article links:
http://www.nationalofficeweek.com/office-news-express/03/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12418046

Additional Paternity Leave

Over the last decade, there has been a steady improvement in the rights of families at work. Paternity leave and pay were initially introduced in 2003 and are shortly set to undergo further transformation. What will be the impact of additional paternity leave on your company?
The new laws mean there is a significant extension to the current paternity leave provisions of up to 2 weeks, so you may be nervous about the impact on your business. You may be concerned about the administrative burden the new paternity rights could place on you and the practicalities of potentially losing both men and women from the workplace for extended periods. However, Ministers estimate that between 4% and 8% of those eligible for the new leave will take it, with only 1% of small businesses expected to be affected.
With a little careful planning, the benefits should soon be seen as more new fathers are able to balance work and family.
What should your business be doing now? Here are some suggestions:
• Review maternity/paternity and flexible work policies and procedures to ensure they take into account the changes from April 2011 onwards;
• Put systems in place to ensure the correct information about additional paternity leave and pay is captured – by using template notices and employee/mother declaration forms;

• Organise internal processes to ensure that entitlement to additional paternity leave/pay is included.

Consider whether your existing HR policies and procedures are adequate to deal with any requests for APL.
If this is not the case, think about areas of policy that would benefit from extension or clarification. For example, your company may need to produce specific APL forms, prepare for hand-overs in advance and consider how it will implement and organise a father’s entitlement to 10 ‘keeping in touch’ days.

Don’t forget that the new rights apply to partners including civil partners as well as adopters adopting within the UK (as long as they are entitled to statutory adoption leave).
If you would like to purchase a template Paternity policy or need any advice please email us at julie.ware@peoplebusiness.co.uk or call us on 01932 874944 or respond at http://people-insight.blogspot.com/
Current paternity leave entitlement is 2 weeks off in the 8 week period following the birth of a baby. The previous Government introduced Regulations, in force since April 2010, under which a father would be able to share a period of maternity leave with his spouse or partner. The Regulations affect parents of children due on or after 3 April 2011.

With the introduction of new laws, fathers of babies due on or after 3 April 2011 now have the right to take up to 6 months additional paternity leave (APL). This will only be if the mother has returned to work and not before the baby is 20 weeks old. If the leave is during the mother’s Statutory Maternity Pay period, the right to payment will also transfer to the father and so may in part be paid.

It’s not uncommon these days for the woman to be the higher earner in a relationship and we all know of a new mother who has returned to work earlier than she would have liked after the birth of a child because of financial concerns.

In essence, fathers will be allowed to share maternity leave with the mother anytime after 6 months, leaving the father to take what is left of the remaining 12 months maternity leave and pay.

Guidelines on Default Retirement Age (Part 2)

Following on from last week’s newsletter this is the second of three newsletters we will be sending you to bring you details of this impending change in law and guidelines on how your Company can manage these changes.

MANAGING PERFORMANCE AND RETIREMENT 

Stopping using retirement ages - Tips and Guidance

General principles

The removal of the default retirement age (DRA) is an opportunity for you to review your practices and processes for managing employees and their performance.  Good people management is the best way to adapt to the removal of the DRA. Talking to your employees and allowing them opportunities to communicate openly and regularly is essential.  Having regular conversations with all employees about your expectations of them, their performance and future plans are invaluable. These should not be limited to younger or older employees.

Managing performance and retirement for older workers

Two thirds of businesses already operate without a fixed retirement age. Research shows that older worker productivity does not usually decline, at least up to the age of 70, where these workers have received the same level of training as younger colleagues. Older workers also tend to have fewer accidents and take less short-term sick leave.

Older workers do not tend to block opportunities for younger workers. Evidence indicates that there was no positive effect on youth employment from measures which allowed older workers to retire early. Some employers believe that removing older workers to make way for younger workers can damage productivity with the loss of existing skills and experience. This can lead to increased staff turnover and increase the cost of recruiting and training new workers.

To help your business manage without a set retirement age, you should:

·         Plan ahead - use formal or informal performance discussions to talk about on-going work options, retirement options and further skills development. Ask all employees where they see themselves in a year or two to open up discussions about their options.

·         Encourage employees to initiate discussions with their manager at any time to discuss options for continuing to work or retiring. A good time to do this might be after they receive a pension scheme notification about their forthcoming pension entitlement.

·         Ensure all managers are trained in how to manage regular performance discussions to also give feedback, motivate and develop staff regardless of an employee's age. Reviewing the performance of just certain age groups, younger or older, could raise concerns about unlawful age discrimination.

·         Use discussions to manage under-performance, whatever the age of the employee. Difficulties might be remedied through training, a change of job role, workplace adaptation or a change in working pattern. If poor performance cannot be resolved, follow the normal 'fair dismissal' procedures that apply to employees of any age.

·         Review your business retirement procedures and communicate your policies clearly to managers and staff. Older workers should be aware that they can work longer but are not expected to work indefinitely.

·         Consider offering a flexible approach to retirement to help retain key skills for your business. A change in working patterns, reduction in hours or a different role may encourage your experienced older workers to stay at your company and perform more effectively. Remember, if flexible working is not open to all, then targeting it at older workers would need to be objectively justified. See the page in this guide on flexible working for older workers.

·         Think about directing older workers to sources of support which can help them prepare for the financial and personal changes they may face when they retire.

Exclusions from Age Discrimination - Insured benefits

The Government has stated that it will introduce an exception to the age discrimination rules so that employers can stop offering employees insured benefits, such as life assurance and private medical cover, beyond their normal retirement ages. Businesses had been concerned that the removal of the DRA could lead to substantial costs for providing insured benefits for the over 65s.

Some frequently asked questions about working without the DR A

Q          I have an employee who is not performing as well as I would wish, I was hoping to use the DRA to dismiss him when he reaches 65 but now cannot do this because the law has changed. What can I do?    

      

A          You may use one of the reasons for fair dismissal. However, a workplace discussion can help you better understand the employee’s intentions regarding their retirement. If they intend to retire then you can allow this to happen but remember an employee can change their mind. Where an employee is performing poorly and their performance cannot be improved, you have the option of dismissing them on the grounds of capability.

Q          Do I have to have a retirement discussion with my employees?

A          No, there is no requirement to talk to employees about their future plans but you may find it helpful to do so for your own organisational and succession planning purposes.

Q          If I discuss retirement with an older worker can I leave myself open to a claim of age discrimination?

A          Not if properly handled. Employers may reasonably want to know about an employee’s future aims and aspirations. The important thing is not to single out older workers. If you are going to ask older workers about their plans it is good practice to also ask other, younger workers, about their plans as well, perhaps as part of an annual appraisal meeting.

Q          What can I say to an older employee at a meeting to discuss their future plans?

A          It is best if you start any discussion in a general way. Perhaps asking the employee what their future plans are or how they see themselves developing in your organisation over the next year or so. Any direct questions such as “are you planning to retire in the near future” or “you seem to have been slowing down of late, have you thought about retirement” are best avoided. Once an employee has indicated that they do wish to retire there is no problem in talking to them about the date for their retirement and any adjustments they may wish to make to their working arrangements or hours in the lead up to retirement.

Q          Can I protect myself by getting an employee to sign a contractual agreement that they will retire at a certain date?

A          There is nothing to stop you from coming to a contractual agreement with an employee about their future retirement date but it is unlikely to have any legal force. Employees cannot sign away their employment rights except in certain circumstances where they are legally advised and sign a compromise agreement. Compromise agreements can only be made however, where an employee has a case they can bring to an employment tribunal e.g. for unfair dismissal, which is unlikely to be the case in these circumstances as the employee will still be in employment.

Q          What can I do if an employee had indicated that they will retire on a certain date but then do not do so?

A          If an employee has given formal notice to leave, you are under no obligation to let them withdraw their notice. However if an employee tells you during a discussion that they are planning on retiring, they may change their minds before formal notice is given. Where an employee decides not to retire and no notice has been given, the first thing to do is to discuss with the employee their reason for not retiring. This can help to establish whether there is any issue that you, as an employer, might be able to help them overcome thus allowing them to retire on the due date or shortly thereafter. Ultimately however, if they decide that they do not wish to retire, for whatever reason, then you cannot compulsorily retire them as this will leave you open to a complaint of unfair dismissal.

Q          What do I need to do in terms of changing contracts, handbooks and employment policies?

A          Employment contracts will require reviewing to ensure that they are complying with the new legislation.  In addition the legislation will impact on a number of employment policies for example; retirement, and health and safety and therefore you should review and update your policies and the relevant sections of your Company handbook.

Further Guidance:

ACAS have worked on a 20 page document with the Government to assist businesses with dismissals after 1 October 2011 this is available from their website www.acas.org.uk

Contact People Business if you would like to discuss our fixed price options to update your contracts, employment policies and Company handbooks or if you have any questions about the DRA. Please email us at lisa.bolton@peoplebusiness.co.uk or call us on 01932 874944 or respond at http://people-insight.blogspot.com/