Flexible working during difficult times

PEOPLE BUSINESS NEWSLETTER

Companies in need of a flexible workforce during difficult times

Pressure on businesses in these tough economic times has forced Companies to get creative with their workforce. With permanent full time job vacancies at low levels, many employers are now using such measures as internships and zero hours contracts in a bid to be cost effective.

In tough times, many companies need the flexibility to adjust their workforce to changing levels of business with fewer people on the permanent payroll. When the country starts to climb out of recession, as it surely will, then businesses will need fast and flexible access to labour to meet rising business demands.

If your Company is feeling the strain of having less work available for employees you could consider some of the following options:

Zero hours contracts

Under such a contract you offer no guaranteed hours, the individual does not have to accept the work offered and you only have to pay for the work actually done.

It is important to ensure that the contract is carefully drafted to reflect a true zero-hours arrangement. This can be tricky so you may wish to seek advice when considering this type of arrangement.  

Flexible working

Allowing employees to work flexibly can benefit both the employee and the employer. This can include allowing employees to reduce their hours to part time or allowing someone to take an unpaid sabbatical.

If an employee puts in a request to work flexibly under the statutory right (for those with children or those who are carers) you must consider the requests properly and can only refuse a request on certain business-related grounds.

Flexible working practices may include:

• Part-time working: work is generally considered part-time when employers are contracted to work anything less than full-time hours.
• Term-time working: a worker remains on a permanent contract but takes leave during school holidays.
• Job-sharing: a form of part-time working where two (or occasionally more) people share the responsibility for a job between them.
• Flexitime: allows employees to choose, within certain set limits, when to begin and end periods of work.  
• Annual hours: the period within which full-time employees must work is defined over a whole year to allow for peaks and troughs in the business.
• Career breaks: career breaks, or sabbaticals, are extended periods of leave – normally unpaid – of up to five years or more.

Part time working

Part-time working has become increasingly common but laws are in place which prevent employers using part-timers as a cheap pool of labour. Employers cannot discriminate against part-timers by treating them less favourably than full-timers, unless objectively justified. They will therefore generally be entitled to the same terms and conditions pro rata as full-timers, including pay, benefits, pension and holiday entitlement.

Unpaid work experience/internships

Offering an unpaid internship is another way of reducing labour costs. Internships can benefit both employer and intern as the employer is gaining help in the Company while the intern is gaining experience and contacts within the workplace. Just be aware that if you offer an unpaid internship the intern has the right to come and go as they please and do not have to work to certain deadlines or complete certain tasks.

What challenges could our Company encounter implementing these practices?

The kind of challenges you might face include:

·         overcoming concerns about operational pressures and meeting customer requirements

·         how to manage flexible working practices effectively

·         current attitudes toward flexible working and the existing organisational culture

·         a lack of support at various management levels

Top tips

The following tips can help effective implementation:

·         Ensure that there are clear roles and responsibilities for employees and managers

·         Assess the current levels of support offered to managers and ensure it is sufficient

·         Assess how conducive your organisation culture is to flexible working arrangements and take action accordingly

 ·         Make use of pilots (when introducing new initiatives) and trial periods (for individual working arrangements) in order to highlight potential problems

·         Build in opportunities and mechanisms to monitor and evaluate progress

·         Draft agreements carefully and if in doubt seek advice

·         Familiarise yourself with the rights of employees and workers

·         Beware of offering regular casual work as this could lead to an employment relationship arising

·         If you agree to flexible working arrangements remember that you will need to amend terms and conditions of employment

·         Consider any flexible working requests according to the statutory requirements

·         Ensure that part-time workers are given the same terms and conditions as the full-timers as is directed by statutory law

·         Pay interns the NMW unless they are work shadowing or volunteering

·         Look into the governments Get Britain Working scheme and investigate job subsidies

There is absolutely no doubt that pressure on businesses during these tough economic times means the need for more flexibility. However, it is important to consider which types of contract are appropriate for your workers depending on your organisation’s culture, resources and the work assignments that need to be delivered.

If you would any advice or help with the implementation/review of your employee contracts or would like to make a comment about this newsletter please email us at: julie.ware@peoplebusiness.co.uk or call us on 01932 874944. You can also respond at http://people-insight.blogspot.com/

Olympics: employee behaviour at Company events

You can read our latest newsletter about employee behaviour at Company events here:

http://www.peoplebusiness.co.uk/hr-articles.asp

Olympics: employee behaviour at Company events

Read our latest newsletter 'all you need to know about interns' at our website here:

http://www.peoplebusiness.co.uk/files/June_Newsletter.pdf

New E-Zine

Take a look at our new E-Zine, a fun and informative cross between a newsletter and a magazine.

Download it at our website now:

http://www.peoplebusiness.co.uk/files/May_E-Zine.pdf

Employment Law Changes

PEOPLE BUSINESS NEWSLETTER

Employment Law Changes in 2012 and Resolving Workplace Disputes

2012 will see a number of changes to employment law.  A summary of the changes taking place from the 6^th April 2012 are detailed below.

Many of these changes are aimed at helping Businesses to resolve workplace disputes more efficiently and we have provided some further details on these in the second half of our monthly newsletter.

Employment Law changes 2012

• Increases in statutory payment rates
• Statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay will increase from £128.73 to £135.45 per week
• Statutory sick pay (SSP) will increase from £81.60 to £85.85
• The national insurance lower earnings limit will increase from £102 to £107

• Tribunal reforms to take effect:
• The limit for deposit orders will increase from £500 to £1,000
• The maximum costs award that can be ordered by a tribunal will rise from £10,000 to £20,000
• Witness statements at tribunal will be taken as read
• Witness expenses payable: The current system under which witnesses on either side in tribunals may apply to the state for reimbursement of their expenses is to be abolished.  Powers will be introduced to direct parties to bear such costs, with the party ultimately losing the case reimbursing the successful party for any such cost already paid out.
• Unfair dismissal cases heard by Judge alone: Rule changes will be made to allow judges to hear unfair dismissal claims alone
• Unfair dismissal qualifying period extended: The qualifying period before which an employee becomes entitled to bring a claim for unfair dismissal will be extended from one year to two years.

Resolving workplace disputes – New tools for Businesses

The number of tribunal cases increased by 40 per cent in the three years leading up to 2011, and is now costing businesses in the region of £84 million pounds each year.

In response, the Government has come forward with a series of measures designed to streamline the system and reduce the number of disagreements.

The Government has claimed that the increase in the period during which new employees cannot claim for unfair dismissal alone will reduce the number of unfair dismissal claims by 2,000 each year and save £9 million annually.  They estimate that the savings to businesses of the full set of proposals, if they are all implemented, will be in the region of £40 million every year.

Among the most notable of the changes for 2012 which will be implemented in April are:

• An increase in the period during which new employees cannot claim unfair dismissal, from one to two years (from April 2012)

• A streamlining of the system - for example, just one judge presiding in unfair dismissal cases

A number of other proposed measures are to be put out for consultation, including:

• Compulsory pre-conciliation with ACAS before a complaint can be entered into the tribunal system

• Introducing a system of “protected conversations” on issues like retirement or poor performance so that employers and employees can have frank conversations about workplace issues, without the existence of a formal dispute, without the fear of the content of those conversations being used against them in future proceedings.

• Simplifying the use of compromise agreements:  Including a model compromise agreement precedent text for employers to use should they wish, with accompanying guidance, making it easier to achieve full and final settlement of all claims and changing the name to “settlement” agreements.

• Provisions of quicker, cheaper options in low-value, more straightforward claims (like holiday pay).  A “Rapid Resolution Scheme” to be used as an alterative to the current tribunal process.

• An independent review of the tribunal system itself

As yet there are no planned implementation dates for these proposed changes but consultation is likely to take place during 2012.  Watch out for further developments and updates in our newsletters later in the year.

If you would any advice or help with resolving any work place disputes or would like to make a comment about this newsletter please email us at: julie.ware@peoplebusiness.co.uk or call us on 01932 874944. You can also respond at http://people-insight.blogspot.com/

Corporate Manslaughter Newsletter

PEOPLE BUSINESS NEWSLETTER

WHAT IS CORPORATE MANSLAUGHTER?

The events aboard the Costa Concordia on 13^th January raise questions not just about Captain Schettino’s actions but also about whether the Company itself could face any criminal charges.

Italian law does not mention corporate manslaughter explicitly however in the UK the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 creates a means of accountability for deaths caused by very serious management failings.

In February 2011, Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings was the first UK Company to be convicted of corporate manslaughter and fined £385,000.

In the trial, the jury took just one and a half hours to find the Company guilty of failing to ensure the safety of one of its workers who died when a pit collapsed on him.

The conclusion was that the substantial cause of his death was the failure of the company to manage its affairs so as to comply with its legal duty to ensure that his health was not put at risk.

How does this relate to my organisation?

Fatal accidents at work are often associated with certain types of industry such as construction, manufacturing or engineering and of course carry higher risks in many respects. However all organisations, no matter how large or small, have responsibilities for health and safety and there are many hazards within an office environment which businesses need to be aware of.

In addition to obvious hazards such as slippery floors or open file drawers, a modern office may contain serious fire or electrical hazards or risk of dangerous fumes such as carbon monoxide.

Here we take a look at what Corporate Manslaughter Act is, its powers and what health and safety issues organisations need to take into consideration.

What is the Corporate Manslaughter Act?

Following the introduction of the Corporate Manslaugher and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, corporate liability is now based on the ways in which an organisation’s activities are managed and organised, meaning that it is easier for the authorities to prosecute companies and large organisations.

Can directors, board members or other individuals be prosecuted?

The offence is concerned with corporate liability and does not apply to directors or other individuals who have a senior role in the company.

An organisation will be guilty of an offence if the way in which its activities are managed or organised by senior management causes a person’s death and amounts to a gross breach of a relevant duty of care owed by the organisation to the deceased.  

Therefore senior managers really need to look at how their health and safety practices are monitored, carried out and followed up by those responsible in the organisation.

An organisation’s ‘senior management’ is defined as the people who play significant roles either in making decisions about how all or a substantial part of its activities are to be managed or organised or the actual managing/organising of all or part of those activities. So as well as being able to prosecute organisations individuals are still liable.

Existing health and safety offences and gross negligence manslaughter continue to apply to individuals. Prosecutions against individuals will continue to be taken where there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest to do so.

Health and safety legislation

Under the Act, health and safety legislation means "any statutory provision dealing with health and safety matters" including food safety and workplace safety as enforced by HSE and local authorities.

Juries will be required to consider breaches of health and safety legislation in determining liability of companies and other corporate bodies for corporate manslaughter/homicide.

Juries may also consider whether a company or organisation has taken account of any appropriate health and safety guidance and the extent to which the evidence shows that there were attitudes, policies, systems or accepted practices within the organisation that were likely to have encouraged any such serious management failure or have produced tolerance of it.

To what extent does your organisation take account of health and safety matters?

·         Have you appointed someone to help manage your health and safety duties with the necessary skills, knowledge and experience?

·         Do you have a Health and Safety policy for your business?

·         What first aid arrangements do you have in the workplace?

·         What health and safety awareness training takes place and how often is this done?

·         Have you thought about what in your business might cause harm to people and whether you are doing enough to prevent that harm?

·         Have you considered everyone who could be harmed?  (for example, new or expectant mothers, people with disabilities, home workers , drivers, contractors)

·         How do you control those risks and put the right measures in place?

·         When was the last time a risk assessment was carried out in your business and who is responsible for making sure this happens?

Organisations need to take their obligations under health and safety law seriously in order not to be in breach of the Act.

It is advisable to review your Company health and safety policy, keep your organisation’s health and safety management systems under review and assess how activities are managed and organised.

By confidently answering the questions above your organisation will be going a long way towards reducing the risks of workplace dangers and providing a safe working environment.

Other points to consider are making sure you have a Health and Safety Law poster on display where your workers can easily read it and protecting yourself from compensation costs with Employers Liability Insurance.

What penalties does a company or organisation face?

Penalties will include unlimited fines, remedial orders and publicity orders.

Remedial orders - will require a company to take steps to remedy any management failure that lead to a death.

Publicity orders - the court can also impose an order requiring the company or organisation to publicise that it has been convicted of an offence, the amount of the fine imposed and the terms of any remedial order made.

If you would any advice or help with the implementation/review of health and safety policies, carrying out risk assessments or would like to make a comment about this newsletter please email us at: julie.ware@peoplebusiness.co.uk or call us on 01932 874944. You can also respond at http://people-insight.blogspot.com/