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GDPR Blogs
Tag: HR consulting
Case study – Long term sickness
Case study for a large, multi-site organisation with 80 plus employees.
An employee had called in sick due to workplace stress and had a fit note signing them off for one month.
It was clear that the employment relationship had become strained and the employee didn’t feel comfortable speaking to their line manager.
The employee had refused to attend a welfare meeting stating they were unfit and were in discussion with their Trade Union.
In normal circumstances it would always be advisable that the manager maintains contact with the employee however, in this situation it was clear that support was needed. We therefore offered our services and an Advisor from Acorn maintained regular contact with the employee and informed the organisation of any updates.
Through the close case management provided and through gaining the trust of the employee, the employee attended a welfare meeting which was held by the line manager with Acorn’s Advisor present. The meeting allowed for productive communication between both parties and a return to work plan was drawn up.
The employee returned to work after the expiration of their fit note.
The case demonstrates that regular and effective communication is key to managing long term sickness cases especially where relations have become strained. By maintaining regular communication and being able to hold the welfare meeting enabled a quicker return to work which ultimately saved the employer the cost of sick pay and agency cover, mending relations in the process.
Acorn Support can offer you the tailored support your organisation requires in order to get the right result for all parties.
Mind the gap
By April 2018, companies with over 250 employees will need to publish their gender pay gap.
Approximately 9,000 companies will need to do this, via the government website – https://www.gov.uk/report-gender-pay-gap-data
The gender pay gap is the difference in average hourly earnings, and is calculated on a 1% sample of employees’ jobs. It takes the median average for men and women, which is the level of pay that half of people earn more than, and half earn less than.
The pay gap isn’t the same as equal pay. Equal pay – that men and women doing the same job should be paid the same – has been a legal requirement for 47 years.
A company might have a gender pay gap if a majority of men are in top jobs, despite paying male and female employees the same amount for similar roles.
Public, private and voluntary sector firms are now all required to disclose average pay for men and women, including bonuses.
Employers also have the option to include a narrative with their calculations. This would explain the reasons for the results, and give details about actions they are taking to tackle the gender pay gap.
Information from bbc.co.uk
Employee Induction is important
Starting a new job can be an exciting, nerve wracking and overwhelming experience. The first day in a new job will be the first impression of that company, and it can be a positive or negative experience depending on how it is managed.
If you are a large company, then your HR department will have this one covered for you, but if you don’t then these few tips may help you focus your mind on what is good practice.
- Ensure they have your new employee has their job offer and contract, as soon as you can. This ensures that you are both clear on what is expected of the role and the employee
- When a new member of staff starts ensure that you have booked time in your diary to welcome them to the company and the team
- It is important to familiarise your new employees with basics such as toilet, kitchen and breakout areas which they are able to use and utilise
- Ensure that they have time in their first week to speak to their main contacts within the business. This may be with IT Support, Accounts, Warehouse or any variety of departments. This will ensure good communication through the company and employees have the opportunity to build great working relationships
- It is important that fire practice and health and safety processeses have been discussed
- Give your employee time to discuss any procedures for signing in and out, breaks, the protocol for notification of sickness
- Remind the employee has passed the relevant information to payroll
If you need an induction checklist, or any support on employee induction
Contact us
mail@acornsupport.co.uk
01562 881019
Managing staff absence
Be prepared: Looking after your staff and your business
People are going to be off sick from time to time. Most employees feel bad about letting down their colleagues and most employers are reasonably sympathetic about their staff’s welfare.
But absence because of sickness, or another unexpected reason, can put your business in a tricky situation, particularly if you have no policies in place for dealing with it.
- You need to know why staff are off, when they will come back and how you will deal with:
- short-term sickness absence which lasts less than a week
- repeated short-term sickness absences which may follow a pattern
- long-term sickness absence lasting several weeks or more
- unauthorised absence for other reasons.
- Sickness absence can be caused by a mixture of:
- an employee’s general physical condition
- working conditions including health and safety standards, levels of stress, and harassment and bullying
- family or emotional problems, or mental health issues other than stress
- Managers and employees often appreciate clarity and honesty about how such personal issues will be managed.
- There are some legal issues to take into account, but making sure your staff are well, happy and working effectively is largely a matter of doing the right thing and using common sense
If you require additional support, please get in touch.
Contact us
mail@acornsupport.co.uk
01562 881019
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