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 […]
