Scrooge’s Guide to Presents

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In case you missed my December email newsletter, here’s a catch up for you!

The start of a new year is the time when some businesses think about how best to reward their staff for their hard work over the last 12 months. Instead of a one-off ‘thank you’, what about putting a more ongoing, sustainable rewards scheme in place?

Here’s the story of how one Dickensian employer got it right!

Ebenezer Scrooge loved Christmas! He really enjoyed giving his staff time off, to spend with their families over Christmas. He encouraged them to go Christmas shopping and to send cards to all their friends.

Mr Scrooge even loved giving presents to his staff. But he often struggled to find the best gift for each person. So one year, had a great idea. Instead of buying each member of his team a gift at Christmas, Mr Scrooge decided to set up a reward system for all his staff, which would run all through the year, rewarding them on an ongoing basis for their hard work.

Here’s what Ebenezer Scrooge did to create the best Christmas present that lasts for 12 months:

  1. He put a structure in place – just a simple one to begin with
  2. He took the time to identify the things that were really important to his staff – including non-financial benefits – and incorporated them into his strategy
  3. He invested in making his company an interesting and fulfilling place to work. This helped him to attract great people and helped keep overall pay costs down
  4. He created a scheme that was simple to understand, so that his line managers didn’t struggle to explain it. They were key to making his reward structure a success
  5. He didn’t assume that it was just about pay. According to research that Mr Scrooge read, some executives would consider a pay cut of up to 35% in order to get their ideal job.
  6. Then he reviewed the scheme and the effect it had on his staff throughout the year, to make sure he was still getting it right
  7. And finally he enjoyed spreading Christmas cheer amongst his staff all year long and they loved working for him!

 

Think about how you can engage your staff beyond Christmas by setting up a reward scheme this year.

The Beginner’s Guide to Management

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If you’re new to managing people, or you’ve been doing it for a while without much formal training, then the next workshop I’m running will be ideal for you.

Here are a few of the things you need to do as a manager:

  • Learn the principles of team building and how to get the best out of your team members
  • Understand the behaviours of different personality types and how people work together
  • Find out how to motivate and develop people
  • Practice the art of delegation
  • Learn the best practice for managing performance
  • Carry out a successful appraisal meeting
  • Learn how to give useful feedback
  • Be prepared for “that difficult conversation.”

When you can do all this, you’ll be a great manager, with a really productive team!

If all this sounds rather daunting, don’t worry. I’m running a workshop that will cover all this and more. It will give you the management skills you need and refresh and update the skills you already have.

The two day workshop will be held on 28 January and 11 February 2014 at Wargrave Cricket Pavilion, RG10 8BG. Places are limited, so click here to book your place.

Scrooge’s Guide to Christmas Presents

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As the end of the year approaches, it’s the time when some businesses think about how best to reward their staff for their hard work over the last 12 months. But will a one-off ‘thank you’ have the right effect, or would you be better off putting a more ongoing, sustainable rewards scheme in place?

Here’s the story of how one Dickensian employer got it right!

Ebenezer Scrooge loved Christmas! He really enjoyed giving his staff time off, to spend with their families over Christmas. He encouraged them to go Christmas shopping and to send cards to all their friends.

Mr Scrooge even loved giving presents to his staff. But he often struggled to find the best gift for each person. So one year, had a great idea. Instead of buying each member of his team a gift at Christmas, Mr Scrooge decided to set up a reward system for all his staff, which would run all through the year, rewarding them on an ongoing basis for their hard work.

Here’s what Ebenezer Scrooge did to create the best Christmas present that lasts for 12 months:

  1. He put a structure in place – just a simple one to begin with
  2. He took the time to identify the things that were really important to his staff – including non-financial benefits – and incorporated them into his strategy
  3. He invested in making his company an interesting and fulfilling place to work. This helped him to attract great people and helped keep overall pay costs down
  4. He created a scheme that was simple to understand, so that his line managers didn’t struggle to explain it. They were key to making his reward structure a success
  5. He didn’t assume that it was just about pay. According to research that Mr Scrooge read, some executives would consider a pay cut of up to 35% in order to get their ideal job.
  6. Then he reviewed the scheme and the effect it had on his staff throughout the year, to make sure he was still getting it right
  7. And finally he enjoyed spreading Christmas cheer amongst his staff all year long and they loved working for him!

 

Think about how you can engage your staff beyond Christmas by setting up a reward scheme next year.

Legal Updates? What You Need to Know Now

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In November 2013 I ran a workshop to share some of the more recent employment law updates. Here are the details of just three of the issues we covered and what you need to know.

Flexible working. At present, parents and carers with at least 26 weeks employment can make one request for flexible working in 12 months and a statutory procedure applies to considering the request. From Spring 2014, all employees with at least 26 weeks continuous employment can make one request for flexible working in 12 months. Requests must be considered in a reasonable manner and within a reasonable period.

ACAS has produced a draft code for you to follow, when considering flexible working requests, which says:

  • Talk to your employee as soon as possible
  • Discuss the request in private but allow your employee to be accompanied
  • Approach requests from the presumption that they will be granted unless there is a business reason for not doing so
  • Inform your employee of your decision in writing as soon as possible
  • If your employee’s request is granted, or granted with modifications, discuss with them how and when the changes might best be implemented
  • If your employee’s request is rejected, ensure that the rejection is for one of the business reasons permitted by legislation and allow the employee to appeal it
  • Consider and decide on all requests, including any appeals, within a period of three months from initial receipt, unless an extension is agreed with the employee.

Shared parental leave. The law currently says that mothers can take 52 weeks maternity leave (39 paid weeks and 13 unpaid weeks) and that fathers or partners can take 2 weeks ordinary paternity leave, with the right to take up to 26 weeks additional paternity leave. From Spring 2015 you will need to consider shared paternity leave. This gives new parents the possibility of sharing the untaken balance of maternity leave and receiving pay for ‘flexible parental leave’. This is where parents can share 50 weeks leave and the 37 weeks pay due to the mother. Flexible parental leave can be taken in one week blocks interspersed with work and parents can take leave at the same time.

Unpaid parental leave. Currently, an employee with one year’s service and a child under 5 can take 18 weeks unpaid parental leave. This applies to each child and to each parent, with a maximum of 4 weeks unpaid leave allowed in any year. From 2015, the age of the child will increase from 5 to 18 years.

Does all this sound too confusing? If it does or you’re worried about how any of these changes will affect your business, please do get in touch and we can talk about it.

I’ll be running another employment law update in May 2014, after the next round of changes happen in April next year. Keep an eye on this blog for the date and details.

Zero Hour Contracts – What Do You Need to Know about Them?

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Some companies, especially those in retail, have a huge spike in labour needs in November and December. What are the options for dealing with this?

Here are the most common ways of coping with seasonal labour requirements.

Agency workers – where an employment agency deals with the administration involved in fluctuating workforce needs. You can pay the agency for these services, but it can be a cost- and time-effective solution.

Traditional fixed-term contracts – these are not quite as flexible as the other options, but short-notice provisions are often inserted into the contracts.

Zero hours contracts – as the employer you are under no obligation to offer work and (generally, although not always) your employee is under no obligation to accept any work offered. This provides both parties with greater flexibility.

Increased overtime (including weekend work) – the viability of this option depends on how much more labour is needed.

There has been a lot of negative publicity surrounding the use of zero hours contracts. Are they even legal?

Many zero hours contracts do not give workers full employment rights. It is difficult to construe an employment relationship when neither party has to provide and/or undertake work. Seasonal working is a good example of when zero hours contracts can be used effectively. Fluctuations within the busy period mean that the employer may require the flexibility that only zero hours contracts provide (if recruiting direct). Recent bad press surrounding zero hours contracts relates mainly to large organisations using them for their core workforce. While not unlawful, there is a growing belief that having core workforces working zero hours contracts is an attempt to short-circuit employment rights legislation.

One of my employees is underperforming. How long do I give them as a review period?

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The answer to this question is that there’s no statutory time frame for improvements for underperformance.

Timescales for an employee’s improvement must be reasonable and will depend on the circumstances, including the employee’s role and position within your company and his or her length of service and past performance. In some cases, a review period of a few weeks may be sufficient – for tasks that are carried out every day, or for performance that can be seen every day, such as starting work on time. In others cases, a review period of several months may be more appropriate, for longer term activities such as sales.

When you agree to provide your employee with additional training or support, this will need to take place before their performance can sensibly be measured again. You should make sure that you monitor your employee’s performance during the relevant review period. The period should be long enough to allow you to assess whether or not your employee has made and sustained the necessary improvements.

The answer to this question will also be different for each different situation. If you have a member of staff whose performance needs to be reviewed, get in touch and we can talk about the situation, to help you work out the best way forward.

You can also find out more by watching one of my recent videos, by clicking here.

Do Employers have to Supply References for Employees?

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As an employer, you might be asked for a reference for a member of staff who is leaving. You might also be asked to provide a reference by a bank or a landlord. You’re not obliged to provide one in any of these cases unless there is something in the contract to say you have agreed to do so. You can actually refuse to provide a reference as there is no statutory duty to do so for an existing or ex-employee.

Former employees

When one of your employees leaves, you will have to decide what to say to other employers who call for a reference. The decision could be straightforward if the employee is leaving on good terms, you can simply tell the whole glowing truth to any prospective employer who calls for a reference.

But if the employee left in difficult circumstances, you face a more difficult task. If you are not careful in your statements about former employees, you might find yourself being sued for defamation of character. If the employee who is leaving feels that you intentionally damaged his or her reputation by making negative statements about the employee, you could get into trouble. This would be a perticular problem if the employee lost their new job as a result of the reference you provided.

In all cases, it is best to have a set policy on giving references to include only basic information about the employee’s length of service, salary and position held. Your best policy is to say as little as possible and stick to facts you can prove.

Settlement Agreements

You may have an obligation to provide a reference for a former employee if it has agreed to do so under the terms of a settlement agreement (known as a ‘compromise agreement’ up to 29 July 2013). In these circumstances, specific wording to be included in the reference is sometimes agreed between the parties.

 

Question: Christmas is coming – Are Employees Who Work on Bank Holidays Entitled To Pay in Lieu or Additional Holidays?

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Answer: This depends on the overall holiday entitlement and the terms of the employment contract. If the entitlement is the statutory minimum (which is 28 days including Bank Holidays) and an employee works on a Bank Holiday, they must have a day off in lieu so that the total paid leave stays at 28 days per year. This is for employees who work five days per week.

What about pay? If an employee is entitled to the day off on a Bank Holiday, then they will be entitled to their normal rate of pay for this, in the same way as they would for any other holiday. Contrary to popular belief, for those working on a Bank Holiday, there is no entitlement to extra pay, unless the terms of the person?s contract state otherwise. However, if employees are normally paid extra for working a Bank Holiday that should apply when additional public holiday days are announced too.

How about part-time employees?

Your obligation to part-time workers is governed by the Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favorable Treatment) Regulations 2000. This means that part-time workers are entitled to the same holidays as comparable full-time workers, but on a pro rata basis.

You must make sure that a part-time employee receives his or her pro rated entitlement if bank holidays are included in the employee’s statutory minimum holiday entitlement, or if you grant holiday that exceeds the statutory minimum to your full-time workers.

Because most bank holidays fall on a Monday or Friday, part-time employees who do not work on these days could be entitled to proportionately fewer days off compared with full-time employees.

To avoid a complaint of less favorable many employers provide part-time employees with a pro rated bank holiday entitlement. Te best option is to calculate pro rated bank holiday entitlement according to the number of hours that the part-time employee works, irrespective of whether or not he or she works on the days on which bank holidays fall.

We’re building up a bank of answers to questions we’re frequently asked. Click here to see the questions and answers on our website. If you have a question that you’d like us to answer, email us or give us a call in confidence.

Seven Steps for Dealing with Poor Performance in a Growing Business – Part Three

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Last month I wrote about steps four and five of a seven stage process that you need to follow, when you have to deal with issues of poor performance in your business. Click here to read that blog again. If you missed steps one, two and three, you can read them here.

When you’re trying to reach a higher level in your business, you’re only as strong as your weakest member. Dealing with somebody in your team who doesn’t live up to the standards you require is difficult, both legally and ethically. Before you show an employee the red card, be sure you have tried everything that is expected from you, the employer, to guide them and push their performance to a higher level. To deal with the matter correctly, here are the remaining steps to follow:

Step 6: Agree a performance improvement plan

Where you have issued a warning, agree a written performance improvement plan with your employee. This will help you to formally identify unsatisfactory aspects of performance, agree on where further training, coaching, or other support could improve the matter and set new objectives or reiterate existing ones. You can also agree the standards to be achieved, within clear and reasonable timescales.

Provide your employee with appropriate support to improve their performance, allowing them a sufficient and reasonable period to make progress and carefully monitor this.

Step 7: Follow-up meeting

At the end of the agreed review period, arrange a formal follow-up meeting to discuss your employee’s progress and repeat the procedure from Step 3 if necessary. Up to three performance review meetings should be held before dismissal is considered.

If your employee’s performance reaches a satisfactory standard within the review period and no further action is necessary, inform your employee in writing. If this is not the case then agree a further performance improvement plan and set a further period in which your employee must improve.

Finally, with any incidence of poor performance it is crucial that you follow the Acas Code of Practice on discipline and grievance and ensure that employees are treated fairly and consistently.

Deal with issues of poor performance as soon as you notice them and you’ll find it much easier to work them out, to get the best results for your employees and your business.

If you missed the first two parts of this process here, click here for Part One and click here for Part Two.

Are Your Staff Still Legal? Employment Law Update

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Employment law is updated regularly. To keep you up to speed and on the right side of the law, I?m running a workshop in Reading on 20 November 2013. Click here to book your place for just £10 +VAT.

In the meantime, here is a quick summary of some of the more recent updates that you need to know about, that have been made since the update blog I wrote in July 2013.

Employment tribunal fees introduced. Fees are now charged for issuing and hearing tribunal claims and for various applications made during tribunal proceedings. Fees were introduced on 29 July 2013 in respect of claims issued on or after that date. Claims already before the tribunal at that date are unaffected. Click here to read a leaflet that tells you more about the exact charges.

New employment tribunal rules in force. The new rules are intended to simplify and streamline the tribunal process and to cut costs. They came into force on 29 July 2013 and apply to all claims irrespective of when they were issued.

Settlement agreements. Also from 29 July 2013, the Government’s proposals for facilitating the use of settlement agreements came into force. As an employer you can now offer a settlement agreement at any time, irrespective of whether there is an existing dispute. Neither you nor your employee can later refer to the fact that an agreement has been offered in subsequent unfair dismissal proceedings, should an agreement not be reached.

Compensatory award cap. A cap on the compensatory award of one year’s pay has been introduced.  The previous statutory maximum will apply, if lower. The new cap applies where the effective date of termination is on or after 29 July 2013.

Employee shareholder contracts. Since September 2013 you are able to offer employee shareholder contracts to new and existing staff, although existing staff cannot be forced to agree. Under these contracts, employee shareholders must be given free shares worth at least £2,000. Shares issued up to £50,000 in value will qualify for capital gains tax relief. In return, employee shareholders are required to give up their rights to claim unfair dismissal, a redundancy payment and to request flexible working and time off for training.

National minimum wage increases. The national minimum wage increased on 1 October 2013. Click here to see all the numbers and how they’ve changed.

And as if that’s not enough, there are more changes coming in April 2014! Some will affect maternity and paternity leave, so come to my next workshop to find out more.