Tag Archives: sme

Small Earthquake in Chile: Not Many Dead

Posted on by • Posted in HR Thoughts, Work Related Posts • Tagged , , , , , , • Leave a comment

So, finally, after much speculation, press leaks, anguished cries from business and reports of government in-fighting, we finally have the new government’s Employment Rights Bill.

And, to be honest, it’s a bit of an anti-climax. There are lots of minor tinkering with existing rules, many of which have little uptake, or extending existing rights to people who don’t currently qualify. Some of the key proposals are:

  • The right to claim unfair dismissal, although it will become formally a day-one right, will in practical terms be reduced from requiring 2 years’ service to 9 months’ service.
  • The right to statutory sick pay will be available to all employees from day one regardless of their earnings. Currently it’s not payable until day 4 of sickness and only for those who earn more than £123 a week  (for context that means anyone who does more than 11 hours per week at adult minimum wage already qualifies)
  • Rights to parental leave. paternity leave and bereavement leave from day 1 of employment rather than requiring a minimum qualifying period. As parental leave in particular is unpaid, hardly anyone uses it currently so extending it is unlikely to see a massive increase in time off.
  • Strengthening and extending existing  unfair dismissal protections for women on maternity for up to 6 months after they return.
  • Flexible working requests must be accepted unless the Employer has a valid business reason to say no. Currently employers must justify saying no with a valid business reason so in practice it’s unlikely to make much of a difference.
  • Rules on zero hours will be changed so that workers  have the right to a contract based on the average number of hours over the preceding 12 weeks (but can choose to stay on zero hours if they prefer). Those of you who’ve read my recent employment law update (sign up here if you don’t already get it) will know that this had already brought into law by the previous Conservative government but not actually implemented.
  • Abolishing some of the previous Government’s restrictive rules on trade unions and strike action – which were rarely used by employers and were not particularly relevant to small business.
  • There will be a lot of consultation on various other aspects of employment law, including
    • The ‘Right to Switch off’  – which it appears may now just be a code of practice rather than a legal requirement.
    • Clarifying the law around employment status – an area which appears very nerdy but is key to businesses that use sub-contractors, casual workers and ‘gig economy’ working practices
    • Considering how equal pay legislation can be extended to cover race as well as sex

Most importantly, the changes themselves are unlikely to be implemented until at least 2026 – which means that businesses will have plenty of time to prepare for them.

After all the hype, it appears we are left with simply a continuation of the approach to employment law of the last 14 years – minor tinkering with particular rules that give some additional benefits to employees but at minimal discomfort to business.

(As an aside, if you’re wondering about the post title you’ll find the origin here)

It was 20 years ago today…

Posted on by • Posted in HR Tips for Business and Charities, Work Related Posts • Tagged , , , , , • Leave a comment

That I launched Ariadne Associates to provide HR help and advice to small organisations. In that time, we’ve supported around 150 small businesses and charities – primarily in the North West of England but sometimes further afield. And to celebrate 20 years in business we’ve got some fantastic birthday deals 

1.  20% off our normal day rate for new and returning clients (subject to T&C below)

If there’s an HR issue that you wanted to tackle (for example setting up contracts, reviewing policies and procedures, making changes in your organisation, or needing some help with recruitment) then now is the time to do it. Visit our Services page for some ways we can help

For a limited time, our day rate will be reduced from £550 to £440 (for charities it will go from £495 to £395) To qualify, simply get in touch using the form at the bottom of this page, and we’ll get back to you to discuss how we can help.

2. Simon’s successful book on what small businesses need to know about Employment Issues for just £4.99 (and only £1.99 on Kindle)

Shortlisted for the CMI Management Book of the Year 2018, Happy Working Relationships has received numerous positive reviews as a plain English guide to Employment Law and People Management.

To order the paperback, visit https://ariadne-associates.co.uk/simons-book/

To order the Kindle version, visit https://www.amazon.co.uk/Happy-Working-Relationships-business-employment-ebook/dp/B071Y6C852

T&Cs

1. To qualify for 20% off our day rate, work must be agreed and committed by 31 July 2019 and must be completed and invoiced by 31 October 2019. Payment must be made within our normal timescales

2. 20% discount applies to a maximum of 3 days’ work.

3. Does not apply to existing clients or work already in progress

4. A returning client is an organisation that we’ve not worked with for over 12 months and which doesn’t currently receive our free employment law updates.

5. Book promotions run until 5th July 2019

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

lighted happy birthday candles

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

 

ET Fees – what should small organisations do?

Posted on by • Posted in HR Tips for Business and Charities • Tagged , , , , , , • Leave a comment

You’ve probably seen today’s news that the Supreme Court has ruled that the current Employment Tribunal fees system is unlawful, primarily because it denies individuals the ability to exercise the rights granted to them by Parliament. If you run a small business or charity, you may wonder what this means for you. Here are some key tips

  1. Don’t panic – today’s ruling simply restores the legal situation to what it was in 2013.
  2. Treat Employees legally and fairly – you should be doing this anyway, most employers already do. If you’re not sure exactly what you should be doing, my posts here and here may help
  3. If you do get a claim from someone relating to a past dismissal (or other issue), alleging they were unable to make a claim at the time due to the fees, seek advice immediately. 
  4. Don’t believe the hysterical nonsense in the Daily Mail (actually, that’s true of most employment law issues)
  5. See point 2

A quiet week

Posted on by • Posted in HR Thoughts, Uncategorized • Tagged , , , , , • Leave a comment

I was sitting at my desk, thinking that this week had been comparatively quiet, but then I started to list a few of the things I’ve done:

·         Advised a client on a recruitment issue, including how to develop what they want and where they might source candidates

·         Worked with a small public sector organisation to review its restructure and recommend some improvements to it

·         Drafted a staff handbook for a growing professional practice

·         Helped a new start-up understand their ‘basic’ HR responsibilities

·         Assisted a client in a hi-tech field to deal with a performance management issue

·         Acting as the adviser for a charity client in a disciplinary issue

·         Dealing with a query about the Apprenticeship levy

·         Writing the script for, and recording a CIPD Level 7 training webinar (not entirely convinced that voiceover artist is a likely career move for me)

·         Finalising the edits for my book (of which more here)

It made me realise that even in the ‘quieter’ periods,  the variety of ‘people’ issues that crop up  in organisations are what makes my work so interesting. So, if your business or organisation needs some HR help, why not get in touch?

 

Newcastle United go down…

Posted on by • Posted in HR Thoughts, HR Tips for Business and Charities • Tagged , , , , , • Leave a comment

Newcastle United hit the headlines for non-footballing reasons last week when they were found to have discriminated on the grounds of disability against one of their former players, Jonas Gutierrez. Apart from its high profile nature, the case has several interesting points for small business which often worry (unnecessarily) about disability issues.

The first thing to remember is that anyone diagnosed with cancer is classed as disabled under the Equality Act – no matter how early in the disease or how “healthy” the individual may appear. It seems that Newcastle either failed to accept this or chose to ignore it.

Secondly – an employer has a duty to make reasonable adjustments to allow a disabled employee to undertake their work. Reasonable is the key word here – it needs to take account of the size of business, nature of the work being done and how practical it is to make the adjustment. An “adjustment” need not be some physical change – it could be that you accept that someone with a disability has their targets or outputs adjusted, or even something as simple as allowing home working if the job can still be done that way. In Newcastle’s case, it was not adjusting the appearance target required to trigger a contract extension, given Gutierrez’ need to attend treatment. (They then compounded this by an act of direct discrimination, by not picking him when he was fit to ensure he couldn’t achieve the appearance target).

Thirdly, the case shows that if you are taken to tribunal – for any reason – it is important to have a clear and convincing argument that would sound reasonable to anyone not involved in the case. The tribunal concluded that senior figures at the football club were “evasive”, “vague” and “lacking in credibility”. Contrary to the view of some employers, tribunal judges aren’t biased in favour of employees but they are generally adept at spotting bulls*t – whether this comes from the individual making the claim or the employer’s witnesses.

As always, the advice is to consider what you can do to help an employee diagnosed with cancer or with any other form of disability; but that can be balanced against what you can realistically do as a business. And if you have made an error, don’t try to defend the indefensible!