The Health and Safety (offences) Act 2008
February 13, 2009
On 16th January, the Health and Safety (offences) Act 2008 came into force. This is an amendment to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and covers the sentences that might be issued if a company/individual is found to have breached the law, which include prison sentences.
Under the 1974 Act, employers have a duty to manage the risks in the workplace to employees and other people affected by the business (visitors, customers etc), and it is an offence to breach this duty. Previously this offence only carried a financial penalty, however now the courts have wider powers including larger fines and prison sentences of up to 12 months (Magistrates Court) or up to 2 years (Crown Court).
The reason for this change in the law is that there are still thousands of accidents and injuries in the workplace that could be avoided with good health and safety awareness, but the numbers keep increasing. In 2007/2008, over 200 people were killed at work, and there were over half a million new cases of people suffering illnesses that were caused or made worse by the workplace.
Many injuries are caused by slips and trips, due to things like poorly designed or laid out office furniture, filing cabinet drawers left open or wet floors with no warning sign. Some of the more serious injuries are caused by poorly maintained machinery or unsafe practices when operating them. Whatever the industry, all companies should pay attention to health and safety issues, whether it is a display screen equipment (DSE) assessment at an employee’s desk, or providing the correct clothing or equipment for employees working on a site or plant.
The Health and Safety Executive has a great deal of information on getting started in health and safety issues and how to deal with accidents and incidents. Many companies also buy in the services of an external consultant to assess the risks in the workplace and help manage them; and with fines of up to £20,000 for breaches of the law, it’s probably a small price to pay to make sure your employees are safe at work.
ECJ ruling ends dispute over holidays on long term sick
February 3, 2009
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) made a ruling at the end of last month that will end years of debate over whether staff who are on long term sickness absence should continue to accrue holidays and then be entitled to them at the end of their sick leave.
The right to a minimum amount of paid leave (which will increase to 20 days plus bank holidays in April) is part of the Working Time Directive (1998), and the ECJ ruling found that this right remains even when the employee has been absent through sickness for a long time:
“A worker does not lose his right to paid annual leave which he has been unable to exercise because of sickness. He must be compensated for his annual leave not taken”
This news has been taken badly by many employers and business groups, because of the added expense this ruling is likely to mean, especially in the current economic circumstances. It means that an employee will be entitled to take the accrued annual leave after the end of their sick leave, no matter how long this period is – which will mean issues with providing cover for extended leave requests and effectively integrating the employee back into work. In many cases employees on long term sickness absence do not return to work at all, and in this case the employee would be entitled to a lump sum payment of their outstanding accrued holidays when their employment is eventually terminated.
What this means for HR departments is that they will need to review their policies and handbooks to ensure the new rules are incorporated into the wording. Many current policies will give a maximum length of sick leave during which an employee may accrue annual leave (e.g. 6 or 12 months) and this will therefore need to be taken out. Many companies have a policy that states that employees on long term sick will continue to accrue the statutory minimum amount of holidays, but will not be entitled to accrue their additional company holidays (if they have an enhanced number of days) after a certain period. It is my understanding that this type of policy will still be legal after the ECJ ruling – as long as the employee accrues the legal minimum amount of holidays whilst they are on long term sick. It might therefore be prudent to add this into the policy when changing it, so that the company is not liable to pay even more annual leave that has been accrued by the employee if they are entitled to an enhanced amount of days when they are in work.
When does capability kick in?
January 30, 2009
A friend of mine is in a tricky position at work, and when he was describing it to me the other day, it got me thinking as it’s quite an interesting situation from a HR point of view.
My friend is a project manager, and therefore oversees jobs, delegating work to people in his team and ensuring the different tasks are completed on time and in budget. The projects have very specified fees, and time spent on a project is costed to that project through a project management system that logs timesheets and project codes. Therefore work has to be efficiently completed to enable projects to be completed within the budgets allocated.
This is all really straightforward stuff, but what happens when you have a situation with an employee who is perhaps not able to complete works in the most efficient manner because of an illness or disability? In my friend’s case, one of the employees that had been allocated to his project suffered a stroke a few years ago, and as a result has not worked as fast as he was previously able to since then, and struggles to pick up new skills and knowledge. Therefore the tasks my friend allocates to this employee cannot be completed as quickly or effectively as was perhaps quoted, yet the employee’s time still needs to be allocated to the project so that the company can charge for him and pay his salary.
So my friend is in a quandary: on the one hand the company wants to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ so that the employee is able to continue to work, which in this case means giving him fewer tasks or more time to complete tasks, but on the other hand the project manager has to deliver the project on time and in budget, which will be seriously hindered by this employee’s capabilities. What is the answer?
I feel this case is lodged right in between the ‘reasonable adjustments’ element of disability/sickness legislation and the statutory capability procedures. Do the adjustments become ‘unreasonable’ when it involves not delivering projects within the fee and therefore losing money for the company? Should the employee be taken through capability procedures? I think it is a really interesting debate and I would be really happy to receive your feedback and ideas.
Preparing for Maternity Leave
November 19, 2008
Maternity leave has been a massive part of my job this year with a large number of employees expecting.
My to-do list has been bombarded with duties including risk assessments and processing leave dates and has left me with little time to do much else. However nice it has been, having baby shower invitations flooding in, the work that comes with it has been tough.
The increase in my workload has mainly come from ongoing risk assessments that i have had to carry out. It is my responsibility to make sure that a risk assessment is conducted for all employees. This should include specific risks to females of a childbearing age who could fall pregnant and any risks to new or expectant mothers. It is important that you liaise with the employee and ask them for any information that has been received from their doctor/midwife that could impact on the assessment.
Some of the common risks i have come across are:
- Carrying/lifting of heavy loads
- Work-related stress
- Long working hours
- Workstations and posture
As a number of people are taking maternity leave at around the same time, i have had to pan temporary cover too. This has been time consuming, although, it has been made a little easier with the increase in redundancies which has resulted in an increase in candidates looking for work.
Are you in the same boat and are having to deal with a number of employees taking maternity leave? If so, i would be interested to hear how you are managing.
Preventative absence management
November 6, 2008
I was chatting to my friend the other day and she was having an absence problem with one of the new employees she manages. The employee had been absent through illness for around 40% of the time they had been employed, for a number of different reasons. However the employee was performing really well when they were in work, so my friend was reluctant to dismiss them, even though they were in the very first stages of their probationary period.
My friend was convinced that the problem with the employee was that they did not look after themselves properly. The person had been told by the doctor that they had a low immune system and this was probably contributing to their seemingly endless stream of chest and throat infections, but my friend knew the employee was out partying most weekends and could see their poor diet every day in the office.
I think this is a really interesting subject, and there has been a lot of coverage in the HR world about well-being and wellness as an alternative and proactive approach to sickness absence management, as opposed to the reactive monitoring and management techniques such as return to work interviews. I found a really interesting article on the People Management website from a while back which commented that clearly the numerous new ideas that companies are implementing such as in house relaxation and healthy eating campaigns are not having a massive effect on sickness absence rates. The article suggested that as with most new policies and procedures, having something available is a world away from actually seeing habits change and policies being implemented. The key thing is encouraging employees to take responsibility for their own health and well-being, and also to give them the possibility of doing so. This means managing employees in a way that stress is reduced, they are able to take breaks when needed and are able to access refreshment when required.
The notion of ‘self-care’ in and out of the workplace is based on building individual capability and responsibility for the choices in lifestyle, diet and exercise. There are many channels through which this can be built – such as performance management structures, staff and team meetings, introducing the ideas at induction stage, and through existing communication channels such as a company intranet or notice board. This should certainly form part of return to work interviews, which is what my friend actually did with her employee. The discussion covered the employee’s lifestyle and diet habits, and how this could be affecting their health. My friend also made it clear that this was important because the employee risked losing their job due to excessive absence, and so far the discussion seems to have worked, although it’s early days yet.
Employee absence can be managed in so many different ways; some are procedural and fall into the ‘monitoring’ class of techniques. Others are more preventative, and if organisations can encourage their employees to take more responsibility for their own well-being, this is a positive addition to the range of absence management techniques already utilised. With a complex subject such as sickness absence, I think the more approaches adopted, the better the outcome will be.
Managing absence – the return to work interview
October 21, 2008
I’ve recently been asked for advice on managing sickness absence, as there seems to have been an increase in the number of days employees are taking off ill in an organisation that I provide HR support to. This is probably partly caused by the change in weather, and the fact that there are a lot of horrible bugs around at the moment, but in addition I think that the major financial turmoil many organisations are currently facing will have an effect on employee absence levels, especially in relation to ‘sickies’, i.e. those days that are taken as sick leave for less-than-genuine reasons. Apparently, of the 172 million working days lost to sick leave last year, around one in ten were caused by ‘sickies’, and I think that if we add issues with morale caused by the current difficulties and stress within organisations, as well as big changes such as large scale redundancies, this figure could be set to increase even further.
Sickness absence management has many different aspects, but one of the strongest tools for tackling it is the return to work interview. Here’s some top tips on carrying out a return to work interview:
- The approach of the interviewer should be supportive and non-judgemental. Whilst the return to work interview may help to discourage frequent ‘sickie’ takers, don’t forget that the majority of sickness absence is genuine and therefore the purpose of the interview is not to catch them out, but to ensure they are supported in returning to work.
- Collate details of all recent absences before the return to work interview, so that you can assess whether there is an ongoing issue or if the absence is a one off.
- Hold the meeting in a quiet, confidential room, where the employee can feel comfortable discussing their illness.
- Ensure the employee is informed that they have been missed, and explain any developments or actions that have taken place whilst they have been away.
- Try to conduct the interview in a positive way, with positive language. For example, asking ‘how are you feeling now?’ may be more constructive than ‘what’s been wrong with you?’
- Use open questions to gain further information and insight. Try to avoid leading questions such as ‘so you couldn’t come to work because you were being sick?’
- Find out if there are any ongoing support needs as a result of the absence, and put together an action plan to enable this to take place. If necessary, plan a further meeting to review any actions or support needs.
I think that a return to work interview should take place after every episode of absence, no matter how small. Sometimes very short periods of absence can be due to a significant ongoing problem for an employee such as underlying issues with stress or depression, and only by inviting an open conversation in a safe environment will the employer be able to find out and tackle these issues that may go unnoticed if the company has a policy of only dealing formally with longer episodes of absence.
The heat is (still) on!
October 16, 2008
You’d think given the financial climate and all the worries we’re all dealing with at the moment, the small day to day concerns in the workplace wouldn’t be seen as too important. Well think again. Just because we’re on the brink of economic meltdown, it doesn’t mean that employers can discard the smaller issues that have an effect on individuals whilst they’re at work.
For example, a while back I wrote about an employee request for air conditioning to be installed for a very hot server room. This has not been sorted out yet, and now of course there’s an issue because as with all companies, there is a big focus on cost cutting at the moment, and air conditioning installations can be very expensive. However the fact remains that failing to provide air conditioning or some sort of cooling equipment in a hot environment could pose a risk to the health and safety of any employee that is required to spend a long time in the room as part of their job. As I’ve said before, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 gives employers the responsibility to provide a safe workplace for all employees, so although there is no legislation relating to the maximum temperature an employee can work at, the effects of a hot environment should still be considered as part of the general duty of care that an employer has.
This is just a small example of how day to day issues in the workplace do not go away, even when there are major issues happening at the top or in the external environment. HR teams have a wide-reaching role of contributing to the way the organisation deals with external constraints and developments, whilst at the same time continuing to manage small workplace situations and keep the company operating as usual.
Getting the right plants for the office
October 1, 2008
A while back I wrote about the importance of office design on the working environment, and recently the subject of internal foliage has come up in conversation in relation to this. This might sound like a silly subject to think about in the grand scheme of things, but there are actually a couple of considerations when introducing plants into the office space.
Many studies have looked at the health and psychological benefits of having plants in the home or workplace. Air pollution is a big issue and having plenty of greenery around can improve the air quality within the office. There’s also the calming effect from bringing a bit of the outside in; especially as many people arrive in the building in the morning and don’t go outside again all day.
Plants or flowers can also contribute to the look and design of the office, and as I’ve said before, the look of the office says a lot to employees and customers about what the company is like to work for or work with. However it’s not as easy as simply buying a few pots to scatter around. Plants are obviously living things and have specific care needs depending on their type: some will need lots of natural light, some will dry up with too much light. Other factors such as the room temperature will also affect the life and look of the plant, and many plants are extremely messy when they shed leaves or flowers, which isn’t ideal for the office. Unless you have some very green fingered employees who have the time and commitment to look after them, or you are willing to pay for someone to come in and look after the plants on a regular basis, then having plants in the office could be more trouble than its worth! There’s also the issue that some plants might actually be harmful (e.g. cacti) and the fact that plants grow – so you might find yourself moving them on a regular basis so that you don’t end up sitting in a jungle!
One way to deal with the above issues is to get artificial office plants. Of course, this won’t give you the air pollution benefits that you’d receive with a real plant, but the cost and time saving element could well make up for this. You can get loads of artificial plants now that look very realistic, and this way you could have pretty much any variety without having to worry that it would die in the conditions or if you forget to water it. If you wanted a really smartly designed office, artificial office plants could easily be sourced to complement the rest of the design.
I personally prefer to have real plants, but I know I’m quite lazy and forgetful when it comes to looking after them, so the artificial variety could be a good option. I really think that having plants or flowers in the office helps to brighten up the place and can have a positive effect on the way employees feel about being at work, and gives the company a cheerful and pleasant image for external visitors too.
Work-life balance: more than just a place and time thing
September 20, 2008
I’ve been quite busy lately, and I think it’s been affecting my work-life balance. I’ve been working slightly longer hours, and whilst this isn’t ideal I wouldn’t say this is the main cause of the imbalance. I’m fortunate enough to work in a place where the building is opened and shut at particular times and it’s therefore not possible to be ‘at work’ excessively, and I haven’t got a blackberry or home access to the work network so I don’t suffer from the overworking issues caused by mobile technology I talked about a while back (Technology contributes to long hours syndrome: 8th May 08).
I think the real lack of work-life balance I’ve experienced lately actually relates to the stress levels experienced in work time. The increase in responsibilities and actual amount of work to do has meant that it’s become increasingly difficult to leave work at work – mentally. I’m not sleeping well and at the weekend, unless I’m actually occupying myself with things to do it’s become all too easy to start thinking about what I need to do on Monday. Just last weekend for example, I was out looking at oriental furniture with my brother for his new flat, and I couldn’t take my mind off what’s happening with what I need to speak to my boss/that manager/the recruitment consultant about. Perhaps oriental furniture is a bad example as it’s not exactly intersting enough to keep my mind occupied, but sometimes the end of the weekend comes around and I feel as though I’ve not really left the office.
I’m convinced this is a problem many people could identify with, and it’s something organisations need to seriously consider, because an overworked and stressed out workforce is anti-successful in every way. Work-life balance is now an important area of concern for employees, and many organisations are looking into a variety of ways of getting the best out of their staff whilst meeting their personal and family related needs, such as flexitime or home working,but it’s no good having these schemes in place if issues of workload, job design, support and planning leave people feeling more exhausted than ever. At the end of the day, if you can’t let go of ‘work’ when you should be in ‘life’ mode, then you’re still ‘at work’, and where’s the balance in that?
Hopefully my situation is only short term, but I imagine there’s a lot of people for whom this is not the case. Does this sound like you? Or do you know people in your organisation to whom my description above applies? What do you think should be done about it?
The canine contribution to the workplace!
September 15, 2008
This Wednesday (17th September 08) is ‘take your dog to work day’, an annual event organised by the Blue Cross to promote ‘responsible pet ownership’ by encouraging dog owners to spend more time with their beloved pooches, and also to raise money for the animal welfare charity.
This is something that seems to have become quite popular, and allowing employees to bring pets to work is apparently quite a big thing in the States, which I’m quite surprised about with the prominent litigation/claim culture that has developed there.
Many people promote the wellbeing benefits of having pets at work, for example a survey carried out by the Blue Cross a while back found that 90% of respondents that allowed pets in the workplace reported a positive impact on staff morale. I however remain sceptical about the benefits of this type of scheme versus the obvious risks, but to be fair I’m not a pet owner so having a dog sniffing around my desk all day isn’t my idea of fun, and imagine it would only provide another distraction in a day that’s got enough of them already (i.e. employees!)
Another big issue that I can’t quite see past is the possible health and safety risks of such a scheme, for example how do you protect employees who have animal allergies? Also, any less than perfectly behaved pets would surely give cause for concern in this regard? And what would happen if one of the dogs fancied himself as a bit of a stud dog?
This poses the question of how you would ensure only well behaved pets were allowed to work – the Blue Cross gives guidelines on ‘pettiquete’, but the difficulties of ensuring good behaviour, to me is just another obstacle for such a scheme. One quite famous example of a ‘pet in the workplace’ scheme going a bit wrong was in April last year at Google - which is famed for it’s pet-friendly offices - where an employee’s python escaped from its cage at the New York offices. Fortunately the snake was found later on by a reptile expert, asleep behind a filing cabinet, but it must have caused chaos in the office at the time. I can’t stand snakes so this story chilled me to the bone, and is just another reason I’m not taking to the pets at work idea.
I’m fairly open minded and I’m all for making the working environment as enjoyable as possible, but as you can probably tell, bringing your dog to work doesn’t really appeal to me. What do you think? Am I being totally unreasonable or do you agree that allowing pets in work is just asking for trouble on a big scale?