Hr Personal Practice

SGPIMER
Internal factors that impact employment relationship, internal and external;
Internal factors - pay and reward, not only does this motivate and retain staff it can attract potential new employees.
Line managers - play a key role in setting the tone of the organisation and are supposed to be respected by employees. If employees know they can trust their managers they are more likely to get along with them and feel they are all part of the same team, encouraging work.
External factors, intervention by Central Government through changes to legislation, such as Parental Leave Directive and the default Retirement Age.
The current Economic environment is also an external factor, due to the recent recession.
Identifying Employment Status
There are two types of titles for people that work within an organisation; they can be an employee or an independent contractor. An employee is someone that is hired to work under a contract of service as defined in section 230 (1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996, whereas an independent contractor is a person who is hired to work under a contract for services (self employed) defined in 230 (3) of the ERA 1996. In addition to this the most common categories of individuals are; * Employee * Independent contractor * Worker * Self employed * Agency
Work life balance
Work life balance was defined in the Financial Times by Lexicon as ‘a situation in which you are able to give the right amount of time and effort to your work and to your personal life outside work, for example to your family or to other interests’. It is important employees have a good work life balance as it reduces illnesses, benefiting the organisation as they don’t have to cover absent employees or worry about long term absences. If an employer advertises its benefits to employees then it is likely to attract more potential recruits, which encourages staff morale, motivation and employee retention. For an organisation to have a strong work life balance it needs to be supported by top level managers. The Government also encourages work life balance as it keeps people in employment allowing them to keep paying taxes, less money is spent on Statutory Sick Pay and it enables individuals to work and maintain their personal responsibilities such as raising/caring for a family.
Legislation also help support the work life balance with Acts such as the Working Time Regulations (WTR) 1998, ensuring workers aged 18+ can’t be forced to work more than 48 hours a week. The WTR Act also sets out the allowances of breaks an employee is entitled to, such as anyone aged 18+ should be offered a minimum 20 minute break for each shift over 6 hours. The WTR Act also includes working regulations around night work; employees should not work more than an average of 8 hours in a 24 hour period. Employees must also be offered a free health assessment before they start working nights and finally employees under 18 cannot work any night shifts. Holiday entitlement is also set out in the WTR as workers have the right to 28days (including Bank holidays) paid leave each year and payment for untaken statutory leave entitlement on termination of employment. The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 sets out what employers are legally required to pay workers. Apprentices pay is also included in this, ensuring they are paid £2.65 an hour. These legislations ensure that all employees are treated equally and have the same employment rights.
Alongside the above mentioned legislation are ‘family-friendly’ Rights employees are entitled to. Family life is important and an appropriate balance must be struck between work and outside commitments (work-life balance) legislation to support this are; * Maternity/Paternity leave * Right to request flexible working * Adoption leave * Dependants leave
Firstly is maternity leave, to qualify for maternity leave employees must tell their employer by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth. It is compulsory for all women to take 2 weeks maternity leave after giving birth, after this an employee is entitled to take 26 weeks ordinary maternity leave (OML) and can take an additional 26 weeks carrying on from the OML regardless of length of service.
Paternity leave was introduced by the Employment Act 2002, it is available to employees who have or expect to have responsibility for their child’s upbringing. The period of paternity leave can be up to 2 weeks, and the employee must give 28 days’ notice to his employer before the intention of taking paternity leave.
Flexible working is a request to change the hours an employee works, the times they work or the place they are required to work. Employers do not have to grant flexible working but can often be beneficial to the organisation as well as the employee if they do. The right to request flexible working only extends to employees if the child is aged under 6 or a disabled child under 18.
Adoption leave is very similar to maternity and paternity leave as it mirrors the provisions, the difference being that either of the parents can take the leave but not both. Ordinary adoption leave (OAL) lasts for 26 weeks, the period of payment during OAL is at the lower rate of Statutory Maternity Pay.
Dependants leave is to allow employees a reasonable amount of time off during work hours to deal with family emergencies such as when a dependant is ill or gives birth, or take actions in connection with the death of a dependant.
Treating employees fairly
Employees should be treated fairly in relation to pay to encourage and motivate them to enjoy the work they are doing. When employees know they are all being paid equally for the same work and rewarded fairly, then there will be no anger towards the organisation. Whereas if employers were found to be paying certain individuals more favourably, for example, if they were family members or close friends within the organisation, it would be seen as unfair meaning employees would be less likely to want to work enthusiastically for the organisation as they would be being unlawfully discriminated against. Another point is that employers may leave themselves open to the potential of being taken to employment tribunals if they are treating employees unfairly in relation to pay i.e., minimum wage or sex discrimination. Employers are responsible for ensuring that their pay structures meet the requirements of the Equal Pay Act, meaning that any person doing the same work as someone else has the right to be rewarded in the same way. This doesn’t have to be a financial reward it could also apply to benefits such as access to training and career development, pensions and maternity pay.
Discrimination in the work place
The Equality Act 2010 replaced all previous equality legislations such as the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. The Equality Act 2010 provides a single source of discrimination law, covering all types of discrimination that is unlawful and ensures the organisation is a fair and lawful environment. For the most part, the effect of the new law is the same as it was previously meaning that organisations cannot unlawfully discriminate against employees because of their race, disability, gender, religion or sexual orientation.
There are two types of discrimination, these being Direct and Indirect. Direct discrimination is when an employer deliberately treats an employee less favorably than another employee for reasons described above. Whereas indirect discrimination is more complicated and usually occurs when a specific company rule or condition that is put in place results in a particular group of employee being put at a disadvantage than their colleagues. Indirect discrimination is unlawful but if the employer can prove the criteria in place is necessary for the running of the organisation and that’s how it needs to stay then it could be allowed. An example of this would be advertising for an Indian restaurant and specifying that applicants must be able to speak Indian, this puts English speaking applicants at a disadvantage but it would make the restaurant more authentic.
In the Equality Act 2010 harassment is defined as ‘unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic, which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual’.
Harassment can be against an individual employee or a group of employees, it may be a single incident or a frequent occurrence. This could be intimidating behaviour or subtle actions such as avoiding an individual. Other examples of harassment within the work place are; * setting impossible deadlines * unwanted physical contact * personal insults * personal intrusion (spying/stalking/pestering)
Employees are protected from harassment whilst in employment. The law covers harassment of an employee by a third party. When an incident occurs on more than 2 occasions, an employer is held liable if they have known about the situation and have not taken steps to stop the incidents occurring again. Many organisations have Harassment/Bullying policies in place to tackle these sorts of issues, they will outline what is classed as harassment, explain why it will not be tolerated, explain the consequences if this occurs, explain how employees can make a complaint and emphasise that all employees carry responsibility for their behaviour. The employees are as much responsible for ensuring the policy is used, such as challenging inappropriate behaviour if they see any.
Similar to harassment is victimisation, this is when someone is treated less favourably compared to their colleagues because they have made a complaint under the Act, this happens when; * someone has been bullying or harassing the individual * someone supported someone to make a complaint or give evidence regarding a complaint
Victimisation can happen in many ways and it may be that the employee is denied promotion or career development, gets ignored by their manager or other colleagues or that requests for time off are refused. If this happens and the employer doesn’t take steps to prevent this from happening then they will be liable to pay compensation to the employee, not only does the employer have to pay but individuals that have taken part in the victimisation may also be ordered to pay compensation.
The Psychological contract
The psychological contract is the implicit contract based on a series of assumptions, these being; * employees are treated fairly and honestly * there is a degree of security and certainty in return for loyalty * the employer recognises and values past and future contributions made by the employee
This is a contract that is a feature of the employment relationships and the unwritten expectation by both the employee and employer. For example employers expect hard work and flexibility and the employees expect fair and respectful treatment. Policies and procedures which help support the psychological contract are those that promote equality and protect employees, for example Whistle blowing, grievance or disciplinary procedures. Employees will have access to their Employer’s policies and procedures, if/when they are involved in one of these situations they will know that the employer will be following these policies so will be treated exactly the same as the previous person, ensuring there is no unequal treatment of the employees. This also reassures employees that they will not be victimised, especially important in a ‘whistle blowing’ situation.
Dismissal
There are two types of dismissal, fair and unfair. Dismissal takes place when the employer terminates the employment contract with notice, without notice of because of actions that breach their contract. The Employment Relations Act 1996 defines reasons for fair dismissal of an employee, these are; * redundancy * conduct (behaviour) * capability (performance/absence) * statutory ban * retirement * ‘some other substantial reason’
The most common forms of dismissal are usually for conduct, capability or fall under ‘some other substantial reason’. For a dismissal to be fair it has to pass the test of ‘reasonableness’ which can be found in the Employment Rights Act.
In comparison to this, unfair dismissal could be claimed for a vast number of reasons, mainly being; * Maternity-related * Health and safety related * An employee’s assertion of a statutory right * Union membership/industrial action that an employee has/takes
Employees can try to enforce their rights on unfair dismissals by applying to an employment tribunal. There are cases where a dismissal can be counted as occurring but the individual cannot claim unfair dismissal to the employment tribunal if; * The person is a non-employee * The person has less than 2 year’s continuous service * A person is employed under an illegal contract
Dismissed employees have the right to ask for a written statement giving particulars of the reason for their dismissal. If a member of staff is dismissed whilst on maternity or adoption leave then they must be given this even if they haven’t requested it.
Exit interviews
These are interviews conducted with employees before they leave their job within an organisation. Employers hold exit interviews to ask the employee questions relating to their time within employment, mainly to find out why the employee is leaving, the meeting also give the employer the chance to survey and analyse the opinions of the employee. Employees are more forthcoming with opinions of the organisation than that of employees still working within the organisation. Exit interviews help to support the organisation’s HR practices and seen as positive and necessary to help improve the organisation where they can, as employees often provide the relevant information during their interview.
There are multiple ways exit interviews can be conducted, the main two being face-to-face or completing a paper based questionnaire. Many organisations choose to hold a face-to-face interview as this allows for better communication and understanding, this allows the employer to ask probing questions on any problems the employee wishes to raise regarding their reasons for leaving.
Managing Redundancies
Redundancy occurs when: * There is going to be a cessation of business * A cessation of business at the employee’s site * A reduction or cessation of work
The main legislation governing redundancy includes: * The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 * The Collective Redundancies and Transfer of Undertakings Regulations 1995 * The Employment Rights Act 1996 * The Collective Redundancies (Amendment ) Regulations 2006
The key stages to manage redundancies are;
Consultation, the employer is obliged to consult with trade unions/the workforce representative about the proposed redundancies. Depending on the number of employees being made redundant the timeframe this needs to be carried out by varies. When making 20-99 employees redundant they must be consulted 30 days before the first redundancy, for 100+ employees this is 90 days. At the start of the consultation process employers are legally obliged to give employees the following information; * The reason for redundancy * The number of proposed redundancies and their job types * The proposed methods of selection * The number of employees affected * The procedure to be followed in dealing with the redundancies * The methods of calculating the redundancy payments

The next stage is selection, it is vital employers consider the selection pool carefully as if one is not identified the dismissals will be unfair. Relevant factors to consider would include the quality of an employee’s work, skills and competencies, qualifications and attendance records. Seeking volunteers for redundancy could be one way of managing redundancies but this may not be ideal as staff who have the best skills may volunteer, leaving the employer with underperforming staff and the better employees leaving. Last in first out (LIFO) could also be a possible selection method but the employer would need to ensure this was justified as the individual may accuse the employer of indirect discrimination, such as age discrimination; as the newest employees are most likely to be the youngest.

The final stage of the redundancy process is to formally inform employees they are being made redundant, this has to be written confirmation and include an explanation of the redundancy payment they will receive.

During the redundancy process the psychological contract is a key element that needs to be addressed between the individual and the organisation. After the redundancy stages understandably the remaining employees will have concerns over what will happen next, to their own jobs but also to the organisation, such as wondering how long they will remain in their job and could it happen again? Organisations should help people understand what is expected of them, this would be support from line managers and senior managers. If the psychological contract breaks down then employees will feel less motivated and unlikely want to continue working within the organisation.