Category: Uncategorized

As coronavirus (also known as COVID-19) continues to spread, it is important employers consider how they respond to the global health crisis and share this with their teams.

It is a good idea to remind employees of the steps that they should take to reduce the spread of coronavirus, while continuing operations as normally as possible.

For example:

• Wash hands often and thoroughly with soap and water. In particular, after going to the toilet, before eating or handling food, and when you get to work/get home;
• cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze;
• put any used tissues in the bin straightaway and wash your hands immediately after handling used tissues;
• try to avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth if you have not washed your hands recently; and
• try to avoid close contact with people who are unwell.

A couple of the most frequently asked questions from employers relating to the virus are below:

If an employee is advised to self-isolate to avoid the risk of spreading coronavirus, are they entitled to sick pay?

Current government guidance is that an individual should self-isolate at home for 14 days after visiting certain areas or after having close contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19).

If an employee is self-isolating, following government guidance, but they do not have any symptoms, it is arguable that they do not have the right to statutory sick pay, as this applies only where the employee is incapable of work due to illness. However, it would be good practice for employers to treat the absence as sick leave and pay the employee in accordance with their usual policy, or to pay them in full. Employers should aim to avoid the situation where an employee attends work against medical guidance, risking the spread of coronavirus, because they are concerned about not being paid or having to use up their annual leave allowance to cover any absence.

If an employee is absent following an instruction from their employer not to come to work as a preventative measure, they are entitled to be paid as usual.

On 26 February 2020, Health Secretary Matt Hancock made a statement to the House of Commons saying that “Self-isolation on medical advice is considered sickness for employment purposes. That is a very important message for employers and those who can go home and self-isolate as if they were sick, because it is for medical reasons.” Whether or not this is an accurate explanation of the legal position for all employees, it confirms that it is good practice for employers to pay sick pay to self-isolating employees as if they were in fact ill.

If an employee has tested positive for coronavirus, or has flu-like symptoms, they will be entitled to sick pay as usual.

On 4 March 2020, the Prime Minister announced that emergency legislation would be brought forward, including “measures to allow the payment of statutory sick pay from the very first day you are sick, instead of four days under the current rules”. No further details are yet known about this measure, such as which individuals will be covered.

What should an employer do if an employee is concerned about the risk of contracting coronavirus and does not want to attend work?

As a general rule, an employer can require employees concerned about contracting coronavirus (COVID-19) to attend work. However, the employer should check current government guidance about self-isolation and take the employee’s own circumstances into account when deciding whether there are grounds for the employee to stay at home.

Where there are no grounds for self-isolation, the fear of contracting the illness would not generally be sufficient reason for failing to attend work, and an employer faced with an employee refusing to come to work will be entitled to take disciplinary action for unauthorised absence. An employer could also stop paying an employee who refuses to attend work on the basis that the employee is failing to perform their part of the contract.

However, where business needs allow, an employer may wish to take a more flexible approach and allow employees to work from home, or to take periods of annual or unpaid leave. This is particularly advisable when the employer is dealing with vulnerable employees, i.e. those at high risk of developing more severe symptoms from the coronavirus, such as employees with asthma, diabetes or heart disease.

With the prime minister due to hold an emergency Cobra meeting today to consider bringing in measures to delay the spread of coronavirus in the UK, it is important to look out for further updates.

 

If you require any further support or would like some help with communication to employees on the matter, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Occupational health are registered (NMC – nurses or GMC – Doctors) health professionals such as nurses and doctors with specialist qualifications in workplace health and wellbeing. In addition, physiotherapists, psychologists and occupational therapists also work in the field of occupational health.

The need to refer an employee to occupational health arises in circumstances such as:

• Long-term sickness absence > 4 weeks
• Short-term frequent sickness absence
• Performance or behavioural changes that are an issue
• The employee is stating that work is affecting health
• The employer has concerns that ill health, treatments or medications may impinge on safety or performance
• For a fitness to work assessment
• Return to work advice
• Explore the likelihood of the employee being disabled under the Equality Act.
• Assess fitness to attend formal meetings such as disciplinaries.

The advice received informs decision-making processes; such as those relating to sickness absence and performance, work content, working hours and patterns, location of work and capability.

Occupational health advice can assist you to be legislative compliant, protect you from litigation, fulfil your employer duty of care responsibilities and demonstrate being a fair employer.

An occupational health report will give you insights into the health issue, how it can give rise to work related difficulties, estimate the length of time the issue will occur, give advice to the employee and employer on how to improve the situation.

The occupational health assessment can explore with the employee about adjustments for the business to consider. The adjustments intend to ease the workplace issues arising from ill health. A business is not obliged to implement adjustments, unless they are judged to be reasonable under the Equality Act.

Occupational health professionals use their clinical knowledge to ask relevant and explorative questions. The purpose is to consider how the individual’s ill health is affecting work ability, effectiveness of treatments, the probability of improvements and to scope improvements to work performance and attendance.

The occupational health assessment is an opportunity for the employee to have a confidential discussion with a specialist health professional about their health, treatments, lifestyle and work. GP and non-occupational health professionals’ role is to diagnose and treat the ill health. The time allocated in GP and associated clinics centers on diagnosing and establishing an optimum treatment regimen. The occupational health assessment tends to be between 30-60 minutes and concentrates on refining work abilities.

To start the occupational health process or for more info, give Zoe, Duncan or myself a call. We will discuss your concerns and give you opinions on the value of occupational health for that circumstance.

Anna Harrington

Occupational Health Advisor

Wellbeing & Health in Business

Think of the last time you were asked to do something that sent your body and mind into a state of panic. It could be when you were asked to do a presentation or meet a potential client. Maybe you were competing in THE sporting event of your calendar. Or perhaps it was as simple as walking into a room full of people.

Did you acknowledge the feeling? Did you share your nerves with others? Or did you hide behind your mask of competence? I am working with more and more people experiencing anxiety, whether that stems from a fear of not being good enough and living up to others’ expectations, also known as Imposter Syndrome, generalised anxiety or worry brought on by specific events.

What’s Normal?

Feeling anxious is a normal, short-lived emotion that we all experience at times. But our response to these feelings is critical in terms of our future experience. What we do in that moment of self-doubt or panic can entirely shape our capacity to cope and manage the challenge next time.

How Are We Anxious?

Anxiety has its roots in fear. When the fight, flight or freeze symptoms associated with feeling nervous persist, we can feel an ongoing nagging sense of anxiety, irritability, anger, loss of confidence, concentration problems, trouble sleeping and eating, headaches and other physical symptoms. Reflect on how this can impact on our ability to function day-to-day and the fact that anxiety, along with depression, is the most prevalent mental health disorder experienced. We need to acknowledge its presence among our friends, family and colleagues and start taking it seriously.

Anxiety is characterised by increased vigilance and sensitivity to perceived threat. Negative thoughts such as ‘something bad will happen’ or ‘I won’t be able to cope’ feed feelings of fear such as racing heart and butterflies, and these trigger unhelpful behaviours such as avoidance, disruption and escape. This cycle becomes self-perpetuating, the unconstructive behaviours feeding the anxiety and reinforcing its existence. Add to that ‘safety’ behaviours such as eating, drinking, smoking, medication and the impact soon adds up.

Some people are more prone to worry or anxiety than others. Trait anxiety is associated with high sensitivity to or production of fear hormones (adrenalin, cortisol), low sensitivity to or production of pleasure hormones (endorphins, serotonin) and possible family history of anxiety. Others of us experience anxiety related to specific events, places or conditions, for example, illness, disability, family problems, work worries and social issues.

Regardless of why, we know that when anxiety becomes excessive and causes significant distress, resulting in fear or apprehension that is out of proportion to a situation or developmental stage, and it impairs the ability to function, it can feel debilitating.

Strategies

Whether anxiety is low level/ sporadic or having a more significant impact on your life, the strategies outlined below will help.

When If you experience or notice signs of anxiety in others, here are some strategies that can help. Remember that everyone is different and so it’s about trying different approaches to find which works best.

• Check for underlying reasons that can be addressed. Have the conversation! Normalise talking about feelings and supporting each other.
• Look for and celebrate positives and strengths that the individual shows, particularly where they have been confident/ successful in other similar situations.
• Ensure your environment/ leadership is likely to minimise anxiety while enabling individuals to experience challenge and ‘adversity’ safely and successfully.
• Explore the worst-case scenario.
• Practice simple relaxation techniques, such as 7/11 breathing (breathe out for longer than you breath in), visualisation of calm/ confidence/ success, and mindfulness.
• Distraction e.g. mental games (count backwards), environmental focus (read notices)
• Identity and challenge negative thinking. What’s the evidence? What are alternative perspectives? Model positive thinking. Reminders that worrying is normal.
• Describe what is happening, not what might happen.
• Be assertive! Say “STOP!” when you notice feeling tense. This is strengthened when you give the anxiety an identity.
• Plan ‘worry time’ when you give yourself permission to sit with the anxious feelings and give them attention. Outside of that, park them.
• Name/ see/ size the sensation of anxiety. Where is it in the body? Shift it. Acknowledge ‘I am not my anxiety – it is separate,’ as it helps individuals take control
• Be assertive! Say “STOP!” when you notice feeling tense. This is strengthened when you give the anxiety an identity.
• Measure the anxiety on a dial and turn it down. Or, put the worry thoughts in the basket of a hot air balloon and watch it get smaller as it glides away. Or undo a zip in your tummy and let the butterflies escape. Or imagine breathing out bubbles that contain negative thoughts and pop them with your finger. The list is endless!

And finally, remember to be A.W.A.R.E…

A – accept the anxiety – don’t fight it. Say “Hello!”

W – watch the anxiety. Be detached. Rate it from 1-10. You are not your anxiety!

A – act normally. Continue to do what you intended. 7/11 breathing

R – repeat the steps until it reduces to a comfortable level

E – expect the best. What you focus on is what you get

As with everything mental health, talk, be open and honest. Notice changes in others’ behaviour. Tune into what is going on inside your body and mind. And take positive action.

For more information, get in touch!

Lisa LLoyd; Its Time For Change

 

 

So fair bit of talk recently about IR35 and the proposed changes by the HMRC to close that tax loophole that exists to the benefit of PSC’s – personal service companies. IR35 refers to the UK anti-avoidance tax legislation, which is designed to close the hole exists where self-employed individuals are employed to conduct roles in companies where that role would normally have been conducted by a full-time employee.

The benefit to the self-employed individual is they’re paid on a gross basis into their own limited company. They then can pay themselves through dividends at a lower tax rate and avoid NI. It also benefits the company as they save on NI and pension contributions while having less risk as well from an employment litigation point of view, if they need to for example remove somebody. So not great for the HMRC who often lose substantial amounts through tax revenue.

IR35 sets about to provide guidance on what’s classified as an employee and what would be generally classified as a contractor. So if you’re inside IR35 that means you’re considered for tax purposes as an employee of the end client, therefore, you’ll be subject to PAYE; if you’re outside of IR35 this means that you are operating as a genuine business and therefore outside of IR35.

To be outside of IR35, there’s a number of criteria must meet for example the right substitution; so you must be able to have the option to send somebody else as equally as skilled in your place for the contract if needed; it’s around the levels of control, so a self-employed individual might agree to perform a particular task at a specific time and place but unlikely there’s any other real controls around what they do i.e. not being closely monitored by line manager.

Financial risk – the contractor has their own equipment they indemnify themselves against any losses or damages due to negligence. They are obliged to correct any defective work at their own expense.

Mutuality of obligation – a self-employed individual will do the work they’re being contracted to do and when they finish there’s no further expectation of any further work.

So what’s changing? Well in April 2020 legislation reforms are set to be introduced into the private sector; they’re already in place in the public sector as of April 2017.

This affects all medium to large organisations; they are defined as having an annual turnover of 10.2 million or more or a balance sheet of 5.1 million or more and the proposed change basically shifts the responsibility to assess IR35 from the contractor to the end client.

So this is far easier then to monitor and review for the HMRC.

However, this obviously leaves organisations with the huge task then of assessing their contractor workforce for IR35 compliance  and then putting in rigid checking policies in place in order to ensure that they avoid any HMRC fines and back payments of tax excetera, so big job for organisations. For those that are currently self-employed contractors, they’re going to need to review their status and then be prepared then as well to appeal any decision made by the client to simply register them in as inside of IR35.

They may do this to protect their position in the short term, however, it would then mean that individual is then subject to PAYE which they weren’t before.

So if you know anybody needs any further help or support on this then just feel free to drop us a line.

Thank you.

 

New Year; New Start?

Many of your employees could be thinking this and you may be about to lose great people!

January is that time of year when many of us look to move on and start the search for a new job. With end of year/Christmas bonuses safely in the bank and the “new year, new start” mentality kicking in, now is the time some will look for their next challenge and “something new”.

Employers need to work hard to retain talent and so should take steps now to ensure that they do so.

Some tips to help engage, motivate and retain employees include:

• Thanking them for all of their hard work last year and let them know what lies ahead for 2020 – make them feel appreciated and connected to the business.
• Allow people to work flexibly! This doesn’t have to mean part time, different hours permanently or working from home all of the time – just the ability to start a couple of hours later one day to make a school assembly, or work from home for an afternoon to wait for a delivery. Help employees to fully commit to both their personal and professional lives!
• Charity focus – Allow employees time to volunteer at their chosen charity; support a local cause or introduce a scheme to match money raised by employees for charities close to their heart.
• Focus on employee health & wellbeing! Help employees live better both physically and mentally. Look at mental wellbeing programmes, help to quit smoking, healthier living – all of these things help to create a healthier workforce, feeling great and therefore performing at their best.
• Support growth and development – provide access to training courses, internal coaching and mentoring. Succession plan for the future and keep hold of those key individuals.
• Be open and honest with your team.
• Trust your employees!

There are many ways to create a more engaged, motivated workforce and what works in one business, may be different in another; but what is true of any organisation is that people are at the heart of it!

Employee engagement is the key to improving employee productivity and loyalty in the workplace – can you afford to ignore it?

 

Should I fire the problem employee?

A common problem faced by many of our customers.

Unfortunately whilst your employees can be the difference between you being a good company and a great company; it only takes one bad egg to destroy all of that good work.

If the bad employee commits an obvious act of gross misconduct or continues to regularly break the rules, behaves inappropriately then resolving the problem is really easy. You need to follow a fair and consistent disciplinary process that has been defined in your company policies and procedures; you’ll most likely require HR support and guidance to work you through that, but ultimately dismissing that type of employee is pretty straightforward.

The more difficult issue is that employee that never commits an act of gross misconduct; however is constantly getting close to doing so. They’re constantly committing smaller acts of misconduct, that in isolation aren’t a problem, but grouped together become a significant headache for you.

Your good employees are fed up with them, as they’re constantly undoing the good work that they’re doing and delivering. They’re divisive and continually negative; you wish you would never taken them on, but getting rid of them feels like a mountain to climb and full of risks you feel like the law is against you in every turn that you take with these individuals and it just feels like they’ve got you by the short and curlies.

You continually dream of them resigning, however, of course, that would be way too much effort for them to do so.

At Harwood HR Solutions we classify these employees as internal terrorists; sounds over the top I know and whilst you can’t compare these guys to regrettably the people that we know exist in this world, if left alone and unchallenged gradually, they will bring your business to its knees.

Slowly but surely your best employees will start voting with their feet and so will your customers and the reputation that you spent years building up could potentially be destroyed.

Sound frightening? Well it is or can be but here’s the good news, you can and should be dealing with these employees swiftly and without need for sleepless nights. Of course, good policies procedures and proactive assertive management will prevent 90% of issues from developing, but when one slips through the net you should consider the commercial impact that has been had on your business.

Weighing up the damage that that employee is creating for you financially and reputationally and then looking at that versus the cost of resolving the issue swiftly, quite often gives you an obvious path to take. A good HR practitioner will help you through the option and decision making process.

The chances are that if you’re growing a business you’re gonna have to recruit employees. So if you want to do so, you shouldn’t let this problem put you off. You need to act fast and resolve these situations before they become a problem.

If you need help with this then click on the link below leave us your contact details on will give you a free consultation.

Thank you very much.

One of the common questions that we often get asked is do I need a contract, do I need policies and procedures in place.

Many business owners struggle to see the need for them as they have always got away without them previously. They will say “oh I don’t need HR, I just sort it out myself, if I’ve got a problem with an employee and I need to get rid of them, I’ll just take them aside and have a chat.

If you’re lucky, then you may get away with it and you may operate for years without a problem,  but trust me, that really  is more luck than judgement.

The answer to the question is absolutely yes!  You do need a contract of employment and you do need policies and procedures in place.

Why?

• It is a legal requirement to issue a written statement containing terms and conditions of employment given to you employee within 2 months of their start date
• Whether you issue a contract and policies and procedures in place or not then a contract still exists. By offering your employees work and then paying them means that you have entered into a contract.  The employee is protected by statutory legislation.  So why not make sure you have terms that suit you?
• Many Business owners are totally unaware that there are implied terms of the contract that exist. Just because it’s not written down doesn’t mean you cannot breach an implied term of the contract.
• Would you enter into any agreement that carries legal requirements without having a contract in place? If you have any sense the answer is no!
• An employment agreement is a two-way relationship. How can you expect your new employee to know what rules they need to comply with unless you expressly tell them?
• When an employment relationship does go wrong (and unfortunately they do!) You need to make sure you have relevant and robust policies in place to allow you to deal with the problem. Without them you are open to a world of breach of contract and failure to follow process claims that can turn a minor dispute into a massive problem.
• There’s always one! That person that identifies the gap in your company’s policies and takes advantage only to defend themselves by stating that they had no idea it wasn’t the right thing to do as they haven’t seen a policy on it!

So, yes you need contracts and policies and procedures!  Do you need to spend months developing them, spending thousands of pounds?  No, you need to ensure that they are relevant for your business and our advice is to keep them as simple as possible. Don’t have a policy for the sake of having a policy!

At Harwood HR Solutions we can resolve this problem for you by either.  Whether you want us to quote to ensure you are covered off on a one-off project or whether you want this service included free of charge when you sign up to a very affordable retained package we can get it done!

With the festive season upon us, many companies will be looking forward to their Christmas party and celebrating the end of, what was hopefully, another successful year.

 

With the alcohol flowing and everyone in good spirits it is sure to be a great evening. It can however, also be a time for incidents to occur, leaving employers having to deal with the fall out.

 

Throwing up, throwing food or even punches are among common those incidents!

 

Social events, organised by the company are deemed as an extension of the workplace and so it is important to remind employees of this and of the consequences of unacceptable behaviour.

 

Nobody wants to been seen as Bah Humbug and while employers want their team to have a good time and let their hair down, it’s essential that they don’t leave themselves vicariously liable for acts committed by employees.

 

All sounds a little drastic I know, but unfortunately, these things happen!

 

Set out some grounds rules to all ahead of time, being clear about the standard of behaviour that is expected and maybe even support this with a policy on social events that can be used in the future – this shows that the organisation has taken reasonable steps to prevent unacceptable conduct.

 

For more tips on managing this, or for help with a policy, drop me a line zoe@harwoodhrsolutions.co.uk or call us 0203 936 9171

 

We are constantly being asked the question, what does great HR look like? To be honest when put on the spot, it’s a tricky question to answer however in our minds it’s really obvious. Sometimes it’s easier to explain what it isn’t!  Our profession has been hampered by having a reputation for being “fluffy”, “not at all commercial”, “the welfare department” etc…

In truth HR people don’t help themselves as we still have a few old grey suits out there from the Personnel days and we have plenty of HR bods out there that are not at all commercial and spend their time sitting on various fences.

We also have the HR police officers who can regularly be heard quoting “well legally we have to do this” whilst blindly leading businesses through a process for process sake just in case the employee raises a tribunal claim (which inevitably they do because they’ve lead them down that path).

In many organisations HR is seen as a necessary cost or the “PC” department.   Anybody ever heard a senior leader say, “that’s not very HR!”? To compound this there are also big HR outsource companies who offer an insured HR product.  i.e. if you follow our advised process to the letter, we will insure you against tribunal claims!   This is another self-fulfilling prophecy as you end up creating tribunals by forcing your employees to drag people through processes.

This is the opposite of great HR!

So what is great HR? Well firstly, great HR professionals are commercial. They understand the business and how it operates. They understand what needles need to move to ensure that the Company is performing well. They are a credible sounding board for their fellow senior leaders / colleagues and are consulted on all manner of business related challenges and not just “HR stuff”. Their credibility and influence ensures that the Company is proactively planning to stay competitive through the effective recruitment, management and retention of its diverse population of employees. This is far from woolly HR stuff! This is the key to being a market leader or even surviving in the next decade.

A great HR professional takes time to understand their employees / clients and provides proactive, relevant and effective advice to the business rather than simply quoting the latest employment legislation. What’s right for one company or individual may not be right for yours.

Whilst managers always have the fear of an employment tribunal in the back of their mind a great HR professional makes tribunals a thing of the past through proactive involvement and addressing issues assertively and professionally ensuring that most issues are resolved internally. When you can’t resolve them internally the company’s defence is solid enough ensure that a commercially beneficial resolution can be found swiftly without the need for lengthy and expensive employment litigation.

Great HR proactively advises on the best route for an individual business or an individual in a business, interpreting and guiding a company on how to abide by the relevant employment legislation or advising on the lowest risk and swiftest resolution to address that issue in your business that is impacting on your time, your employees motivation and your customer service (i.e. your financial performance).

As you may already know, I am passionate about creating workplaces where all people can thrive. That opportunity is created by great leadership. Here I ask you to consider what you understand by gender equality. It has become more than just a question of equal pay and opportunities. We are becoming increasingly aware of gender identity, which is not as simple as male or female.

Yesterday I worked with a client who was incredibly anxious about disclosing that he is transgender, born into a man’s body but identifying more with being female. He texted me afterwards to thank me and comment that,

It’s been bubbling in the background for more than 20 years… a feeling that has been semi-destructive. There has been nothing more difficult than embracing being trans.

How aware are you about which gender your colleagues identify with? We may think it’s obvious but my client has been great at masking his identity and to this date, only 3 people know – none of them from work.

Transgender describes people who have a gender identity or gender expression that differs to their sex assigned at birth. Acas head of equality, Julie Dennis, said: “Trans people are better supported in UK workplaces now compared to 20 years ago but we still have a long way to go to create a positive environment for those who identify as the ‘T’ in LGBT.” Despite the UK providing one of the highest degrees of liberty in the world for its LGBT communities (ILGA-Europe),

• More than a third of LGBT staff (35 per cent) have hidden that they are LGBT at work for fear of discrimination.
• Almost one in five LGBT staff (18 per cent) have been the target of negative comments or conduct from work colleagues in the last year because they’re LGBT.
• One in eight trans people (12 per cent) have been physically attacked by customers or colleagues inthe last year because of being trans.

Issues faced by trans employees at work include a lack of understanding, prejudice, confidentiality issues and access to facilities and dress codes but to name a few. Acas and Stonewall make numerous suggestions and have great resources to manage gender identity issues and support diversity in the workplace.

Like any good inclusive practice, to support an employee with specific needs, it’s crucial to agree an individual and flexible plan with them. This should include who is told and under what circumstances, when and how records will be updated and changes to working arrangements. Recommendations for best practice from Acas included:

• Do not disclose an employee’s gender identity without their consent apart from in exception set out in law.
• Ensure there are clear protocols for data management to avoid any non-consensual disclosure.
• Provide managers with good quality diversity and inclusion training.
• All trans employees should be treated fairly irrespective of whether their gender identity is protected by the Equality Act 2010.
• Employers should consider how to raise awareness of trans issues and encourage the use of LGBT champions.

Workplace openness and discussions are essential to answer the questions that some employees may have about gender diversity and what they can do to be more inclusive. It’s about creating a culture where everyone feels safe to share issues as well as any possible solutions.

How does your workplace support inclusion for trans employees? Do you have a policy that is reflected in practice? A failure to protect such employees from bullying and harassment in the workplace may lead to constructive unfair dismissal claims. But importantly, it’s about your company doing the right thing to create a team environment that is safe, where each employee has their physical and emotional needs met to create a culture of inclusivity. When you establish an atmosphere where employees of all genders are comfortable and able to thrive, you also maintain a competitive edge.

I urge you not to dismiss this article as possibly irrelevant to your organisation. Do you really know? How do you know? Unless you get the culture right, you can’t expect employees to trust you enough to be open. Get people right, get business right.

My client has recently changed job and now works as part of the University of Oxford where already he has noticed posters for LGBT events. His excitement was tangible yesterday as he moves closer towards being able to express himself as he chooses. I’m excited to be part of his journey!

Get in touch for more information.

Written by Lisa Lloyd