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Developing an HR Strategy

For any organisation that has employees it is important to develop an HR strategy for the future which will provide a 3-5 year direction for the organisation in order to gain competitive advantage. 
The use of a SWOT analysis can help develop an HR strategy in looking at how external factors (opportunities and threats) can impact on internal factors (strengths and weaknesses) identifying plans for improvement and/or growth.  External factors can include those related to political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental issues.  Therefore an organisation must analyse which or all of these will have an effect.   For example employment legislation is constantly changing (dependent on EU implementation requirements and government interpretations).  This has an impact on employees in that an organisation has to ensure an engaged productive workforce that are being managed within the law.
To analyse the internal factors, an organisation must look at its tangible HR resources ie specific employee skills and experience, recruitment strategies, staff motivation, staff turnover, etc. to identify its strengths and weaknesses. 
By cross referencing strengths and weaknesses against opportunities and threats clear plans can then be developed on paper for an HR strategy.  Employees are an organisation’s greatest resource so such a long term plan is essential for success.

The Importance of Consultation during Redundancy

The recent case where ex-Woolworths staff received a whopping £67m compensation payout at an employment tribunal demonstrates the importance of consultation in a redundancy process.  In this case the administrators failed to consult the shop workers union on the redundancies and instead focused on trying to find a buyer.

The tribunal found the administrators of Woolworths had failed in their legal duty to consult the union with the result that over 24,000 former employees received a Protective Award of 60 days’ pay, capped at the statutory maximum of £330 a week that applied at the time.   It had been the view of the administrators that closures were inevitable therefore there was no genuine open minded consultation. Also the time allocated to consultation meetings was far too short which also demonstrated their opinion that redundancies were inevitable.
The judgement sends a clear message to employers for the price paid for failing to consult properly.  It is really important to carry out a fair and reasonable consultation process in good time before any dismissals take place.  A group consultation should announce the company’s proposals then be followed by individual consultation meetings.   When carrying out a collective consultation process with unions or employee representatives individual consultation needs to take place as well.
During individual consultation employees need to know the selection criteria applied and how they have been scored and at the same time be given the opportunity to discuss ways to avoid redundancy. They should be gven the opportunity to suggest ways of avoiding redundancy.  The employer may have alternative employment opportunities available in the company which should be discussed with the employee explaining how the roles can be applied for.  Employees need to fully understand the redundancy process and it should not be rushed at all.
Employers should keep a paper trail to show that full and meaningful consultation has taken place, which includes letters and notes from all the meetings.
More information can be found on the ACAS website https://www.acas.org.uk/manage-staff-redundancies

Growth in Part Time Working

The Office of National Statistics has today announced that many people in the UK are having to take part time work rather than full time when seeking employment.  The figure is at its highest level since records began 20 years ago.
Whilst it may be unfortunate that those people seeking full time work can only take up part time work, at least, they are in employment, keeping up their skills until hopefully the economy returns to normal and more opportunities for full time work returns.  They are also avoiding the benefits trap. 
Part time work as part of flexible working can, however, benefit both employer and employee.  For an employer it may be more effective to offer part time hours certainly keeping costs down which is important during these difficult economic times.  With a fixed budget an employer can still bring in skilled and experienced labour without breaking the bank. The use of part time labour can reduce pressure on full time employees and cut an employer’s overtime bill. Part time working can increase productivity and provide an advantage over competitors. 
Part time working can include working  shorter days or fewer days in the week, but also term time working and job sharing. Part time employees should be treated the same as any full time employees which includes offering the same terms and conditions and equal treatment.  Consideration to communication is key as part time employees need to be kept in the loop given they are not present in the workplace all the time.   
For an employee the benefits of part time working can be having a better work life balance, improved health and well being and time for other responsibilities. 

Relationships in the Workplace

A wise employer draws up a policy for dealing with relationships in the workplace.  This can include  advising the potential employer on an application form or during a job interview  that you have a partner working for that organisation to an obligation to alert an employer when a new relationship starts as it often can given the amount of time employees spend at work. Few employers choose to ban relationships in the workplace all together as this could be bad HR practice in most circumstances.  However in some cases there could be a betrayal of professionalism eg tutor/student, doctor/patient so clear guidelines need to be in place. 
Working with a partner can potentially cause all sorts of problems from compromising confidentiality to emotional problems spilling into the workplace if things go pear shaped so a well communicated policy needs to be in place.   The policy needs to cover inappropriate behaviour, favouritism, abuse of authority, conflict of interest, etc and consideration should be made to including family members working together.  Fair and consistent treatment should be the aim. 
Employees should read their contract and employee handbook to understand their responsibilities. 

Managing Sickness Absence

The first Monday in February is unofficially known as “National Sickie Day” as it is the day employees are most likely to call in sick.  The reasons being the freezing cold days, travelling to work and home in the dark and the summer holiday in the very distant future.  It is estimated that this year 400,000 employees will have done so costing the UK economy £43m.
Every year sickness absence costs £700 per employee in the UK. Given the state of the economy businesses can not afford to put up with employees consisting calling in sick so managing sickness absence is very important.  Absence is a financial cost to the business as well as a cost to motivation and morale of the workforce.
There are two types of absence that need to be dealt with using a fair procedure.
For frequent intermittent absence where an employee phones in on a regular basis with indiscriminate illnesses, employers need to track what is happening to look for any trends such as the Monday/Friday syndrome or an employee being sick at particular times.  Armed with the information the employer then needs to discuss the situation with the employee to find out what is causing the absence, using an occupational health referral as required.  The employer needs to stress an improvement is required and then if that does not happen move onto use of the disciplinary process if appropriate.  If a disability has come to light during medical investigation then reasonable adjustments are essential.
For long term absence where an employee has a serious medical condition then regular meetings are essential with an occupational health referral for advice on how to manage the situation.  Long term if the employee is unable to return to work then an ill health termination must be considered.   

Data Protection Rules to Change

The EU has decided that the UK is being too lax in implementing data protection law therefore later this year there are going to be some key changes that will take place.  Companies with 250+ employees must employ a data protection officer whose role will be to ensure they deal with personal information of staff and customers correctly.
The Information Commission has also stated it will ensure that:
People will have easier access to their own data, and will find it easier to transfer it from one service provider to another.

Users will have the right to demand that data about them be deleted if there are no “legitimate grounds” for it to be kept.

Organisations must notify the authorities about data breaches as early as possible, “if feasible within 24 hours”.

In cases where consent is required organisations must explicitly ask for permission to process data, rather than assume it.

From May 2012 organisations that break the rules will face severe penalties – up to £500,000 for companies that are guilty of breaches.

Individuals who fail to notify the Information Commission that they are processing personal information may be fined up to £1,000.