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Are your Company HR Foundations Stable?

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HR Foundations

Our company mission statement is ‘Taking the pain out of managing people whilst preventing people problems’ and we are always known to say be ‘Proactive rather than reactive” in your processes / systems.  We believe based on previous experiences with our clients, past and present that what goes around, comes around and it may take a long time to occur or may never occur, but it is best to have your business in a positive position where you can comfortably deal with it and prevent any unwanted financial expenditure.

Did you know that the average Employment Tribunal cost are: £8,500? (British Chamber of Commerce)

So, what does this have to do with ‘Foundations?’

When we go to see a prospective client, we always ensure that an audit of their current HR processes and documents is carried out which includes everything from their current Contracts of Employment, Policies & Procedure such as GDPR, Absence and Disciplinary & Grievance Policy and the teams last Appraisal.  This helps us to then produce a detailed proposal to the client outlining what we propose they need to ensure they are working to best practice and the law.  Should they take our advice what the anticipated costs would be, whether this would be Pay As You Go (PAYG) or a set twelve monthly payment/ agreement.  By doing this, it allows us to see what HR foundations are currently in place and how they are being used for the benefit of the employee and businesses profit and bottom line.

So, what are the Foundations in relation to HR?

All businesses must now ensure that a new Employee has a Contract of Employment from day one of employment and a copy of the companies Disciplinary & Grievance is also suggested so as to ensure the main mandatory foundations in HR are in place for the successful management of the employee and business. 

Employers should ensure when taking on their first employee and working onwards that they obtain all the fundamental foundations required for the employees HR.   Personal HR areas are covered under the General Data Protection Regulations such as Name, Address, Date of Birth, sex, marital status etc but in order to ensure your company looks professional, this information should be obtained once offered employment via the application / recruitment process.  This can be through the use of a comprehensive Application Form either written or electronic and correct questioning when interviewing and collecting of data and a comprehensive ‘Starter Form’ that contains all the HR & Payroll data needed.

Failure to do this can result in companies wasting large amounts of time seeking the relevant information when needed and when the new employee has started and is beginning to settle into the business.  Employers should obtain all this information within their first week of employment or it can result in not being able to gain the information quickly due the new employee now being in the work atmosphere.   This is also why we suggest the use of an IT package such as Breathe HR (other systems are available) to collate all the information needed for HR & Payroll that allows in the year 2022 to be able to maintain an easily accessible IT system for the team to gain access to a copy of their HR documents such as Contracts of Employment and company HR Handbook whilst also requesting holidays and sending messages individually or to the team as a whole.

HR Foundations
HR Foundations

The Process we propose to business is:

  • Identify if there is a need for the role
  • Write a detailed Job Description which includes all the skills required for the role.
  • Decide on salary and location role and who it report into or who reports in this role
  • Arrange a set recruitment process. How are you going to interview?  Where?  Facilities? Who?  Where will the role be advertised?  Internal and External?
  • Arrange an interview to take place that has a clear procedure with relevant questions based on their past experience and qualifications whilst also where they see their future.
  • Obtain ALL personal / role data using a comprehensive Start Form such as those mentioned before and all emergency contacts, who should you ring if there is an emergency involving the employee, who does the role report to? What is the Salary, Days, Hours?
  • Draft a Contract of Employment for the employee
  • Arrange for an induction to take place on the employees first day of Employment with somebody present to check that the company has all the data needed and that a Starter Form has been completed and a signed, read and dated Contract has been received. Ensure at the Induction that you cover Company Policies & Procedures and where to find them.  Health & Safety, an office / site tour, introduction to team members, location of toilets, where to eat, and take a break, fire evacuation points along with many other areas which should be detailed in a specific company induction pack full of information about the company, its products / services and Policies / Procedures.  A master of this pack should be created and updated on a regular basis as and when needed and at a minimum all documents should be checked once a year to ensure they are still working to best / company practice and the law.

This induction should also include how the company ensures the team are given the skills to perform their roles such as specific development and regular performance reviews whether this is monthly, six monthly or yearly.

  • Ensure all company Policies and Procedures are made easily accessible for all members of the team whether this is printed and in folders located around the business which are fully accessible areas or on an IT system that allows members of the team to access / read easily on mobile devices or an office computer.

Our six proposed initial HR Foundations:

HR Foundations

When companies join us, we work with them to ensure the minimum drafting and implementation of the initial key HR Foundations:

  1. Contract of Employment
  2. Job Descriptions
  3. Performance Management (Appraisal) process
  4. Introduction of user-friendly employee and management HR IT system
  5. Audit of current HR systems and files
  6. Company HR Employee Handbook – set company Policies & Procedures such as Absence, Appraisals, Disciplinary and Grievance etc, Induction and welcome to the company.

Companies that ensure these HR foundations are put in place will if managed correctly mean a successful team / business that never ends up in an Employment Tribunal (ET) but can fail if all members do not ‘practice what they preach and walk the talk!!

We work with businesses of all sectors with 1 – 250 employee.

Telephone: 01438 576750

Email: [email protected]

Contact: Click Here

HR Foundations
7 HR Back to basics

Flexi / Hybrid Working

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Flexi / Hybrid Working

Is this the new generation of Flexible & Hybrid Working?

The past two years since the arrival of Covid-19 has seen many changes to what people call ‘The Norm’, but what is the ‘Norm’ or the new ‘Norm’ when working?

As I write this on the 4th of April 2022, the Government last week stopped the issue of free Lateral flow tests claiming that the money can now be better spent elsewhere but what is this going to mean in the world of the average business and HR in general?

The past few weeks has seen a major change in our daily HR support to our clients with many enquiries on Hybrid & Flexible working, a subject that in the past was not a major issue with the current law and one request per annum only allowed whilst also ensuring the applicant clearly sets out what they was requesting whilst giving suggestions to the company based on their knowledge of their role how this could be accommodated.

What questions should employers be asking themselves? We have written twelve questions an employer should ask themselves when considering a Flexible / Hybrid working request.

  1. Do you have a detailed, best practice Flexible Working Policy?
  2. Has this person applied in the last year to work Flexibly, and it was managed correctly i.e., Accepted, Turnt down? (Employees can apply once every twelve months)
  3. Would the requested amended changes assist the employee and help to ensure they are more efficient at their work and focusing and all times whilst working?
  4. Have you noticed that the employees current situation is causing them problems with attendance or time keeping at work?
  5. Is there enough work for the employee to do during the periods they are requesting to work or could tasks be redistributed so that they do have work?
  6. If you accepted their request would the employee be able to finish all of their tasks with their new hours, working from home or could any of their work be redistributed to other members of the team?
  7. Do you need them to attend team or individual meetings outside the hours they wish to work? Can you arrange for them to attend these meetings as and when required?
  8. Could the employee miss out on any training or development opportunities through the new working arrangement? If so, are there any arrangements you could make to enable them to benefit from this, such as online training courses?|
  9. If you accepted their request to work flexibly, would the business be able to continue to meet customer demand?
  10. If you accepted their request, would there be any additional cost to the business i.e. if the employee was to work from home, would they need to be provided with computer hardware or software of can they use personal computers?
  11. If the hours are not acceptable to your business, are there any other suggestions / alternatives from the employee?
  12. Could an alternative arrangement be reached such as job-sharing with another employee?
Flexi / Hybrid Working
Flexi / Hybrid Working
Flexi / Hybrid Working

Contact Us now to discuss

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National Minimum Wage rates increase on 1st April 2022

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National Minimum Wage rates increase on 1st April 2022

 

The Government announced in October 2021 that the increased National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rate will change on 1st April 2022, details of the new rates are listed below.  If you would like any advice or guidance about the change in pay rates please contact us for a discussion.

 

Rate from April 2022

Current rate (April 2021 to March 2022)

Increase

National Living Wage

£9.50

£8.91

6.6%

21-22 Year Old Rate

£9.18

£8.36

9.8%

18-20 Year Old Rate

£6.83

£6.56

4.1%

16-17 Year Old Rate

£4.81

£4.62

4.1%

Apprentice Rate

£4.81

£4.30

11.9%

Accommodation Offset

£8.70

£8.36

4.1%

Helping companies to take the pain out of managing people whilst preventing people problems CLICK HERE and contact us for a discussion about how we can help you and your business

Management Development Workshops

We continually run a a range of fact / Knowledge gaining, informal, friendly & exciting HR Management / business owner development workshops designed to equip individuals with the skills required to run their businesses successfully.

If your business would like to run a specific Workshop such as Performance Management, Disciplinary & Grievance Management, or Customer Service to name a few, please get in contact today.

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NMC V Somerville – Worker Status

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Worker Status

Employment Law - Worker Status NMC V Somerville - were they entitled to paid holiday?

HR Inform part of our Chartered Institute recently wrote another article on Worker Status and a recent case which included a judgement by the Employment Tribunal appeal on whether the worker status of the person was that of ‘Employee’ and hence entitled to paid annual leave.

This is a subject that we at Consensus HR continually have discussions with our current and prospective clients as the implications of using the incorrect status can have serious legal and expensive financial outcomes if the incorrect status used.

This article by HR Inform gives full details and notes for employers

SUMMARY

This Court of Appeal (CoA) decision involved worker status and whether or not a commitment to offer or accept a minimum amount of work was crucial to worker status for the purposes of claiming holiday pay.

LAW

Working Time Regulations 1998

Regulation 2(1) of the Regulations defines a worker in the following way:

“”Worker” means an individual who has entered into or works under (or, where the employment has ceased, worked under) –

             (a) a contract of employment; or

             (b) any other contract, whether express or implied and (if it is express) whether oral or in writing, whereby the individual undertakes to do or perform personally any work or services for another party to the contract whose status is not by virtue of the contract that of a client or customer of any profession or business undertaking carried on by the individual;

and any reference to a worker’s contract shall be construed accordingly.”

FACTS

The claimant acted as a panel member, and chair, of the Fitness to Practise Committee of the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC’s) regulatory body. The amount of hearings he undertook varied from between 17 to 129 in the 8 years that the claimant did this work.

In the claimants’ terms and conditions, he was described as an independent contractor and was required to adhere to a code of conduct. The NMC did not have to offer hearings (or work) and there was no obligation on the claimant to accept that which was offered. The claimant was also able to withdraw from a hearing even after one was allocated, without reason or penalty.

A claim was brought for unpaid holiday, but in order to make a ruling on this the employment tribunal (ET) had to first establish the claimant’s employment status.

EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL (ET)

The ET had to consider both the overarching agreement, and the individual contracts that made it up, agreed ever time an assignment was accepted. They rejected the idea that either could be contracts of employment, due to the right to withdraw services under them and therefore lack of “mutuality of obligation”.

To determine worker status, the ET identified three principles to be applied.

  • The two parties must have entered a contract together.
  • The work under the contract must be performed personally.
  • One party cannot be a client/customer of a profession or business carried on by the claimant.

Focusing on the third, as the first two were clearly evident, the ET could not find that the NMW was a client or customer, as there was such a high degree of control, integration and subordination between the parties, including in pay negotiations, that worker status was established. The fact that there was no mutuality of obligation did not prevent this finding.

EMPLOYMENT APPEAL TRIBUNAL (EAT)

The NMC appealed on the basis of mutuality of obligation, but this was dismissed because it was not a prerequisite for worker status to have an irreducible minimum of obligation to accept and perform a minimum amount of work for the other party who was obliged to offer or pay for that work.

The NMC again appealed, again on this point.

COURT OF APPEAL (COA)

The ET’s three principles of worker status were confirmed. It was held by the CoA that the overarching contract between the claimant and the NMC included mutually enforceable obligations, but these were not necessarily the type that meant there was a worker contract, nor did it amount to a contract to do or perform services personally, it simply laid out the obligations that would be in place if a separate agreement to do or perform services personally was made.

However, when an assignment was offered and accepted, an individual worker agreement did arise, as the performance was personal, and the NMC was neither a customer nor a client. It did not matter that there was no future obligation to offer or accept work, nor that the claimant could withdraw from the agreement if they so chose.

Notes for employers

This case appears to settle the debate as to whether or not “mutuality of obligation” crucial to worker status where the individual is performing ad hoc work; it is not. Neither is the right to cancel or withdraw the work a barrier to this status.  

As such, we are left with the following key questions to be asked when considering is someone is a self-employed independent contractor and not a worker.

  • Is the organisation a client or a customer of theirs? If not, worker status is likely. Consider:
    • Are they integrated into the business?
    • Is the organisation in control and the individual subordinate?
    • Can pay be negotiated or rates set by the individual and not the organisation?
    • What level of financial risk is there for the individual?

If the answer to these is yes, worker status is likely.

  • Are they personally required to do the work? Is the right of substitution genuine? Genuine substitution is likely to indicate self-employed status.

Contact us

For further information and to discuss your HR.
Click Here
UK’s youngest workers face a challenging economic future. | Consensus HR - Herts, Beds

The History of Human Resource Management (HRM)

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The History of Human Resource Management

The History of Human Resource Management (HRM) begins around the end of the 19th century, when welfare officers (sometimes called ‘welfare secretaries’) came into being. They were women and involved with the protection of women and girls. Their creation was a reaction to the:

  • Harshness of industrial conditions
  • Pressures arising from the extension of the franchise
  • Influence of trade unions and the labour movement
  • Campaigning of enlightened employers, often Quakers, for what was called ‘industrial betterment’

As the role grew there was some tension between the aim of moral protection of women and children and the need for higher output.

20th century developments

The First World War accelerated change in the development of personnel management. Women were recruited in large numbers to fill the gaps left by men going to fight. This meant reaching agreement with trade unions (often after bitter disputes) about ‘dilution’– accepting unskilled women into craftsmen’s jobs and changing manning levels.

During the 1920s, jobs with the titles of ‘Labour Manager’ or ‘Employment Manager’ were introduced to the engineering industry and other industries where there were large factories. The role involved handling absence, recruitment, dismissal and queries over bonuses. Employers’ federations, particularly in engineering and shipbuilding, negotiated national pay rates with the unions, but there were local and district variations and there was plenty of scope for disputes.

During the 1930s, the economy was beginning to pick up. Big corporations in these newer sectors saw value in improving employee benefits as a way of recruiting, retaining and motivating employees. But older industries such as textiles, mining and shipbuilding were hit by the worldwide recession. These sectors did not adopt new techniques, seeing no need to do so because they had no difficulty in recruiting labour.

The Second World War brought about welfare and personnel work on a full-time basis at all establishments producing war materials. The Ministry of Labour and National Service insisted on it, just as the Government had insisted on welfare workers in munitions factories in the previous conflict. The Government saw specialist personnel management as part of the drive for greater efficiency. As a result, the number of people in the personnel function grew substantially; there were around 5,300 in 1943.

 

The History of Human Resource Management
Reward

Reaping the rewards of HR

Reaping the rewards of HR

By 1945, employment management and welfare work had become integrated under the broad term ‘personnel management’. Experience of the war had shown that output and productivity could be influenced by employment policies. The role of the personnel function in wartime had been largely that of implementing the rules demanded by large-scale, state-governed production. As a result, the image of an emerging profession was very much a bureaucratic one.

Following the development of poor industrial relations during the 1960s, a Royal Commission under Lord Donovan was set up. Reporting in 1968, it was critical of both employers and unions; personnel managers were criticised for lacking negotiation skills and failing to plan industrial relations strategies. At least in part, Donovan suggested, these deficiencies were a consequence of management’s failure to give personnel management sufficiently high priority.

In the 1960s and 1970s employment started to develop significantly. At the same time personnel techniques developed using theories from the social sciences about motivation and organisational behaviour. Selection testing became more widely used and management training expanded. During the 1970s, specialisms started to develop with reward and resourcing, for example, being addressed as separate issues.

Around the mid-80s, the term ‘Human Resource Management’ arrived from the USA. The term ‘Human Resources’ is an interesting one; it seemed to suggest that employees were an asset or resource-like machines, but at the same time HR also appeared to emphasise employee commitment and motivation. At Consensus HR, we always emphasise to clients the importance of making the most of one of your most important business assets and resources: your people.

Today's HR Activities

In today’s HR world we ensure that we cover a number of specialist disciplines, including:

These disciplines ensure that your business is working to best practice, within the law and making maximum use of its team. This offers financial and operational benefits to the business and team.

Join the HR revolution!

 

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