HR News May 2010

Welcome to the May edition of HR News. World cup fever will soon be upon us, but are we prepared as employers to deal with a surge in annual leave requests, and staff absences due to 'sickness.' We will take a look at the implications of this in this months issue. Mother Nature, yet again, has thrown HR professionals a real challenge with the chaos to both travel and work due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland. This issue also focuses on how staff absences due to family problems equals absences due to serious ill health, such as heart attacks and cancer. Finally we look at social networking, could your business be in danger of a discrimination claim?

World Cup Absence Management

According to a survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) they found that just 5% of organisations have drawn up a policy to deal with World Cup absences. A further 5% are in the process of developing one. That is a staggering 9 out of 10 firms that have not thought about how to deal with employees who fail to show up for work!

THE CIPD has suggested that all organisations, large and small should adopt a World Cup Absence Management Guide. It is suggested that things like flexible working hours, shift swaps, unpaid leave, and providing a special screen to show matches on work premises would eliminate the need for employees to take false absences.

It also recommends that employers are made aware of disciplinary consequences for taking unauthorised time off work without good reason, or for not performing satisfactorily or misbehaving at work.

The CIPD also suggests employers should encourage workers to use annual leave, particularly to discourage general absenteeism and poor performance caused by over-indulgence in alcohol.

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Volcano disruption - Will the dust settle?

As the dust (or should we say ash?) settles on the massive travel disruption caused by the Icelandic volcano disruption, it's good to see that some large employers are adopting policies that are helping stranded employees.

Employers are actually under no obligation to pay staff that are stranded abroad and unable to get back home and consequently to work. A huge moral dilemma for many employers on whether to pay staff, allow them to take unpaid leave or negotiate an agreement to make up time over the year.

Obviously for larger employers it is easier for them to swallow up the costs of paying staff whilst stranded. For others though, especially smaller businesses it may be impossible to honour pay if temporary staff have been drafted in to cover, or existing staff paid overtime.

This type of situation, just like the big freeze experienced last winter, has made HR professionals really think on their feet and be creative on how to deal with such situations. How to help staff who are stranded but at the same time, not upsetting existing staff who may feel that employees have enjoyed an extra long break whilst being paid.

Those in the HR profession must be thinking what will Mother Nature throw at us next?

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Family issues top causes for workplace absence

A recent survey by Group Risk Development (GRiD), shows that family and home issues are the top cause for workplace absence for 18% of employers, as workplace stress grows resulting from the recession.

The survey shows18% of businesses claimed family issues were the top cause for workplace absence.  By contrast, 15% said workplace stress was the main culprit and 12% of businesses said musculoskeletal disorders were the most common reason for staff absence.  

The findings highlight just how complex the root causes of workplace absence can be - and how difficult they are to manage.  But in an era when the Government's new Fit Notes initiative is putting far greater emphasis on employers getting staff back to work, employers can't afford to let such broader triggers of absence go under the radar.

There appears to be a growing awareness of the impact of absence on business productivity and team/staff morale.  But the tendency is still to treat it as an 'isolatable' issue affecting a specific individual rather than looking at the broader picture. The reality is that team-mates can become sick due to a colleague's absence or, as research proves, family issues can spill over to affect an employee's ability to perform in the work context.

With the launch of Fit Notes on 6 April 2010.  The new Fit Note is geared towards facilitating employees' timely return to work - as soon as they are deemed fit to work in any capacity. This links in with the requirement for employers to make reasonable adjustments under the Disability Discrimination Act. Even more so there will be  a real business need to tackle the root causes of absences.

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Facebook could land employers in trouble

Companies are being urged to avoid using social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter or My Space to vet job candidates as it could leave them vulnerable to discrimination claims. It is also risky to obtain information on current employees this way.
The Employment Practices Data Protection Code states that an employer should only use vetting where there are particular and significant risks involved to the employer, clients, customers or others, such as for jobs which involve working with vulnerable people or children.
Employers should not place reliance on information collected from social networking sites because it could be potentially misleading. Employers need to be careful because of mistaken identity and misleading and false information on such sites. If they were, for example, to find out information about a person's sexual orientation, age or religious beliefs and it was felt this knowledge prompted an employer to discriminate against that person, then there could be grounds for a legal claim.
 
If the advice is not to use social networking sites, then all line managers and recruiters should be informed and trained regarding equal opportunities. A general policy should be adopted, and a paper trail should be kept of assessments and information on prospective candidates.

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