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2024: A year of many changes

Mon, 15 Apr 2024 15:54:56 GMT

A year of many changes

This year has seen many changes in employment legislation, starting on January 1 st with the ending of Covid holiday carry-over. Emergency rules on annual leave which were implemented in 2020 meant that workers could carry over four weeks of leave into the next two leave years if it wasn’t reasonably practicable for them to take them because of the effects of Covid. This has now been removed and employees who have ‘Covid carry-over leave’ accrued but have not yet taken it have until 31st March 2024 to use it. The rules remain the same for leave carried over for maternity or other family friendly leave, i.e. 5.6 weeks can be carried over to the following year and four weeks untaken leave due to long term sickness can still be carried over for 18 months after the end of the leave year in which it was accrued.

In April, as usual, there was the usual increase in minimum wage rates with the new NLW for those aged 21 and over increasing to £11.44ph, £8.60 for 18-20 year olds, £6.40 for 16-17 yar olds and Apprentices £6.40.

Also in April we also saw the following:-

The introduction of Carers Leave.
The requirement to have 26 weeks service before making a flexible working request was removed with employees now able to request flexible working from day one.
Pregnant employees will have a right to enhanced treatment during a redundancy exercise.
There will be a new method of calculating annual leave for irregular hours workers and part year workers.
There are changes to the way partners of expectant mothers can take Paternity Leave.

Coming up in July:-

There will be new rules on the method of consulting employees during a TUPE transfer.
Employers in the leisure and tourist industries will be required to fairly allocate tips to workers.

And then from October:-

Employers will be obliged to proactively prevent sexual harassment within their organisations.

For help with any of the above, or to purchase the five main policies that have been affected by these changes for just £150 (limited time offer) please get in touch.

How to support employees experiencing the menopause

Thu, 10 Jun 2021 08:22:42 GMT

Break the silence.

In the UK, more than 9 million women may be experiencing the numerous symptoms of the menopause. Often a ‘taboo’ subject, the reality is that many women struggle to manage both the psychological and physical symptoms they are experiencing, and often suffer in silence.

Research shows that more than a quarter of menopausal women will experience debilitating symptoms, and for some it forces them out of the workforce completely. Recently Bupa conducted research that found almost one million women have left a job because of symptoms of menopause. What a sad loss to industry and UK businesses!!!

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced businesses to entrust their workforce to work from home, and whereas some of the symptoms of menopause can be easier to manage from home it has left many women feeling more isolated and unsupported.

So how can you support your female employees that may be suffering as a result of the menopause?

Firstly, break the taboo and take away the embarrassment for what is a natural progression in female health. Create a Menopause Policy and ensure managers and team members, particularly male colleagues are educated and comfortable discussing the topic.

If necessary, provide training for line managers. There are lots of good online learning courses available. Have information leaflets available. Encourage those ‘difficult’ conversations, and include the word ‘menopause’ in relevant general correspondence.

Whilst managing some of the symptoms of menopause at home may be easier, the pressures of balancing home and work life, mixed with symptoms of the menopause may contribute to rises in anxiety and low moods having a significant impact on mental health.

Don’t just rely on team members experiencing menopause to start discussions, instead find ways to create these conversations and normalise them within the organisation.

October 18 ^th is World Menopause Day. Acknowledge it, organise a fun event around it, do something for charity. Run a competition for ‘your funniest menopausal story’. There are many ways in which this can be acknowledged throughout the business.

Regardless of the impact of Covid-19 and the changes that have been enforced on the business as a result of restrictions, show your female employees you care by making a point of acknowledging that because staff are working from home, out of sight doesn’t mean out of mind. Send an email to all staff asking if they are okay? Mention that you are aware that working from home maybe difficult for some employees and make a point of saying particularly those suffering from the symptoms of menopause, stress and/or other conditions. It is just another way of normalising it and breaking the taboo.

Below are a few support links:-

https://www.womens-health-concern.org/help-and-advice/email-advice/

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/menopause/

https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/

Tips For Preparing For an Interview 1

julie@phoenixhr.co.uk (Julie Kelly) — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 13:34:00 GMT

First impressions count

Congratulations you have been shortlisted for an interview…. How do you make sure you give yourself the best chance of landing that job!

Regardless of whether the interview is face-to-face or via Zoom first impressions count.

If it is a Zoom interview , the way you first appear on screen is your first physical impression. However, don’t underestimate the importance of responding to emails/and or invites. It only takes a few minutes, but a polite and well written acceptance/acknowledgement goes a long way in the eyes of the interviewer. Make sure you have provided all the information and documentation they have requested, such as proof of the right to work.

On the day of the interview make sure you have done your prep, give yourself plenty of time to log in, in case there are any technical issues. Make sure your appearance meets the standard for the job role, treat it as if you are meeting in person. If you don’t have an electronic background in Zoom, make sure there is nothing behind you that may cause embarrassment or offence, also try to ensure there isn’t any background noise that may interfere with the meeting. Keep a glass of water close by so you can have a drink if you get nervous.

When you log in, try and look relaxed and greet the interviewer with a smile. Sit up straight, there is nothing worse than someone that is slouched in a chair.

If you are meeting face-to-face , again make sure you are dressed appropriately. Arrive early, if you are not sure of the route, take a practice run prior to the interview (if possible go the same time of day as the interview so you get an accurate measure of how long it is going to take to get there).

Remember your interview starts as soon as you arrive. I remember a few years ago pulling into the carpark of my office and a frustrated young girl swore at me because she had a problem parking. Imagine her face when she walked into the interview room and saw me sat there. Always be polite, courteous and friendly to reception staff, or anyone else you meet whilst waiting for your interview. Their opinion may count.

When you are shown into the room, smile and acknowledge all the interview panel. If there is more than one person interviewing, make sure you make eye contact and engage with them all throughout the interview questions. However, don’t overdo it and get into a staring competition.

Regardless of whether it is a face-to-face interview or Zoom…

Be yourself, a good interviewer will soon identify whether you are putting on an act.
Make sure you eat prior to the meeting, this will not only help with your concentration, but will stop any horrible rumble noises.
Practice, either with a friend or family member.
Do your homework about the Company and their sector.

Lastly, don’t panic, you’ve done your prep, you will be great.

Tips For Preparing For an Interview 2

julie@phoenixhr.co.uk (Julie Kelly) — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 15:49:24 GMT

Using the STAR Technique

Most interviewers use competency based interviewing techniques. It is the best way for an interviewer to find out whether you have the essential skills required and also how you approach situations, tasks and challenges. Also called behavioural or situational questions, they are often used in first interviews and can give a prospective employer a prediction of how you are likely to perform in the future.

So how can you prepare for an interview and ensure that through the nerves you give your best performance.

I have always found that the STAR model is a great way to structure your answers. If you master the technique it will give you the ability to break down the question and provide a full and structured response.

So what is the STAR Technique?

S …Situation briefly describe the situation or background to your example

T …Task explain the task or activity

A …Action outline the action you took

R …Result summarise the result

The STAR technique can be adapted to suit just about any competency based question.

Below is an example of a competency-based question and answer using the STAR technique.

Question:

How do you handle pressure and working to deadlines? (give us an example)?

Answer:

Every month all the staff in my office must submit their expense claims by a set date or they won’t be forwarded to payroll for payment that month. It is always a problem getting them in so my manager asked me to make sure they were all handed in and to enter all information on the spreadsheet by 5:00pm the next day. I firstly sat down and broke the task down into order of priority. Firstly I created the spreadsheet with all the staff details on, I then emailed the staff and asked them to send me their forms before they left for the day. The following morning I checked to see what forms were missing and before I started to enter the details on the spreadsheet spoke to the relevant staff that had not submitted their forms and explained to them that if they didn’t provide me with their forms within the hour they wouldn’t get paid their expenses that month. All the forms were submitted and I entered all the information on the spreadsheet and forwarded to my manager. She was happy because it was the first time everyone had submitted their expenses on time.

That is a simple example but the technique will work in any scenario.

If you do a bit of homework before the interview and look at the job description and person specification for the role, you could tailor your examples to suit the position you are applying for.

Take your time when giving your answers, base them on your own experiences so that if the interviewer comes back with a secondary question you will be able to answer it. Don’t be afraid to ask the interviewer to repeat the question, or for further explanation if you don’t fully understand it.

Lastly, but definitely not least, be yourself. Don’t go into the interview putting on a performance, any good interviewer will see straight through it. Try and sit in a relaxed position and if there is more than one person interviewing you, be sure to engage with all of them.

There is a lot of information out there about the STAR technique and some good videos on Youtube.

Good luck with your next interview and securing your perfect role.

Returning to the workplace

julie@phoenixhr.co.uk (Julie Kelly) — Tue, 23 Mar 2021 12:33:54 GMT

Covid19 & Commuting

With the Stay-At-Home order due to end shortly, thousands of employees will return to their place of work. However, with social distancing measures set to remain for some time yet, some employees will be concerned about how they will commute to work. Public transport with its crowded buses and trains will make social distancing difficult. Travel by private car is not always a feasible, and car sharing not acceptable.

Active travel is one solution (walking and cycling). However, this may not be suitable for many people. Distance and access to a suitable bike might form a barrier and become an issue.

Employers can offer the Cycle to Work Scheme which gives savings of 32–47% on any new bike, including E-bikes, cargo bikes and specialist cycles for those with mobility issues.

The Green Commute Initiative (GCI) is an award-winning and industry leading scheme provider; the first to have no £1,000 limit or end-of-scheme fees. GCI is a UK-based social enterprise operating as a not-for-profit organisation and ensures employees make the maximum possible savings. Employers also save 13.8% on reduced NIC.

Employees on National Minimum Wage can access new bikes through GCI’s Everyone Cycle scheme.

GCI sees the humble bicycle as the solution to many problems; improving physical and mental health, cleaner air to breathe, and giving employees a more Covid-Secure commute.

https://www.greencommuteinitiative.uk/?ID=zzrzf~qttxjt~nrnj99~W4ik~Ky0gk&utm_campaign=PTPR-GREEN-COMMUTE-220321-DE&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_content=newsletter

CJRS (Furlough) - Are you compliant?

julie@phoenixhr.co.uk (Julie Kelly) — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 11:11:53 GMT

A guide to meeting HMRC guidelines

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) was first announced back in March 2020 and over the last 10 months have funded up to 80% of an employee’s wages if there is no work for them to complete due to COVID-19.

For those of you that have received State Aid or any other Government or EU grant, you should be aware that there are regulations involved in using these schemes including ongoing monitoring and review.

As the Government needed to respond so quickly, there were few guidelines available in the early stages as businesses needed support, and they needed it quick. Therefore, HMRC issued the funds but confirmed that checks may be carried out in the future.

HMRC has put together a specialised team to carry out ‘compliance checks’, and in some cases HMRC are requesting vast amounts of information, often, dating right back to the businesses first CJRS claim to confirm compliance.

The checks are there to make sure businesses have met the conditions of receiving the funding, and that claims have been accurate and not fraudulent.

Some businesses may have received letters throughout the CJRS scheme, prompting them to make sure that they were compliant. However, I have not heard of any businesses local receiving a letter. However, I am aware that more recently HMRC are sending out regular emails to companies that are in receipt of CJRS.

What is involved in an HMRC compliance check?

It is expected that compliance checks come with extensive information requests with just two weeks from the date of the letter to provide the information requested. Unfortunately though, there is often a delay in sending out these letters, which means that companies may only have a matter of days to provide the information. If this has happened to you, you should ring HMRC, they are usually very supportive and will extend the deadline for a short period. Never ignore the letter.

It makes more sense to pre-empt these requests and make sure that you have all your compliance documents in place and ready to supply if requested.

Requests are substantial and are on a per-employee basis. Meaning the more employees that utilised the scheme (9.6m in total across the UK), the more information you are required to provide. Much of the information requested is also per wage payment; meaning those that pay weekly are needing to supply much more information than those that pay monthly.

Information/evidence that has been requested from the claims we have seen so far (this is per employee and per claim):

The employees, name, address and NI number
The furlough start and end date
Details of how their normal pay is calculated
How their furlough pay was calculated
Whether you paid the employee at least the amount on the claim (evidence required)
The amount paid in pension costs (evidence required)
The number of hours usually worked
The number of hours worked
The number of hours on furlough
The employer NI contribution claimed
The employer pension contribution claimed

You will also need to supply details of any corrections or adjustments to your CJRS claims. If you don’t have all the above information, I suggest you speak to your payroll department.

You will also be required to pass compliance checks of the legal condition of the grants, i.e. contract amendments and furlough agreements, etc. These were a clear and well-documented stipulation of receiving the grant. These documents include:-

minuted notes of board meetings with decisions related to furlough
contracts of employment
written furlough agreements with staff
furlough agreement letter
temporary variation of contract letters
return to work after furlough letters
furlough end letters
flexible furlough letters

I f you require any help or support with any of the above, please click on the get in touch button below. The first discussion is always free and without obligation.

Right to Work in the UK after Brexit

julie@phoenixhr.co.uk (Julie Kelly) — Tue, 26 Jan 2021 15:45:11 GMT

A guide to the UK's new imigration system

You have probably seen in the media that there are new rules for businesses and workers in the UK as of 1st January 2021 when the Brexit transition period came to an end and the UK leaves the European Union. So what does this mean for you as an employer and how do you check whether your existing employees or job applicants have the Right to Work in the UK?

Firstly, until June 30 ^th 2021 there are no changes to the way Right to Work checks should be carried out, even for employees who are citizens of the EU, EEA countries, or Switzerland, provided that they arrived in the UK before January 1 ^st 2021.

As the standard process, all employers are required to check that a job applicant has the right to work in the UK before they employ them. These checks can be carried out by either:

checking the applicant’s original documents or
checking the applicant’s right to work online.

Please beware, an employer could face a fine if they employ an illegal worker and have not carried out a correct right to work check.

From July 1 ^st 2021, the UK’s new immigration system comes into force. This system will treat all applicants equally, regardless of where they come from.

Anyone you want to recruit from outside the UK will need to meet certain requirements and apply for permission first (except for Irish Citizens).

The requirements are different for each visa.

You will need to have a sponsor licence to hire most workers from outside the UK.

The new system will not apply to EEA or Swiss citizens you already employ in the UK as long as they were living in the UK on or before December 31 ^st 2020, Both they and their family members can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme, as long as they apply before June 30 ^th 2021 apply.

So what should you do now if you employ EU citizen workers?

Remind current employees who are EU, EEA or Swiss nationals that they and their families should apply to the EU Settlement Scheme as soon as possible, and no later than June 30 ^th 2021
After 30 ^th June 2021 you will need to ask for proof of Settled or Pre-Settled Status as part of Right to Work checks.
Until June 30 ^th 2021 you should continue with your current Right to Work checks for all employees who arrived in the UK before January 1 ^st 2021
For employees arriving in the UK on or after January 1 ^st 2021, make sure they have the correct visa as part of their Right to Work checks

Further information can also be found at www.gov.uk.eed our help?

Emergency Volunteering Leave

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 15:21:25 GMT

Do you know the rules of EVL?

Employers, do you know that employees have the right to take unpaid statutory emergency volunteering leave (EVL) in order to volunteer in relevant health and social care authorities?

EVL can be taken in blocks of two, three or four weeks. Only one period of EVL can be taken in any one 16 week volunteering period.

Covid 19 and Beyond

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 15:13:54 GMT

Workforce Wellbeing

The pandemic has been tough on employers and employees alike. Not only have there been multiple lockdowns to endure but a lot of people have had the access to their support networks cut off. On top of this, there has been constant changes, with government schemes which has led to uncertainty and in many cases loss of jobs. If all that isn’t bad enough every time we switch on the news or pick up the newspaper we have been fed constant negativity about the future of the UK’s economy.

It’s hardly surprising that all this have had a major impact on our wellbeing, leading to serious concerns about mental ill-health in the workplace. It is tough for employees and even tougher for employers, who not only have to look after their own mental health but also the mental health of their workers,’ as the wellbeing of staff is vital as we emerge from the pandemic and try to rebuild our businesses.

Below are some of the areas that we need to consider in an attempt to identify and reduce any long-term impact remote working has had on employee wellbeing

Working out appropriate support mechanisms, and how to put them in place
Ways of maintaining employee engagement and connection
Review policies and processes, to make sure they are adequate and robust enough to deal with the ‘new’ ever changing world
Training line managers
Look at ways of diversifying, and encourage employees to voice their ideas

I f you are going through a tough time it is important to remind yourself that we will get through this. There is help and support out there, so don’t be afraid to seek advice and assistance. Despite what you may read on social media most of us are in the same boat. Some businesses have benefited from the pandemic, but most are struggling in one way or another.