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 […]
Moving businesses from inadequate to outstanding is a new CIPD report claiming that UK employers are “sleepwalking into a low-value, low-skills economy”. The report attributes this to two main factors: an inadequate education system low employer spend on training As employers we can do little about the first, but we can do something about the second. We can affect how much we spend on training our workforce. Employer spending on training has been reducing year on year since 2005. The UK spends an average of just £ 202.30 per employee on training compared to an average spend of £457.42 per employee across the rest of Europe. The UK is now fourth from bottom place in an EU league table of job-related adult learning. The CIPD is making a valid point. The effectiveness of training isn’t determined by how much is spent on it. It states that UK employers may have found ways to minimise their training spend, without reducing the quality of the training. Using digital training or negotiating better deals with training providers is one way they are doing this. But the situation is very different in America, where the average spend on training per employee is £787.35. However, there is a potential disincentive for employers to […]
According to employee benefits firm Neyber, “How can I help an employee worried about debt?” is not a question many employers are likely to ask. The Neyber survey suggests that 67% of employees believe that their employer doesn’t care about their financial wellness. It also suggests that only 3% of employees would turn to their employer about their financial worries. Lack of financial wellbeing has a significant impact on the productivity and health of the workforce 55% of employees said being under financial pressure affects their behaviour and ability to perform their job in the workplace 51% of employees say financial pressure affects their relationships with colleagues 46% of employees say financial pressure affects their relationship with their line manager The average household owes £7.413 in unsecured debt, 9.45 million people in the UK have no savings and 17 million people only have £100 savings. It’s maybe not then surprising that any workforce at any one time will have some members struggling with money. It makes the question “How can I help an employee worried about debt?” much more likely to be asked, especially if employers set their stall out to be more open about discussing financial worries. We are not advocating […]
This week, 3-9 September 2017, is Migraine Awareness Week. It made us reflect on a call from an employer we had recently helped with a female employee. She was absent from work because of a migraine for the third time in a month. His reaction of “it’s only a headache” made us reflect on migraines and the reality for some people. Claiming to have a migraine is one of the most popular excuses for “pulling a sickie” from work. A recent YouGov poll of 2,105 people found 15% of workers who admitted to making up illness to get a day off work used migraine as their excuse. The fact that people fake migraines puts real sufferers in a difficult position. Some employees say they fear they won’t be believed if they phone in sick with a migraine. Migraine Awareness Week statistics show that 1 in 7 people are affected by migraine. Migraine is the 6th highest cause worldwide of years lost due to disability. In the UK there are more people who suffer from migraine than with diabetes, epilepsy and asthma combined. Over 6 million people suffer with a resulting loss of over 25 million working days. An estimated cost to the economy of […]
A family member falling ill can be a stressful time for all involved. As an employer, you still need to know how to handle staff who take time off for dependents. Whether it’s sick children or caring for an elderly member of the family. Research shows that nearly three million working days are lost each year through this type of absenteeism. According to CIPD, more employers recognise line managers play a vital role in supporting employees. However, most employers aren’t giving them the tools they need to manage absence effectively. The 2016 Absence Management survey revealed that less than half of employers (44%) train managers to handle short-term absence. Employees have a right to reasonable unpaid time off to deal with a dependent who has fallen ill. However, this should be limited to the time needed to make other care arrangements. Usually this takes no more than a few hours or at most one or two days. Where an employee continues to take time off for caring duties, flexibility can help. Perhaps offer the option to make up the time missed. Give them the option to work from home at flexible times during the day. Other options is to offer […]
As an employer, you’ll encounter your share of difficult employees. When you’re recruiting, you’ll do your best to choose candidates with great attitudes and solid experience, you might even take up references to establish if what they say about their abilities to perform at work stacks up with previous employment. Unfortunately, even the best candidates can have little idiosyncrasies that make them difficult to work with in day-to-day operations. These “quirks” are not necessarily worth dismissing somebody over especially if they get their work done on time and their standard of work is acceptable; but someone who flat out refuses to work in a particular way or work with particular people or undertake particular tasks because they are against “their principles” can become a huge headache. We’re not saying that all employees have to kowtow to you without question, indeed challenge is healthy, it makes you questions why you are working in a particular way but employees who become unmanageable are something else again. This kind of employee can make it difficult for you to keep your team productive while retaining your image as leader. If you find managing difficult employees, try one of these three strategies: Set written expectations. Be clear from […]
How to manage performance conversations As a manager, if you cannot verbally put your finger on how a staff member is failing, it is sometimes best to say nothing at all. However, complaining about or to an employee must have relevance to their occupational performance and evidence provided. Not clearly voicing employee concerns can and does lead to potential legal action. The mistakes many managers make in how to manage performance conversations are to: Fail to complain about or to an employee early enough Not gathering necessary proof of underperformance Be vague about the details of the complaint Shy away from a performance conversation because they believe the conversation with the employee is confrontation As long as you are following your company procedure on how to manage performance conversations. For instance, accurately, early and with backed up evidence. Therefore, you can, and should, voice your concerns to the employee. This stops the problem from escalating into a disciplinary situation. It also provides evidence that you have addressed the employee’s performance should you need to defend a claim. How We Can Help Metis HR can help managers understand how to manage performance conversations. How to handle the early stages of conduct and under-performance issues. And instruct […]
The problem We were approached by an employer in the food preparation industry employing 23 staff. They had no contracts of employment in place and only a few policies and procedures. The employer had a number of problems He was struggling to get staff to be flexible enough to work the overtime needed to meet sudden peaks in order levels. He had previously not hit deadlines and incurred contractual penalties because of his inability to staff the shifts needed. The employer was frustrated about a significant lost time issue which was costing him nearly £30 000 a year. He had worked out that he could have employed another 2 employees with this wasted money. Or taken more money out of the business for himself. Staff were arriving for work at the start time of their shift. They then took up to twenty minutes to get changed into their protective clothing. He calculated that this was costing him nearly 2000 hours a year of unproductive time that he was paying for. At the other end of the day, staff were downing tools between 15 and 20 minutes before their shift ended to get changed. They would then stand around ready to clock out […]
