• Workers aged 22 and over: £5.93 per hour
• Workers aged 18-21 or aged 22 and over and on accredited training: £4.92 per hour
• Workers under the age of 18 who have ceased to be of compulsory school age: £3.64 per hour
• An apprentice rate of £2.50 per hour will apply to apprentices who are under 19 or those who are aged 19 and over but in the first year of their apprenticeship.

If you have a topic that you’d like us to cover in a future update, please let us know by emailing us at Adviceline@vizualhr.com.

The information contained above is for guidance only and represents our understanding of employment law and employee relations issues as at 11th October 2010. VizualHR cannot be held responsible for any action or inaction taken in reliance upon the contents. Specific advice should be sought on any individual matter.

Below are the main differences, from an employment perspective, which are due to come into force on 1st October 2010:

Direct discrimination – the definition of direct discrimination will apply where someone is treated less favourably “because of a protected characteristic”. This deliberately broad definition extends to associative and perceptive cases; where someone is discriminated against because of their association with a member of a protected group or because they are perceived to have a protected characteristic.

Indirect discrimination – this will now cover circumstances where someone is put at a disadvantage but also where they would be put at a disadvantage and applies to all protected characteristics.

Harassment – is “unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment”. This means that harassment is now based on perception and association, as well as “on the grounds of” from the previous definition, ie employees will now be able to complain about behaviour that they find offensive even if it is not directed at them. Employers will also be liable for harassment by third parties in the workplace if they fail to take reasonably practicable steps to prevent the third party from harassing an individual in circumstances where they have been harassed on two previous occasions.

Victimisation – the definition is no longer based on less favourable treatment and now occurs when an employee is subjected to a detriment, such as being denied a training opportunity or a promotion because he or she made or supported a complaint or raised a grievance under the Equality Act 2010, or because he or she is suspected of doing so, or being about to do so.

Discrimination arising from disability – the Act has made it easier for someone to show they are disabled; if they have a mental or physical impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities, which would include using a telephone, reading instructions. The Act includes a new protection; stating that it is discrimination to treat a disabled person unfavourably because of something connected with their disability.

Positive action – the Act allows an employer to take positive action if you think that employees or prospective employees who have a “protected characteristic” suffer a disadvantage connected to that characteristic.

Pre-employment questionnaires – the Act will limit the circumstances when you can ask a candidate about their health. Employers can only ask health-related questions 1) to decide whether you need to make any reasonable adjustments for the person for the interview process 2) to decide whether an applicant can carry out a function that is intrinsic to the job 3) to monitor diversity 4) to assist disabled people 5) to assure yourself that a candidate has the disability where the job genuinely requires the jobholder to have a disability.

Equal pay – a claim for ‘equal pay’ can be made in the absence of a comparator under the remit of direct sex discrimination where the treatment can be shown to be because of a person’s sex. For example where an employer says ‘I would pay you more if you were a man’.

Secrecy clauses – it will be unlawful to prevent or restrict your employees from having a discussion to establish if differences in pay exist that are related to protected characteristics.

What to do next: Check your policy:

Ensure the policy covers all nine ‘protected characteristics” in the Equality Act 2010. These are: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

State that is unlawful for staff to discriminate directly or indirectly, or harass customers or clients because of the protected characteristics of disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation in the provision of goods and services.

Make clear that perceptive and associative discrimination are covered in the Equality Act (the exemption of harassment because of marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity).

Ensure your policy covers third-party harassment where the harassment is related to a protected characteristic (although this does not cover harassment because of marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy and maternity), by third parties such as clients or customers.

Update your definitions of victimisation and harassment to conform to the new Equality Act definitions.

If you have a topic that you’d like us to cover in a future update, please let us know by emailing us at Adviceline@vizualhr.com.

The information contained above is for guidance only and represents our understanding of employment law and employee relations issues as at 4th October 2010. VizualHR cannot be held responsible for any action or inaction taken in reliance upon the contents. Specific advice should be sought on any individual matter.

You may remember last year Ealing Council’s IT network was infected by a computer virus that brought all its services to a halt after an employee plugged an infected USB memory stick into their computer which then infected every single Council computer and tried to connect with over 500 Internet sites. Ooops. What are the employment law implications of this situation? How does an employer deal with these kinds of mistakes, particularly those which can result in financial loss or reputational damage?

For the answer, an employer needs to investigate the error and what exactly happened. Was it a case of negligence, deliberate disregard for procedure or perhaps a genuine error on the employee’s part? And what happens if the mistake affects a particularly valuable client?

Supposing, in the case above, the employee had deliberately disregarded the IT policy by bringing in external IT equipment; this would be subject to disciplinary action, and subject to the explanation, action could be taken against the employee. If it was a genuine mistake, perhaps she picked up the wrong USB stick, then probably the fact that her actions caused such disruption would prevent similar occurrences. Check your policy and if issues occur, consider amending and reissuing it to staff.

What if a client is particularly disrupted and financially affected by a mistake an employee has made? And what if they demand action to be taken against the employee? This could mean a warning, removal from working on their account or even dismissal. Such dismissals may potentially be fair – under the “some other substantial reason” – however, caution should be taken here. You’ll need to consider, amongst other factors, the severity of the mistake, the resources and size of the Company and the significance of the client.

The lesson here is that you need to be fair, firm and consistent in dealing with employee mistakes, and make sure policies and procedures are amended in the wake of any errors; i.e. learn from your mistakes!

If you have a topic that you’d like us to cover in a future update, please let us know by emailing us at Adviceline@vizualhr.com.

The information contained above is for guidance only and represents our understanding of employment law and employee relations issues as at 27th May 2010. VizualHR cannot be held responsible for any action or inaction taken in reliance upon the contents. Specific advice should be sought on any individual matter.

What can we expect to see on “fit notes”?

The new fit notes will mean that doctors can advise that an employee is unfit for work or may be fit for work and will give more information on how your employee’s condition may affect the role they perform. The statement is still not required until after the 7th calendar day of sickness.

Fit notes will focus on what employees can do, with GPs listing changes that employers can make to help an employee back to work. The changes included are:
- A phased return to work
- Altered hours
- Amended duties
- Workplace adaptations

Where the GP has ticked “may be fit for work”, there is a large space for the doctor’s comments on the effects of your employee’s condition and what adaptations could help them return to work.
The DWP advise that the notes are not about trying to get people back into work before they are ready, but about moving the challenges to the returning. The scheme places an onus on employers and employees working together to get staff back to work despite their illness or injury. The advice is not binding, it is the employer’s prerogative on how to act on the doctor’s advice. If the adaptations suggested by the doctor are not possible, employers should explain the reason to the employee then treat the note a “not fit for work” note.

What’s the prognosis?

The scheme has not been universally welcomed. There is concern within the medical profession that GPs are not occupational health specialists and as such, should not be given the responsibility of making thorough recommendations regarding someone’s condition and possible adaptations to their role, which they may have no knowledge of, particularly within a 5-10 minute appointment.

From an employer’s perspective, there is the unknown of what the implications are, particularly under the Disability Discrimination Act, of not implementing the GP’s advice. Although the DWP state that the statement is not binding, the system has yet to be tested at Tribunal level. On a separate note, as many HR professionals are too aware, deciphering doctor’s writing in terms of the condition can be tricky enough, it remains to be seen, pardon the pun, if this paragraph will cause more deciphering difficulties.

If you have a topic that you’d like us to cover in a future update, please let us know by emailing us at Adviceline@vizualhr.com.

The information contained above is for guidance only and represents our understanding of employment law and employee relations issues as at 22nd March 2010. VizualHR cannot be held responsible for any action or inaction taken in reliance upon the contents. Specific advice should be sought on any individual matter.

By acquiring OneClickHR plc, which in the marketplace is better known as Vizual Business Tools, ADP will strengthen its HR offering by adding HR.net Enterprise. HR.net Enterprise is OneClickHR’s flagship application which is currently delivered through either a scalable Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) or a traditional in-house model. The application provides annual appraisals, employee self-service, e-recruitment, performance management, talent management and salary reviews.

Don McGuire, Managing Director for ADP operations in the United Kingdom said, “Acquiring OneClickHR supports our ongoing strategic objective to provide innovative business services and solutions to our clients in the UK. The acquisition will create a broader suite of HR technology and tools, including e-recruitment, which compliments our existing web-based HR and payroll services solutions. The acquisition will enable us to deepen our functionality and provide greater configurability. We understand the pressures placed on HR professionals and we will continue to support our clients so they can focus on the strategic goals of their business.”

A. As long as you still follow the statutory retirement procedures, it is still possible to retire someone even when the retirement date has passed. The process is as follows:
• write to the employee giving them six months notice of an intended retirement date
• inform them that they have a right to request to work beyond this date
• consider any request to continue working
• give them the right of appeal if you refuse their request

We advise that you do not give reasons for why you are turning down their request; retirement is a fair reason for dismissal and attempting to justify the decision could lead to a number of problems from causing offence to risking a potential tribunal claim.

If you have a topic that you’d like us to cover in a future update, please let us know by emailing us at Adviceline@vizualhr.com.

The information contained above is for guidance only and represents our understanding of employment law and employee relations issues as at 8th February 2010. VizualHR cannot be held responsible for any action or inaction taken in reliance upon the contents. Specific advice should be sought on any individual matter.

So will it be paid? Yes but not full pay. During the paid element, the fathers would be eligible for statutory government pay of £123 a week. They would then be allowed to take an additional unpaid three months off, which would effectively allow couples to have a total of 12 months’ leave between them (6 for the mother, 6 for the father).

Whilst these measures allow for more flexibility, particularly for families where the mother is the higher earner, there has been criticism from many sectors that these plans put more pressure on businesses in an already difficult economic climate. It is difficult to predict how many families will take up this alternative, however, ministers estimate that between 4% and 8% of those eligible for the new leave will take it, with only 1% of small businesses expected to be affected.

There is also a question over whether this scheme is open to fraudulent claims. Official documents reveal there will be no eligibility checks by the Government when fathers have the right to extended leave. Fathers are only entitled to take the leave if their wife or partner has gone back to work but Government papers suggest that employees will be able to ’self-certify’ that they are eligible, prompting concerns that businesses could be de-frauded by men whose partners have not really returned to work.

If you have a topic that you’d like us to cover in a future update, please let us know by emailing us at Adviceline@vizualhr.com.

The information contained above is for guidance only and represents our understanding of employment law and employee relations issues as at 1st February 2010. VizualHR cannot be held responsible for any action or inaction taken in reliance upon the contents. Specific advice should be sought on any individual matter.

One of the recommended steps in handling a grievance is exploring the possible benefits of resolving the issue through mediation either before a full fledged grievance lands on the desk, or as an alternative to following the grievance procedure. Whilst it is not a compulsory element to the grievance procedure, it can help to resolve disputes in the workplace. But what is “mediation”? We’ve had many calls from clients querying whether they should include mediation in their policies, and what it involves in practice, so we’ve put together the following information to guide you through the concept of mediation in the workplace.

What is mediation?
Mediation is a tool for resolving disputes by bringing employees together to reach agreement on how they can work together in the future. In order for mediation to work, the parties need to enter into it voluntarily and with an open mind, in the spirit of aiming to agree on actions for both parties to undertake in order to resolve any future conflict. Many grievances and workplace differences are caused by poor communication, and mediation can bring out into the open the issues faced by both parties in a controlled environment with a mediator ensuring both parties are heard.

When is mediation a good solution?
Mediation can be a tool to resolve many issues in the workplace, specifically in instances where someone feels bullied, harassed or there is a breakdown in communication. The key to its success is whether the two parties have the skills and willingness to change their own behaviour. Many disputes in the workplace come down to personality clashes; and mediation can deconstruct the problem and uncover actions that remove the personal element of the problem so both sides can focus on moving forward.

Who should be the mediator?
Ideally, the services of a trained, external mediator should be retained to ensure that all parties are comfortable with the independence of the mediator. However, this is not always possible for various reasons including lack of budget and lack of well known providers of this type of service. Many companies nominate a mid management level, sensible, discrete employee for this type of role, and this can work well if that person is respected, diplomatic, has excellent communication skills and can take a legitimately impartial view of the situation.

What is the process?
The first step is to invite them to a mediation meeting, explaining the purpose, confidential nature and structure of the meeting. Both parties should be advised to prepare for the meeting, that they will be a given a certain period of time each to air their concerns about their working relationship and hear any constructive proposals.
The mediator plays a key role in the process during the meeting; keeping the employees to their respective timeslots and facilitating discussion around topics in dispute. It can be helpful to take a break and for each party to reflect on what has been said, and to reconvene in order to structure a way of working together that is acceptable to both sides. The mediator should draw up a written set of actions for both parties to sign and agree to and both employees should be given a copy.

Advantages of mediation
Effective mediations allow issues to be resolved quickly and with minimal disruption to the workplace. It can prevent absence due to stress and lost productivity for everyone involved in a lengthy grievance procedure. But of most value, it can prevent issues spiralling into a heat of the moment resignation, and a constructive dismissal/discrimination claim landing on your desk, and, of course, the cost of the resulting Tribunal.

Disadvantages of mediation
Not all grievances concern disputes where mediation can be used as a tool for resolution. Due to its voluntary nature, it is also limited to cases where resolution and compromise are within the capability of employee’s; can they put their differences aside and work together? It also requires both employees to want to maintain their working relationship, and by the time a grievance is raised, their relationship may have gone past the point of no-return.

If you have a topic that you’d like us to cover in a future update, please let us know by emailing us at Adviceline@vizualhr.com.

The information contained above is for guidance only and represents our understanding of employment law and employee relations issues as at 14th December 2009. VizualHR cannot be held responsible for any action or inaction taken in reliance upon the contents. Specific advice should be sought on any individual matter.

Who should hear the disciplinary and appeal?
1. Where an investigation has been carried out have a separate person hear the disciplinary. The Tribunal will look for independence at each stage of the process.
2. Ensure the person hearing the appeal is independent and has not been party to the original decision.
3. Don’t discuss the details or outcome of a disciplinary with any other staff member, at least until the outcome of the appeal has been confirmed. If the decision is overturned at appeal stage, it will leave you red-faced and it could land you in hot water.

Document Management
1. Be specific in disciplinary invite letters: state the allegations and the possible outcomes (particularly dismissal, if that is being considered)
2. Print out, and enclose, the disciplinary policy with all invites to disciplinary hearings.
3. Be specific in outcome of disciplinary letters: state what mitigating factors were offered and, if appropriate, why they weren’t considered satisfactory
4. Ask the employee to agree to the accuracy by initialling the bottom of the handwritten pages.

Tribunal Orders: Don’t Ignore
The Tribunal will send “orders” to instruct both sides on when to disclose the list of documents they will rely upon, to the other side. Don’t ignore any instructions from the Tribunal and avoid turning up to the Tribunal with fresh evidence that the other side hasn’t seen; the Tribunal will not be impressed.

Ensure that the witnesses write their own Witness Statements detailing their involvement in the process. This will ensure that their evidence will be given more naturally and it is a good exercise to remember.

If you have a topic that you’d like us to cover in a future update, please let us know by emailing us at Adviceline@vizualhr.com.

The information contained above is for guidance only and represents our understanding of employment law and employee relations issues as at 9th December 2009. VizualHR cannot be held responsible for any action or inaction taken in reliance upon the contents. Specific advice should be sought on any individual matter.

The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 (the Religion or Belief Regulations) came into force in December 2003 and implement the religious discrimination aspects of the Equal Treatment Framework Directive 2000/78/EC. They prohibit direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, discrimination by way of victimisation or harassment in the workplace by reason of any religion or belief. The term ‘belief’ is defined as ‘any religious or philosophical belief’.

This is the first reported case where a claimant has successfully argued a belief not related to a religious belief may be protected under these regulations. Previously, tribunals have taken a slim interpretation of what could amount to a “belief” so watch out for further updates on other protected beliefs.

If you have a topic that you’d like us to cover in a future update, please let us know by emailing us at Adviceline@vizualhr.com.

The information contained above is for guidance only and represents our understanding of employment law and employee relations issues as at 4th December 2009. VizualHR cannot be held responsible for any action or inaction taken in reliance upon the contents. Specific advice should be sought on any individual matter.