Planning for a rainy day…

As the old saying goes, it never rains but it pours. If, like me, you have been nervously watching the ground getting wetter and the drains fuller, you are probably already thinking ahead about how to manage business as usual.

Adequate staffing

In adverse weather, the key thing is to prepare. This means planning journeys with consideration and setting off early. You should be clearly communicating this message to your employees and, where necessary, reviewing work schedules to take account of any delays that may arise.

If you are able to, consider working at home as an option for some or all of your staff. This may mean considering how you will manage phone calls and remote access.

If you can operate with a skeleton of onsite staff, then now is the time to start thinking how this would work. Would it be key, frontline staff who would have to come in? Or are you able to re-jig things so that those with clear routes to the work place are asked to man the proverbial fort?

If you do need to be physically open for business, consider where staff live and who is going to have difficulties arriving for work to ensure that you are adequately covered.

Travel

Advise employees that they should plan their journeys from home to work carefully, listen to local travel updates and set off earlier to account for delays if needed. It goes without saying that they should dress appropriately, with waterproofs and suitable footwear.

If employees are using Company vehicles, they should proceed with caution (if at all) going through flood water. Not only can it cause damage to the vehicle itself, in 2007, some vehicles were swept away by flood water. Where possible, stick to higher and flatter ground and if you do need to leave your vehicle, ensure it is in a safe place.

From a Health and Safety perspective, you have a duty of care to your employees and this needs to be kept first and foremost in your mind.

What about pay?

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.

-  Ask employees to take days as annual leave.
-  Enable employees to work from home by providing appropriate technology.

If employees are available for work but you send them home, you should pay them, unless you have an agreement which allows you not to.

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 wade through any weather-related issues.

You're fired!

Watching the recent Apprentice final got me thinking: How many bosses dream of adopting Lord Sugar’s approach to sacking staff with just the point of a finger? 

This fast-track firing could become a reality for some, if the Government’s proposal for compensated ‘no-fault’ dismissals in small businesses with less than 10 employees goes ahead. 

The scheme, advocated by government advisor Adrian Beecroft, would mean that small employers could dismiss employees quickly by offering them a set amount of compensation.  Despite the label, ‘no-fault’ dismissals offer an obvious way out for small employers struggling to manage poor performance without the resources for lengthy dismissal processes.

It is certainly true that within the current legal framework, it is hard work and ultimately very difficult to dismiss employees, even if they are not performing.  So these measures are aimed at helping employers to get over their fears of taking on a new employee and then being stuck with them.

Clearly, as Vince Cable and other critics have pointed out, the whole thing could be seen as an excuse for poor management practice and an erosion of the employment rights built up by previous governments. But maybe after a decade or more of new employment legislation promoting employee rights, it is time for a swing back in favour of the employer? 

After all, these employees would still be able to bring claims for discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 and automatic unfair dismissal under the Employment Rights Act 1996. 

In fact, rather than chipping away at employee rights, the new system may do little more than create legislation around the current practice of dismissing with compensation through “without prejudice” conversations and compromise agreements.   

Far from creating the ‘simpler, quicker and clearer’ dismissal process sought by the coalition government, could the introduction of no-fault dismissals will further muddy the waters of employment legislation? Creating a different set of rules for smaller businesses who are already struggling to keep on top of a raft of legislation and employment duties may have an adverse effect.    

The fantasy of pointing your finger and saying ‘you’re fired!’ is still a long way from reality.

The London Olympics: are you prepared?!

Dates

Olympic Games – 27th July to 12th August
Paralympics – 29th August to 9th September

Many organisations across the UK, not based in London, think that they will not be affected. Think again. Employees might have won tickets in the lottery and want time off to see them; they might have signed up as a volunteer and been chosen; they might simply want to watch the Games from home.

One of the key issues for organisations is attendance; maintaining an adequate staff presence during the course of the Olympics. The Olympics falls during school holidays which poses a challenge for employers as many parents will need to take holidays over that time. Yet other staff, without children, may well wish to take their annual leave during this time to enjoy the Games.

Most organisations will have in their employee handbooks information about how much notice employees have to give to book holidays. However, if you do not have this information, then at a minimum, employees need to give double the time they are asking for off as the acceptable notice period to their employers.

There is no obligation on employers to give time off to staff over the course of the Olympics. If the business already has employees off at that time then the employer can refuse the time off.

You may want to consider how you can utilise the Olympics as a tool for employee engagement. Could you hold competitions or incentives relating to the games?

One of the problems with refusing holiday is that many employees will simply phone in sick. So a robust sickness absence monitoring policy and procedure is vital. We recommend using the Bradford Index as a tool to help you monitor sickness absence coupled with issuing sanctions if the employee’s sickness absence levels are not at an adequate level. Sanctions could be warnings or if you pay discretionary sick pay, you can also limit any payments to just statutory sick pay. Make sure you speak to an advisor at The HR Experts first before imposing any sanctions or you may leave yourself at risk as there are procedures you have to follow before issuing the sanctions.

You could also look at other ways of minimising the risk of absence. Provided you have adequate cover at key times, would it be possible to locate a television in the staff canteen; allow the radio to be on; or grant additional flexi time or time off in lieu arrangements for the period?

For organisations based in London they have the added problem of commuting challenges. If this is a problem then some organisations may want to consider asking staff to work remotely or from home over certain periods of time.

Businesses should be proactive and pre-plan. Investigate the dates, times and locations of events that could potentially have an effect on them. Be flexible in your approach and clearly communicate to your employees.

And finally, for those organisations in industries such as hospitality, or suppliers to the Games, you have a right to impose a suspension on staff taking time off during this period.

Sharon Swift
The HR Experts

Bullying and Harassment

With employeees becoming increasingly litigious, the reasons to tackle bullying and harassment are not only moral, they are about mitigating financial and PR risks too. In an ideal world everyone would be treated with dignity and respect in the workplace, but sadly that is far from the case.

Almost 20 years after Stephen Lawrence was murdered, another public body has been accused of "institutionalised racism", this time for treatment of its workers. Central Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust has been told to pay £933,115 in damages to a manager sacked after raising a grievance about the way he was treated. What is more, the Unite union has rasied concerns about the organisation's practices: while 25% of employees dismissed for wrongdoing are black, they make up just 2% of the total workforce.

So, what can organisations do to prevent such situations arising? There is a two-pronged attack:

- Having clear policies and procedures in place, and
- Measuring and reporting on key HR data

Policies and Procedures

This is not about having a written document tucked away in a handbook that no-one reads. It means having a clearly communicated approach that all employees and managers are aware of. Policies are designed to set out an organisation's position and principles on a given matter and procedures should detail the steps that are taken when an issue arises. By conveying these messages and ensuring they are implemented in practice, emmployers can help to prevent bullying and harassment in the workplace.

- Dignity at Work
Equal opportunities should feature highly on the list. This will help to ensure that everyone understands what groups and characteristics are protected in law, what activities are unacceptable and how to ensure that people are treated fairly and consistently. It is key to help people within the organisation understand what is meant by bullying and harassment by explaining what is expected and what can be done. Whilst people are aware that physical bullying is unacceptable, the mental effects of bullying can be more difficult to define. This can include spreading rumours or gossip, being unfairly critical and ridiculing or undermining behaviour. Therefore it can be helpful to incorporate such information in a dignity at work policy.

- Health and Safety
All employers have a responsibility for the health and safety for their workers and the organisation is liable for failure to meet these requirements. Managing stress at work, as part of a wider health and safety policy, can help to ensure that the effects of bullying and harassment are managed and individuals are adequately supported. This can form part of a wider strategy on employee well-being, ensuring that the workplace supports physical and mental fitness. Having employees with a good state of general health is good for the individual and for business performance.

- Open Door
Open door policies help to ensure that employees feel able to approach any manager (not necessarily just their line manager) when they have problem. By encouraging managers to be approachable, employers can help ensure that matters do not escalate but are nipped in the bud early on before they become too serious. Sometimes, just a listening ear can help matters. This can also go some way towards ensuring that matters of wrongdoing and malpractice are dealt with internally without employees having to make a public disclosure.

- Grievance
Finally, a clear grievance policy and procedure can ensure that employers listen to employees concerns and take action where necessary. This can help prevent recourse to employment tribunal and ensure that organisations are meeting statutory obligations towards employees. Further information can be found about this from ACAS.

Measuring and Reporting HR Data

As identified in the recent case between Elliot Browne and Central Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, there was statistical evidence which demonstrated that there is a problem within the organisation. If someone had flagged that there was correlation between black employees and dismissals, action could have been taken to re-educate both employees and managers and address organisational culture.

By measuring key criteria it becomes possible to track workforce satisfaction, compliance, turnover and absence levels. Likewise it is helpful to cross reference these indicators to see if they are consistent across different groups of workers; according to any protected characteristics they may have and in different teams. This will allow the organisation to address potential risks and try to address the culture in those areas.

Pitfalls and Positives

One of the common pitfalls employers fall into is thinking that bullying is not an issue in their organisaton. Unfortunately, bullying can still be a taboo subject and simply not talking about it can mean that organisations don't become aware of a problem until it's too late.

By ensuring employees know what bullying is, and explaining the organisation's approach to tackle go a long way towards preventing issues. This helps to protect the employer from potential claims at Tribunal, and reduce impact on productivity, turnover and absence.