Reminder-National Minimum Wage
New National Minimum Wage Rates | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The rates which will apply from 1 April 2023 are as follows:
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Flexible Working Requests
Are you dealing with flexible working requests correctly? |
| Since the pandemic, employers have reported an increase in the number of flexible working requests that they are receiving. This is no surprise, in a market where candidates are hand picking their employers, employees want flexibility and a work life balance. There are many benefits to flexible working from an employers point of view:
But when you receive a request are you dealing with it in the correct manner? There are many types of different flexible working options:
When an employee requests flexible working, they must do so in writing. Your steps as an employer:
You must as an employer deal with requests in a ‘reasonable manner’.Examples of handling requests in a reasonable manner include:
If you do not handle requests in a reasonable manner the employee has the ability to put in a tribunal claim. For advice on handling requests and documentation, please contact me now. |
Twitter Account
Although a signature on a policy is not a legal requirement for evidencing agreement, it will be acceptable evidence in any tribunal proceedings that an employee has read and understood a policy.
An employment tribunal has ruled that a train driver who posted offensive and discriminatory comments publicly on his personal Twitter account was unfairly dismissed as there was a lack of sufficient evidence that he understood the company policy that he was dismissed for breaching.
The employee had a Twitter account in his own name with a profile picture of himself and mainly tweeted about weightlifting. Around the time of the Brexit referendum his account, which had posted more than 3,700 tweets, became “focused on Brexit and expressions of opinion against immigration”. During this time, he posted racially offensive tweets.
The employee had received various policy documents from his employer on harassment and social media, as well as a fair usage IT document.
However, the applicable policy documents were unsigned by the employee. The further difficulty for the employer in this case was that the employee was dismissed for breaching the Acceptable Use Policy, not for a failure to adhere to the Social Media Policy.
Whilst the employment tribunal found that the dismissal was unfair due to the failure to prove he had been briefed on this policy by the lack of a signed document confirming this, the tribunal found that the employee was entirely to blame for his dismissal and reduced his unfair dismissal award to zero for this reason.
The tribunal found that the employee would have known that posting offensive tweets in a public forum, which he knew was followed by colleagues, could by their nature damage working relationships, particularly in a multi-cultural workforce.
It is critical when dismissing an employee that the correct reason is cited. For further assistance in all things social media, please contact me now.
4 Day Week Trial
The vast majority of companies taking part in the world’s largest trial of a four-day week have opted to continue with the new working pattern, in a result hailed as evidence that it could work across the UK economy.
Of the 61 companies that entered the six-month trial, 56 have extended the four-day week, including 18 who have made it permanent (93%).
Surveys taken before and after the trial found that 39% of those employees taking part considered that they were less stressed, 40% were sleeping better and 54% found it easier to balance work and home responsibilities.
The companies taking part were satisfied with productivity and business performance during the trial. Sick days fell by about two-thirds and 57% fewer staff left the companies taking part compared with the same period a year earlier.
Recently Sainsbury’s, the UK’s second largest supermarket, said it would trial offering some employees the chance to work four days a week. This trial does not involve a cut in total hours but allows workers to squeeze the same number of hours into four days.
The findings of the trial are due to be presented to MPs as part of efforts to promote a 32-hour week for workers in Britain.
If you are thinking about trialling a four day week or implementing contract changes, please contact me.
The right to a predictable work pattern
The government is backing a Private Members Bill, the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill.
If passed the Bill will amend the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) to give workers and agency workers the right to request a predictable work pattern. The circumstances in which they will be able to do this will be where:
- There is a lack of predictability as regards any part of their work pattern (fixed term contracts of 12 months or less are presumed to lack predictability);
- The change relates to their work pattern; and
- Their purpose in applying for the change is to get a more predictable work pattern.
Two applications may be made in a 12-month period. The service requirement to access the right, which is expected to be 26 weeks, will be specified in regulations.
Employers, temporary work agencies or hirers would be able to reject applications based on statutory grounds. Workers and agency workers would have the right not to suffer a detriment short of dismissal for making an application under the procedure or for bringing proceedings to enforce the statutory right to request a predictable work pattern. It would also be automatically unfair to dismiss an employee for making an application under the statutory procedure or for bringing proceedings to enforce the statutory right.
Watch this space
How to retain good people
There is a war for talent at the moment, recruitment is difficult in most industries. How do you make yourself an attractive employer in todays market? How can you retain your existing talent?
Create a great culture
Employees do not want to turn up for work, do their job and clock out again. Employees want to feel part of something. Promoting team building activities, social gatherings, sports activities etc will help engage individuals. A positive culture will drive loyalty in a business and increase productivity. Promote your employee events on social media platforms and the company website, so it’s self-evident for candidates and new recruits to see what a great place it is to work – think about employer branding.
Master Internal Communications
One of the top reasons for exiting a company is poor communication from the leadership team. Employees want to be informed and always know what is going on in their organisation. They want to know where your company is headed. Be honest with your team, involve them in decisions and if they have any concerns address them as soon as you can, this will build trust.
“70% of employees felt more engaged in companies where information of value, company goals, objectives, and
individual / organisation execution are clearly communicated”
Be Flexible
Since covid, employees expectations have changed around their working day. Keeping pace with this new attitude is key to retaining and recruiting staff. Can employees choose their working hours? can they work from home? can they work four days instead of five? can you adopt a work from anywhere policy?
Offer Job Satisfaction
A recent survey suggests that only 23% of employees enjoy their job. That seems a very low statistic. What can you do to make an employee feel valued? firstly are they paid a fair wage and have you reviewed the benefits package recently? Do you engage with your staff? do you know what makes them tick? what motivates them?
Trusted Leadership
Trusting the leader of the business is one of the most important aspects of business culture. Approachable management is key to developing good relationships with staff. The way managers communicate with staff has a direct impact on their productivity.
Happy employees mean they are more likely to recommend you as an employer and remain loyal to you.
Ask your staff if they are happy by doing an employee survey. Ask them what motivates them (it’s not always the money!)
For assistance with employee engagement, recruitment, retention and all things benefits please get in touch.