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New Identity cards to be introduced for foreign nationals
The process of employing foreign nationals is to be made easier from 25 November 2008, as the government is starting to replace paper-based immigration documents, stickers and stamps with compulsory biometric identity cards.
Within three years all foreign nationals applying to come to the UK for more than six months or those who wish to extend their stay will also need to apply for an identity card.
The cards will show the person’s name, date of birth, nationality and immigration status, including whether or not they have the right to work in the UK. They will be the same size as a credit card and will have an electronic chip that will hold biometric details, such as fingerprints and a digital picture of the person’s face.
Source Sample biometric identity card Tool for finding out how to make checks on potential staff.
above: An electronic chip on the card will hold biometric details, such as fingerprints.
Don’t be in the dark — commute smart…
The clocks have gone back, marking the start of up to five months of commuting both to and from work in the dark. Commute Smart Week, held recently, highlighted a number of ways of avoiding the misery, depression and despondency that many experience as a result, by working and commuting smarter.
The current economic climate in the UK will see companies and employees alike ‘tightening their belts’. Commute Smart Week drew attention to the wasted time and resources, which result from work-related travel and commuting to work at peak times. The benefits of smarter working and commuting include lower overheads for employers, increased productivity, and a demonstrable commitment to the environment. Smarter working practices also mean happier employees.
It was reported last year during National Commute Smart Week that 41 per cent of workers spend 40 to 60 minutes or more making their way to work each day. The average UK worker now spends 360 hours or 45 working days per year travelling to work. More Guide for employers (PDF, 170kb) Guide for employees (PDF, 52kb)
Flexible working makes Fridays not so Fatal
In the past Fridays were known as “Fatal Fridays” due to the higher rate of road users killed and seriously injured in the peak rush hours. However, this trend appears to be changing. Last year there were fewer people killed or seriously injured on Fridays from 8am – 9am and from 5pm – 6pm compared to the average rates for the same hours between Monday and Thursday. This may be due to a change in working patterns over the last 8 years. The AA analysed peak period figures for accidents over the last eight years and found that the “Fatal Friday” phenomenon is on the decline. In the past the higher accident rates in the Friday evening rush hour was put down to more traffic, tired drivers at the end of the week and the “Thank God its Friday” effect leading to lack of concentration.
More recently the roads and railways in the Friday peak periods appear to be less busy and this could well be due to be more flexible working and home working. Many flexible workers go to the office on a Monday to sort out their work for the week and hold meetings and are more likely to work from home on a Friday. More
£350m to support small businesses
Small businesses will be the focus of £350 million of Government funds to help them train their staff. Money will be available to deliver a new package of support to help small businesses get through the tougher economic climate by building the skills and expertise of their workers.
It will deliver funding for training, with the minimum level of bureaucracy or delay. This will be for subjects such as business improvement techniques or leadership and management, which are proven to provide skills to increase the productivity of individuals and firms.
Skills Secretary John Denham said, “We know that firms which invest in skills do better than those that don’t, which is why we will be urging small businesses to take up this offer from Government.” More
Inadequate response to stress could lead to big payouts for employers
Employers could be responsible for huge damages if they don’t manage stress-related illness among employees adequately, according to a recent Court of Appeal ruling.
Telecoms company O2 had appealed against a December 2007 ruling which awarded Susan Dickins £109,754 damages for psychiatric illness negligently caused by stress at work.
The illnesses started in 2001 and Dickins was treated by her GP and offered counselling by O2, which she didn’t use, as she was already receiving treatment.
In June 2003 she was referred to O2’s occupational health service but never used it as appropriate paper work was not completed. Her GP signed her off as unfit for work because of anxiety and depression, and her employment ended in November 2003.
In the latest ruling, delivered last week, The Court of Appeal stated that by failing to act, O2 was in breach of its duty of care towards Dickins, and was liable to pay her the £109,754 damages.
This decision should act as a reminder to managers that they should not ignore clear warning signs that an employee is suffering from stress. The court made it clear that if an employee tells their employer they are suffering from stress and cannot cope, it is not an adequate response merely to tell them to seek counselling. More Guide to management standards for work-related stress.
Keep your website legal
Recent changes in the Companies Act set out which details you need display on your business’ electronic communications. On every email and within your website you must display your company name, number, place of registration, and the registered office address. This information only has to be displayed once on a website but there are still a large number of sites that do not meet even these basic legal requirements. Make sure that yours is not one of them. More
Don’t Ignore Safety During Recession
Managers are urged not to cut corners on health and safety during the coming economic downturn.
Given the current financial climate, there is a danger that occupational health and safety could be seen as a problem largely solved — a ‘nice-to-have’ rather than a really essential social and economic ingredient. There could be a temptation to cut corners, reduce standards or delay introducing essential protective measures. When there are no longer opportunities to improve the bottom line by increasing turnover, controlling loss becomes even more important. More
Tougher penalties for health and safety law breakers
New legislation, the Health and Safety Offences Act 2008, which will increase penalties and provide courts with greater sentencing powers for those who flout health and safety legislation will come into effect in January 2009.
The effect of the Act is to:
- raise the maximum fine which may be imposed in the lower courts to £20,000 for most health and safety offences;
- make imprisonment an option for more health and safety offences in both the lower and higher courts;
- make certain offences, which are currently triable only in the lower courts, triable in either the lower or higher courts.
Job Crunch — Employees Bite Back
Businesses fighting the current economic downturn, have put redundancies on the agenda. In the three months to August 2008, the Office of National Statistics recorded 147,000 redundancies, a 24% increase on the previous quarter. But with cases brought to employment tribunals on the rise too, businesses should take care to follow the correct procedures.
Businesses should acquire a solid understanding of the legal requirements should they seek to pursue the redundancy avenue. Redundancy means a change in business needs resulting in no further need for a particular role. If alternative jobs are available, and those at risk have the appropriate skills to occupy those vacancies, then they must first be offered the positions. Knee jerk reactions by businesses to recruit new staff will antagonise those being made redundant and be severely scrutinised during legal proceedings.
As many employment rights are contained in statute law, they can only be enforced by employment tribunals. Unfair dismissal, wage reductions, breach of contract and redundancy pay claims are amongst the grievances brought to employment tribunals by disgruntled employees. More Guide to redundancy.
Most staff are not trained to carry out tasks at work
Seven in 10 workers claim to have been asked to undertake tasks without being trained to do so, according to a recent poll.
The survey of 6,100 employees in the US, UK and Europe, found 76% of European respondents said they should have received training before beginning particular work or tasks.
Managing people topped the list of jobs that UK respondents said they weren’t trained for, followed by project management, leadership and technical and financial tasks.
Of those employees deemed by respondents to be most in need of training, 76.3% of those polled in the UK said line managers, followed by supervisors (69.9%), senior managers (66.2%), the IT team (61.4%), and the HR team (57.9%). Equivalent figures for Europe were lower with, for example, just 54.3% of respondents there saying that supervisors were most in need of training. More
Office jargon ‘hampers productivity’
A survey, by serviced office company MWB Business Exchange, found over half of workers admit to using jargon, with more than a third confessing to using phrases such as ‘let’s touch base’ every other day.
One in five said their pet peeve is the phrase ‘thinking outside the box’, while more than one in 10 find ‘blue sky thinking’ the most irritating.
Surprisingly, under 24-year-olds are most likely to admit to using office jargon, which MWB said suggests younger workers could lead the change to common-sense communication.
Larger companies are the most likely to use buzzwords, with 98% of workers saying they use them every day — compared with just a quarter of small businesses.
John Spencer, the company’s chief executive, said office jargon has ‘got completely out of hand’. “A lot of the time it comes down to laziness, as buzz words are used to save time instead of thinking about the most appropriate phrase,” he said.
“More needs to be done to stamp it out, as in these uncertain times business leaders need to make sure they are understood. There is no room for confusion.”
“It’s time to start applying common sense to what we say in the office as well as in the real world.” More Related
November 2008
Mon 3 — London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
Wed 5 — Bonfire Night
Sat 8 — Lord Mayor’s Show and Fireworks
Sun 9 — Remembrance Day
Sat 15 — Workplace bullying conference — Midlands
Wed 19 – Thu 20 — National Executive PA Conference — Brighton
Wed 26 – Thu 27 — Times Crème Show — Manchester
Thu 27 — Thanksgiving
Sun 30 — St Andrew’s Day
December 2008
Sun 21 — Winter Solstice
Wed 24 — Christmas Eve
Thu 25 — Christmas Day
Fri 26 — Boxing Day, St Stephen’s Day
Wed 31 — New Year’s Eve
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