Hard Labour?

On Radio 4's Today programme this morning, Kenneth Clarke discussed his plans for sentencing reform. While John Humphrys told listeners that "We send more people to prison in this country than any other country in Europe." Mr Clarke stated that prison doesn't work but rehabilitation does. This means integrating people into society - and finding them jobs.

But, as an employer, do you really want to take on an ex-con? The answer, by-and-large, is usually no. So, it's not surprising really that in a recent poll having a criminal record came top of the most shameful things to tell your boss. But, it has been estimated that a fifth of the working population has a criminal record.

We've had some clients who've knowingly employed convicted criminals, and with mixed results. Generally, the employer has come to find out the skeletons in potential employees' cupboards because it has been disclosed when a CRB check is instigated. We advise that employers ask successful candidates to disclose criminal records as a matter of course. And, if the industry or profession requires it, a CRB check too. Specific checks are required when working with children and vulnerable adults. If you're not sure what level of checks you need to make, it is worth contacting the Independent Safeguarding Authority.

In my experience, where it goes wrong is when employers do nothing. So...you find out that your new employee got done for driving while banned, or punching a bloke on a night out...what do you do next?

Quite simple really - assess the risk. How long ago was the conviction? Could this person cause problems for your organisation or the people they come into contact with? Is there an opportunity for them to re-offend? If you decide that the risk is manageable, consider whether you need to put in place any additional measures. The CIPD offer a range of excellent resources for helping you to navigate the legislation and advice on good practice in this area.

And don't forget, for more information, you can always contact The HR Experts by emailing info@thehrexperts.co.uk!

Snow is falling

With the festive season nearly upon us and the landscapes portraying the perfect white Christmas, bad weather is the talking point of the moment.
However, this can leave employers wondering how to tackle the chaos. With extreme weather warnings, school closures and commuter bedlam, bad weather creates a number of workplace issues.

Cost of bad weather
Bad weather at the start of 2010 forced many small businesses and local vendors to close early or for full days, due to lack of staffing. Productivity and turnover suffered as a result and the Federation of Small Businesses put the cost of that cold weather snap at £600 million per day. Most businesses have contingency plans in place for other aspects of their business but have not addressed plans for how to tackle bad weather. When looking at how much it can potentially cost businesses bad weather is snow joke!

Options
Many employers are tempted not to pay employees who do not make it into work. In theory employers are not obliged to pay employees who are unable to attend work due to bad weather. However, this could be risky and with the increase in flexible working many employees can argue that they can work from home. Along with this a little goodwill does go a long way and can be beneficial in the long term for businesses.
A few alternative options are:
 Pay employees but require them to make up the time later.
 Require employees to take ‘snow days’ as annual leave.
 Enable employees to work from home by providing appropriate technology.

Bad weather policy
Overall it comes down to common sense and what is best for your business. Bad weather should not be automatic permission to take a day off. But employers also need to communicate that employees should not risk their safety to get to work and be understanding if weather conditions worsen throughout the day. Even though it may sound extreme a well communicated ‘bad weather’ policy should be put in place linking with your already existing absence management, health and safety, and business continuity policies. This should enable you to plough through any weather-related issues.

Leave to remain

Holidays and discrimination?

Part time employees shouldn't be treated differently when it comes to holidays. They have the same entitlement as full time workers, albeit on a proportional basis.

Quite simply full time employees are entitled to 5.6 weeks / 28 days holiday,
and this is pro rata for part time employees. If the organisation gives more than
the statutory minimum, then the additional amount should pro rated for part time
employees.

Bank Allowance?

There is no statutory entitlement to having public holidays as leave.
If the organisation closes on the bank holiday, then this can be taken out of
the employee's allowance by the employer.

Indirect discrimination?

Employees have the right not to be discriminated against on grounds of sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, age, religion or belief or gender reassignment.

But employers also need to be aware, that if they award different levels of benefits to different groups of employees, they may create indirect discrimination. For example, giving more holidays based on hierarchy may favour men over women or awarding more holidays for length of service may indirectly discriminated against younger workers. A good policy and procedure would need to underpin decisions to award different levels of benefits, as employers may be called upon to prove there is a legitimate business reason for differences.

Autumn is upon us, and the times they are a-changing

Well, there is lots of change underway in the UK. Anyone who has read a newspaper or turned on a news channel can't have failed to notice the sweeping government spending cuts.

Our clients who provide public services or services to the public sector are tentatively waiting to hear how this will affect them. And no doubt, you are tentatively waiting to find out exactly what the impact on you will be.

In HR terms, this means planning what organisations will look like in the future, which roles are critical and how the organisation will survive through careful people management and business planning. Too many businesses are making financial decisions without fully considering the risks, resulting in a rise in tribunal claims.

You see, being in HR doesn't mean that when the proverbial hits the fan, you have time to get out of the way. Rather, you have to be there to explain why it's happening and then clean up the mess afterwards. Not that I'm moaning, I'm quite happy to do it. It pays my bills after all.

It's starting to happen already and I'm busy making sure that the fan is still working in the aftermath. Personnel Today are reporting that HR professionals still aren't being consulted early enough. Otherwise, we in HR are not so much saying, 'I told you so' but rather, 'I could have told you so, if only you'd asked.'

Is social media working for your business?

With 6% of workers confessing to spending at least an hour a day using sites such as Twitter and facebook, does virtual networking present a problem?

I’m the first to admit that I use social media while at work – after all, I’m sat here blogging. And it’s certainly been useful for me; I have instant access to literally hundreds of contacts to help with recruitment, advice and information sharing. It’s not that people use the internet per se. It’s how and when they use it.

Besides, blurred boundaries between work and play aren’t great when you’re trying to present a professional image. But that problem hasn’t just appeared with the spread of the virtual variety of social networking. If they weren’t on t’net, they’d be bugging the person at the desk next to them, or spending too long at the coffee machine.

Based on their recent survey, Myjobgroup.co.uk are reporting that 55 per cent of the UK’s working population are apparently accessing social media whilst at work, however 1 in 10 respondents claimed that social media made them more productive. According to their analysis, Facebook, Twitter and other social media networks could potentially be costing the UK up to £14billion in lost work time.

Banning facebook might be one solution but it won’t stop time wasters time wasting. As a manager, when standards slip, you should be asking questions. Trust and respect go along way but the starting point for that is setting clear expectations. A good email and internet usage policy is key, as are performance monitoring plans when you need to intervene. SMEs in particular would be wise to head the advice of Lee Fayer. The Managing Director of Mjobgroup.co.uk suggests that monitoring is needed to boost productivity by ensuring that employees are not abusing their freedom of access.

For help and advice on managing employee internet access, get in touch with jen@thehrexperts.co.uk.

Double whammy: dual discrimination

This year's Equality Act sees a big change in employment law. Previously, employers have been able to wriggle out of so-called 'dual discrimination' claims, but not anymore.

A certain newsreader who tried to claim discrimination and failed will be listening carefully to see how this piece of legislation unfolds when it is tested in court. Her claim failed because she said she was being discrimated against on the grounds of age and sex. But, lo, there are other female newsreaders aren't there? And, there are other older newsreaders too! Nevermind that the female newsreaders are all under 40 and the older ones are all male.

Well, this new law changes all that. You can now claim on the grounds of two protected characteristics, so she could have argued that she was treated unfairly because she was an older woman. Same goes for Pakistani Muslims, black men, young women, or any other combination of two characteristics. The claimant would have to show that they wouldn't have been discriminated against but for the fact that they had two protected characteristics and the burden of proof would be on the employer to prove that they weren't in the wrong.

Can you ask applicants about their health?

Until recently, you were allowed to ask candidates about their health before offering them a job. But now, these so-called "pre-employment medical questionnaires" could leave employers open to claims.

If a candidate doesn't get a job, and they think it is because of their ill-health, enforcement action could be taken or the individual could even claim discrimination. The employer may be able to show that the individual wouldn't be able to carry out an essential feature of the job because of their condition but, if not, the employer will have to prove there was another reason the candidate was unsuccessful.

This has been introduced to reduce the stigma and prejudice associated with some medical conditions such as depression and HIV. Once an offer has been made, a medical can still take place but if reasonable adjustments are needed, then the employer should take them.

For more help or advice on what you need to do, email me at jen@thehrexperts.co.uk

Harrassment & Victimisation

Harassment is described as unwanted conduct which has the effect or purpose of undermining a person’s dignity.

But what if the employee is saying they are being harassed, but you think they are making a mountain out of a mole hill?

In the event that differing perspectives are argued by the employer and employee, the tribunal would consider how a reasonable bystander would judge the situation and make a decision based on this.

Victimisation involves treating an employee less favourably. In a basic sense, this means being treated unfairly.

A tribunal would be likely to find in an employee's favour if victimisation is on the grounds of a 'protected characteristic' (sex, race, disability etc). But, victimisation could also arise from other issues. For example victimisation due to whistle blowing or supporting another employee who is making a complaint could also lead to a successful tribunal claim.

Shopping List approach to Tribunals

Employees placing claims at Employment Tribunal are increasingly adopting the ‘shopping list’ approach.

This means that a number of alternative claims are submitted. For example, an employee may contest that, in the event a tribunal finds they were not wrongfully dismissed an alternative claim that they were unfairly dismissed is proposed.

Claimants are hedging their bets by posing different scenarios to the tribunal. Similarly, the respondent can pose arguments for the different scenarios, however needs to be wary of not tripping themselves up by making contradictory statements.

Discrimination claims

Discrimination doesn't have to be nasty or intentional. Claims on grounds of a 'protected characteristic' can arise from either direct or indirect discrimination.

There is no defence for treating someone less favourably if the reason is because of their membership of a protected group.

A discrimination claim would be valid even if the employer thinks they are acting in the interest of the individual. An example of this would be where an employer may be concerned about the safety of an employee in a particular role because of their ethnic background. The protected characteristic is STILL the main reason for treating the individual differently.

Indirect discrimination could be where protected groups are detrimentally affected by a practice or a policy, even though there was no direct intention to do so. For example, expecting shift work as a condition of employment may indirectly discriminate against women who are more likely to have caring commitments.

For more help or advice, email me at jen@thehrexperts.co.uk