Public Sector Strikes to cause disruption to UK SME businesses yet again
25th November 2011
Millions of public sector employees will participate in a mass strike on Wednesday 30th November 2011. The public sector workers are striking over changes to public sector pensions. Earlier this year we saw the National Union of Teachers and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers striking in June, but Wednesdays planned mass public sector strike will cause disruption across multiple public sector services including hospitals, transport and education.
Should schools close, employers could be faced with staffing issues when employees are unable to work due to a lack of childcare. A reduction in staff can considerably impact the SME businesses productivity and add additional pressure to the whole team.
Lindsay Hill, Chief Executive at Employment Law specialists Citation plc said “Employers should encourage employees to think ahead and to be proactive about looking at alternative childcare arrangements including asking relatives, friends or nurseries to care for children if schools close.”
“Employers could also consider allowing employees to take their holiday entitlement, look at the possibility of the employee working from home or agreeing time off that can be worked back at a later date”.
Ultimately, if none of the above applies, then employees have a legal right to take a reasonable amount of unpaid time off to cope with an emergency involving a dependant.
Citation’s Employment Law Consultants and 24/7 Helpline advisors support clients throughout any Employment Law process, providing advice and guidance at all stages. If you are worried that your business is not properly conforming to current employment law, then a Citation employment law Consultant can help.
Operating throughout the UK since 1995, Citation provides professional advice and compliance packages to business clients. Independently endorsed at the highest level its market leading services provide guaranteed protection in the high risk areas of employment law and health & safety regulations.
back to top
Agency Workers Regulations, what’s the ‘Swedish Derogation’ – is it a way round the Regulations?
24th November 2011
Yes and no! Under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 an agency worker is entitled, after 12 weeks’ service on an assignment, to the same basic pay and conditions as the equivalent end-users’ employees.
However, there is a derogation under Regulation 10 (referred to as ‘the Swedish Derogation’) that allows an agency to opt-out of ‘the same basic pay’ rule (they still have to give the same basic conditions), but there’s a catch!
Briefly, the Regulation 10 requirements are that the agency worker must be employed by the agency under a permanent contract of employment (instead of an ‘as-and-when’ contract); the agency worker must be paid half-pay and at least the National Minimum Wage when there is no suitable work; and the agency must give at least four weeks’ notice to terminate the employment contract. Finally, it’s the agency worker’s choice as to whether or not they accept a ‘Regulation 10 contract’.
If an agency worker has the opportunity to take a long-term position with an end-user, they might be prepared to accept a Regulation 10 contract (with lower earnings than they might otherwise have had) in exchange for longer-term security.
back to top
Have a Safe & Healthy workplace over Christmas - What Employers can do over the festive season
22nd November 2011
Although this is a traditional time of year for enjoyment and celebration, employers need to take extra care in dealing with hazards created by workplace related festivities.
Hazards that may arise include: -
- fire caused by poor quality electrical items, e.g. festive lights on Christmas tree
- falls from chairs or tables when decorating offices and trees
- alcohol related incidents, e.g. violence, vehicle accidents.
By implementing some simple procedures, risk of harm or damage can be minimised, for example:
- for work related parties, ensure that suitable arrangements are in place to control alcohol consumption and that employees have arranged safe means of transport for after the event
- ensure that all portable electrical items brought onto the premises are inspected and tested, where relevant
- turn electrical items off when not in use
- follow manufacturer’s guidance for using electrical items
- keep decorations away from hot surfaces e.g. light bulbs, heaters
- use good working at height practices and suitable access equipment when putting up decorations, lights, etc.
- ensure that celebrations do not affect the safety performance of employees undertaking their work activities.
Citation has found a common concern for employers at this time of year is around the company Christmas party. Many businesses organise a company Christmas party, however some employers are concerned about a small minority of employees who may behave inappropriately at such social events.
Lindsay Hill, Chief Executive of Citation plc says:
“In general, employees attending employer-organised Christmas parties are doing so “in the course of their employment”, so employers have some liability for their employees’ actions and welfare when they are attending these functions.
“Putting aside the obvious health & safety issues, the more boisterous the party, the more likely it is that things could go wrong; and the more you’ve done to help make it boisterous – a free bar, themed it ‘devils and tarts’, etc. – the more responsible you’re likely to be if it does go wrong.
“My number one advice is don’t have a free bar. Either mingle and try to buy each of your employees a drink, or arrange to have bar tickets – one ticket, one drink – and issue each employee with a couple of tickets. If you must theme the evening, don’t make the theme provocative – stick to ‘back to the 70s’, or ‘country and western’, etc. Think about designating some senior members of staff to be ‘alcohol free’, so that they can deal sensibly with any unacceptable behaviour.
“Employers also need to think about the steps they can take to help employees to get home safely, such as organising a coach or mini-bus, making sure that no-one will be walking home alone, or having a phone list of local taxis available.
“Finally, because employees are attending “in the course of their employment”, the employment laws concerning discrimination and harassment still apply, so there’s no harm in gently reminding employees that they too have responsibilities and that they are expected to comply with the company’s discrimination and harassment policies and to behave in an acceptable manner.”
back to top
What are the correct procedures to follow when recruiting and selecting new employees?
16th November 2011
The first thing to remember is that the discrimination laws apply from recruitment onwards, so ‘Barmaid wanted’ adverts are out! Be careful where and how you advertise and what you say. In the advertising world, “nimble-fingered” means “female” (sex discrimination), “youthful enthusiasm” means “young” (age discrimination), etc.
Unless you’re going to interview every applicant, you’ll need to sift them to create an interview short-list. The best way to do this is to have all applicants complete an application form. This way you get the information from applicants that you need to know, instead of the CV information that applicants would prefer you to know. Don’t ask discriminatory questions on the application form, but don’t get too hung-up about it either. Just because Janet is likely to be female and John is probably male doesn’t mean you can’t ask for their name!
Interviewing and selecting from the short-list is the final stage. An interview isn’t a chat; it’s probably your only chance to drill-down to the basics to find the person you’re looking for. The atmosphere for the interview should be quiet, relaxed and uninterrupted, and special consideration might need to be given to disabled applicants, such as changing the lighting to make lip-reading easier.
Interview questions should be structured to help assess how closely the candidate matches your requirements and it goes without saying that questions should be open-ended and require more than just a “Yes/No” answer. An ‘interview checklist’ can be useful in helping to structure the questions and give a general assessment of each candidate. At the end of the interviewing the interview checklists act as a reminder of each applicant’s strengths and weaknesses and help you to decide on who should be offered the job.
Good luck, and remember – the discrimination laws apply throughout the recruitment process.
back to top
Simple Steps to Managing Sickness and Absence in the Workplace
14th November 2011
In a recent poll of SME business owners by Citation plc, sickness and absence from work are the issues that most worry them.
21% of those polled believed that sickness and other unauthorised absence had the biggest impact on their business, bigger than disciplinary issues, grievances, redundancy and the economy.
To reduce the impact of sickness and absence on your business download our Expert Guide on Managing Sickness which contains a wealth of useful information.
http://www.citation.co.uk/free-guides
back to top
What’s the ‘Swedish Derogation’ – is it a way round the Agency Worker Regulations 2010?
11th November 2011
Under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 an agency worker is entitled, after 12 weeks’ service on an assignment, to the same basic pay and conditions as the equivalent end-users’ employees.
However, there is a derogation under Regulation 10 (referred to as ‘the Swedish Derogation’) that allows an agency to opt-out of ‘the same basic pay’ rule (they still have to give the same basic conditions), but there’s a catch!
Briefly, the Regulation 10 requirements are that the agency worker must be employed by the agency under a permanent contract of employment (instead of an ‘as-and-when’ contract); the agency worker must be paid half-pay and at least the National Minimum Wage when there is no suitable work; and the agency must give at least four weeks’ notice to terminate the employment contract. Finally, it’s the agency worker’s choice as to whether or not they accept a ‘Regulation 10 contract’.
If an agency worker has the opportunity to take a long-term position with an end-user, they might be prepared to accept a Regulation 10 contract (with lower earnings than they might otherwise have had) in exchange for longer-term security.
back to top