by Emma | Oct 2, 2017 | Newsletter
The government have released plans to publish its own data protection bill which will bring EU data protection legislation into the UK law.
The legislation will give greater rights to individuals. There is a new “right to be forgotten” and people can ask companies to erase any personal data held on them.
The penalties are also heavier with fines of 4% of turnover or up to 17m.
There will be an obligation to provide information on employees and job applicants about how their personal data is processed.
There will no longer be a charge for individuals to pay when requesting access to their data and companies must respond within one month of a request.
More information will be published over the coming months.
by Emma | Sep 27, 2017 | Newsletter
Employee absence is currently a major issue for UK businesses with employers facing a yearly bill of around £9 billion for sick pay. It is therefore important for companies to focus on introducing and improving current absence management strategies.
The negative effect of absence is not only financial
The consequences of absence are negative, not only due to the absence itself in terms of statutory sick pay, occupational sick pay or paying overtime for temporary cover, but also to the knock-on effects that absence can have.
It has been found that when employees need to cover for their absent colleagues, the increase in their workload can be detrimental to their morale.
This increase in workload can also lead to higher risk of mistakes and lower motivation due to the delays and lack of consistency that often comes as a result of frequently absent colleagues.
Stress is the most common cause of long term sickness absence
Stress related illness is an increasing issue within UK business. In 2015/16, stress accounted for 37% of all work related ill health cases and 45% of all working days lost due to ill health.
Often mental illnesses, particularly stress-related illness, can often be overlooked due to their ‘invisible’ nature relative to physical illness.
More than a third of all sick leave is taken on Monday
Some employees may feel the weekend is not enough so they take the extra day. The fact that Monday is the most popular day for sick leave suggests that this sick leave is likely not due to a physical illness that happens to occur on a Monday, but rather stress. Stressed employees may feel the weekend is not long enough and therefore did not provide them with enough of a break to feel as if they can dive back in to their working lives on Monday morning.
This indicates that stress may not only be a common cause of long term sickness absence, but also short-term sickness absence.
Specialist training can help reduce absence rates
The knowledge that stress related illness is such a prominent problem within UK business has provided industries with an understanding of what to target when introducing interventions to reduce staff absence. A variety of training for managers and staff is proved to help businesses reduce absence.
by Emma | Sep 22, 2017 | Newsletter
The limitation period for a claim under the Protection from Harassment Act (PHA 1997) is six years. This means that even if an employee has left your business, they can still bring a claim of harassment to a tribunal for up to six years.
Normally, under the Equality Act 2010, employers can escape being held vicariously liable for harassment of their employees, if they can demonstrate that they took reasonably practical steps to prevent it happening. However, no such defence exists under the PHA 1997.
Things to think about:
1)Do you have an up to date Grievance, Disciplinary and Harassment Policy and Procedure and have they been communicated to staff?
2)Are your managers aware of your internal policies and procedures?
3)Have your managers received training in dealing with issues?
4)Do you have a designated person to deal with disputes / grievance/ disciplinary issues?
5)Do you have a person who has their ear on the ground ensuring that there is no unwanted behaviour among staff?
6)Do you regularly manage performance in the business?
by Emma | Sep 13, 2017 | Newsletter
Conflict happens in all organisations from time to time. It is important that conflict is managed at the earliest opportunity; prior to taking the issue to disciplinary / grievance meetings.
The ACAS code of practice places an emphasis on early informal resolution and employees are encouraged to demonstrate that they have attempted early conciliation before going to tribunal.
However, many organisations avoid conflict management and informal conversations. There are many reasons for this; untrained line managers or a culture where talking about a problem is seen as uncomfortable and avoided at all costs.
ECHR can assist with conflict management; by chairing conflict meetings or training managers to enable them to have the confidence and expertise to speak to team members themselves.
The idea behind conflict management is “confronting the difficult while it is still easy”.
Top tips for conducting difficult conversations:
1) Go somewhere private – don’t do it on the “shop floor”
2) Hold the conversation at the end of the day so the employee doesn’t have to go back into the workplace when they might be feeling uncomfortable about the conversation
3) Plan the conversation ahead
4) Have a clear picture of the outcome you want from the conversation
5) If the employee reacts badly or emotionally then maintain a level tone of voice to put them at ease, slow down and give them time to think- you need to ensure that your message has sunk in
6) Don’t talk down to them and use open body language
7) Listening to the employee is important to enable you to steer the conversation to where you need it to go
by Emma | Sep 4, 2017 | Newsletter
Although it is rare, suicide is a risk that every employer should plan for. There were close to 5,000 suicides in England in 2015, this equates to someone taking their life almost every two hours.
Men are three times more likely to take their lives than women, while men in construction and women in culture, media and sport have higher risk rates still.
Suicide is often preventable if people receive the right support at the right time. The stumbling block is that talking about it is generally viewed as taboo. Employers therefore have a responsibility to encourage a culture of openness and honesty so that people feel able to talk about their mental health if they are having a crisis or having suicidal thoughts.
There are generic warning signs that indicate someone is suffering from stress or in a crisis situation; deterioration in performance at work, a new pattern of lateness or absence, withdrawing from colleagues socially, changes in personality or behaviour (anger, anxiety, signs of self inflicted harm).
Employers should suggest that employees speak to their GP, or call lines such as the Samaritans or CALM. Provide support and make it clear you are always there to listen.
