Questions & Answers

1. Is absenteeism having an impact on your business?

When an employee is absent, even for only one day, this is a cost to you. You will always get a degree of short-term sickness; how you manage it makes all the difference. Odd days off can be tackled effectively by ‘return to work’ interviews. You can monitor responses from staff and also assess possible problems or warning signs that there could be a pattern developing.

2. Are you up to date with the new Age Discrimination Act (October 2006)? You are reminded that with effect from 1st October that it became illegal to discriminate in the workplace on grounds of age. This will apply across any area old or young. Anything that refers to age in any of the following areas must not be a factor in the workplace.

• Recruitment
• Vocational Training
• Promotion
• Staff Development
• Performance
• Termination of Contract
• Employee Benefits
• Pay

The legislation creates a national default retirement age of 65. My advice is that your company retirement age should be set at this level. Employees will have the right to request working beyond that age, and you will have a duty to consider that request. You should inform them 6 months prior to their retirement date that they will finish. I will of course provide updated pages for your Employee Handbook.

The legislation now removes the upper age limit for unfair dismissal. You are also advised to check with your occupational pension provider, and company insurers to determine if the new legislation affects pension or insurance provision.

You are advised to stop using “age” or “date of birth” on application forms or other recruitment literature. (I can supply you with new revised application forms). You should avoid using terms such as “young person” or “more mature person” in job adverts, and you need to be careful when looking at the “qualification requirement” for individual posts.

3. Do you find Disciplinary Procedures confusing?

In any business it is necessary to have a minimum number of rules in the interests of both the employer and the employee. The Employment Rights Act 2002 sets out a legal framework for dealing with disputes in the workplace. The procedures are designed to help promote fairness and order in the treatment of individuals. It is the aim of the procedures to emphasise and encourage improvement in the conduct of individual employees, where they are failing to meet the required standards and not as a means of punishment. Every effort should be made to ensure that any action taken under this procedure would be fair; staff must be given the opportunity to state their case and appeal against any decision they consider to be unjust. The following rules and procedures should ensure that any actions undertaken in the context of discipline or dismissal are proportionate, transparent and reasonable:

STEP 1
• The Employee must be notified in writing of the alleged offences, which have led to the employer following the disciplinary procedure.
• The employee must be invited, in writing, to attend a disciplinary meeting to discuss the matter.

STEP 2
• The meeting must take place before any action is taken.
• The employee must take all reasonable steps to attend the meeting.
• After the meeting the employee must be informed of the decision and the right to appeal against it.

STEP 3
• The employee must inform the employer if they wish to appeal (within 5 days of the decision). Or however long is practicable in your workplace.
• The employer must invite the employee to a further meeting.
• The employee must take all reasonable steps to attend the meeting.
• After the appeal the employer must inform the employee of the final decision.

Employees are entitled to be accompanied at all such meetings by a work colleague or Trade Union representative (even where a Union is not recognised).

DISCIPLINARY RULES
It is not practicable to specify all disciplinary rules or offences, which may result in disciplinary action, as circumstances may vary depending on the nature of the work.