The qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims will change from 1 year to 2 years on 6th April 2012.  Subject to approval by Parliament, it looks like this will not be retrospective.

Employees who commenced their employment on or before 5th April 2012 will still only need one year's service in order to be able to lodge a claim for unfair dismissal.

Employees who begin their employment on or after 6th April 2012 will need to have 2 years' service in order to qualify.

Effectively, this means that employers won't start to feel the benefit of this change until April 2013.

You might need to amend your Disciplinary, Capability and Redundancy policies and procedures to reflect this change.  And if you use probationary periods wisely, you can hopefully avoid being caught up in unfair dismissal procedures at all.

Give us a call if you need help with any of your policies and procedures.

The maximum compensatory award for normal unfair dismissal will rise from £68,400 to £72,300 in February 2012.

Whilst this may seem excessive, such awards are rare.  Last year the average award for unfair dismissal year was just under £9000.  But this is still a lot of money - especially for small businesses - so it's best to avoid such claims through adopting and following clear policies and procedures.

If you need any help with this, please give us a call.  Always happy to talk.

If you're one of the lucky companies that's hosting a Christmas party this year, take a little time now to plan transport home for your staff.

As an employer you have a duty of care to your employees, and you are responsible for ensuring that they get home safely from your company event. So:

1. Book taxis (licenced cabs) from a reliable firm well in advance of the event.
2. Ensure that none of your employees plans to drive whilst under the influence of alcohol
3. Make sure your staff realise that whilst they are of course allowed to let their hair down, they shouldn't take that too far.
4. Be sure that someone responsible is in the background, watching over everyone in the nicest possible way.

And, of course, enjoy your party and have a very Merry Christmas!

If you employ temporary workers, you will need to be aware of the new Agency Workers Regulations that have recently come into force.

Temps are now entitled to have access to the same facilities as your staff from Day One (subject to your normal company rules), and to equal pay, holidays, bonuses, etc after 12 weeks. If they have worked for you on more than one occasion. even if it was through different agencies, their assignments may be added together for the purposes of assessing their rights.

Agency workers are also entitled to be informed about current vacancies within your organisation.

Call us for clarification.

New NMW comes into force on 1st October 2011

21+ yo: £6.08ph
18-20: £4.98 ph
16-17:£3.68 ph

Apprentices under 19, or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship:£2.60ph

Full details on government website:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/TheNationalMinimumWage/DG_10027201

This includes details of who is/is not entitled to NMW and covers internships and work experience.

It is illegal to pay below NMW, so remember to adjust your contracts of employments and to advise your payroll staff.

If you employ young staff, ensure that their pay rates are upgraded when they reach any of the age thresholds.

Whatever the rights and wrongs in the case of Sharon Shoesmith and Baby P, it is clear that correct disciplinary procedure wasn't followed and that Sharon Shoesmith should have had an opportunity to put her case to her employer in formal disciplinary proceedings.

Regardless of whether or not she messed up, Ed Balls did the wrong thing when he intervened and ordered her dismissal - without a fair hearing.

Employment law applies to all employers and employees and it is irresponsible and foolish to try and circumvent due and proper procedure.

If disciplinary procedure had followed its proper course, Sharon Shoesmith would likely have walked away with her tail between her legs, and not with the handsome payout that she will more than likely be awarded.

I recently read a book by Michael Heppell entitled 5 Star Service.  I've met many people who would do themselves a big favour if they read it too.  It's slightly gushy, but the message is strong...

GO THE EXTRA MILE!

Don't just deliver what you said you would deliver; exceed expectations. Create the WOW factor.

If you're out and about, or browsing the internet and you see something that you think may be of interest to one of your clients (a product, an interesting website or resource, or perhaps a useful business contact), then tell them about it; better still, send them a link or make an introduction.

If you've finished a job for a client, still keep them in mind, and pass on useful snippets of information, relevant to their business.

OK, it's on your own time and you won't get paid for it, but I promise you that it feels really good to do favours - not just for your clients but for anyone, even a stranger in the street - and it can often create a lot of goodwill. 

You can't buy goodwill, but you can definitely create it, and get a great deal of pleasure along the way.

Stand out!  WOW them!  Be Brilliant!

If you employ staff in customer service roles, reading this book should perhaps be an integral part of their induction procedure.

I attended a seminar today (very kindly hosted by RWP Solicitors in Pangbourne) about the new Equality Act which comes into force on Friday, 1st October 2010.

The Act seeks to encompass all of the previous, disjointed acts on discrimination - disability, age, sex, etc - and to iron out some of the discrepancies between them. 

It's complex!  Employers certainly need to take note of the implications of the Act and to introduce appropriate policies and procedures if they are to avoid falling foul of it. 

For example, if a customer (or indeed 2 separate customers) has abused or harrassed a member of an employer's staff on 2 separate occasions and the employer is aware of this abuse, then the employer must take action to prevent this from happening.  Otherwise the employee can bring a claim against the employer - even though the employer was not the aggriever.  Yes, true.

So, in this example, the employer should make it clear to customers that this behaviour is not permitted, display notices regarding appropriate behaviour and, if necessary, bar the customer from the premises.    For some time now, we have seen such notices in hospital A&E departments and in pubs, but it's now time for all employers to pay close attention to what's going on in their workplace.  Poor recruitment processes, bullying, harrassment, disability, race or sex discrimination - even in the form of "harmless" jokes or banter - can all bring the employer in front of an Employment Tribunal, with the risk of very hefty penalties.

It would be very easy to get paranoid about this, but it will also be extremely easy to fall foul of the Act. 
So review your processes and take sensible precautions:

1. put clear policies and procedures in place,
2. make sure every manager and member of staff is aware of how to implement the policies and procedures, and is aware of the standards that are expected of them, and
3. keep your ear to the ground and take swift action where necessary.

The Back Office can help create such policies, so give us a call if you'd like any help with this.

It was reported in People Management today (21st September 2010) that the World of Work Report 2010 (a report compiled by Ranstad and based on 2500 responses from employers and employees), concluded that half of employees felt that their skills were being underutilised by employers.

The report also concluded that there was a mismatch in perceptions between employers and employees about what factors motivated staff: Employers felt that motivation was driven by benefits, brand and culture, whereas employees felt that remuneration, training, development, career planning and flexible working conditions were the drivers.

Although many staff had up-skilled in order to cover additional responsibilities during the downturn, they still felt that employers were not tapping into those skills, and about 10% of them were minded to move jobs if something more attractive came up.

Head of Randstad UK said it was important for organisations to correct the differences in perception or risk losing talented people.

This backs up what I am about to say regarding the reasons for coaching and the benefits to be gained from it and will also tie in with my earlier article on Staff Retention: Ten Top Tips on Staff Retention.docx

We read a lot in the press about job cuts and redundancy, but very little about staff retention.

Recruitment can be an expensive and time-consuming process, followed by a training period, and possibly a period where you have to employ temporary staff.   All of this can be a drain on employers' time and resources.

Good staff are hard to come by, so it's vital that you do your best to retain them.

Here are my Top 10 Tips...

1. Recruit sensibly and fairly.   Be realistic about the role and the skills/experience required to perform the role.   Unrealistic promises and expectations will just lead to disappointment.
2. Communicate with your staff.   Ask for their views and suggestions and listen to what they say - much of which may be valid.
3. Offer training and career progression.
4. Try to offer a variety of work to create job enrichment and satisfaction.   Take a good look at the job descriptions and see how you can improve them so that each employee can learn new skills, enjoy a variety of tasks and remain interested.   Routine has its place, but variety is the spice of life.
5. Be appreciative.   Yes, you are paying your staff for their services, but that doesn't mean you can't be seen to appreciate what they do.   So long as they perform to your satisfaction - or above expected levels - then they are making your life easier and making a contribution to your business, so be sure to let them know that you appreciate their efforts.
6. Operate an open Performance Appraisal process, where performance is acknowledged and criticised in a constructive manner, and where staff can offer honest feedback.
7. NEVER criticise or humiliate a member of staff in front of others.   Not only could it land you in an Employment Tribunal, it's simply unfair.   If there are performance or behaviour issues, address them formally, in private, and in line with company Disciplinary Policy if appropriate.
8. Put in place a Grievance Procedure and use this constructively to address problems - however minor.   Try to nip minor grievances in the bud, before they get out of control.
9. Conduct exit interviews.   Staff may be reluctant to tell you about their grievances while they are still employed, but they will very likely open up once they have formally resigned.
10. If high staff turnover is predominantly from one department or one particular function, then it is particularly important to establish the cause of this.   It could be that the problem actually lies with a line manager or other member of staff, in which case you need to deal with this - even if the line manager is you!

As an employer and manager, it's vital that you are open to change... if the existing conditions, management or job content is causing a high staff turnover, be prepared to change your practices.

Never underestimate the importance of happy staff.  It has a knock-on effect on morale, performance, attendance and output.  Everyone wins!

There are, of course, more ways in which you can retain staff, but 10 should suffice for now.

If you need any help with staff issues, please give us a call.   We're approachable and flexible.   Just pick up the 'phone.   We'd be glad to assist.