Archive

Month: September 2022

People Pulse – thinking of making changes?

If you’re reshaping your business to future-proof against rising costs, you’ll need to consider whether redundancy laws apply. It’s not always obvious, so here are a few things for you to consider:

  1. Even if you have the same amount of work, if you need fewer people to do that work, it is still likely to be a redundancy situation.
  2. Focus on what employees do in practice rather than what was written down in their job description – often the two differ greatly.
  3. Asking employees to change what they do, perhaps by reducing their role or hours, may amount to a redundancy.
  4. Asking someone to do additional tasks may be a redundancy if the particular kind of work that the employee usually does/is doing is disappearing or reducing.
  5. Changes in ways of working are unlikely to amount to a redundancy situation (but take advice to ensure that’s the case).

If you need advice, guidance or simply to sense check your approach, Intelligent Employment is here to help. Find out more about our unlimited, day-to-day employment law support. 

 

This update is accurate on the date it was sent (28 September 2022), but may be subject to change which may or may not be notified to you. This update is not to be taken as advice and you should seek advice if anything contained within affects you or your business.
Posted On: September 28th, 2022By |

People Pulse – employees with second jobs

Around 1.2 million people in the UK have a second job and this number is on the increase. Second jobs can cause tiredness, irritability, and conflict. Or, they can result in loyalty and innovation. Here are our thoughts on managing this increasing people trend. 

Policy – your employment contracts would ideally call out whether or not employees can work elsewhere. Either way, a policy explaining that anyone with a second job needs to chat about it with their manager is vital. You’ll want the opportunity to discuss with the employee how they’re going to manage and stay safe whilst still delivering in the role they do for you. You can find our ‘working outside of employment’ policy on Intelligent Employment.

Spotting changing behaviours – watch out for patterns and changing behaviours. Excessive working hours may create tiredness and absence – early conversations are vital to avoid escalation.

Well-being – ensuring your employees are taking their legal quota of rest is your responsibility. If they have a second job this may be compromised along with their health and safety. Knowing about the second role is vital to help manage rest breaks and the well-being of the employee (and also their colleagues).

Conflict – it’s possible an employee’s second job conflicts with your commercial interests. Early and honest conversations mean you have the opportunity to discuss solutions. Ensure that employment contracts set out clearly your expectations in respect of a second role so that if you do need to take decisive action the contract supports your approach.

Get in touch if you need our advice or support in managing anything we’ve covered above. 

 

This update is accurate on the date it was sent (15 September 2022), but may be subject to change which may or may not be notified to you. This update is not to be taken as advice and you should seek advice if anything contained within affects you or your business.
Posted On: September 14th, 2022By |

Bank holiday – Monday 19 September

As you’re aware, Monday 19 September will be a national bank holiday for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. You’ll need to consider employees’ contracts of employment to determine whether they’re entitled to the day off.

Some employees will be entitled contractually to the bank holiday (taking the decision out of your hands unless they’re happy to agree to something different). In summary, if the employee’s employment contract says their holiday entitlement is:

  1. Plus bank holidays – they’re entitled to the day off;
  2. Plus eight or usual bank holidays – they’re not entitled to the day off;
  3. Inclusive of bank holidays – they’re entitled to the day off but this comes out of their existing holiday entitlement because it already includes bank holidays in the calculation.

Of course, even if the contract doesn’t allow for employees to take off the bank holiday you can agree to a variation by giving them the extra day or you could offer to pay them in lieu. Any variation should be confirmed in writing.

If you need our advice or support, please get in touch. 

 

This update is accurate on the date it was sent (12 September 2022), but may be subject to change which may or may not be notified to you. This update is not to be taken as advice and you should seek advice if anything contained within affects you or your business.

 

Posted On: September 12th, 2022By |

Legal lightbulb – people law, policy, and practice

As part of keeping you in our focus, our ‘legal lightbulb’ update ensures you’re on top of the latest changes in legislation, case law, and people trends.

Changes to right-to-work checks

Covid-adjusted right-to-work checks will end on 30 September 2022. This means that from 01 October 2022 you will no longer be able to conduct checks remotely (via video call, for example) or by using scanned documents. From 01 October you will need to either:

  1. Carry out checks in person ensuring the employee is providing original, untampered documents, along with taking and storing a signed and dated copy of the document/s.
  2. Carry out online checks via an Identification Service Provider (IDSP). IDSPs will check the passport of British and Irish nationals on your behalf. The Home Office stated that a full list of IDSPs will be released in time for 01 October.

Update on the four-day working week trial

With a UK trial into the benefits of a four-day working week well underway, some employers taking part have shared their insight. Participants have seen increases in productivity and work rate since starting the trial, on top of being able to make themselves more appealing to new recruits in a challenging recruitment market. Cutting down commuting time was also a big individual and environmental bonus with one firm calculating that 664 tonnes of carbon could be saved annually with fewer journeys to their site.

Whilst the concept seems to work for most, participants note it requires realism and flexibility. If you have peaks in the year for example, securing employees’ agreement to return to a ‘normal’ five-day week to manage workload might be required during those times. The trial ends in November and we’ll update you when the findings are released.

People dates for your diary 

10 October – World Mental Health Day

10-14 October – National Work Life Week

18 October – World Menopause Day

31 October – 04 November – Fertility Awareness Week

 

This update is accurate on the date it was sent (07 September 2022), but may be subject to change which may or may not be notified to you. This update is not to be taken as advice and you should seek advice if anything contained within affects you or your business.
Posted On: September 7th, 2022By |