June 2011 Archives

It's criminal...

By Adam Bernstein on June 30, 2011 8:00 AM | No Comments
| More
There may be times when employers want to see if their employees - potential as well as actual - have criminal records. Checks can be made with the Criminal Records Bureau but employers need to be aware that the CRB website ceased operation at the end of April 2011.

The online presence of the Criminal Records Bureau has been moved to three new locations, depending on the nature of the information.

The information is now available on the following websites:

• www.direct.gov.uk/crb - this website will allow access to services for CRB applicants and the general public, providing information on how and when to apply for a CRB check.

• www.businesslink.gov.uk/crb - information for registered bodies and other associated businesses and organisations using the CRB service as part of recruitment can be accessed through this website.

• www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crb - this website provides corporate information and publications for particular interest groups and partners.

As employers, the Business Link site will probably be the most relevant.

Many happy (late) returns

By Adam Bernstein on June 29, 2011 8:00 AM | No Comments
| More
How many employers have wondered if an excuse is genuine when an employee rings in - from holiday - saying that they'll be a few days late when coming back to work? A recent case - Bhopal v Virgin Media Ltd - offers a little guidance on the matter.

In February 2010 Mr B requested two weeks annual leave for a holiday. His request was approved and he was due to return to work on 6 April. But on 6 April, B phoned his manager and said he was unable to get a flight back home. He telephoned twice again and told his manager he was still unable to get a return flight. On 16 April, B told his employer that volcanic ash from Iceland had grounded all flights to the UK.

B eventually returned on 26 April. When questioned he produced evidence of his ticket, which had a fixed return date of 30 April. B said his travel agent told him that he could change his ticket when he arrived in India. However, B had waited until the end of his trip until attempting to do so.

At the disciplinary hearing, Mr B alleged that the ticket had been booked by his father, and he only became aware of the fixed return date a few days before he was due to leave the UK. The disciplinary officer concluded that Mr B had intended to remain in India beyond his authorised leave period and that he only attempted to change his return ticket after his manager informed him that absence without leave was a serious matter. He was dismissed for gross misconduct.

Mr B claimed unfair dismissal but the Tribunal held the employer had carried out a fair investigation, and that the reason for the dismissal was the company's genuine belief in Mr B's misconduct. The Tribunal held that the company's belief was reasonable and the decision to dismiss Mr B fell within the band of reasonable responses.

Match maker

By Adam Bernstein on June 28, 2011 8:00 AM | No Comments
| More
Small to medium sized businesses based in the South East of England with 2 to 249 staff who want to invest in staff training can apply for a matched grant of upto £1000. 

The funding is being offered through The Leadership and Management Advisory Service in the South East. The money can be used to develop leadership or management skills needed to grow a business.

More information is available by emailing info@skillssoutheast.co.uk or you can take a look at their website at http://www.skillssoutheast.co.uk/.

Whilst the funding is not a kings ransom, it's nevertheless available to suitable applicants. So go get it while you can.

Sickies on the wane?

By Adam Bernstein on June 27, 2011 8:00 AM | No Comments
| More
It's always been surprising just how many staff who, on national TV, admit to pulling a sickie without actually being anywhere near unwell. Well it seems that employers are cottoning onto this problem.

According to a survey by CareerBuilder of 194 managing directors, over half will call employees to check that they are actually unwell. Further, 9 per cent said that they have driven to an employees home to see if the illness is genuine and 13 per cent have sacked a member of staff for faking sickness. Some employers now require a doctors note, others get another member of staff to call the employee and a number check the social networking pages of staff to see what they're up to.

The president of CareerBuilder reckons that 'if you lie about the reason for needing time off you seriously hurt your credibility with your employer'. He could be right.

The excuses for being off sick are something of a work of art. The best include - having a foot stuck in a toilet, having a garden gnome thrown through a window, being attacked by a shark, witnessing a person being pushed under a train, being intoxicated by burning vines and having to take a mother shopping.

Equality challenge

By Adam Bernstein on June 24, 2011 8:00 AM | No Comments
| More
The Government is planning yet more cuts to red tape with a new Red Tape challenge website. Equality legislation applies to almost every area of the public and private sector and businesses (and voluntary and community organisations) are being invited to tell government how to cut bureaucracy.

The Equality Act 2010 has already replaced nine major pieces of legislation and scrapped another 100 sets of regulations in order to lighten the burden of red tape on businesses. The Red Tape challenge website asks what more the Government can do to simplify or deregulate equality legislation.

The Red Tape challenge website gives the public a chance to have their say on regulation that affects their everyday lives; whether it's to speak up for well designed rules that are there to protect or challenge badly designed or thought out requirements that are an unnecessary burden.

High noon for high risk tax schemes

By Adam Bernstein on June 23, 2011 8:00 AM | No Comments
| More
HMRC have issued a consultation document to counter the continued marketing and use of high risk tax avoidance schemes. The document - "High Risk Tax Avoidance Schemes" - proposes to list tax avoidance schemes that are unlikely to deliver the tax savings claimed. Taxpayers who use these schemes currently benefit from deferring the disputed tax payment until HMRC has completed an investigation.

The proposals outlined in the document would require users of a listed scheme to disclose the scheme to HMRC. They would also be subject to an additional charge on underpaid tax. Taxpayers would be able to protect themselves from the additional charge by paying tax in dispute up-front.

HMRC clearly isn't happy at losing revenue to highly aggressive and artificial tax avoidance schemes. The proposals were announced in the Budget, which, at the same time, published 'Tackling Tax Avoidance' which sets out the Government's strategic approach to avoidance.

The consultation can be found at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/consultations and will run from 31 May 2011 to 31 August 2011.

Heads roll with strike

By Adam Bernstein on June 22, 2011 8:00 AM | No Comments
| More
Unless you've been living in the cloud recently you cannot have failed to note that 750,000 public workers, including teachers, have called what is in effect a general strike for 30 June over the issue of proposed changes to their pension scheme.

Whilst this action may be called off you need to plan for it going ahead, especially if you are a service provider or in anyway involved with just in time deliveries.

You need to establish which schools and employees are going to be affected - maybe there's 'group' action that can be taken that will benefit all including some form of 'creche'.

With the likelihood being that employees with children will all be affected, employers are going to have to be flexible when considering requests for time off or holidays. Whilst employment legislation provides protection for time off for domestic emergencies - including the provision of child care - it only applies when the situation is unplanned and unforeseen. That said, with the breadth of support for the strike nationally it would be very harsh for an employer to penalise an employee in this circumstance.

Employers should be alert to employees using the strike action to take a day off though.

Pensions Regulator Rules

By Adam Bernstein on June 21, 2011 8:00 AM | No Comments
| More
The Pensions Regulator has said that it has begun to help educate employers about what they must do to comply with the automatic enrolment reforms that take effect in October 2012.

In case you've missed it, the reforms require all employers to automatically enrol workers who meet specified criteria (aged at least 22 and under state pension age; working or ordinarily working in the UK and earning over £7,475) into a pension scheme and make contributions on their behalf. Other workers will have to be enrolled on request and the employer may also have to make contributions for them too. The reforms will be introduced over a period of four years starting in October 2012 with the duties applying to the largest employers first.

Fit for a Queen

By Adam Bernstein on June 20, 2011 8:00 AM | 1 Comment
| More
As if we haven't been overrun with extra bank holidays in 2011, the Government has announced that there will be an extra bank holiday in 2012 to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. By moving the late May bank holiday back to Monday 4 June and adding the extra bank holiday on Tuesday 5 June workers should be able to enjoy another four day break.

However, employers and employees alike need to be aware of the Working Time Regulations 2007. These state that employees are entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks off of holiday (multiplied by the number of days in a week) - giving a minimum of 28 days per year for a full time worker. Note that the rules don't give a right to the specific bank holidays though.

Restless staff?

By Adam Bernstein on June 17, 2011 8:00 AM | No Comments
| More
According to jobs website, Monster, 30 per cent of workers spend more than three hours a week looking for a job whilst at work, 16 per cent look for more than five hours a week and a staggering 7 per cent look for ten hours or more a week. That's a lot of time wasted.

Of this time, a good number are browsing for jobs whilst others are using the time to update their CVs. What makes this more problematic for employers is the fact that the internet makes this all so much more discrete - gone are the days of looking at print advertisements whilst sat at a desk.

What does this mean for employers? Well they need to engage staff more and give them jobs where they don't want to look elsewhere for something better.

HMRC seeks missing VAT

By Adam Bernstein on June 16, 2011 8:00 AM | No Comments
| More
HM Revenue & Customs have launched an initiative to crack down on individuals and businesses who are trading above the VAT threshold (presently £71000) but who have not yet registered for VAT.

The initiative is being discussed with interested parties to ensure HMRC has as much information from them as possible before launching the campaign later in the summer.

Each HMRC campaign in recent years has been aimed at reducing the tax gap by focusing on areas where a significant underpayment has been identified. Opportunities have been offered to taxpayers to put their records in order followed immediately by activity focused on the non-compliant who choose not to take up the opportunity. HMRC has raised over £500m from voluntary disclosures and a further £100m so far from follow-up activity.

The important of a binding agreement

By Adam Bernstein on June 14, 2011 8:00 AM | No Comments
| More
Time and time again the courts see disputes come before them because the detail of an agreement was not written down. Another example, the case of Eaton v Caulfield, proves the point well.

In this instance, two men had agreed to set up a limited liability partnership to provide lawyers with their own recruitment agency. However, no LLP agreement was ever written. As sometimes happens, relations between the two broke down and following a period of hostilities, Caulfield dismissed Eaton from the business. Eaton claimed that his dismissal was unfairly prejudicial under S994 of the Companies Act 2006 and the court agreed.

Because no agreement had ever been produced Caulfield had to demonstrate that the LLP members had been granted the power of expulsion. Since the business was apparently set up during an "alchohol fuelled train journey from Leeds" this couldn't be shown.

Again the lesson to be learned here - and for any instance where an agreement is reached, be that employment, a contract of sale etc. - is that everything agreed should be written down correctly and signed by all parties.

"Nobody puts Baby in the corner"

By Adam Bernstein on June 13, 2011 8:00 AM | No Comments
| More
Employers are always looking for ways to retain valued and valuable members of staff and one area under constant review is - and should be - the issue of childcare.

Whilst the Daycare Trust is consulting on the subject of finding affordable and useful childcare, a firm in Tamworth, Officebroker.com, has been trialling, according to the BBC, staff bringing in their babies to work. But the babies aren't in a creche, they're on the mothers laps. The firm was looking for ways to help the large number of its (female) staff just back from maternity leave. The results were mixed and sadly the trial ended.

Interestingly, the allowing of children in the workplace is quite popular in the US where there is no universal maternity pay. US organisation, Parenting in the Workplace, says that 140 US organisations allow babies in the workplace. They've found the results of doing so were largely positive including earlier returns to work, improved loyalty and retention, increased teamwork and cooperation, and increased morale and productivity.

Maybe the solution isn't the babies on laps but a creche partly subsidised by the firm...

Discrimination own goal?

By Adam Bernstein on June 10, 2011 8:00 AM | No Comments
| More
No sooner had West Ham lost the game that saw them being relegated for the second time in eight years from the Premier league had their Israeli manager, Avram Grant, been sacked. No doubt he saw his dismissal coming.

However, West Ham's co-owner, David Sullivan, when being interviewed by Sky Sports said that West Ham will "definitely get a British Manager, whether he is English, Scottish or Welsh makes no difference".

Can anyone spot what Sullivan did wrong?

Sadly there were two own goals here. The first was to state that, in effect, anyone other than a Brit will not be considered for the job and second, that by implication, the applicant must be male. The statement contravenes two of the nine protected characteristics detailed in the Equality Act 2010, namely Race (which includes citizenship) and Sex.

Discrimination awards have no upper limit...

Government launches single government website prototype

By Adam Bernstein on June 9, 2011 8:00 AM | No Comments
| More
The Government has launched - it's live now - an early prototype of a single Government web domain, that's aimed at making public services easier to use. The site, named alphagov, was recommended by Martha Lane Fox in her review of government digital services published in 2010.

Alphagov is available on line for visitor comment for two months and it aims to provide a single place for all central government department information.

In the long run the site will include a whole range of government services such as tax and VAT registrations. The prototype currently just contains answers to the top 100 most frequently asked questions in government.

HMRC launches new task forces

By Adam Bernstein on June 8, 2011 8:00 AM | No Comments
| More
New task forces to tackle tax dodgers have been announced by HM Revenue & Customs. The first will focus on the restaurant trade, targeting businesses in London over the coming weeks. The specialist teams - sounds a little like 'The Professionals' - will undertake intensive bursts of compliance activity in specific high risk trade sectors and locations across the UK. HMRC is planning a further nine task forces in 2011/12, with more to follow in 2012/13.

The task forces come as a result of the Government's £900m spending review investment to tackle tax evasion, avoidance and fraud from 2011/12, which aims to raise an additional £7bn each year by 2014/15.

You have been warned.

HSE introduces new arrangements

By Adam Bernstein on June 7, 2011 8:00 AM | No Comments
| More
From 12 September 2011, all reportable work-related injuries and incidents under RIDDOR (the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995) will move to a predominantly online system that uses a suite of seven forms available on HSE's website. However, businesses will still be able to notify fatal and major incidents and injuries by phone following changes to reporting arrangements.

In a separate but linked move to "improve efficiency further and deliver value for taxpayers", HSE's Infoline telephone service, which currently provides a basic information service to callers, will end on 30 September 2011.

Businesses and members of the public seeking information and official guidance on health and safety can instead use HSE's website which features information on the most frequent health and safety enquiries such as those on RIDDOR reporting, First Aid and the health and safety responsibilities of new businesses.

Airfares to rise?

By Adam Bernstein on June 6, 2011 8:00 AM | No Comments
| More
The days - for many - of flying business class are long gone. Indeed many going anywhere on business fly with the budget airlines such as EasyJet and Ryanair. 

It shouldn't take much to remind readers that the budget carriers are renown for pricing strategies that mean that the price you initially see is quite removed from the price you pay once booking fees, luggage, airport check-in and credit card fees are added on top. Interestingly, some of the premium carriers add fees too - Virgin for example, adds 1.5 per cent for using a credit card to pay.

Following a super-complaint from Which? the Office of Fair Trading is considering an investigation into the practice. Further, Europe is mulling over banning this form of pricing across the whole of Europe; the EU Transport Committee chairman, and Labour MEP, Brian Simpson has asked the European Commission to force airlines to use a single price for each ticket.

But is this a good thing? Well whilst it may make the pricing of a ticket more transparent, it could push up the overall cost of flying from A to B as airlines offer fewer cheap tickets or they find other ways of charging more. Remember the alleged plan of Ryanair to charge for using the toilet...

On the job...training that is.

By Adam Bernstein on June 3, 2011 8:00 AM | No Comments
| More
A survey just published by the Institute for Work Based Learning at Middlesex University has found that almost three quarters of UK workers think that they could achieve so much more if only they were given more on the job training.

The results are the culmination of a four year survey of thousands of private sector workers that questioned them about their views on training and their careers. Most wanted more training so that they could develop - more than 80 per cent said that they would consider working (training) at home whilst 70 per cent would even consider paying towards the cost of any course.

However, employers were to an extent found to fear training because they feared upskilled staff being poached by other employers.

It's a shame, from the employees point of view, that the Government killed off the legislation that would have given staff from all sizes of firm the right to request time off to train.

Contractual notice

By Adam Bernstein on June 2, 2011 8:00 AM | No Comments
| More
A recent case - Dr T Wang v University of Keele - resulted in a judgment that means employers can give contractual notice to an employee - whether orally, in writing or electronically - knowing that the notice period will start the day after the notice was issued.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal said that this applies unless there is a contractual clause to the contrary, even if the notice is served out of office hours.

Employers need to take note because this case could have a bearing on timings where they do not want an employee to gain 'unfair dismissal' rights after one year's service. Prudent employers will include a clause in the employment contract stating that a notice period starts immediately (rather than at any other point, including the next day).

Fit for work

By Adam Bernstein on June 1, 2011 8:00 AM | No Comments
| More
Recently issued statistics from the Government covering those applying for Employment and Support Allowance indicates that 75 per cent of applicants in the first quarter of 2011 are either found fit for work or stop their claims before a medical assessment of their condition is made. The checks on applicants are being made through the Work Capability Assessment.

It's quite possible that the agencies pushing the Government's plan to get more people back in to work - where jobs exist - will also be undertaking even more covert surveillance of suspected fraudulent claimants. This and the WCA could mean for fewer days of staff sick leave.
« May 2011 | Main Index | Archives | July 2011 »

About this page

This page is an archive of entries from June 2011 listed from newest to oldest.

May 2011 is the previous archive.

July 2011 is the next archive.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.

Monthly Archives

More MicroScope Blogs

Search

 

Recent Entries