Judging by the weather, and the late fall of snow, you could be forgiven for not realising what season we are in and forgetting that all important spring clean! New legislation, which always accompanies this time of year, should be an incentive to polish employment policies and oil procedures for optimum business performance. If you haven’t already done so, don’t delay in getting your house in order with the recent legal developments and prepare for the year ahead.
Hose down your health and safety practices
Check that you have proper systems in place to minimise the risk to health and safety of employees and others likely to be affected by your activities. Conducting thorough risk assessments and following through on control measures for the prevention of accidents is essential for an organisation to avoid causing unnecessary harm. Under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act, an organisation can now be prosecuted for the new offence of corporate manslaughter if the way in which its activities are managed or organised amounts to gross negligence of a duty of care resulting in a fatality. Occupational road users are responsible for a high proportion of road traffic accidents and it is therefore advisable that company car drivers are given proper instruction on road safety. Take practical steps to reduce the risk, for example, by prohibiting the use of mobile phones and other electronic devices whilst driving and by ensuring that adequate rests breaks can be taken.
Iron out your wages
Carrying out an equal pay audit will identify any disparity in pay between the sexes and ethnic minorities, which should be investigated and causes that are potentially discriminatory should be remedied. At the same time you can check compliance with the National Minimum Wage and budget for any pay increases that will be necessary from 1 October when the following new rates come into force:
- The adult rate for a worker aged 22 or over will increase from £5.52 to £5.73 per hour
- The development rate for 18-21 year olds will increase from £4.60 to £4.77 per hour
- The rate for workers aged 16-17 will increase from £3.40 to £3.53 per hour
Buff up your holiday entitlement
Review your holiday policies to ensure that all workers are now receiving a minimum annual entitlement of 24 days paid holiday. If this includes public and bank holidays double check that your terms and conditions are not ambiguous on this point and, ideally, that you have an express right to require workers to take their holiday at these times. If your leave year starts in January remember that you will have to make advance preparation for the increase to 28 days from April 2009 and allocate this on a proportionate basis for the remaining 9 months of the coming holiday year. Keep your holiday policies under review pending the ECJ ruling in HM Revenue and Customs v Stringer (formerly Commissioners of Inland Revenue v Ainsworth) on the entitlement to paid holiday during absence.
Mop up maternity provisions
Update your maternity, adoption and paternity leave policies to confirm the new statutory rates of pay for SMP, SAP and SPP respectively, which is now currently £117.18 per week. Prepare for changes under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Amendment) Regulations 2008, which remove the distinction between Ordinary and Additional Maternity Leave for employees with an expected week of childbirth on, or after, 5 October 2008. This change will mean that these employees will benefit from all their normal terms and conditions of employment, except remuneration, for the whole of their maternity leave period and will have the right to return to the same job. Confirm this right in your maternity policies and/or information packs and assess the practical implications in relation to any contractual benefits you provide, such as company cars, health insurance, pension etc.
Launder out liability stains
Changes to the Sex Discrimination Act, now also mean that employers can be held liable for harassment committed by an external third party which an employee is subjected to during the course of employment. Check your harassment and/or grievance procedures cover complaints of this nature and that these are properly investigated and appropriate action is taken to prevent recurrences. An employer will be liable if, after two instances of prior harassment, reasonable steps have not been taken to protect the employee from further abuse. Terms and conditions with 3rd parties, e.g. customers and contractors etc, should set out the standards of conduct expected and the action that the company will take if these are breached.
Clean up your communications
The Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004 now also covers employers with 50 or more employees, who will be obliged to inform and consult with staff over certain matters if a statutory request is made by at least 10% of the workforce. The statutory provisions are not very flexible and you should consider introducing arrangements under a Pre-Existing Agreement before a request is made. If you have an employee forum set up already, ensure that this satisfies the criteria for a valid Pre-Existing Agreement to protect its continued use.
Now, as if that’s not enough to contend with along with all the normal day to day tasks, HR professionals can look forward to even more changes next year. Almost certainly this will include a repeal of the statutory procedures and the introduction of mandatory employer contributions to pension schemes under Government bills now in progress. The extension of the right to request flexible working to more, if not all parents, is on the horizon and, quite possibly, equal rights for agency workers as a private member’s bill could get in through the back door!