HR News March 2010

In this month's HR News, we will be looking at three main stories that have hit the headlines recently. One of the most alarming is that the nation seems to be in the grips of working excessive unpaid overtime. With many people still fearing for their jobs, the need for employees to work extra hours has increased to alarming levels. We also look at the need for HR Departments to make fathers more aware of their paternity rights. Lastly, we focus on the story that has recently broken regarding a leading charities concern over redundancy being used to get rid of elderly staff.

People working 'extreme' unpaid overtime is increasing

According to a survey by the TUC, people working on average  more than 10 hours a week unpaid overtime has increased to nearly 900,000 last year.

The research, launched to mark Work your Proper Hours Day found teachers and lawyers are the most likely to do unpaid overtime with around one in five employees putting in 17 hours of free work every week.

Last year over five million people across the UK clocked up an average of 7 hours 12 minutes of unpaid overtime a week worth £27.4 billion - or £5,402 each.

One in four (25.3%) public-sector workers worked unpaid overtime in 2009, worth nearly £9 billion a year, compared with one in six staff in the private sector (18.3%). Public- sector workers are also more likely to do 'extreme' unpaid overtime.

Single women are more likely to do unpaid overtime than single men, married or cohabiting couples or lone parents - with over one in four women putting in an average of 7 hours 42 minutes free work a week.

Another piece of research revealed employees working longer hours unpaid receive no thanks for their trouble.

The Sage UK Omnibus surveyed 2,000 small and medium-sized enterprises and found that over half (52%) of the businesses questioned said their employees worked overtime, with 40% of those businesses not rewarding their staff for working over their contracted hours.

The growth of 'extreme' unpaid overtime over the past year comes as the number of underemployed people also increases. Official figures show that 2.8 million people say they want more hours in their existing job or full-time work instead of their current part-time job. 

Fathers should be more aware of paternity rights

HR departments should take steps to ensure that fathers know their paternity rights after a new survey highlighted that a fifth of new dads are not sure if their employer offers flexible working.

The poll involved 560 fathers and was conducted by the government to mark its own awareness campaign for dads, which will take place this month.

People value the rights for dads at work and businesses also see real benefits in offering them. However the research shows that there are still some dads out there that are not aware of what they are entitled to and therefore risk missing out.

The month-long campaign will see the government highlighting the rights that are available to all new dads, including two week's paid paternity leave if they have been with their employer for 26 weeks by the 15th week before the baby is due.

They can also take up to 13 weeks of unpaid leave until their child is five years old.

From April 2011, mothers will be able to transfer the second half of their year-long maternity leave to the father, under government plans announced last month.

Many firms already offer flexible working arrangements for new dads.

Forced retirement is being used as a cheap alternative to redundancy

Around 100,000 people were forced to retire last year, as employers are using the tactic to make cuts to their workforces, age campaigners have claimed.

Charities Age Concern and Help the Aged said the use of mandatory retirement ages had "soared" during the recession and was much higher than in 2006, when the default retirement age of 65 was formalised.

The charities said a survey of almost 1,000 people aged between 60 and 70 suggested that employers were using forced retirement as a "cheap and easy alternative" to redundancy during the economic downturn.

Moreover, one in four of those questioned said they knew a friend or colleague who had been forced to retire at or after 65.

The two charities, which are in the process of a merging and will be jointly known as Age UK, are urging all political parties to commit to scrapping age-related legislation.

The survey showed the use of forced retirement had spiralled out of control, offering some employers a low-cost shortcut to shed jobs during the recession.

The default retirement age has stamped an expiry date on hundreds of thousands of older workers, and is the most disturbing example of age discrimination, which still tarnishes later life for so many people.