We have been asked recently can I check my employees COVID or vaccination status? First, you must be clear about what you are trying to achieve. By asking for an employee’s COVID status and how asking people for their COVID status helps to achieve this in your organisation. A person’s COVID status is special category data, as it is their private health information. Therefore, your use of this data must be fair, relevant and necessary for a specific purpose. Residents of England can now show their COVID status through use of the NHS COVID Pass. COVID status shows a person’s risk of transmitting COVID-19 and is based on vaccine and test data. People in England with a low risk of transmission can get a COVID Pass through the NHS App, 119 service or online. Residents of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can use other means of indicating their COVID status, should they need to. Data protection is only one of many factors to consider when thinking about implementing COVID status checks. You should take into account: employment law and your contracts with employees (if you are considering checking employees’ COVID status); health and safety requirements; and equalities and human rights, […]
Wondering how to deal with employees suffering with Long-COVID? Long-COVID is thought to have affected 2 million people in the UK who had symptoms lasting at least 12 weeks. Inevitably the Government is starting to face pressure to have long-COVID classed as a disability. Symptoms of long-COVID typically include extreme tiredness, brain fog and dizziness. A recent survey by the TUC showed that just over half of people with symptoms of long-COVID have experienced some form of discrimination or disadvantage at work. The most common reaction from employers has been reported as disbelief and suspicion with 19% of respondents saying that managers questioned the impact of the condition. The Equality Act 2010 defines “disability” as a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on a person’s ability to do normal daily activities. As such, there is a school of thought developing that there is a strong case for the emerging condition to be classed as such. How to deal with employees suffering with Long-COVID so that you appropriately manage the return to work is key. Managing the long-term effects on workers, so that you can put appropriate measures in place to support staff is challenging because we […]
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a serious, long-term condition, so how do I manage an employee with IBS? We are asked. IBS can cause disability and disrupts the working lives of many. Around 10-20% of the UK population living with IBS, this represents a significant number who are affected in the workplace. It is estimated that Britain’s businesses lose almost £3 billion every year through sick days related to gut health. As an employer, you may be unaware of IBS and its debilitating effects on those who have the condition. Understanding ways in which you can help your staff who have IBS will allow them to continue working to their full capacity. Be aware that stress is often an important factor in those with IBS. If they feel unable to approach you, it might make their condition worse. Although you may find it a little uncomfortable at first, talk to your employee about what you can do to support them. Workplace changes to consider flexible working, provide easy access to toilets, allow your employee to take regular work breaks, and ensure effective monitoring and management of workload. Am I Obliged to Make Special Allowances for Them? If an employee’s IBS […]
We are asked by clients; can I demote an employee? It can seem an attractive option, but it’s not without its legal risks. Demotion should be approached by employers and HR professionals with a degree of caution as an option in managing the workforce. As a potential sanction, it represents a significant change to an employee’s employment arrangements and one that they may be less than happy to accept. Demotion can take various forms including a change in job title, role, duties, and subsequently salary. An employer may look to demote an employee for a number of reasons, for example: Work performance. You may look to demote an employee as an alternative to dismissal. Usually after going through a performance management procedure, if stipulated in a contract of employment as an alternative sanction; As a disciplinary sanction. An alternative to dismissal in a case involving allegations of workplace misconduct and/or where the employee has substantial length of service; Changes in economic circumstances may result in a need to reorganise the employer’s business, including seeking to demote certain individuals. There are potentially legal pitfalls associated with demotion. It can mean a significant variation to the employee’s contract of employment. A change […]
How do I decide how much to pay someone is a surprisingly common question. Although not everyone is motivated by money, we know that most people reading job adverts are looking at the salary So is it as simple as that, pay more than your competition? No. Although it’s useful to do a search on sites like Indeed or CV Library to see locally how many organisations are recruiting to the same job as you and what they’re paying. We need to look at the factors within a job, and it’s comparison with other jobs in the organisation, to decide what is a fair rate of pay. Factors to consider in determining pay We are talking about jobs here, not people. Deciding what to pay people rather than what the job is worth is risky. It’s seemingly arbitrary decisions to pay different people different pay which leads to claims for equal pay or work of equal value. There are 4 main factors within a job to consider in when answering the question “How do I decide how much to pay someone?”. skill responsibility working conditions effort Skill There are lots of different kinds of skills that a job can require. […]
Following the successful rollout of vaccines against the COVID19 virus, we have been asked by clients, what should employers do when employees have been vaccinated from COVID19? Most people receiving the vaccine in the first wave are elderly and retired people. However, some younger working people have received the vaccine in the first wave. This could be because they are clinically extremely vulnerable or they are a health care worker or engaged in a similar sector. Following Lockdown Rules Anyone who receives the vaccine must continue to follow lockdown rules and your COVID-19 secure workplace procedures. These must still be adhered to as even vaccinated employees could potentially transmit the virus to unvaccinated people. Vaccination does alter an employer’s approach for some clinically highly vulnerable staff. Having the vaccine means these workers can better protect themselves. After both doses have been received, they may be able to finish shielding and return to the workplace. However, only if it’s essential that they return to the workplace and following an individual risk assessment. Current lockdown rules will apply to other employees who may still need to work from home, depending on the nature of the role. Planning for Wider Rollout Vaccinations in […]
Having a great working relationship with your outsourced HR advisor requires work from both of you. A good HR advisor can manage all your paperwork, plan training, ensure compliance with the law, and help you solve HR headaches. A great HR advisor will do all that, plus help your business to grow, improve staff retention, increase productivity, and help you create a fantastic business people want to work hard for. Here, we sum up our top five tips on how you can get the best out of your outsourced HR advisor.
Employee rewards and recognitions come in many forms and are employed to various degrees of success.
We are asked by clients; How can I go about changing workplace culture? In a series of blogs, we shall look at how we can effectively change workplace culture and improve employee engagement to produce a highly-productive and happy workforce. To do this your organisation must first place core values at its foundation. Here’s what we consider essential when considering your organisation’s core values. Values Need to be Actionable Integrity, quality, excellence may sound familiar, but they are too vague and don’t necessarily drive behaviour. Your company values should be the backbone of everyday decision-making. Think of company values as a GPS map. Every time an employee comes to a fork in the road, they should be able to call on a core value to help guide their decision and move them in the right direction. Actionable core values always present a trade-off between two good things like speed or perfection. Some examples of actionable values are: Being accountable/taking responsibility for actions. Making a difference. Focusing on detail. Delivering quality and keeping promises. Going the extra mile for clients and colleagues alike. Being reliable and remaining positive. 7 Plus or Minus 2! There’s a theory in psychology that most adults […]
To enable religious inclusion at work you should make it so everyone is comfortable enough to identify as following their religion without their religion impacting on their career. That isn’t the same as getting others involved in the religion or providing a platform or acceptability for people to push their own beliefs on others. True religious inclusion at work comes from a culture of acceptance of each other’s differences and intolerance of prejudice or discrimination. Six Ways To Enable Religious Inclusion At Work Avoid indirect discrimination Have a respectful culture Have zero tolerance of discrimination, prejudice, and hate speech Have adequate policies and practices Avoid faith-based bias Separate religion from identity 1) Avoid Indirect Discrimination Indirect discrimination is where company policies or practices inadvertently exclude a group of people. It might be something seemingly innocuous like only holding team meetings in a pub (excluding religions that ban alcohol), or buying everyone bacon sandwiches on a Friday morning (excluding those who don’t eat pork or meat). Or it might be more serious. For example, turban-wearing Sikh’s are exempt from wearing protective headwear in the workplace (with some exceptions). Indirect discrimination would be having a policy that fines or disciplines people who […]
