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. 

Performance Reviews

How often do you meet with your employees to discuss their performance? Is it not often enough? Unfortunately this is a common realisation among Managers, who then have performance issue with members of their team.

If you don’t have a regular performance review with your employees, you are not reinforcing the performance standards that they should be working towards; and sometimes standards start to slip.

Not only do performance reviews help to improve the standard of performance, they can also help to motivate your staff. By discussing the areas they are good at, and areas where they are exceeding expectations, your employees will feel much more valued and appreciated.

The performance review should also give you a chance to discuss any training that the employee might want to carry out, or any courses you would like to send them on; this again will help them feel like they are ‘safe and secure’ as you are willing to develop their skills and the company will benefit from a more skilled and settled workforce.

Following performance reviews Managers should be able to identify any progression that employees are ready to make in the company, and/or areas that they are best suited within the company. Managers should be also able to see if the current salary/benefits the employee receives are in line with their capability/performance in their current job role at the company. However, on occasions the performance review might highlight specific areas for improvement and/or areas that aren't currently utilised.

In short, the performance review should be a positive experience for both employee and manager; with any shortcomings having already been addressed/discussed away from the performance development review meeting.

Should you want more information about how to conduct performance reviews or create/update performance documents, please contact us at info@hrresponse.co.uk or on 0115 9728708.