Additional Jubilee Bank Holiday – What this means to employers….

It has been announced that Tuesday 5 June 2012 will be a bank holiday to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
In addition, the spring bank holiday, which usually falls on the last Monday in May, will be put back to Monday 4 June creating a four day weekend during which there will be various celebrations to mark the Queen’s 60 years on the throne.
The news has been greeted with delight by employees – however it is likely to create an organisational and financial headache for many businesses.

While most people have welcomed the prospect of an extra holiday to celebrate this important national event employees should not assume that they will inevitably benefit.There has always been confusion about the status of bank holidays.                                                                                                                                                                                                                    It is important to note that employees do not have an automatic right to paid leave on bank holidays. Although many employers do close down on such days or offer employees who work, extra pay or a day off in lieu, they are not required to do so.
Any right to time off or extra pay for working on a bank holiday depends on the terms of the contract of employment.
The only legal obligation on an employer is to allow their workers the minimum annual leave laid down in the Working Time Regulations 1998 (28 days for a full-time worker).
Where an employment contract provides for “twenty days holiday plus bank holidays” then an employee will be entitled to take Tuesday 5th June in addition to the usual eight bank holidays.
Where the employment contract simply states that the employee is entitled to “twenty eight days holiday per year” there will be no such contractual entitlement.
An employer with such a holiday clause may decide to close down on the 5th June 2012 but require employees to take the day out of their annual holiday allowance.
Please contact the office to establish the facts about your contractual obligations.

Job Opportunities

We are looking to hear from HR Professionals with the following disciplines:

• Mergers & Acquisitions
• TUPE
• Outplacement
• Psychometrics (must be SHL Qualified)

HR Generalist(s) based in London and East Anglia must be willing to travel in UK

To apply or for more information, please email us at support@newtonhr.com

Unfair Dismissal – Qualifying Period

Following the “Resolving Workplace Disputes” public consultation in January 2011, the Government has stated that, from 6 April 2012, the qualifying period of service for an employee to claim unfair dismissal will increase from one to two years. The UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is currently discussing the transitional provisions that will need to be put in place in relation to employees who will have been employed for more than one year but less than two years.

There is no qualifying period of service for unfair dismissal claims alleging whistleblowing or for claims of unlawful discrimination.

Compensation Limits

The annual Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2011 has been published. The changes set out below will apply where the effective date of termination of employment falls on or after 1 February 2012:

• The maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal increases from £68,400 to £72,300.
• The statutory cap for a week’s pay, most often used for calculating a basic award for unfair dismissal and a statutory redundancy payment, increases from £400 to £430.
• The maximum basic award and statutory redundancy payment therefore rise from £12,000 to £12,900.
• The minimum basic award for unfair dismissal (which applies to dismissals by reason of trade union membership or activities, health and safety duties, occupational pension scheme trustee duties or acting as an employee representative) increases from £5,000 to £5,300.

Latest article by Linda Burke of Newtonhr published in Nursing Times

How to make successful change management easier

18 January 2011 | By Linda Burke

Linda Burke of Newton HR sets out the three key steps that will help you guide your staff through any changes.

In today’s tough economic climate, change has become an important necessity. As such, it is key that both staff and their managers understand exactly why change is happening, and how it will take place.

The word “change” can trigger feelings of uncertainty – many of which centre around job security as well as concerns regarding increases in workload and the impact on patient care. Most people tend to feel insecure, overwhelmed and, as a result, will resist that change to a greater or lesser extent.

How you, as a manager, plan, communicate and deliver change will affect its overall success. Helping your team to understand the answers to the many why, what, when, how and who questions will pay significant dividends.

Putting yourself in a position to be able to competently answer the why, what, when, who and why questions will give you confidence and clarity in the decision, building the plan and communication strategy, and engaging and communicating with your team.

How to deal with change

Step 1 – Plan

Why change?

Understand why change is happening:

● What are you trying to achieve?

● What is the impact on your direction?

● What does the change mean for you and your team?

What are the key aspects?

Analyse the aspects of change:

● What has to be done and what will be done differently?

● How ready are you for the change?

● Who else needs to be involved?

When will it happen?

● What are you going to tell people?

● How are you going to tell them?

● How will they react and do you have the answers to key questions?

Who is involved?

● Who is affected? How will staff and teams react? What will concerns be?

● Who do you need to engage outside of the team?

Have you planned appropriately?

Fine tune the plan:

● Do you have all the information?

● Do you have all the answers?

● Can you communicate the plan?

Step 2 – Communication

● Be clear about change and impact

● Explain what will be done differently

● Make time for staff and resolve issues quickly

Step 3 – Deliver

Implementing the plan will take longer than you think

● Monitor and review progress

● Look for unexpected side effects and act, immediately if necessary

● Keep your team motivated

To read the article on the Nursing Times website please click the link below

http://www.nursingtimes.net/nursing-practice/clinical-specialisms/management/how-to-make-successful-change-management-easier/5024135.article

Jenny Newton Ambassador Of The Month

This month on The East of England Women’s Enterprise Ambassadors website Newtonhr’s very own Managing Director Jenny Newton is Ambassador of the month.

Find out how Jenny became a Enterprise Ambassador and what makes her tick.

Check out her interview here

http://www.enterpriseambassadors.co.uk/

Business Start Up Packages

Disability Discrimination Act Update.

In a landmark discrimination case, the House of Lords awarded £125,000 compensation to a woman who had worked for her employer for over 32 years.
The employee developed vocal nodules that threatened her speech, she protested when her employer took away partitions near her desk causing her to speak more loudly. The company argued that the employee was not disabled as her condition no longer had an adverse effect on her life.
Proceedings under the Disability Discrimination Act began in October 2001 alleging discrimination on grounds of her employer’s failure to make reasonable adjustments.
In May 2002 following 33 years of service, the employee was made redundant as a result of the decision and consequently brought further proceedings against her employer alleging victimisation and unfair dismissal.
She took her case as far as the Court of Appeal in Belfast prior to ending up in the highest court in the country The House of Lords.
The House of Lords upheld the decision and has now ruled that people with physical or mental conditions that vary in severity over time should be termed as “disabled” meaning that those individuals with controlled, recurring conditions are now covered by the Disability Discrimination Act.
The ruling extends the protection to people with a range of health conditions and could stretch to diabetes or multiple sclerosis.

Effected by this ruling or need to discuss existing arrangements in your business please speak directly with an HR Specialist 01473 858288 or email support@newtonhr.com

Volcanic Ash causes Absence eruption!

The volcanic ash cloud has stranded many UK workers and the Federation of Small Business (FSB) reported a warning in the Daily Telegraph to organisations that dock the pay of workers who fail to turn up for work as a consequence, that they could face future employment tribunals.

The FSB suggest the most vulnerable are those organisations that don’t have robust absence management policies that clearly state they are entitled to deduct wages in such circumstances.
The warning comes following a decision made by one local authority to deduct the wages of teachers if they fail to turn up at the school after the Easter Break due to flight cancellations caused by the volcanic ash in the upper atmosphere grounding planes.

This situation raises many questions and ultimately costs are suffered by one side or the other. Where guidance is not made clear in policy the situation will lead to lengthy discussions, strain is placed on relationships, not to mention the potential employment tribunal claim should terms prove ambiguous.
It is therefore crucial that employers have contingency plans in place to manage absence in the workplace and many clients are taking the time to revisit their terms –it is not enough to be of the view that payment of wages is afforded to work actually completed.

To discuss further please contact 01473 858288 to speak to an HR Specialist or email support@newtonhr.com