Men’s Health in the Workplace isn’t just a moral issue, it’s a commercially sound issue too. One in five men die before they reach 65, so only four out of every five make it past the traditional retirement age 75% of premature deaths from heart disease are male three in four suicides are committed by men. A healthy workforce tends to be happier and more productive. Many health issues, mental and physical, are preventable especially by encouraging early identification. A proactive approach to men’s health in the workplace could help increase the lifespan of your male workers. So, what practical steps can you as an employer take? Raise Awareness Coronary heart disease is the biggest single cause of death in the UK. A lack of exercise, balanced diet, healthy weight, and stress are all contributors to poor heart health. How can your workplace help staff, make and female, in this respect? Everyone over 40 is entitled to a free NHS health check every five years. You could promote this initiative to your employees and encourage them to attend. Men over 65 are entitled to have an abdominal aortic aneurysm screen which assesses the risk of the aorta bursting. This is six times […]
Many employers are wracking their brains at the moment to work out what alternatives are there to redundancies. With the current COVID pandemic and the economic crisis that it’s created there’s a need to review costs. The knee-jerk reaction is often to consider job cuts rather than considering what alternatives are there to redundancies? Redundancies aren’t a cheap option. If you make mistakes in the way you handle redundancies, they can prove expensive if you lose tribunal claims. The cost that’s not as easy to quantify is the loss of valuable skills and experience that you’ve invested in. These very skills and experience are what allows your business to bounce back more easily. There’s also an odd impact of redundancy. Those remaining in the business can experience a level of guilt because they are still in a job but their friends aren’t. So here are six alternatives to redundancies that may be worth considering Changing terms and conditions Not without risk. An obvious way to reduce business costs without making people redundant is to change employees’ contractual terms and conditions. For example, an across-the-board pay cut. You must remember that working hours and rates of pay are express terms of […]
The area of holidays and furlough has been clarified by the Government. So what do you do if you’re asked by an employee? Does annual leave accrue during furlough? Yes, employment rights continue including the right to accrue leave. Can you make an employee take annual leave during furlough? Yes you can make someone take annual leave during furlough. If you want to put people on leave whilst they are on furlough, you must give them the required notice to take leave pay them 100% of their normal pay If an employee has pre-booked holiday and now wants to cancel do I have to agree? No you don’t have to agree to this. If you require them to still take their leave you should pay them 100%. The legislation around carry over of leave has been relaxed. Employees are allowed to carry over 20 days of their entitlement from this year if they have been unable to use it. Employees have two years to use this leave that they have carried over. Can I make an employee take paid leave? This has been an employer’s right since the Working Time Regulations came into force in the UK. You have to […]
Employers need to know the answer to the question of what kinds of work can children do to avoid being challenged by the authorities.
The area of holidays and furlough is still unclear. Government guidance doesn’t specifically address what happens with holidays and furlough. So what do you do if you’re asked by an employee? Does annual leave accrue during furlough? Yes, employment rights continue including the right to accrue leave. Can you make an employee take annual leave during furlough? We don’t know the answer to this because the Government haven’t answered the question. In all other areas of leave it isn’t possible for someone to have two statuses eg you can’t be on holiday and off sick, you can’t be at work and on holiday. On that basis we are finding it difficult to imagine that we will be able to put people on leave when on furlough. If you want to put people on leave whilst they are on furlough, the least you should do is pay them 100% of their normal pay give them the required notice to take leave If an employee has pre-booked holiday and now wants to cancel do I have to agree? No you don’t have to agree to this, but, see above, we think that you should pay them 100%. The legislation around carry over […]
Many clients have been asking these last few weeks about Furlough and the Job Retention Scheme. We have some guidance from the government on the subject, what it is and what you are entitled to do as an employer. In Summary Fees and commissions will not be included in the 80% refund Employees can do voluntary work whilst on furlough as long as you the employer don’t generate any revenue from that activity Employees must be furloughed for a minimum of 3 weeks No employee starting work with you after 28 February 2020 can be part of the scheme It gives guidance on calculating the average working week if you have employees who work variable hours The employer remains liable for paying NI and pensions contributions but you can claim the NI and pension contributions back through the scheme Employees on sick leave or self-isolating should get Statutory Sick Pay, but can be furloughed after this. Employees who are shielding in line with public health guidance can be placed on furlough. The CJRS covers those employees who were made redundant after 28 February 2020, providing they are rehired by their employer. For full time and part time salaried employees, the […]
We’re fascinated each year to reflect on our most popular HR blogs. Every year we learn something new about what people want to read. Our Top 5 most popular HR blogs from 2019 In first place we have a blog on the pension rights of an employee with a terminal illness . This is one of the most difficult conversations for an employer to have with an employee. However, the topic obviously resonated with the 2029 readers . The second of our most popular HR blogs in 2019 advises employers on how to carry out a return to work interview . We’re encouraged that over 1700 people share our opinion that return to work interviews are an essential part of workplace attendance management. The thorny question of “Can I ban employees from eating breakfast at work?” takes third place in our most popular HR blogs of 2019. This was a particular pet hate of our Managing Director, Alison Driver, because she believes that once the start time has passed, employees should be working, not eating their breakfast! In the high tech world operating in today’s workplace we were expecting to see our blog on monitoring employees appear in the list. […]
We have had a few of our clients ask for more information on the Good Work Plan 2020 for Agency Workers. We have tried to establish the status of the legislation surrounding Agency Workers. However, it’s still showing as a draft piece of legislation, which is likely to be in place on 6 April 2020. However, the General Election may affect this. Consecutive Contracts to be Banned Assuming that the legislation goes through, from 6 April 2020 you will be required to provide your workers with a statement of their rights on day 1 of their engagement. This means, what you will not be allowed to do is to offer a worker consecutive 12-week contracts in the same role. That is to say, this practice is expected to be banned from 6 April 2020 as an exploitative method of employing people. Same Rate of Pay Your obligation to pay temporary workers the same rate as employed staff remains unchanged if they are on an assignment in the same role for longer than 12 weeks. Agency workers can, at the moment, opt out of receiving the same pay as employed staff after the 12 weeks, this will no longer be the […]
If you’re planning on introducing Return to Work Interviews, your next move is likely to be wondering how to carry out a return to work interview. 64% of employers believe that Return To Work (RTW) interviews reduce absence levels so it’s certainly worth considering doing them. RTW interviews can be an effective method of reducing absence, but only if the interviews themselves are carried out effectively. RTW interviews are much more than the old fashioned “sick parade” approach to dealing with people coming back to work. They are not an interrogation of employees reasons for absence. Why carry out a return to work interview? By carrying out RTW interviews, and making it clear in your sickness policy that you will do so, you can discourage unauthorised and non-genuine sickness absence. When should you carry out a return to work interview? Ideally the line manager would meet with the employee on their first day back from absence, however long, or short, that period of absence was. If the employee is field based, or geographically distant, a RTW interview by phone is acceptable. What should you cover in the Return to Work Interview? welcome employees back and check they are well enough to […]
It’s an awful conversation to have, being asked about the pension rights of an employee with a terminal illness. A recent decision by the Pensions Ombudsman seems clear that in terminal ill health cases the Ombudsman is prepared to closely scrutinise actions taken by the employer. Whilst decisions by the Pensions Ombudsman only apply to the case in which the decision is made, it seems wise to take note of what is being said. The recent decision focuses on the extent to which employers should provide information on pension rights of an employee with a terminal illness The Law There is no legal obligation for employers to advise employees about their pension rights The law prohibits anyone other than a person authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority from advising on pension rights. However, a distinction should be drawn between “advising” and “providing information”. There is no specific guidance about information relating to the pension rights of an employee with a terminal illness. This can make it tricky to know if you’re doing the right thing, but there is some good practice to consider. Good Practice For employees with terminal illness, there are likely to be different options available under their […]
