Reactive HR or Proactive HR?

Sometimes issues occur within businesses that require a quick but thorough response.  These issues include but are not limited to; discipline and grievance, high absence levels or long term absence, and unforeseen or unexpected events within the business such as a sudden impact on cash flow, that requires immediate action affecting staff.  

Reactive HR doesn’t need to be seen as negative, and when managed professionally, can actually be regarded as a positive solution.  This is because the staff within your business can see things being taken seriously straight away and issues being addressed before they become unwieldy. 

When implementing a reactive HR culture you are literally reacting to events and dealing with them as they occur rather than planning for them before they happen.  This type of ‘fire-fighting’ is an aspect of all HR Management but one that is prominent in some companies more than others.  Unfortunately if it is the only strategy for HR it can be a constant and tiring uphill struggle to keep on top of day to day HR Management.

We will never remove the need for occasional ‘reactive HR’ management, but we believe this should be secondary to the benefits of a proactive HR approach.

Proactive HR management requires planning and forethought to reduce risk to the business and encourage sustainability and growth.

Having a clearly defined and positive HR culture within your business can significantly increase employee engagement, morale and motivation, whilst substantially reducing absence and staff turnover.  A positive HR culture graduates from good communication throughout the organisation, a people and performance management strategy that links to the overall business plan, providing the means to implement efficiencies that drive high performing teams.

The clearly defined strategy sets out your expectations as an organisation from ground roots up to Board level.  A company that embraces a proactive HR approach will have policies and procedures in place that address all areas of HR as well as how to deal with emergency or crisis situations.  They will have spent time educating their managers and staff about their values and culture.

Being proactive with HR allows you the time (and money) you would have spent ‘fire-fighting’ to make improvements to your overall HR strategy and branding, terms and conditions.  In this economic climate, anything that makes your business positively stand out from the crowd has to be good for attracting new staff and retaining the ones you have.

www.hrresponse.co.uk
 

We’ve Achieved ISO 9001:2008

Well, it’s been a few jumps through a few hoops to gain our certification, but we didn’t do it just for the badge. We did it to fine tune what we already provide; a quality HR management service.

First and foremost, before we get into the world of managing the quality of our service, HR Response was set up to solve employment problems on behalf of the employer. That’s exactly what we do, whether it’s working proactively to set the ground rules, or reactively to address workplace disputes.

We’ve been providing HR support and advice for over 12 years and during that time we’ve developed a system of working that really does ensure all aspects of what we do are quality driven. Setting out our system in writing has been like reinforcing the foundations for all elements of our service, which has been an interesting and focussing project. Putting down on paper what we naturally and automatically have become accustomed to doing hasn’t been easy.

Our quality management system is designed to look after the client from initial contact through to completed project without being over cumbersome or filling in forms for filling in forms sake.

So, what should the client expect when working with us?

Following initial contact, we will provide a clearly itemised quote, and project plan if appropriate. If the quote is agreed, we will ask the client to sign and return a consultancy agreement which sets out both client and consultant expectations. We will then deliver the project to plan (or revised plan if necessary) keeping the client appraised of progress along the way, and finalising the project with an evaluation report or customer feedback request.

Need to know more? Please visit our website; www.hrresponse.co.uk

Marmite Contracts?

Zero hour contracts are a bit like marmite… you either love them or hate them! Personally, I like them as they offer flexibility on both sides. Sometimes it is difficult to know exactly how many hours per week you can commit to when you have a new role; especially significant for small businesses just embarking on employing their first one or two people. The last thing they want to do is employ someone on more hours than affordable when you really don’t know if the level of business is going to remain the same, increase, or even decrease.

As a HR Consultant I have come across businesses where these contracts are not being used correctly, and other businesses that have skilfully embraced the flexibility zero hour contracts bring. The really shouldn’t be used to ‘control’ the employee by not allowing them to work anywhere else or demanding the person is available seven days a week (even if they are only actually used for 2 or 3 of those days).

There are some scenarios where zero hour contracts are a clear benefit. For example; domiciliary care organisations may not be able to guarantee working hours for all staff as rotas for home visits change at short notice. They rely on casual staff to fill gaps created by the changing needs of their clients. Zero hour contracts can also be good for students, as they provide the flexibility needed for working around lectures and work placements, helping them to support themselves financially through their studies.

Unfortunately, there are organisations that do not apply a holiday entitlement calculation, significantly reduce other benefits for those on zero hour contracts compared to their full time staff, and put unfair restrictions on the employee concerned so they can’t work elsewhere. This is clearly disadvantaging those who would otherwise prefer to be on a zero hour contract.

There are many pros and cons to the zero hour contract and its possible the benefit of the flexibility of these contracts has been lost along the way during the current debates. There would seem to be a case for keeping them available to both employers and employees, but they must be applied fairly.

So what’s the answer? I don’t believe we need more legislation or regulation regarding the management of zero hour contracts as we already have a robust system that determines what is fair and unfair in the world of employment. However, I do believe sensible, realistic guidance and training in the use of zero hour contracts is an absolute must. As employers, we have a duty to protect our employees from exploitation or unfair treatment, but at the same time deliver the working patterns our businesses need in order to thrive and grow.

www.hrresponse.co.uk
by Sarah Daniels, Managing Director, HR Response Ltd

The New Health and Work Service

Did you know that between September 2010 and October 2013 around 960,000 employees were on sick leave for a month or more? Clearly this puts a huge dent in the pockets of employers, the employee, and the Government in lost productivity, lost earnings, and lost tax/NI contributions, respectfully.

However, the Government has a plan, and will be rolling out a new Health and Work Service across the UK between now and April 2015, using money saved by no longer reimbursing employers for the payment of Statutory Sick Pay.

The new service is intended to encourage employees back to work using an Occupational Health assessment approach. This will be managed by Health Management Limited in England and Wales, and by the Scottish Government in Scotland.

Therefore, once an employee has reached or is expected to reach 4 weeks sickness absence, their GP will refer them to the Health and Work Service for an assessment, where appropriate to do so. It is envisaged that a resulting return to work plan will then be shared by the service with the GP and the individual’s employer.

One of the biggest issues for employers when their employees are on long term sick leave is getting accurate and timely information and advice on how to manage and/or address the situation. It is unclear whether this new Health and Work Service will significantly reduce this gap in communication between the three parties; employer, employee, and the GP.

Currently, employers can only approach a GP for information with the employee’s consent, and this is unlikely to change. Therefore, unless the employee is forthcoming regarding  a referral their GP may have made to the Health and Work Service, or gives permission for the employer to contact their GP, it is unlikely the employer will be made aware of the status of any potential referral. It is also unclear how any potential return to work plan will be communicated with employers, or whether the employer will be contacted prior to the plan being created so that it can contribute in terms of the employee’s job role, responsibilities, working environment, and what reasonable adjustments could be made (and what adjustments would be regarded as unrealistic). As a HR Consultancy we are very aware that the management of long term sick cases are different for individual businesses.

This change in the Government’s approach to  help manage long term sickness highlights the ever increasing need for employers, whatever their size, to ensure they have robust and clearly communicated sickness absence policies in place.

If you need assistance in addressing long term sickness absence, or in drafting an appropriate policy, please contact HR Response Ltd: 0115 9728708 or email sarah@hrresponse.co.uk

Managing employees through the world cup

The sun is shining, its officially summer, and we have the world cup nearly upon us.  Do you have plans in place for dealing with requests for time off, or ‘unexpected absenteeism’?

ACAS have just published their guidelines for employers, which sensibly centres around communication and flexibility.

I remember working in a large corporate business during the 1998 world cup tournament.  England matches played during the day were shown on a big screen in the board room and people could drop in and out or stay for the full match.  The atmosphere was great, and whilst I wouldn’t class myself as a football fan, I do quite like the world cup.

It’s not always possible to be flexible with working time to allow staff to watch matches, but here’s some ideas:

• Offer an early start/early finish on the relevant match day
• Allow the use of holiday, if possible
• Provide live commentary on a radio/over a tannoy system
• Bring a television to work, or show the matches on a big screen (projectors come into their own for this)
• Make the matches a social event by laying on food/nibbles etc.
• Get information up front regarding who especially wants to see a match, and who’s not particularly bothered; that way you might be able to swap some shifts/hours around to accommodate those who want to view the matches

There are some considerations to make though.  If you are showing the matches via television, you must remember to get a T.V. Licence for your business address.  If you are using radio for commentary, you may need a PRS Licence.

Dates for your diary for the first round England matches are; 

• Saturday 14th June at 23:00 GMT
• Thursday 19th June at 20:00 GMT
• Tuesday 24th June at 17:00 GMT

Further match dates/UK times can be found at http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/fixtures

Please bear in mind not all your staff will want to watch the England matches, but matches associated with their home country, so be aware of other primary dates and treat all staff the same.

With regard to ‘unexpected’ absenteeism, I am aware that some organisations have already taken the stance that if staff are off sick the day after match, they will need to produce a Dr’s certificate and failure to do so may result in disciplinary action. 

Personally, I think employers should avoid using disciplinary action as far as possible for world cup absenteeism, unless of course there is a blatant disregard of prior instruction.

My final note of caution is regarding alcohol.  If you allow your staff to drink alcohol whilst watching matches at work, you as the employer could hold some liability should anything untoward happen whilst your employee(s) was allowed to drink alcohol (such as aggressive behaviour or accidents etc.), and please remember; staff may have to drive home after work, therefore you should ensure your staff can get home safely if you have allowed them to drink alcohol on your premises.  In my mind, I don’t think it’s worth the risk!

Most of all, I think this is a time to relax, have fun, and enjoy the tournament for whatever it brings.

Holiday pay - Case law

With recent case law stating that employees holiday pay should reflect their ‘overtime hours’ there is a need for employers to assess the way in which they meet demands.

 

The only real reason for overtime is so that extra ordinary demands on the business can be met, therefore, if employees are working regular overtime hours, there may be a need to review the future staffing structure, whether on a temporary or permanent basis. In fact, employers could save money on wages by introducing changes to working hours, i.e. shift patterns, or simply rewarding extra hours in a different way rather than providing overtime pay.

 

What the case law says

A recent decision made by a Judge in the case of ‘Neal v Freightliner’ (2013) to grant a claim for unlawful deductions from wages suggests that the UK is moving closer to being in line with European working time laws that states holiday pay should be calculated with reference to both basic pay and any other pay “intrinsically linked” to the work, such as overtime.

With the tribunal being upheld, there is now a need for employers to seriously consider calculating employee holiday pay in accordance with an average of their remunerations in the twelve weeks leading up to any holiday time taken.

The decision was based on the fact that overall, employers are in control as to how much overtime their employees work, whether voluntary or not, ultimately disregarding any belief that employees would be able to take advantage of the situation.

What about commission and bonus payments?
A recent decision by The European Court of Justice has also turned holiday pay on its head by stating that employers must also include commission when calculating holiday pay.  This stems from a case against British Gas where an employee claimed he could not take all of his holiday entitlement because this would leave him financially disadvantaged.  Commission in this case made up to 60% of his annual salary.  Currently this case has been returned to the Employment Tribunal, for them to decide how this calculation should be made.

How will this affect employers?
These cases highlight the need for employers to ensure their employee documents are sufficiently up-to-date, and reflect the real needs of the business. Employers should take the necessary steps to make sure they have full control over employee overtime arrangements, thus protecting themselves against the possibility of employees taking advantage or manipulating the situation to gain a higher level of holiday pay.

As well as reviewing documents, employers may want to look into other ways of rewarding the hours worked by employees and finding the way that works best for them and their work demands. This could possibly include the introduction of incentives, bonuses or even time back in lieu of hours worked in excess of their normal working week. Employers may even decide to set a pay rate for holiday in advance for certain roles where this may fluctuate throughout the year. However, employers must bear in mind that any fundamental changes to terms and conditions of employment cannot be unilaterally enforced, and must be introduced via a meaningful consultation process.

Flexible Working

Working patterns have been subject to constant change over previous years, as businesses are forced to adapt their way of working to fit in with ever changing demands from clients and other parties. One such imminent change is with the rules for applying to work flexibly.

Flexible working is when an employer grants an employee the right to change their hours of work. The nature of flexible working given to an employee may vary considerably including: part-time working, flexi-time, job-sharing, term-time working, staggered hours, compressed working hours, annual hours, shift-working or even working from home.

Up to 30^th June 2014 an employee will only be able to apply to work flexibly if they have a child under the age of 17 (18 if disabled) or if they are the registered carer for a child or adult. However, from 30^th June 2014, all employees will have the right to apply for flexible working, regardless of their caring responsibilities. The changes are outlined in below.

Up to 30^th June 2014

• An employee may apply for flexible working as long and they have a child under the age of 17 (18 if disabled) or are the registered carer of a child or adult, and providing they have 26 weeks continuous employment with the company.
• Following receipt of a flexible working application, the company has 28 days in which to hold a meeting with the employee
• The employee must be notified of the decision, in writing, with 14 days of the meeting.
• The employee has 14 days in which to appeal the decision made.
• A request for flexible working may be denied if the reason for refusal falls within one of the ‘accepted reasons’.

From 30^th June 2014

• All employees will have the right to apply for flexible working, regardless whether they have caring responsibilities, providing they have 26 weeks continuous employment with the company.
• The employee has to be notified of the decision within 28 days of the meeting.
• The employer has a legal obligation to provide a valid reason for rejecting any request.
• The employee does not have the right to appeal the decision made. However, it is best practice to allow at least 5 days in which to appeal in writing.

Benefits to the business

• Whilst it may be thought the immediate benefits to the business for granting flexible working may be very limited, there are in fact a range of such benefits including:
• Employees feel more respected/valued
• A lower staff turnover
• Employees may be more inclined to work harder as a result of feeling more appreciated by the company and possibly less stressed as a result of the changes in their work pattern

Predicted implications for businesses

Given that the UK economy is strengthening and people are strongly being encouraged to setup their own businesses, employees may well want to request flexible working hours in the form of reduced hours in order to enable them to work on a new business. This raises a number of issues for employers in terms of confidentiality, restrictive covenant and intellectual property. Hence, there may be the need for companies to review employee contracts in order to protect intellectual property, and the business they have with their clients.

A second scenario may be that as a result of potential increased applications for flexible working, more tribunals may occur, especially if employees do not have an opportunity to appeal a decision.  It is therefore in the best interest of the employer to try and resolve disputes or disagreements internally, rather than allowing a situation to escalate to tribunal level. It is worth noting; an employee does not have to leave their employment in order to raise a tribunal case.

Overall, to reduce the impact these changes may have upon their business, employers should be encouraged to review and amend their policies and contracts in line with the change in legislation.