AL HR Consulting Blog

Do employers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments?

Thu, 24 Jul 2025 15:15:33 GMT

The Ministry of Justice has recently released the latest tribunal statistics covering January to March 2025 and employment tribunal claims are continuing to rise ��⬆️. At the end of March 2025:

Unfair dismissal claims were the most common at 22%
Breach of contract claims were 14% and
Disability discrimination claims were 13% - these claims have seen the biggest increase rising by 28% compared to the previous quarter.

So how do disability discrimination claims arise?

Here are some examples:

when a job applicant is rejected for an interview once they have disclosed a disability
requiring all employees to work overtime, which may disadvantage someone with chronic fatigue
disciplining an employee for frequent absences caused by a medical condition or
a failure to make reasonable adjustments.

What is the definition of a disability?

Under s6. of the Equality Act, the definition of a disability is:

'A person has a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities'.

What are reasonable adjustments?

Under s.20 of the Equality Act 2010, employers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments where a disabled employee or job applicant is put at a substantial disadvantage in comparison with those who do not have a disability. The duty applies where the individual is put at a disadvantage by:

the employer's application of a provision, criterion or practice (PCP)
a physical feature of the employer's premises; or
the absence of, and need for, an auxiliary aid.

The duty applies to employers of all sizes, although what is reasonable may vary depending on the circumstances of the employer. The Equality Act 2010 does not set out examples of adjustments that an employer may have to take in relation to a disabled worker. However, the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s ‘Employment statutory code of practice’ provides a non-exhaustive list of possible reasonable adjustments, and some examples of these are:

making adjustments to premises
allocating some of the disabled person's duties to another person
altering their hours of working or training
giving or arranging for training or mentoring (whether for the disabled person or any other person)
acquiring or modifying equipment
modifying procedures for
testing or assessment,
disciplinary or grievance
adjusting redundancy selection criteria
performance-related pay arrangements
providing supervision or other support

In practice, whether an adjustment is reasonable will depend on the particular circumstances.

An employer can only make reasonable adjustments if it is aware of a disability. Therefore, you should have regular check in’s with employees and especially those on long term sickness absence, having regular updates with them on how they are progressing will provide you with useful insight in to how you can assist and support the employee in returning to work and will give you an insight in terms of the next steps to take and whether there is a need to gain advice from a medical professional i.e. occupational health to provide advice on what reasonable adjustments are recommended.

Alcohol & Drug Misuse – do you need a policy?

Fri, 24 Jan 2025 11:33:11 GMT

Certain industries are required to have a policy, these are industries where there is a risk to the public, a high-risk working environment and the potential for accidents and injuries.

Alcohol and drug misuse can affect performance, behaviour and relationships at work.

Do you need a alcohol and drugs misuse policy?

Having a policy is key for some employers where they need to comply with regulations or industry standards and of course for workplace safety.

There are benefits of implementing a policy such as:

Enhanced Safety: Reduces the risk of accidents and injuries caused by impaired judgment and coordination.
Improved Productivity: Helps ensure that employees are performing at their best, without the negative impacts of substance use.
Compliance with Regulations: Ensures the Company adheres to legal requirements and industry standards related to workplace safety.
Workplace Culture: Fosters a culture of responsibility, trust, and mutual respect, along with promoting a healthier work environment, and reducing associated accidents and lost productivity.

A policy should cover the company’s stance on alcohol and drugs, how they deal with alcohol and drug related issues in the workplace, and the approach to issues such as prescription medication.

Do we need to carry out an impact assessment for an alcohol and drugs policy

Overall, an impact assessment provides a comprehensive understanding of how the policy will function in practice and helps to refine and improve its implementation for maximum effectiveness.

Conducting an impact assessment for an alcohol and drugs policy is good practice. This will help to understand the potential effects of the policy on the company, employees, and overall workplace environment.

Do you also need to include random testing or testing when you suspect someone has attended the workplace while under the influence of alcohol or drugs in an alcohol and drugs policy?

Random alcohol and drug testing can be a crucial for maintaining a safe, productive, and compliant workplace.

Here’s why companies might choose to implement such testing:

Deterrence: The knowledge that testing can occur at any time discourages employees from engaging in substance abuse.
Safety: Random testing helps identify employees who might be under the influence of drugs or alcohol while on the job, thus preventing potential accidents and injuries, especially in safety-sensitive roles.
Compliance: Certain industries, like transportation and aviation, are required by law to conduct random testing to comply with regulations. This ensures that the company adheres to regulations or industry standards.
Early Intervention: Identifying substance abuse issues early allows companies to offer support and resources to employees who need help, potentially before their substance use becomes a more significant problem.
Insurance Costs: Maintaining a drug-free workplace can lead to lower insurance premiums and reduced liability risks, which can be financially beneficial for the company.
Productivity and Performance: Ensuring that employees are not impaired while at work helps maintain high productivity and performance levels, reducing absenteeism and workplace errors.

Always check in with a HR professional before implementing a new policy to ensure the policy is fit for purpose and doesn’t expose the company to any risks.

Supporting Employees Through Menopause: Practical Steps for Employers

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 13:52:53 GMT

Menopause can be a challenging phase in life, marked by a variety of symptoms that can affect an employee’s well-being and performance at work.

As an employer, it's crucial to create a supportive and inclusive environment where employees feel comfortable discussing their needs and accessing the support they require.

1. Conduct a General Risk Assessment

Rather than waiting for employees to come forward with specific requests, proactively carry out a general risk assessment to identify potential menopausal issues in the workplace. This helps in:

Identifying workplace factors that might exacerbate symptoms.
Implementing necessary adjustments to minimise discomfort and improve working conditions.

2. Foster Open Communication

Create an open and supportive culture where employees feel comfortable discussing their menopausal symptoms without fear of stigma or discrimination. Consider:

Training managers to handle conversations sensitively and confidentially.
Providing information sessions or workshops to raise awareness about menopause.
Encouraging an environment where employees can share their experiences and support each other.

3. Tailor Support to Individual Needs

Symptoms of menopause can vary significantly between individuals, so it’s essential to offer personalised support. Steps include:

Having one-on-one discussions with affected employees to understand their specific symptoms and needs.
Avoiding assumptions about what support might be necessary and instead, actively listening to the employee’s concerns.
Offering flexibility in working hours or remote working options if needed.

4. Implement Practical Adjustments

Consider practical adjustments that can help alleviate the impact of menopause symptoms at work. Examples include:

Adjusting the office temperature or providing fans for employees experiencing hot flushes.
Allowing more frequent breaks or access to rest areas to manage fatigue or discomfort.
Ensuring access to drinking water and healthy snacks to help manage symptoms like dizziness or nausea.

5. Review and Update Policies

Ensure that your workplace policies are inclusive and supportive of employees experiencing menopause. This might involve:

Updating your health and wellbeing policies to include specific references to menopause.
Providing clear guidelines on how employees can request adjustments or support.
Regularly reviewing policies to ensure they reflect best practices and meet the needs of your workforce.

6. Promote Employee Wellbeing

Encouraging overall health and wellbeing can have a positive impact on managing menopausal symptoms. Initiatives might include:

Offering wellness programs that include information on diet, exercise, and stress management.
Providing access to counselling services or employee assistance programs (EAP).
Promoting a healthy work-life balance to reduce stress and enhance overall wellbeing.

If you need guidance on providing support to your employees, such as a meeting structure, reach out on 01905 900080

New duty on employers to take all “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of their employees

Mon, 21 Oct 2024 13:34:23 GMT

From 26 October 2024 there is a duty on employers to take all “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of their employees.

The duty requires that employers should anticipate scenarios when its workers may be subject to sexual harassment in the course of employment, including from third parties, and take action to prevent such harassment taking place.

It is advisable that employers take active steps now to reduce sexual harassment in the workplace, this will likely help Company’s avoid costly tribunal claims in future.

In terms of practical steps, I would suggest that employers should consider the following as active steps that could be implemented:

Carry out a risk assessment – anticipate scenarios, what reasonable steps you could take and implement these [dependent on the size, nature of workplace, cost, disruption caused etc]. In terms of the risk assessment, I would suggest considering if the following would be potential risks to include:
Third party contact
Work related social events / client events [presence of alcohol]
Lone working
Lack of diversity [in Mgt.]

Reviewing core policies – Anti Bullying and Harassment Policy and Equal Opportunities Policy if in place.

Review supporting policies – Grievance, Disciplinary, Social Media Policies.

Training – deliver tailored training to all employees and training for managers and supervisors

If you want to save yourself time with these practical steps, I can help with the development of your risk assessments, reviewing and updating your policies or delivering tailored training to your line managers and employees.

If you need support with this, please reach out on 01905 900080.

Do holiday requests rush in before the school holidays?

Thu, 04 Jul 2024 14:13:08 GMT

Its nearly the six weeks holidays, do you find that holiday requests start rushing in during the months before?

Requesting leave

Holidays can be very emotive and potentially create disputes in smaller businesses when staff all want the same period off.

Holiday procedure

Having a clear procedure for booking annual leave can help avoid these disputes and minimise potential tensions.

The procedure should include:

The holiday year period – when does this start and end
Where the employee can find their holiday entitlement – is this in their employment contract, the holiday procedure or a system
What notice is required when requesting annual leave
How the employee should make a request – do they need to complete a form?
Confirm that employees should not make any bookings until the request is approved
If you wish to provide the option of allowing employee's to carry over holidays, you will need to consider providing guidance to cover:
if carry over would be automatically added to their holiday entitlement if not used or if this needs to be requested and approved
the maximum number of days allowed to be carried over
whether those carry over days need to be used by a set period
Whether the Company requires employees to take leave on specified dates i.e. Christmas shut down

Preventing holiday build up

At the half year point, it’s a good idea to check that annual leave is being used by employees. This can help prevent a scenario where all of your staff have lots of annual leave to take at the end of the year.

Check the number of annual leave days remaining for your staff and if they still have a high balance encourage them to plan and take the leave. Remind them that holidays are good for their wellbeing as they allow them to rest and recharge, send them a communication confirming how much leave they have remaining and ask them to plan in their holidays for the remainder of the year.

Do you have a holiday procedure in place which covers the above? Do you need a form to capture carry over requests for your employees? If you need support with this, please reach out on 01905 900080.

Should I take on an apprentice?

Fri, 07 Jun 2024 15:03:14 GMT

If you are considering taking on an apprentice, then make sure you have a genuine job role that allows them to gain knowledge, skills and behaviours to complete the apprenticeship. Don’t underestimate the time needed to support and supervise them in carrying out the role.

Apprentices are required to spend at least 20% of their normal working hours, over the duration of the apprenticeship, in off-the-job training and must work towards achieving an approved "apprenticeship standard", which sets out the requirements for completing an apprenticeship programme in a particular occupation or industry.

How long does an apprenticeship last?

It must last for at least 12 months, but many will take longer to complete, depending on the nature of the qualification. The usual duration is between one and four years. The minimum duration of 12 months relates to the "practical period" of work and training (not including the end-point assessment) and is based on the apprentice working at least 30 hours per week (including off-the-job training).

How does funding work for smaller employers?

If you do not pay the apprenticeship levy (if your annual pay bill is less than £3 million), the employer shares the cost of training and assessing their apprentices with the government. This is called ‘co-investment’. The employer pays 5% towards the cost of apprenticeship training. The government will pay the rest (95%) up to the funding band maximum.

Funding cannot be spent on other costs associated with apprentices, for example salaries, supervision, recruitment or travel.

Did you know you can use apprenticeships to upskill your existing workforce…..

Apprenticeships can be completed at any age, even where the individual already has a qualification at the same or a higher level in a different area. The only condition is that the apprenticeship must enable the apprentice to develop a new set of skills. For example, someone who has completed a degree in business may not be eligible to complete a level 6 or 7 apprenticeship in business management, but someone with a degree in engineering will be.

Key points

Ensure you have a genuine role and are able to commit time to support and supervise the apprentice, this may be their first job so they may need more guidance than most on expected behaviours in the workplace.
Work with a training provider to select the right approved "apprenticeship standard” course - Apprenticeship training courses (education.gov.uk) . Agree a training plan and select an end point assessment organisation - Finding an end-point assessment organisation - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
You will need to register for an apprenticeship service account to gain access to funding support - How to register and use the apprenticeship service as an employer - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) . Additional incentive payments are available to small employers with 49 or fewer employees that recruit apprentices who are aged 16 to 18 (or aged 19 to 24 if they have an education, health and care plan provided by a local authority or have spent time in local authority care).
The apprentice needs an employment contract that is long enough for them to complete the apprenticeship successfully, so a fixed term contract and also an apprenticeship agreement is required.

There is a lot to consider when taking on an apprentice which cannot be covered in a blog, however if you have more questions about apprenticeships or need a fixed term employment contract and apprenticeship agreement, then reach out on 01905 900080.

Taking on a young worker to cover weekend hours....

Thu, 02 May 2024 14:03:32 GMT

Are you looking to employ someone to cover those weekend shifts and think that this would suit a young worker….

Did you know that you need to apply for a work permit from your local authority if you intend to employ a child of school age?

What else do you need to consider when taking on a young worker?

Most local councils say that businesses intending to employ school-aged children must apply for a child employment permit before they can be employed.
Ensure you have Public and Employers Liability Insurance.
Prepare a risk assessment for the duties and give a copy to the parent/carer at the time they provide their permission for the child to be employed.
Ensure that you train the child for the job and make them aware of any risks which may be involved.
Supply the child with any necessary safety equipment and clothing.
You must not ask any child to undertake work which has not previously been agreed with the Child Employment Office supplying the work permit.
You must ensure the child's welfare at all times whilst in your employment and encourage children to let you know if there is anything that is causing them concern.

There are several restrictions on when and where children are allowed to work.

Children are not allowed to work:

without an employment permit issued by the education department of the local council, if this is required by local bylaws
in places like a factory or industrial site (unless as part of work experience)
during school hours
before 7am or after 7pm
for more than one hour before school (unless local bylaws allow it)
for more than 4 hours without taking a break of at least 1 hour
in any work that may be harmful to their health, well-being or education
without having a 2-week break from any work during the school holidays in each calendar year.

There are also special rules which only apply during term times and school holiday times.

Term time rules

During term time children can only work a maximum of 12 hours a week. This includes:

a maximum of 2 hours on school days and Sundays
a maximum of 5 hours on Saturdays for 13 to 14-year-olds, or 8 hours for 15 to 16-year-olds

School holiday rules

During school holidays 13 to 14-year-olds are only allowed to work a maximum of 25 hours a week. This includes:

a maximum of 5 hours on weekdays and Saturdays
a maximum of 2 hours on Sunday

During school holidays 15 to 16-year-olds can only work a maximum of 35 hours a week. This includes:

a maximum of 8 hours on weekdays and Saturdays
a maximum of 2 hours on Sunday

There is a lot to consider when taking on a young worker, if you have more questions reach out on 01905 900080.

Can I get a medical report on my employee?

Tue, 09 Apr 2024 14:24:58 GMT

If you have an employee who has been off on long term sickness absence, and this is impacting the business, or an employee has declared a medical condition, and you are unsure what the impact of this will be on their role. A medical report can help in determining your next steps, you can either use an occupational health provider or write to their GP.

Top Tip - It’s a good idea to include a clause in employment contracts on medical examinations, this way you can rely on the clause if they are reluctant to engage with your request.

If an employee refuses to engage with the process, this potentially isn’t in their best interests as you, as the employer, can then only make a decision on the information you have. Also, if you have this as a clause in their contract its potentially a breach of contract.

GP’s medical report

If you are unwilling to engage with an occupational health provider due to cost or another reason you can also write to the employees GP. In order to obtain a report from their GP, you will need obtain written consent where the employees’ rights have been confirmed.

With a GP report typically lead times unknown and you are unlikely to get responses to specific questions that are relevant to their job role.

Occupational health report

Occupational health providers on the other hand are clinicians specialising in occupational health and work. To refer an employee to an occupational health provider, you only need to obtain express consent from the employee. You can ask the provider specific questions such as, i.e. likelihood and timeline of being able to fulfil their role in the long term, recommended adjustments required to support a return, would the condition be classed a disability for the purposed of the equality act etc. The report is normally shared with the employee first and then this is issued to the employer.

With medical reports you then have a basis to make informed decisions.

If you have more questions about medical reports, or the above seems daunting then reach out on 01905 900080, and I can take that load off you, providing guidance and follow up letters for each stage of the process.

Employee works part time, but I need them to work full time - help!

Fri, 01 Mar 2024 13:35:42 GMT

Business needs can change over time, maybe you’ve won a new contract and need to take on more staff, or you need to restructure the team and adjust job roles to suit the changes.

If you have an employee performing a role on a part time basis but requirements have now changed, and you need the role on a full time basis.

How do you approach this?
Is there a process you should adopt?
What if they don’t want to do the role on a full time basis?

It can be difficult to navigate, especially if you know the potential impact of the change for the employee, so to ensure that you get the best outcome for the business and the employee you need to consult with the employee regarding the changes.

In this situation you will be consulting about the changes to the role and that their role could be at risk of redundancy.

This is because the part time role will no longer exist. There is a significant change to the role and therefore you need to follow a redundancy consultation process. The consultation meetings need to be meaningful, so you need to explore all available options to avoid the redundancy, such as, offering any other alterative roles and considering suggestions from the employee. Once you have held the meetings and you are unable to find a solution to avoid the redundancy your conclusion would be that the employee cannot fulfil the full time role and the role will become redundant, and you will be able to dismiss on the grounds of redundancy. The employee with be entitled to notice and statutory redundancy payment depending on their service and age.

If you have more questions about redundancy, or the above seems daunting then reach out on 01905 900080, and I can take that load off you, providing all the meeting guides and follow up letters for each stage of the process. I offer a redundancy package that you can purchase for a fixed fee.

How do I end a fixed term contract?

Thu, 08 Feb 2024 13:56:57 GMT

So, you employed someone on a fixed term contract and that end date is now approaching, you haven’t thought about how the contract ends, should you follow a process, write them a letter, how does it work?

When ending a fixed term contract, you should follow the basic principles in the Acas code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures:

Invite the employee to a meeting to discuss the intended non-renewal.
Hold the meeting to discuss this.
Issue a letter confirming the reasons for termination and provide an opportunity to appeal.

What happens if you take no action at the end of the fixed term contract?

If you take no action and continue to employee the individual, it is likely that they will be deemed to have become a permanent employee. Should you wish to terminate the now permanent contract, a reasonable notice period will be implied, taking into account the nature of the work, seniority and statutory minimum notice periods.

What if you need to end the fixed term contract before the end date you confirmed?

If you have an early termination clause in the contract this should be straightforward to end the contract following the procedure above and giving the appropriate notice.

If, however, there is no provision in the contract for early termination, it will amount to breach of contract if you terminate before the expiry date and the employee will be able to seek damages equivalent to the unexpired portion of the fixed term.

Always check in with a HR professional on the specifics of your case before taking action. If you need support schedule a call with me today on �� 01905 900080.

How do I deal with an employee who falls asleep during work time?

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 14:19:22 GMT

How do you deal with this?

As with any issue that an employer may be faced with, you should first investigate the facts.

What do you include in your investigation? Well there are key questions to be asked:

When is this taking place
For how long
Are there witnesses
What is the employees response to this?
Do they have any medical conditions or issues contributing to this?

Once you have gathered all of the available evidence you can then determine what steps to take next.

Misconduct - does the employee claim this isn't happening or that it's happening and there is no recognition of the impact or need to improve.

Next step - move to disciplinary hearing giving them an opportunity to respond and decide on appropriate sanction.

Capability - does the employee confirm that they have a medical condition or that the role or other issues are contributing to their tiredness.

Next step - obtain further information on medical condition or explore further issues and any support you can put in place with a plan to improve by a set review date.

All cases are different so always check in with a HR professional on the specifics of your case before taking action.

If you need support dealing with employees issues schedule a call with me today on �� 01905 900080

Work-Related Social Events – what employers need to know about vicarious liability

Tue, 03 Oct 2023 14:20:36 GMT

With Christmas approaching, lots of businesses will be planning the works Christmas party.

While these events provide an opportunity for employees to relax and socialise outside of the workplace, they also raise important questions about employer liability. Specifically, employers may be held vicariously liable for the actions of their employees during such events.

Vicarious liability is a legal principle that holds an employer responsible for the wrongful actions of an employee when those actions occur within the scope of employment or are closely connected to it. This means that if an employee engages in inappropriate or unlawful conduct during a work-related social event, the employer can be held liable for any resulting harm or damages.

Key factors in Vicarious Liability at Social Events:

Scope of Employment: Whether an employee's actions fall within the scope of employment during a social event can be a complex legal question. Courts typically consider factors such as the nature of the event, whether attendance is mandatory or encouraged, and whether the employer derives any benefit from the event (e.g., team building or client relations).
Foreseeability: Employers may be held vicariously liable if the actions of their employees were foreseeable given the circumstances of the social event. For instance, if an employer provides alcohol at a company party and a drunk employee causes an accident on their way home, the employer may be held liable for the accident.
Employers’ duty of care: Employers have a duty of care to provide a safe environment for their employees, including during work-related social events. Failing to take reasonable steps to ensure the safety and well-being of employees may lead to liability.

How can you minimise the risk of vicarious liability and show that the employer has taken all reasonable steps to prevent issues, you can consider the following:

provide guidelines on expected behaviour and the consequences of unacceptable behaviour before the event.
designate responsibility to specific managers to monitor activities and alcohol consumption. If any unacceptable behaviour occurs, address it swiftly and discreetly. Make it clear that such conduct won't be tolerated.
limit the supply of alcohol and ensure low-alcohol alternatives, soft drinks and water is available.
consider how staff will get home from events, putting on transport if possible, providing taxi numbers and reminding employees of the drink driving laws.

If you need further guidance on minimising the risks of vicarious liability or support on investigating an incident get in touch on �� 01905 900080

Do I need a Social Media Policy?

Fri, 08 Sep 2023 09:18:57 GMT

Lots of small businesses I speak to say they don’t need a social media policy, ‘we are only a small business, I don’t want too many policies, do I really need a social media policy’ . Let’s look at some scenarios that may make you think that there could be a risk to your business.

Here are some issues that could arise in your business:

Excessive use of social media in work time
Revealing confidential information about the company on social media platforms
Bringing your company into disrepute, for example making defamatory comments about individuals or companies

Having a Social Media Policy which sets clear expectations, standards, and the consequences of misconduct, should minimise the risk to your business from these types of issues.

Here’s an example of a tribunal case on Social Media:

‘Trench v Performance Bars Ltd: 2603993/2020’

The employee who worked part time in the bar, shared a former employee’s Facebook post alleging unsafe working practices and sexual harassment of female staff and customers at the workplace.

The employer dismissed the employee for gross misconduct, stating that the employee had publicly criticised the business.

On the face of it you may think that that was the right thing to do, the employee has potentially bought the company into disrepute on a public platform so that’s gross misconduct.

Following the dismissal, the employee bought a claim of unfair dismissal to the employment tribunal and the claim was upheld. This was because the employer did not carry out a reasonable investigation, there was no written invitation to the hearing and no right of appeal was given, due to the failure to follow the ACAS code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures, the award was increased by 20% for breaches of the code as well.

Having policies [or set out procedures] and following them can help businesses in the long term, even if your initial thoughts are you don’t need them, you cannot predict what actions your employees will take in the future.

Don’t forget that you need to ensure you communicate your policies to new starters, existing staff and capture that they have read and understand them.

If you have more questions about social media issues or a potential disciplinary case then reach out on �� 01905 900080.

Do I need to do an investigation?

Wed, 02 Aug 2023 07:35:51 GMT

Do I need to do an investigation?

If you have a concern about an employee’s conduct, for example, they are regularly late to work, they have failed to follow a reasonable instruction or company procedure. Or where concerns about an employee have been raised with you. An investigation is the first step in addressing these concerns.

The purpose of investigation is to discover all relevant facts in a fair, reasonable and objective manner.

Did you know that failure to investigate could lead to evidence being destroyed and potential tribunal claims.

What does the ACAS guidance say about investigations?

“An investigation is a fact-finding exercise to collect all the relevant information on a matter. A properly conducted investigation can enable an employer to fully consider the matter and then make an informed decision on it. Making a decision without completing a reasonable investigation can make any subsequent decisions or actions unfair and leave an employer vulnerable to legal action.”

An investigation is to:

see if there is a case to answer.
make sure everyone is treated fairly.
gather evidence from all sides.
help determine what should happen next.

At any stage the employer can still look at whether:

the formal procedure needs to carry on.
the issue can be resolved informally instead.

Can the problem be resolved in an informal way, maybe the quickest and easiest solution?

Can you try solving the issue by:

privately talking with them and any other staff involved
listening to their point of view
agreeing improvements to be made
setting up a training or development plan where appropriate

If you deal with an issue, informally remember to make a note of the action you have taken and the reasoning for it at that time. You may need to refer to the discussions / actions at a later stage.

The importance of a thorough investigation

A reasonable investigation is fundamental to a fair procedure.
Evidence of a thorough investigation is essential for defending tribunal claims.
It saves time and costs in the future because you have the evidence to back up decisions.

Collating, reviewing documentation and writing up the investigation report makes up bulk of many investigations.

If you want to ensure that the investigation is thorough but don’t have the time to dedicate to this, I can support, get in touch today �� 01905 900080.

How do I deal with a grievance?

Tue, 11 Jul 2023 09:23:50 GMT

A grievance is ‘concerns, problems or complaints that employees raise with their employers’.

If your next question is, how do I deal with a grievance, read on …………

Grievances can concern matters such as employee’s work, pay or working relationships, and you should have a grievance procedure that allows:

employees to raise genuine workplace grievances.
grievances to be dealt with fairly, objectively and without fear of recrimination.

ACAS guidance states that ‘If an employee has a 'grievance' (problem) at work, it's usually a good idea for them to raise it informally first. The employer should respond even if the problem's raised informally’.

If an employee raises a problem you should deal with it promptly, fairly, and in a consistent manner.

You should view raising of a grievance as an opportunity to resolve a workplace problem. Having a positive attitude may facilitate a satisfactory resolution.

Informal and formal approach

An informal procedure will usually be suitable where:

the grievance regards a minor issue
the matter can be resolved quickly and efficiently without a formal procedure.
the employee is happy to use the informal procedure.

Review the matter, carry out an investigation and provide an outcome to the employee, keep a written record of this.

A formal grievance procedure will be used where:

the employee is not agreeable to the use of an informal procedure.
the employee is not satisfied with the outcome of an informal procedure.
an informal procedure is not appropriate based on the seriousness of the issue.
a formal investigation process will be necessary, including interviewing witnesses.

Grievances can be time consuming and sometimes complex with potential consequences for other colleagues. Failing to deal with a grievance can also be risky to your business. If you have received a grievance and you are unsure how to deal with this get in touch for guidance and support �� 01905 900080, to keep you compliant with the ACAS Code of Practice.

What’s the difference between a worker and an employee?

Sat, 25 Mar 2023 09:11:57 GMT

Do you need to know the difference?

Yes, because the contract needs to reflect the employment status .

This needs to be based on how the relationship will work in practice. If the contract does not match the reality of the situation, the law will treat that person as having a different employment status, regardless of what the contract says. Therefore, the best practice approach is for the employer to consider how it wants the relationship to work, and ensure the contract reflects that arrangement for example, if the employer is to control how the work is done and provide work for a prolonged period then that person is likely to be an employee, not a worker.

To help you determine the employment status, here are the key features of a worker and employee:

Worker

Work is casual, e.g., work is not structured or regular.
Individual is employed to do the work themselves.
Work is irregular and not guaranteed.
Individual has very little obligation to make themselves available for work, but they should do the work they’ve agreed to

Employee

The employer, manager, supervisor is in charge of your workload and how work should be done.
The individual is required to work regularly unless they are on leave.
The individual is expected to be consistently available.
The individual cannot refuse the work.
The individual is employed to do the work themselves

And in terms of employment rights a worker is entitled to:

Written statement of employment particulars – outlining job and responsibilities
National minimum wage
Paid holiday.
Payslips
Protection from whistleblowing
Protection from unlawful discrimination
Not being treated unfairly for working part time
Workplace pension, if aged between 22 and state pension age and earn at least £10,000 per annum

If you need further guidance whether you are employing a worker or employee and the right type of contract to use, get in touch on �� 01905 900080

What are an employee’s rights under a zero hours contract

Fri, 17 Feb 2023 11:23:03 GMT

I have been asked by a few clients to confirm ‘what are an employee’s rights under a zero hours contract’ when considering if this type of contract will work for their business.

First let’s confirm what a zero hours contract is. Its an agreement between two parties to perform work without any minimum hours.

These contracts provide a pool of staff for the employer to meet demand without relying on agencies, offering flexibility for both sides, which means the individual can either accept the work offered or decide not to take up the offer on that occasion.

The key features of a zero hours contract are:

They can have a worker or employee status
The individual is entitled to:

certain basic statutory employment rights
at least the National Minimum Wage
paid annual leave
rest breaks
protection from unlawful discrimination, whistleblowing unfair treatment for working part time
those who are employees have additional rights, such as being able to claim unfair dismissal and a redundancy payment – subject to the two years qualifying service

So, what are an employee’s rights under a zero hours contract?

Well, that depends on the employment status, if they are a worker their rights are points a – e above, plus they need a contract on or before they start work – this is a day one right and they also have a right to payslips.

If they are an employee they have additional employment rights such as family friendly leave, minimum notice periods etc. Look out for my next blog where I will cover employment status in more detail.

Is there anything else I need to consider when employing an individual on a zero hours contract?

Yes, don’t forget a Workplace Pension, if aged between 22 and state pension age and earning at least £10,000 per annum the individual is entitled to a Workplace Pension.

Annual leave can also be a tricky one to navigate, as typically a zero hours worker will be taking limited holidays, however they are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday a year. Holiday pay is calculated by taking the average pay from the previous 52 weeks (only counting weeks in which they were paid).

If you need further guidance on zero hours contracts get in touch on �� 01905 900080

Performance Reviews

Mon, 02 Jan 2023 17:31:52 GMT

As we start a new year, are you setting your business objectives and reviewing performance of your employees over the last year?

Here are some key things I recommend taking on board when conducting your performance reviews:

Preparation

To help with your preparation, ask your employees to conduct their own self-assessment and share that with you ahead of the meeting. This helps you understand their perspective on their performance, and if you are aligned great! If their self-assessment is not aligned with your assessment of their performance, you need to take time to try and understand this, you may have to delve deeper into their assessment in the meeting, remember it’s their assessment so you should just seek clarity to help you understand their perspective.

Giving Feedback

The feedback should be specific to the objectives set, if an objective was the completion of a project, share feedback on how they tackled the task, what they did well, were deadlines achieved and any obstacles they had to overcome.

Being specific will provide clarity on the performance grade you will be awarding.

Setting the scene and providing specifics helps you and the employee understand the end result.

Frequency of reviews

The pace of your business should determine the frequency of reviews, which could be quarterly, twice a year - a mid-year and an end of year review or just an end of year review - if you are a small business and more regular formal reviews just aren’t practical.

Performance management, however, is a day-to-day activity and should be happening everyday as managers interact with employees on day-to-day activities providing feedback and guidance.

Is 2023 the year you need a formal process to review the performance of your employees? If so, I have a guide and performance review form ready to be tailored to your business, the cost starts from just £80, message �� or call �� to find out more.

When does a redundancy situation apply?

Wed, 30 Nov 2022 17:58:32 GMT

In this blog I cover the definition of redundancy, how you should consult with employees affected and what support you can provide to employees.

What is the definition of a redundancy

A redundancy situation occurs in the following situations:

You shut down the business completely
You close a particular part of the business, for example a team
You shut down at a specific location (even if you are moving to a new location)
You need less employees in a particular role (reduction in the size of the workforce).

Do I need to consult?

Where there are less than 20 proposed redundancies there is no set timescale or procedure that employers must follow when carrying out individual consultation. A fair procedure will typically include at least two meetings with the individual, possibly in addition to group meetings with other affected employees.

What key steps do you need to take in a consultation process?

Announcement – this can either be a group meeting or an individual meeting. During the announcement you should advise the reasons for considering redundancies, what options have already been explored to avoid the need for redundancies and any proposals for selection if applicable.
First consultation meeting – this is the opportunity to check that the employee understands the proposal, provide them with the opportunity to ask questions and to put forward any alternatives to avoid the redundancy.
Second consultation meeting – if required, this meeting should cover responses to questions that were not able to be answered in the first meeting and responses to any alternatives that the employee proposed.
Final consultation meeting – this is the end of the consultation process, if no alternatives can be found this is the meeting where notice of redundancy is issued.

All meetings need to be followed up in writing with meeting notes shared.

How can we support employees?

You do not have to spend lots of money to support employees going through a redundancy, this can be achieved through providing time off for interviews, providing them with time or access to computers to update their CV’s, sharing links on interview tips, helping them prepare for interviews such as practicing mock interviews, this can be particularly helpful for those employees who haven’t had an interview for several years.

If you have more questions about redundancy, or the above seems daunting then reach out on 01905 900080, and I can take that load off making sure you have all the paperwork in place, to ensure the procedure is fair.

What steps do you need to take to prepare for a disciplinary?

Fri, 04 Nov 2022 08:30:22 GMT

When faced with a potential disciplinary issue it can be tempting to start thinking about what the outcome is, however, a few steps need to take place to ensure you carry out a full and fair procedure to protect the employee and the business.

Investigation

The first step is to determine if you need to hold an investigation meeting, as the facts of the case need to be established, or if you only need to gather the evidence. This will depend firstly on what your disciplinary procedure states, if this states that an investigation meeting / interviews are part of the procedure then you will need to hold an investigation meeting with the employee. If you need to gather more facts, or you suspect that others may be involved then it’s advisable to hold an investigation meeting. If, however you have all the evidence, for instance, if the alleged misconduct is around persistent lateness for example, then the facts and any records can form the investigatory stage without the need to also hold an investigation meeting with the employee.

Evidence

You need to consider who will carry out the investigation, typically this would be line manager and then if required, who could carry out the disciplinary hearing, ideally this should be different people. If you are interviewing witnesses, you need to advise them that the notes or any witness statements they provide may need to be shared as evidence.

Most of the work required for a disciplinary procedure will be in the development of the Investigation Report, this will summarise the findings and needs to show the evidence for and against the allegations.

Disciplinary hearing

The invite

Writing a formal disciplinary hearing invite can be difficult, especially if you do not write these often, there are several key things that need to be included:

Any evidence you are relying on needs to be shared
Confirming that the employee has the right to be represented at the hearing by a work colleague or a trade union representative
You need to provide reasonable notice when inviting the employee to the hearing

The hearing

The best advice I can give for the disciplinary hearing – is to be prepared!

Understand the structure of the meeting to ensure you cover all the formalities e.g., does the representative know their role during the hearing. You also need to ensure you have the evidence to refer to and confirm that you will allow for adjournments for all parties.

One key area of preparation is the questions or key areas you need to cover. Make sure you have these ready ahead of the hearing and you have given sufficient time to the preparation of these, so that you limit the number of potential adjournments required.

Outcome

Following the hearing you will need to reach a conclusion and follow up with a letter confirming that outcome. You do not have to deliver the outcome at the end of the hearing, you can deliver this the following day, if you feel you need time to reflect on the outcome to be delivered. The formal outcome letter will need to confirm key information including the sanction, the length of time the sanction will be in place and the right to appeal.

If you need support dealing with a disciplinary issue, please reach out on 01905 900080.

Do I need HR Consulting Services?

Sun, 02 Oct 2022 21:24:58 GMT

Do I need HR Consulting Services?

Considering whether to employ an in-house HR Manager or HR Consulting Services isn’t normally top of a business owners to do list. However, regardless of size, a business will need HR expertise at some point and without dedicated resources this can be a struggle as people issues are usually time consuming, complex or you are just not sure what steps you need to take with an issue you haven’t faced before.

So why should small businesses consider using a HR Consultant.

1. Access to qualified, experienced and professional support

An outsourced HR Consultant will have experienced most issues across the full employee life cycle, and typically within many sectors, their experience will be invaluable to the issues your business may have now or in the future.

2. Time saving

When you need time to focus on the operational and business development areas, an outsourced HR Consultant is there to provide advice and guidance on how to approach those employee issues.

3. Flexible and cost effective

You have the choice of paying for ad hoc support when needed, project basis to complete piece of work or on a retained basis providing peace of mind that you can pick up the phone whenever you have a query, no matter how trivial. Costs are also a lot cheaper than a permanent head.

4. New perspective

Sometimes it’s hard to see what is needed or obvious things when you are close to them, especially when your priority is the everyday operation of your business. Having a HR Consultant is useful as they see the business through a different lens, will take into account prior experiences and determine what action is needed to resolve an issue or provide learnings and ideas to develop the business further.

With AL HR Consulting you will speak to the same person when you call, support is local so visits to your business are included without additional travel costs [subject to mileage] and there is no long tie into contracts, like there is with a larger HR Consultancy [this can be 3 years plus with a 6 month notice period].

If you have any questions about the services available from a local HR Consultant, please reach out on 01905 900080.

Employment Contracts

Wed, 31 Aug 2022 20:43:52 GMT

I’m only a small business do my employees or workers need an employment contract?

The short answer is Yes!

An employer must give employees and workers a document stating the main conditions of employment when they start work. There is a day one right for employees and workers, to receive this and this applies for employment beginning on or after 6 April 2020.

There are lots of places to download a simple template for an employment contract, however this will not cover all the terms needed to protect your business and it may not be up to date.

I have seen some of these contracts in place and these will cause issues for employers. One example I have seen didn’t cover a specified notice period in place when the employee is in a probationary period, if someone is not meeting the standards expected then you would want to pay them the shortness notice possible, surely! This employment contract did not include a specified notice period during the probationary period, and the business would have been liable to pay one months’ notice period in instead of being able to pay less. You only need to give one weeks’ notice if the employee has at least one month’s service and less than 2 years’ service. If this isn’t specified the contractual notice, in this case one month, applies.

Many of these templates also do not cover some of the additional key terms, which I would recommend including for all small businesses. Of course, depending on the type of business, extra terms may also be required:

Additional recommended terms:

Deductions from wages – one of the main disputes employers will face is when an employee leaves and they owe money for overtaken holiday, for example, and there is no clear clause in the contract to cover this.
Overtime / Time in Lieu – there may not be an immediate need for this, but as your business grows your employees and workers may be working overtime and they will have an expectation to be rewarded for this, make this clear at the outset so you avoid disputes and save yourself time getting into debates with employees.
Confidentiality – are employees and workers clear on their expectations on protecting your business.
Notice periods – do these cover the statutory notice period required from the employer, you don’t have to stick to a one fits all approach.
Lay off / short-term working clause – may be required if you have a downturn in work for a short period.

If you need an employment contract, which will help you avoid potential disputes and provides terms specific to your business, schedule a call with me today.

Annual leave

Thu, 30 Jun 2022 08:40:10 GMT

It seems holidays are back on the agenda this summer with restrictions being lifted in many countries.

As we approach the half year point small businesses, should now ensure that annual leave is being used by employees and there isn’t a scenario where all your staff have lots of annual leave to take at the end of the year.

Check the number of annual leave days remaining for your teams and if they still have a high balance encourage them to plan and take the leave. Remind them that holidays are good for their wellbeing as they allow them to rest and recharge, send them an email confirming how much leave they have remaining and ask them to plan in their holidays for the remainder of the year.

Here are some things to consider over the coming months.

Delays!

Its widely publicised that people are facing delays and cancellations at airports, as the travel sector recovers after the pandemic.

What do you do in the situation where an employee is delayed and does not return from annual leave as expected?

You would hope that the employee notifies you of the delay as soon as possible. Is this something that is covered in your existing annual leave procedure, or do you need to consider communicating this out to employees?

In this situation, once the employee has returned from holiday, provided that have notified you of the delay there is a few options to consider:

The employee could take additional annual leave to cover the period
The employer could offer discretionary paid or unpaid leave
The employer could give the employee the option to borrow annual leave from the following year
The employer could offer the employee the opportunity to make up the time at a later date
The employer could consider if there is a possibility for the employee to work remotely

Requesting leave

Holidays can be very emotive and potentially create disputes in smaller businesses when staff all want the same period off.

Do you ask employees to give sufficient notice when requesting holidays? By setting this, employers can accommodate more requests and plan for cover. This will also minimise any potential tensions between employees.

Did you know that an employee who wishes to take annual leave must give notice equal to twice the length of the holiday they wish to take?

Carry over

We have had two years of being able to carry over more than holidays than ever, thanks to the emergency legislation that came in force on 26 March 2020, which allowed workers to carry over up to four weeks annual leave into the next two holiday years. At the end of this year that legislation expires, and employee will then only be able to carry over holiday in excess of the statutory annual leave period. Therefore, as a minimum they need to take four weeks holiday and any remaining holiday above this can be carried over, if the business wishes to allow carry over.

If you want to provide the option of allowing employees to carry over holidays, you will need to consider providing guidance to employees covering:

if carry over would be automatic if not used or if this needs to be requested and approved
the maximum number of days allowed to be carried over
whether those carry over days need to be used by a set period

Do you have an annual leave procedure in place to cover some of the issues above? Do you need a form to capture carry over requests for your employees? If you need any guidance or support with any issues mentioned above, please get in touch.

Probationary Periods

Tue, 31 May 2022 21:51:03 GMT

This month my blog is on probationary periods, a tool that should be used to determine if an individual is right for a role and which focuses on ensuring the new employee has the training, support and guidance they need to perform in the role.

Did you know that if you haven’t communicated to an employee that they have been unsuccessful in their probationary period before or on the end of the agreed probationary period, the employee’s appointment will, technically be confirmed by default. This is a common misconception; I have seen repeatedly. Another common misconception is that there is more than one probationary period, this usually comes to light when an employee is promoted, the employee’s performance in the promoted role isn’t as expected and then the manager wants to rely on a probationary period to terminate employment. Promotion is a different situation to a new appointment, and for an employee to be promoted they must have already demonstrated strengths contributing to the managers decision to promote them. Employees who have been promoted may have the qualifying service required to claim unfair dismissal, so you would need to use a fair procedure such as a performance improvement plan, considering a return to the original role or a move to an alternative role, if these roles are available.

Probationary periods are to assess the fit of new employees and below are key considerations to take into account.

P erformance - during the probationary period the new employees’ performance, conduct and attendance should be assessed.

R eviews – regularly review progress during the probationary period. If the probationary period is for 3 months, then I recommend you hold a review meeting with the employee after 4 weeks, 8 weeks and 11 weeks. At 11 weeks you should have a clear idea of the outcome, ahead of the end of the probationary period.

O bjectives – set objections to be achieved during the probationary period, these don’t need to be overly detailed, the main purpose is having a clear measurement that the employee can be assessed against, and that the employee is clear from the outset what they need to achieve.

B ase these objectives on underpinning the knowledge and learning required to do the role.

A chievable – as with any objectives you set, they need to be achievable within the timeframe set. You will need to allow time for the employee to understand the company, processes, and the ways of working within this period.

T erms and conditions – the employment contract must include the probationary period, its length and any conditions attached to it, for example if the notice period is a shorter duration during the probationary period. It should also include the right for the employer to extend the probationary period.

I f proper guidance is given to an employee during a probationary period, you would expect them to be successful in passing the probationary period.

O utcomes – there are three potential outcomes of a probationary period:

the probationary period has been successful
an extension of the probationary period and further support is required
the probationary period has been unsuccessful, and employment will be terminated.

N otice - if the employee has not met the required standards of performance, despite the support they have been given or offered during their probationary period, a decision can be taken to terminate the probationary period at this stage and notice given that their employment will end. Don’t forget to check what notice period is applicable during the probationary as confirmed in the employment contract.

The first few months in a role are crucial to the long term performance of an individual. If you need support managing an employee during a probationary period schedule a call with me today.

Mental Health Awareness

Sun, 01 May 2022 21:22:40 GMT

Mental Health Awareness week falls on 9th – 15th May this year, so let’s get delve into mental health…….

When I started my career in HR, some 20 years ago, I don’t recall the level of appreciation there currently is for mental health as there is now. I would estimate that at least 50% of the Statement of Fitness for Works [Dr’s notes] I have seen over recent years have stated a mental health condition such as anxiety or depression. Personally, as well, I have been more exposed to mental health conditions whether that be colleagues, friends and family.

It’s not easy

Dealing with mental health conditions isn’t easy, and one of the reasons is that having a mental health condition is generally unseen, there isn’t an obvious physical attribute, like breaking a limb. People can have such an array of symptoms that you wouldn’t normally associate with a mental health condition as well, like aches, pains, headaches and skin conditions.

You may find that someone that is suffering from a mental health condition is also off-loading to a colleague and this colleague doesn’t know where to turn or takes on the burden.

The legal stuff….

An employer is under a duty to take reasonable care for the health and safety of its employees, with this duty covering both physical and mental conditions. So, once you are aware of a potential mental health condition you must take positive steps to ensure the safety of employees in light of the knowledge that you have or ought to have, so circumstances that make an employee more vulnerable to injury must be taken into consideration in caring for that employee.

If an employee has a mental impairment and this has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities then this can amount to a disability under the Equality Act 2010, and this places the employer under a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments.

As a manager once you are aware of a potential issue, the company will be treated as being aware of it too. If you fail to act appropriately, leave the company, or go on holiday and the situation deteriorates because of pressure caused by work, the company may find itself liable for any resultant injury to the employee.

How to manage a mental health issue in the workplace

Managers at some point will manage an individual with a mental health condition and its essential that they are able to support them. Back in 2007, one in four people in the UK would experience a mental health condition, and I would estimate that this is still at the same level or has increased.

A manager may be able to spot early warning signs of poor mental health, which could be:

Feeling tired or sleeping poorly
Suffer with skin problems such as rashes or eczema
Feeling run down all of the time
Inconsistent performance
Mood swings, feel aggressive and / or tearful
Have lapses in memory
Over-react to problems and / or take risks that are excessive or out of character

This is far from an exhaustive list.

Do not assume that an individual who displays some of these signs is experiencing poor mental health, it could be a sign of a different health issue or something else entirely. If you notice changes in your team members, this is something that you should note and explore with them.

Dos and Don’ts

Do think about the language that you use when talking about mental health.
Do hold regular one-to-one meetings, this should generate open and honest conversations, help you to get to know your team and create a supportive environment.

Don’t use stigmatising phrases such as: ‘having to man-up’, ‘losing the plot’, ‘acting crazy’, ‘going insane’.
Don’t tolerate others saying things like ‘snap out of it’, ‘try to smile’

Where can you go for additional support

HR Professional – they will have experienced many forms and scenarios related to mental ill health and will be able to guide and support you in taking the right steps in dealing with the situation.
Employee Assistance Programme [EAP] – this is a professional support service offering 24 / 7 support, and typically will include face-to-face counselling and telephone or online counselling. You may already have access to an EAP service without being aware, check your life cover or permanent health insurance policies you have, an EAP could be an add on to your policy. If you have an employee suffering from poor mental health, guide them to your EAP provider.
Occupational health / GP report - these can be helpful in answering any questions you may have such as, what support the employee needs, any recommendations for alternative duties or adjustments to role. A medical report should help the business to determine how the employee can make a safe and healthy return to work, including identifying any adaptations that might be needed or advisable.
Wellness Action Plan – these are personalised, practical tools to identify what keeps us well at work, what causes us to become unwell, and how to address a mental health problem at work. These open up a dialogue with employees and managers to understand needs, experiences and ultimately better support an employee’s mental health. Find out more here - mind-guide-for-employees-wellness-action-plans_final.pdf
Reasonable adjustments – these might be needed to support the employee whilst dealing with their condition. If you are able to put in place the adjustments, this could have significant long-term benefits for the business and the employee.

If you need guidance on the approach to take when an employee has a mental health condition and they need support, schedule a call with me today.

Flexible Working Requests

Thu, 31 Mar 2022 07:16:49 GMT

This month my blog is on flexible working requests, the last two years have proved that people can work in many ways, and the government has been consulting on the current statutory right to flexible working requests. So how do you deal with a flexible working request?

It will become a day one right

The government has previously announced, but not yet set out a timetable, for changes to the right to request flexible working procedure.

Employees currently need 26 weeks' service to be entitled to request flexible working. The Government proposes to remove this service qualification, making the right to request flexible working a "day one right". Currently, an employee may make one statutory request every 12 months and an employer has three-months to consider whether that request can be accommodated. The Government is consulting on whether these limitations need to be changed - so watch this space!

More and more job adverts now include whether the role is remote and recent job postings I have seen begin with defining what flexibility is available at the outset. In one recent example I saw the advert started with this opening statement: ‘We support hybrid and flexible ways of working and would welcome a discussion on how we can enable you to thrive in your role’. This is reaching out to as many potential applicants as possible, who can see that they are able to work flexibly and not have to prove themselves before requesting flexible working.

Impact on small businesses

When you have a small team, it can be harder to accommodate flexible working requests. The practicalities of managing the impact will be more significant to a business who only employs 1 employee per job rather than a business who has a team of 6 all carrying out the same role.

Some obvious solutions to accommodate a flexible working request are to create a job share or recruit for the gap this leaves. This can sometimes add more cost, if for instance in a job share you need both employees to be working at the same time at some point for a handover. So instead of hiring 2 people to make up a full-time role, you end up with 1.2 full time equivalents. But also consider that if someone’s flexible working request cannot be accommodated, they may have no alternative but to leave the business. You are then faced with the costs of recruiting a replacement, overtime and temporary staff costs and risk demotivating others while a role is open.

It can be a difficult decision to make and depending on the outcome you will need to consider if some additional cost outweighs the direct and indirect cost of losing an employee.

The Request

When an employee makes a request, this needs to be made in writing and include:

The date of application for flexible working
The effective date to start flexible working
Detail the change that is requested
Explain the effects that the employee thinks the proposed change would have on the business and how any such effects might be dealt with
State whether the employee has made a previous application for flexible working and if so the date of that application

So, what do employees want when they make a flexible working request, they might ask to:

reduce their hours to work part time
change their start and finish time
have flexibility with their start and finish times (sometimes known as 'flexitime')
do their hours over fewer days ('compressed hours')
work from home or elsewhere ('remote working'), all or part of the time
share the job with someone else

You should consider the request carefully looking at the benefits of the requested changes for the employee and your business and weigh these against any adverse business impact of implementing the changes.

Don’t forget the process

Employers must look at flexible working requests fairly and follow the ACAS Code of Practice on flexible working requests and make a decision within a maximum of three-months.

Once you have received the written request, you must consider it and deal with it in a reasonable manner.

You should arrange to talk with your employee as soon as possible, if you intend to approve the request then a meeting is not needed
Arrange a meeting as soon as possible and allow the employee to be accompanied
Discuss the request, to get a better idea of the changes and how they might benefit your business and the employee
Following the meeting consider the request carefully looking at the benefits of the requested changes in working conditions for the employee and your business and weighing these against any adverse business impact of implementing the changes
Once you have reached a decision confirm this to the employee in writing asap – don’t forget the law requires that requests are dealt with in a three-month timeframe, this includes any appeal process that may follow.
Your options here are:
Accept the request – after you have confirmed the outcome, make sure you also write to the employee to confirm their change to terms and conditions as the request may impact pay and holiday entitlement.
Accept the request with modifications – discuss this with the employee and how best they can be implemented.
Reject the request – this must be for one of the following business reasons:
the burden of additional costs
an inability to reorganise work amongst existing staff
an inability to recruit additional staff
a detrimental impact on quality
a detrimental impact on performance
a detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand
insufficient work for the periods the employee proposes to work
a planned structural change to your business
If you reject the request, you should allow your employee to appeal the decision.

Trial it!

So, you can see the benefits of a flexible working request for the employee and the business, but you have reservations about taking the plunge and accepting this request because you think others within the business will consider flexible working and this will just become an administration burden for you! Well, I’m sorry to say that flexible working requests will not go away there will always be a point in someone’s life when they may consider flexible working, whether that’s caring for a child, an elderly parent, taking on a new pet or even to winding down to retirement.

My advice is trial it! What have you got to lose? If you trial it and it doesn’t work, at least you can be satisfied that you have explored the request and if you receive an appeal, you have evidence to support your decision if you have declined the request.

Employers can agree to try a flexible working pattern on a trial basis [although they are not obliged to offer a trial period]. The duration of any trial should be set out in writing and the trial should be reviewed regularly throughout the trial period. Where you are offering a trial period, you should extend the three-month time frame for considering flexible working requests, ensure you obtain the employees agreement to this and confirm this agreement in writing.

If you need support with dealing with a flexible working request schedule a call with me today.

Long term sickness absence

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 19:34:10 GMT

This month my blog is on long-term sickness absence. We will all know of someone who has or is suffering from a long-term health condition, such as common mental health problems, musculoskeletal conditions, cardiovascular conditions, respiratory conditions etc. For small businesses having a staff member off on a long-term absence can have a significant impact on your business, so what should you do?

What is a long-term sickness absence?

Generally, any absence of more than a few weeks is classed as a long-term absence, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and many larger companies would define a long-term sickness absence as lasting four or more consecutive weeks. A business should define long-term absence based on what suits its circumstances, and this will help to ensure a consistent approach in the management of long-term sickness absences.

If you don’t have a formal policy, make sure that all your employees know the procedures for reporting an absence. Are you happy for your employees just to send you a text message for instance? Whilst a text message delivers a message quickly, you cannot form a conversation with an employee, getting a sense of their wellbeing and being able to ask questions that are queued up during a conversation such as ‘do you have an appointment with your doctor’, ‘are there any urgent tasks that need picking up’, ‘where have you saved the XYZ files’, this can all be covered in one telephone conversation rather than back and forth with texts.

Regular contact

So, you have an employee off for a couple of weeks and now you have received a fit note for a further two weeks. The manager should contact the employee as early as possible, be sensitive to their circumstances and your communication style as this could affect their wellbeing and decision to return to work. For example, if the employees fit note, confirms their reason for absence is stress, you don’t want to tell them how busy work is because they are off work!

During this early check in you can agree the flow and format of the regular check-ins that you should put in place moving forward. Regular check-ins will enable managers to estimate the length of the absence and plan for this, the business will still need to operate. The check-ins should also be used to update the employee on what’s going on in the business and keep them connected, even if it’s an update on life events for their colleagues. The regular check-ins will be important if the employee is suffering with their mental health, it may be a routine to their day that helps them focus and improve their mood, don’t avoid these check-ins!

Support and impact

If an employee feels supported, they are more likely to feel comfortable in returning to work. As well as the regular contact, you may also be able to offer your employees access to professional support through an Employee Assistance Programme [EAP]. These offer 24 / 7 support and practical advice on issues that might be impacting their wellbeing and performance. Typically, they will include face-to-face counselling and telephone or online counselling.

You may already have access to an EAP service without being aware, check your life cover or permanent health insurance policies you have, an EAP could be an add on to your policy.

Depending on the illness your employee is suffering, this may be a long-term condition and as an employer you will need to consider the impact of this on them prior to their return to work. If this is a physical condition, is there any adjustments you could consider to accommodate the return, and if a mental health issue could you offer flexibility to support their return.

Get further advice and consider alternatives

If you have an employee on long-term sickness absence and you have no estimate of a return or you feel that the employee would need specific support to accommodate their return, you can obtain a medical report from their GP or an occupational health provider, with the employees’ consent.

These can be helpful in answering any questions you may have such as:

How long is the employee likely to be off work?
Is this a long-term condition?
What alternative duties the employee might be fit to undertake if they are unfit to resume their normal duties.
What support would they need to return to work?
Would they recommend any adjustments to their role? (it’s helpful to include the job description when requesting a medial report)

A medical report should help the business to determine how the employee can make a safe and healthy return to work, including identifying any adaptations that might be needed or advisable.

To support an employee to return to work, and in preparation, you should consider alternatives that may be available to facilitate the return, such as:

Adjustments to the role
A temporary or new role
A change in the location of the role

Impact on long term absences on SME’s and considerations

If you are a small business a long-term sickness absence can have a significant impact on your business. The first obvious consideration is the immediate need of the activities that need to continue, can the remaining team pick up the work, or do you need to cover this in some way? Some options to consider is employing an agency temp, don’t forget there is an agency margin to pay on top of the rate for the worker. If you have a good estimate of the period of absence you could hire an employee on a fixed term contract, specifying the length of the contract at the outset while retaining flexibility to offer and keep on an individual if you find that circumstances allow you to do this. Or if the role will be difficult to replace, could you offer existing staff a secondment, providing a development opportunity and back fill the easier to fill role.

Do you have an employee on long term absence and need some guidance in managing this, or does the business not have a formal policy which is understandable, clear and equips managers to deal with long-term sickness absence?

If you need support schedule a call with me today.

Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging

Fri, 28 Jan 2022 12:58:49 GMT

February is LGTB+ history month, so my blog this month is on Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging [DIB’s]. After recently refreshing my learning on this, here are my thoughts.

What is DIB’s?

Let’s start with some understanding

Diversity – a fact, everything that makes us unique, the seen and the unseen
Inclusion – the act of creating fairness
Belonging – a human need to belong in our unique way

These 3 elements highlight that diversity is not a numbers game, having a truly inclusive culture is embracing the facts that make us unique, the act of creating fairness and helping to ensure everyone belongs in the workplace in their unique way.

Confronting Bias

Everyone has a culture, we are all taught about what’s important, what’s valuable and how to act. From these learnings we adopt small behaviours or comments and the way we behave, these can be small, but lots of people have done the same thing, some examples of these micro-inequities are:

Forgetting a more junior member of staffs’ name
Always mispronouncing someone’s name
Only making eye contact with those of one sex when talking to a mixed group
A suggestion made being met with a sigh or a roll of the eyes

To confront our bias, we need to adopt the platinum rule – ‘ treat people the way they want to be treated’. This requires us to pay attention, ask questions, to be much more curious, think about not only our own lens but the lens of others.

There are a few reasons why people say the wrong things:

Basic discomfort with difference
Cultural lens – the way we see the world
Unconscious bias – shows up in what we say
Concept of privilege – we are not noticing how difficult something is for another person because we don’t have that difficulty

What should you do if you say something wrong?

Apologise – ask what should I have said, what was the impact, and how does it feel? Empathy is really important to know how it feels like to be on the other end of your statement.

Stay engaged, learn from the mistake, and grow from the experience. Our consciousness courage and compassion will help us be more inclusive.

How can you avoid unconscious bias in the workplace?

Ask more questions, why am I making this decision, how much data did I get, what meaning am I making of this data and what am I missing. I always find that asking someone else’s opinion also gives you a fresh perspective.

Inclusive leadership

Becoming an inclusive leader requires a shift in behaviours, an openness to different ways of doing things, being receptive to some discomfort and demonstrating courage to embrace the unknown and unfamiliar.

Here are some common pit falls to avoid:

Treating everyone the same - remember the platinum rule!
Showing favouritism
Being inflexible
Failing to provide feedback

When leaders live the values of DIB’s they impact business outcomes and enhance the success of DIB’s initiatives.

The leadership role has changed, because we now have workforces and marketplaces that have become more global, diverse, connected through technology and multigenerational. The requirements of a leader are now to:

Have an understanding, competence and skill set to lead across cultures and generations
Requiring an understanding in diverse needs, expectations, and styles
Being self-aware of own bias, beliefs, style, strengths, and weaknesses

Inclusive leaders build inclusive businesses, and this can only lead to increased employee engagement, retention, and productivity.

Promoting healthy and positive work environment

Is just having policies in place enough to ensure you are a diverse and inclusive employer? In my opinion no, if you asked a manager in your business to give you an overview of your Diversity and Inclusion policy, could they?

Most companies will have policies saying that they are a diverse employer, and we can probably see some diversity in the workplace, but is there inclusion and a true sense of belonging for everyone or do you recognise that some employees may be masking their identity at work to fit in. In a 2018 survey by Stonewall, found that 35% of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the UK did not disclose their identity at work.

Negativity costs businesses, people cannot do top quality work when they are in a negative environment, they experience stress, loss of energy, depression and more and work suffers. There are time costs, how much time is spent dealing with complaints about bad behaviours and turnover costs – employees leave, leading to recruitment, training, overtime and lost productivity costs.

Leaders hold the key in creating a positive work environment. By creating a culture where negativity is abnormal, people who engage in it will stick out like a sore thumb, this will create peer pressure to act with positivity.

How can businesses raise awareness of LGBT+? Here are some suggested ideas used by employers

Get involved in local Pride events
Mark LGBT+ History month
Invite LGBT+ employees to take part in recruitment
Raise the profile of LGBT+ employees

Did you know that happy employees are 12% more productive than unhappy ones, and disengaged employees commit 60% more errors and have 37% higher absenteeism rate than those who are engaged.

Is it time to review your policies and procedures to ensure they do not unfairly discriminate against LGBT+ employees and are free from bias? If you need support with this review or guidance on how you can become a more diverse, inclusive, and a belonging employer schedule a call with me today.

Start the year with performance management

Mon, 27 Dec 2021 20:48:54 GMT

As we start a new year, business objectives will be set, and employee objectives should be aligned to these.

If your employees don’t have objectives how will the business objectives be achieved?

Improving performance management can help boost productivity.

Here are some key things I recommend taking on board when managing performance in your business.

Frequency

Performance management is a day-to-day activity. Informal performance management should be happening everyday as managers interact with employees on day-to-day activities providing feedback and guidance.

Employees would like regular and immediate feedback, not less!

The formal side of performance management typically happens once a year at a minimum. If you are only sitting down once a year to give your employees feedback this is not enough. How can an employee respond or make improvements on things that are now in the past!

The pace of your business should determine the frequency of reviews, which could be quarterly, twice a year - a mid-year and an end of year review or just an end of year review - if you are a small business more regular formal reviews may just not be practical.

Preparation

The key to performance reviews is preparation. Meetings should be set with reasonable notice so that both the employee and manager can prepare their feedback and allow time during the meeting to discuss performance, especially if you are only meeting to discuss end of year reviews, this cannot be completed in 15 minutes, make sure you will not be disturbed during the meeting.

Being specific will provide clarity on the performance grade you will be awarding.

If your manager gives you a performance grade without any background and it’s not what you were expecting – how would this make you feel? Setting the scene and providing specifics helps you and the employee understand the end result.

1-2-1’s

I cannot recommend regular 1-2-1’s with your employees enough!

These should be happening at least once a month, more if you have a new starter, a coaching need, or the pace of your business dictates this. Have a set agenda for your 1-2-1’s, to include KPI’s. If there is a clash with the scheduled meeting time, make sure you reschedule the slot. Take notes of all of your 1-2-1’s and by doing this you will have all of your data for your performance reviews and your preparation is done! You already have all your specific feedback lined up for your formal performance reviews.

Coaching

Did you know that by conducting regular 1-2-1’s you are establishing a coaching practice with your employees?

Consistency is key! Regular 1-2-1’s with set agendas lead to opportunities for you to coach. The agenda doesn’t need to be onerous just include, action items update, KPI’s, current projects / hot topics and personal goals. Over time the flow of your 1-2-1’s will improve, and they turn into coaching conversations, the employee will know what is expected of them at the meeting, they will come prepared, and the conversation will focus on what good looks like and what support they need.

Make sure your feedback is constructive and transparent to ensure trust between you and your employee is maintained.

There are many benefits to this consistent practice:

employees like time with their manager
it provides an opportunity to talk about concerns and questions
helps cultivate relationships
decreases interruptions
better time management and helps employee prioritise
employees will feel that what they do matters, and they work with people who care about them.

Did you know that organisations with engaged employees outperform those with low employee engagement by 202%!

Follow up

So, the performance review is complete and during the meeting you identify a training need and discuss options for a training course, some coaching or project exposure or you have an employee who has high potential, and you discuss setting a development plan for them. Make sure you follow up on these actions! An employee will leave the meeting feeling valued that the business is willing to invest time in their development and the worst thing you can do is forget about this and not follow up on these actions.

I have been in this position, at the end of my performance review my manager said great year, really pleased with performance I can see your potential for the next level, and we should write a development plan to get you there. I was on cloud 9, so I left the meeting and set about writing my own development plan, at my next 1-2-1, I presented this to my manager, ‘thanks’ they said, and it was placed in their in-tray and that’s where it stayed! This is a sure-fire way to disengage your employees! Engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave. And guess what I was disengaged, and I left!

If your business doesn’t have a set performance management flow or process and you feel this needs to be set, schedule a call with me today. I’d be happy to discuss your business aims and help you find the right balance in performance management practices for your business.