Archive
Author: Halborns
Business change on the horizon?
If you’re thinking there might be business change on the horizon and the potential for redundancy, you’ll need to identify that you have a genuine redundancy situation.
It sounds simple, but it’s not always intuitive – here are a few things for you to consider:
The same amount of work – even if you have the same amount of work, if you now need fewer people to do that work, it is still likely to be a redundancy situation.
Reduction in work – if you have a reduction of a particular kind of work but the same number of employees needed, asking employees to change what they do perhaps by reducing their role or hours, may amount to a redundancy.
Practical reality – you need to focus on the practical reality of the role and not what was written down in a job description years before (if that’s different from what’s happening on a day-to-day basis).
Adding to a role – it will be a redundancy situation if it means that the particular kind of work that the employee is doing is disappearing or reducing.
This update is accurate on the date it was published, 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.
Legal lightbulb – people law, policy and practice
Annual tribunal limit increases
The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2023 has been published, listing the usual annual tribunal award increases. The main increases to be aware of are:
- Maximum compensatory award – now £105,707 (was £93,878)
- A week’s pay for basic award and redundancy payments – now £643 (was £571)
New guidance on voluntary ethnicity pay gap reporting
The government has published guidance for businesses wanting to voluntarily publish their ethnicity pay data. The aim being to develop a consistent approach for businesses to follow in order to allow meaningful comparisons to be drawn.
The guidance provides advice on how to collect data, consideration of data protection issues such as maintaining confidentiality, calculations, reporting, and plenty more. Get ahead and have a go!
New Autism Employment Review announced
The focus of the review is on supporting businesses to recruit and retain individuals affected by autism and to benefit from a more neurodivergent workforce. Currently, less than three in 10 people with autism are in employment – the review will consider how employers can identify and better support individuals, as well as reducing the stigma around neurodiversity.
We’re creating a ‘neurodiversity toolkit’ for employers – get in touch to find out more.
People dates for your diary – June 2023
01-30 | Pride Month
05-11 | Bike Week
05-11 | National Growing for Well-being Week
12-18 | Men’s Health Week
This update is accurate on the date it was published, 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.
Well-being watch – four-day working week
The trial – 61 UK companies trialled the “100:80:100” model for six months – that’s 100% pay, 80% hours, 100% productivity. Of those 61 companies, 56 have extended the trial period, including 28 who have made it a permanent arrangement.
Well-being wins – 71% of employees reported lower levels of burnout and 39% said they were less stressed than at the start of the trial period. The trial found a 65% reduction in sickness absence and a boost to retention with a 57% drop in the number of employees leaving compared to the same period the year before.
Poor productivity? – the trial saw a 1.4% increase in revenues with participants (across a wide range of sectors) seeing healthy growth during the trial. Employees were found to be more proactive through their own improved efficiency, whether through technology, fewer meetings, or simply a lower inclination to kill time.
Employment law implications – we are lawyers, after all! If you want to trial a four-day week you’ll want to think about how you’ll treat fairly those already working part-time, what the impact will be on holidays and benefits, and how you’ll give the business flexibility if it doesn’t work out (to name a few).
This update is accurate on the date it was published, 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.
Watch out for ‘without prejudice’ label
Background
The employer’s ‘without prejudice’ letter explained that both the employer and the employee had “mutually agreed” to end the employment. But the employee tried to argue the letter was unclear and ambiguous.
Whilst the letter also referred to a settlement offer, the only thing the employer hadn’t decided was what to pay the individual as a goodwill payment – the employer was quite clear the individual’s employment was ending. On that basis, the letter terminated the employee’s employment.
There’s still a place for well-crafted ‘without prejudice’ communications. Here’s what to consider:
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Always get your communication checked by a lawyer – there’s plenty of case law in this complex area and the implications of poorly drafted communication can be significant;
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‘Without prejudice’ can help protect any settlement offers you make from being used against you in future litigation. But, only where there is an existing dispute (an employee has raised a grievance, for example). Assuming there’s an existing dispute, ‘without prejudice’ communications protect against all claims, including discrimination and whistleblowing.
This update is accurate on the date it was sent (16 March 2023), 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.
Well-being watch – working with cancer
Pledge – the Working with Cancer pledge supports employers to stand together and provide a supportive, recovery-forward culture at work for people with cancer. Sign up to show your support.
Policy – it might provide a helpful starting point for someone feeling daunted by the prospect of a conversation about their diagnosis. You could include wording explaining how you’ll:
- support individuals with decisions around any communication with colleagues (whether the individual wants to share their diagnosis or keep it private);
- help them deal with not being around so much during treatment;
- approach any physical changes, career reassurance, and the supportive, collaborative approach you’d like to offer.
Proactivity – you’ll want to think carefully about how you share your thoughts on the supportive culture you’re looking to achieve. Consider:
- what support you can offer managers and whether training is appropriate;
- whether counselling can be offered;
- whether you can commit to extra flexible working and days off as a minimum;
- if your leaders can share their thoughts on the support they want to offer.