Does new legislation make things easier?
November 28, 2008
I’ve been dealing with a lot of employment law issues recently, as I imagine many HR Practitioners have been, and it’s taken an awful lot of time to ensure that everything that has been done is legally compliant, due to the complexities in the UK employment law system, which seem to be getting worse all the time.
The Government appears to have recognised this, with the proposed changes to the dispute resolution systems following the Gibbons review, and the proposed Equality Bill, which is designed to be a streamlined discrimination legislation framework, bringing existing discrimination legislation together in order to simplify it for everyone involved.
However it seems that some employers are getting tired of the increasing amount of new legislation being introduced, and a recent survey found that many senior HR practitioners are feeling apathetic towards the Equality Bill, even though it is aiming to make things easier. The survey, which was carried out by law firm Pinsent Masons and Personnel Today, identified that ‘legislation fatigue’ could lead to the failure of the Equality Bill to achieve it’s aim to make it more straightforward to tackle discrimination in the workplace. It was also suggested that the Government isn’t doing enough to communicate the requirements of compliance with the new legislation, even though it could be implemented as early as next year.
What’s your opinion on this? Is the Government making things even more complicated with new pieces of legislation and how do you think this is going to affect you?
Woolworths & MFI enter administration
November 27, 2008
One of the biggest names on the high street has been forced to close its doors after it’s debts reaching £385million.
Woolworth’s has always been one of our favourite high street names, selling items such as Cd’s, DVD’s, Chocolates and it’s legendary pick ‘n’ mix but unfortunately bosses were unable to find a buyer to restructure the loss-making retail arm.
Staff at the store have been promised that they will be paid and that the majority of stores will stay open for the next few weeks to sell some stock before Christmas. But, this wont last for long and the future for Woolworth’s staff looks bleak.
Furniture retailer, MFI is also due to cut 1,500 jobs due to administration. This is the second time that they have had to declare themselves insolvent in the past few months.
26 stores are due to close immediately which means another 260 employees are jobless this Christmas.
The pre-budget report, how will it affect you?
November 25, 2008
Yesterday Chancellor Alistair Darling released a pre-budget report, with some quite drastic changes being put in place now and being planned for the future, in the hope that the country can be saved from a long lasting recession.
One of the key changes is a drop in VAT from 17.5% to 15% for the next 13 months, in the hope that this will encourage consumer spending and in turn give the waning economy a boost. However Conservative Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said that this move means the country is dropping deeper into its already high debt, and the change actually translates as “temporary tax giveaways paid for by a lifetime of tax rises on the British people” because we will be repaying the debts created by this change for many years to come. In addition, many small business owners have complained that the drop in VAT simply gives an administrative problem to businesses when adjusting pricing on all their goods. As one comment on the BBC website says:
“retailers like myself are faced with the daunting task of changing every single price on their system and reprinting shelf-edge labels. I wonder how many will actually bother passing on the meagre reductions to the public? Cheers Darling!”
Other changes planned are an increase in National Insurance for everyone by 0.5% and an increase in income tax for people earning over £150,000 to a whopping 45%. These changes are to take place in 2011. The Government has said that the only people who will lose out on this will be those earning £40,000 and above, but the Conservatives say that the National Insurance increase means that it will actually be people earning £20,000 and above that will be affected.
The pre-budget report has been heavily criticised by many people, mainly because it will increase borrowing to a record £118billion which will take many years to repay. It’s a big gamble for the Government to take which, if it goes wrong, could lead to even more problems in the future with bad debt, more property repossessions and large scale redundancies. It’s a depressing thought that I hope does not turn into a reality.
The CIPD help firms beat recession
November 21, 2008
I read today on the People Management website that the CIPD are launching courses to help companies beat the recession.
They have revealed a series of programmes that are designed to help employers respond to the challenges that comes with the downturn.
The new courses that are being introduced are:
- Practical Employee Relations
- Managing Redundancy
- Progressive Strategies for Talent Management
- Talent Management - An overview
The head of training at the CIPD, Andrew Spencer has said:
“The CIPD Learning Directory continues to be a reference point in HR and management, whether generalist or specialist. The real test of an employer of choice is its realisation of the importance of learning and development at difficult times. Investing in talent now will equip an organisation to ride out the storm and be all the stronger when things improve.”
I think this will be really helpful to a lot of organisations. New businesses who have not had to go through an economic downturn before will not be aware of how to cope, but with this training scheme they will have help and guidance throughout.
Is your firm struggling at this hard time and would a training programme benefit you? If so, make sure that you check out the details from the CIPD.
Figures show that black women are being paid more than white women
November 20, 2008
Figures from the ONS (Office for National Statistics) show that black women in the UK are being paid more than white women.
The statistics reveal that women who are defining themselves as ‘black carribean’ took home on average £462 per wee, that’s 6% more than women who are defined as ‘white’.
This is quite surprising as only last year the statistics were in reverse, white women were earning 7% more.
A spokesman from Equality and Human Rights Commission has said the figures had to be treated with some caution:
“Black women are more likely to live in London, where wages are higher, and work in the public sector, where the pay gap for women generally is lower.”
The first black press officer at downing street told a national newspaper:
“Black women do work very hard, and often they are the single earner in a household and have the whole weight of a family on their shoulders.”
These findings could be some reflection of the increase in educational achievement of black pupils in schools. Last year showed that 49% of black Caribbean pupils achieved grades of C or above. This is up from 44% last year.
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.
Belt-tightening now will cause more problems later
November 18, 2008
It seems that more and more people are worrying about their financial state as we are going the tough times of an economic downturn. According to Axa, about 1.5million pension scheme members are thinking about freezing their contributions.
The survey, done by 2034 scheme members showed that more than 8% felt like that would have no choice other than to halt their payments over the next two years. The survey also showed that it was more likely to be members between the ages of 35-44 who were most likely to stop saving so they could clear debts and be prepared for the increased cost of living.
The pensions firm has warned people that by taking a gap in contributions now could cause a severe reduction to quality of life a retirement.
The head of pensions and savings, Steve Folkard has said:
“Taking a pension break should be a last resort, because of the long-term repercussions. If you put in £300 a month less for two years, you will have a pension pot that is tens of thousands of pounds short when you retire.”
It is tempting to use the money you would normally contribute to your pension on other things at this moment in time, but it’s important that you think about the future too.
The DDA – know your responsibilities
November 15, 2008
Yesterday’s post looked at the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and the definition of a disability. The next question is ‘what is an employer expected to do under the DDA?’
The law is there to protect disabled workers from discrimination, and this can take many forms, including harassment, victimisation, prevention of opportunities such as promotion or choosing a candidate that does not have a disability over a candidate that does, when they are equally capable but one has a disability. An employer has the duty to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to the workplace or working practices for a disabled employee – these are adjustments that are required to prevent a disabled employee from being at a disadvantage in comparison to a non-disabled employee, due to any practices or arrangements the employer puts in place. The word ’reasonable’ is important – employers are not expected to spend huge amounts of money or change the workplace significantly if it is not feasible to do so. The ‘reasonableness’ would be related to a number of things, including cost, the disruption that would be caused by the adjustment, the size of business and the available resources to make the adjustment (which would include things like government grants etc). So, the types of adjustments or considerations employers might make include:
- Ensuring available access for workers with mobility related disabilities (e.g. access for wheelchair, mobility scooter, disabled lift)
- Flexible working hours for the disabled worker
- Allowing time off for rehabilitation, medical appointments etc
- Providing alternative written documents (e.g. with large print for visually impaired employees)
- Providing additional or alternative support and supervision
There is so much case law on the DDA, and it is a very tricky subject to deal with as employers. However there are a lot of organisations that can offer help and advice, including ACAS, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and the CIPD, and I would urge anyone with a disability related workplace query to contact one of these organisations or look on their websites.
The DDA – know the law
November 14, 2008
Disability is a subject many employers find difficult to deal with in the workplace, and often choose to ignore by avoiding (consciously or unconsciously) employing disabled workers altogether. However the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 applies to all employers, and the legislation is something that organisations need to be aware of. The DDA makes it unlawful to discriminate against any person because of their disability. In the workplace, this applies to existing employees, plus any potential employees that apply for a position with the company, and any ex-employees (e.g. in giving a false reference due to a disability).
The first thing to consider is ‘what is a disability?’ In the DDA, a disability is defined as ‘a mental or physical condition which has a substantial and long term adverse affect on the employee’s ability to carry out normal day to day activities. Long-term means that the condition must last, or be likely to last, for more than 12 months’. This definition means that there are a vast number of conditions that will come under the DDA definition, and the list is increasing all the time. The first thing that many people think of when considering disability is someone in a wheelchair, but this type of disability actually only covers a very small percentage of the disabled people in the country. The DDA definitions of how a person’s ability to carry out day to day activities can be affected include: mobility, ability to lift or move everyday objects, speech, hearing, eyesight and understanding of physical danger (this is not the whole list). It is very important to remember that many disabilities are not visible (particularly mental illness) and therefore not obvious to an employer.
The next consideration is ‘what is an employer expected to do under the DDA?’, and this will be covered in the next post.
Bullying in the workplace has reached ‘disturbing’ levels
November 13, 2008
It has been reported that 90% of workers are being bullied in the workplace after a survey done by the Andrea Adams Trust.
The survey, done by over 10,000 employees found that an astonishing 92% felt they were currently being bullied, half of them by their immediate manager!
More than half of the employees said that the bullying was a ’serious problem’ with 47% claiming they have made a formal complaint but no procedures had been followed to resolve the problem.
Lyn Witheridge who is the founder and CEO of the Andrea Adams Charity has said:
“These reported cold, hard figures have come as a complete shock and are very disturbing.”
“These figures indicate that employees are gaining the courage to speak out against one of the most destructive forces at work today.”
I am really shocked to see that the percentage is so high. With the economic downturn, this is going to add greater stress and strain to workplaces which could result in the bullying becoming worse.
It is important that employers look into their policies and make sure that as soon as bullying starts in the workplace, it is stamped out immediately.
Have you ever had a case of bullying in your organisation and if so, how did you try and resolve the issue?