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Category: General

The problem with people policies pt.2

People policies are a great opportunity to help protect your business and explain your expectations.
 
You’ll save time and money in the long run!

Here are my top three suggestions to help set those expectations.

Out and about policies such as ‘being out and about on our business’ can help clarify what’s expected from your employees when they’re networking or attending a client/customer’s site. What they wear, whether they drink, what they pay for (to name a few) can all create challenge so a few lines in a policy can save much embarrassment (and the odd disciplinary!).

‘Side hustles’ – how do you feel about employees working outside of your organisation (perhaps for themselves or another company)? Is that ok, something you encourage, is it a complete ‘no-no’? Having a policy that requires employees to explain their intentions for work outside of your organisation can mean difficult conversations are avoided and you ensure they’re not working in breach of the Working Time Regulations (along with much more).

Social media – your employees can be your greatest asset, or your biggest risk. Set out what you consider is appropriate and how employees can use social media as a force for good (of course explaining what might happen if they don’t!).

Contact me here if it’s been a while since you’ve given your handbook or people policies the once over! Whether it’s a review or update, we’ve got a solution to fit.

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.
Posted On: July 19th, 2023By |

National Minimum Wage ‘naming and shaming’

The government has published its latest ‘naming and shaming’ list of 200+ employers who have failed to pay at least the National Minimum Wage. Failing to pay NMW can have costly consequences, both financial and reputational. HMRC can issue fines of up to £20,000 per underpaid employee!

Calculating NMW isn’t just about hourly rates – here are some of the common pitfalls to avoid to make sure you don’t unintentionally underpay NMW.

Record keeping – don’t forget! Accurate NMW records are your best friend. You must keep them for three years, but civil claims can be brought up to five years after a breach, so you might want to go ‘belt and braces’ and keep them for a longer period.

Uniform if employees are required to buy clothing for their role, the cost must be deducted from their hourly pay when calculating whether NMW has been paid. Asking employees to wear their own clothing of a specific type or colour (such as black jeans and black shoes) can be considered as requiring employees to buy a ‘uniform’ and should be factored into NMW calculations (as was the case for Wagamama and TGI Fridays).

Clocking in and out I’ll often see systems where the time employees clock in or out is rounded, meaning time records are not accurately capturing all time actually worked. This can quite easily result in underpaying NMW.

Salaried employees – a more technical point, but no less important. If an employee’s salary is at or close to NMW, and their monthly wage is calculated based on 1/12th of their annual salary, you could find yourself underpaying NMW in the months with 31 days. Take advice to make sure that you can treat your employees as salaried workers (so that you can average hours and pay over a whole year) and avoid an unintentional underpayment of the NMW.

Contact me here if you’d like to discuss anything I’ve covered or if you need support carrying out a NMW audit for your business. 

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.
Posted On: July 17th, 2023By |

New case – holiday pay on termination

If an employee hasn’t taken all of their holiday at the point they leave you, they’re entitled to be paid in lieu of that untaken holiday. But what if there’s a clause in their contract that says they lose it all?

A recent Employment Appeal Tribunal decision (EAT) has confirmed that employees must receive at least their statutory minimum holiday entitlement up to the point they leave, or payment in lieu of that leave. 

Background 

In this case, the employee brought a successful claim for unlawful deduction from wages. The employee’s contract allowed the employer to calculate payment in lieu of holiday on termination at a lower rate than had they taken the holiday whilst they were working.

Despite this, the EAT said this practice was unlawful as it allowed the employer to pay less than the statutory minimum holiday (5.6 weeks per year) to which the employee was entitled.

Practical takeaway 

The Working Time Regulations allow a ‘relevant agreement’ between employee and employer (such as an employment contract) to set out how payment for any accrued untaken holiday will be calculated on termination. However, this case makes clear that any such contractual provision must ensure that the employee is entitled to at least statutory minimum holiday in the holiday year they depart (whether taken or paid in lieu).

The key takeaway from this case is to ensure that your employment contracts don’t go further than this. You’re entitled to say that employees don’t receive payment in lieu of any enhanced holiday on termination, but employees must still receive that all-important statutory minimum holiday.

Contact me here if you need our support to review your contracts or any ‘relevant agreements’. We’ll ensure they’re in line with this decision in order to help you avoid similar claims for unlawful deductions from wages. 

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.
Posted On: July 3rd, 2023By |

Redundancy – the importance of consultation

Consultation is key to a fair redundancy process. But there’s more to consultation than the legal process – communication throughout is essential to reducing disruption and keeping your best people.

Here are our top five tips for starting an engaging, fair, and transparent redundancy process.

Cut out the rumours – prior to the first announcement, carefully plan the message that you want to land with every one of your employees (or at least those who will hear about the redundancies) in respect of the changes that you’re proposing. Start the communication process by ensuring that everyone is given the same message about the reasons for the proposed changes, those potentially affected and the next steps.

Straight-talking, clear messaging – rehearse carefully your key reasons for the possible changes. Be clear that the outcome is not predetermined and this is the start of a process designed to avoid redundancies. Be clear on the support available, when updates will be provided and how the end of the process will be communicated

Communication that works for your employees – whether it’s a video making the announcement about the start of a redundancy process, messaging from managers to their team or an online meeting, be sure to choose communication tools that work for your employees.

Shout out support – everyone deals with change differently. Whether an employee is at risk or just unsettled, shout out the routes to support that you can offer. Whether it’s an EAP helpline, financial support, or offers of counselling, be sure to remind employees regularly of the support available.

Keep on top of frequently asked questions – there’s a huge amount of information your employees will need to digest in the early stage of redundancy consultations. You’ll have many questions raised about the process, the payments, the alternatives and the fairness. Be ready to deliver the answers to those questions at the right time, in the right way and consider whether an up-to-date FAQs page on your intranet is a good way to deal with questions asked by many.

We can help ensure your consultation process runs as smoothly as possible – get in touch to discuss our solutions for support. 

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.
Posted On: July 3rd, 2023By |

Top 10 employment law developments to watch out for!

Halborns is turning 10 in July! To celebrate, we’re doing all things ’10’!

We’re kicking off with the ‘top 10’ employment law developments you need to be keeping an eye on over the next 12 months…we know how to party!

1 – ChatGPT and AI – the appropriate usage of chatbots and AI tools at work should be high on everyone’s agenda. There’s loads of benefits to explore, but plenty of potential risk. We’ve added a new policy to Intelligent Employment as a starting point to help you manage boundaries.

2 – Brexit – we’ll need to keep an eye on whether any further employment laws will be listed for repeal following the government announcement that all EU-derived law will remain unless expressly removed. We also await further detail on changes to the Working Time Regulations and changes to TUPE consultation.

3 – Non-compete clauses – we await the legislation that will provide all the detail on the proposal to limit non-compete clauses to just three months.

4 – Neonatal care leave – a new right to allow up to 12 weeks of paid leave for eligible parents whose newborn baby is admitted to neonatal care.

5 – Unpaid carer’s leave – another new right to provide a week of unpaid leave to employees who are caring for a dependant with long-term care needs.

6 – Extended redundancy protection – extending protections for those on maternity, adoption or shared-parental leave to cover pregnancy and an extended period after they return to work.

7 – Flexible working – we await further detail on a bill proposing a day-one right to request flexible working arrangements.

8 – Predictable T&Cs – a new right to request more predictable terms and conditions (largely aimed at zero-hours workers).

9 – Mental health first aid – a bill is progressing through parliament aiming to make mental-health first aid part of physical first-aid training requirements within businesses.

10 – Equal pay – high-value claims against big high-street names (such as Next) continue to work their way through the courts. If successful we could start to see even more appetite for litigation.

Get in touch if you’d like to discuss anything we’ve covered in more detail.

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.
Posted On: June 26th, 2023By |