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Diary Dates
Sicknotes to be replaced with electronic fit notes
The government is to scrap the sick note that GPs have used for 60 years to sign people off work. They will be replaced in England by electronic “fit notes”, allowing doctors to say what work their patients can do as well as what they cannot.
Sick notes were introduced in 1948 to protect vulnerable people, but they have become a mechanism for consigning thousands of workers to long-term unemployment.
The new fit note, which will be introduced in 2010, would encourage GPs and employers to work together to help people with a disability or long-term medical condition keep their jobs or return to work.
For example, employees with Multiple Sclerosis might be incapacitated for a few weeks of the year, but able to work normally at other times.
A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions said: “The current sick note asks GPs to make a decision as to whether their patient should or should not work and for how long they should not work. The revised fit note will allow them to indicate that an individual may be fit for some work if the workplace and/or duties can be temporarily amended.”
Trials are under way of an electronic system that would allow the notes to be frequently updated.
More
above: The new fit note allows doctors to say what work their patients can do, as well as what they cannot.
Tax update
- This year’s increase in the income tax personal allowance for basic-rate taxpayers will be made permanent, resulting in £145 less tax to be paid in 2009-10. Workers on salaries under £20,000 will be the main beneficiaries. The government said 500,000 people would gain from the move next April.
- VAT will be temporarily reduced to 15%, from 1 December 2008 to 31 December 2009. This will affect all businesses which are VAT registered. Zero-rated and reduced-rated supplies will not be affected. This is going to be complicated for businesses to administer and it is recommended that you read through this guidance from HMRC (PDF, 39kb).
- Businesses experiencing temporary financial difficulties and needing more time to pay outstanding tax bills, or bills due soon, will be offered temporary relief. Businesses will be able to defer tax payments including corporation tax, VAT, PAYE, income tax and National Insurance Contributions. HMRC has set up a Business Payment Support Service, which is already up and running. If you are struggling to meet your tax obligations, then find out more about the new service.
Pensions boost for women
Hundreds of thousands of women facing poverty in old age received a boost last month as the government agreed to change pensions legislation.
Many women face a low income in old age because the pensions system does not recognise the time they take out of paid work to do valuable unpaid caring. Currently, only 30% of women reaching state pension age receive a full basic state pension, compared to 95% of men.
The 2007 Pensions Act reduced the years needed to qualify for the full state pension from 39 years for women and 44 years for men to 30 years for everyone. However, the Act only applied to people reaching state pension age on or after 6 April 2010. Those due to retire before then would miss out.
The Government has now agreed to address the limitations of previous reforms so that women can now improve their state pension entitlement by ‘buying’ extra years and topping up their pensions.
The Commission estimates that up to 350,000 women could benefit by the end of 2010. Source Advice and information on pension issues.
Get Safe Online
Employers risk losing valuable commercial and customer data if they do not train their staff on the dangers associated with working online, the TUC has claimed.
The warning followed publication of the 2008 Get Safe Online Report (PDF, 52kb), which revealed that an astonishing 66% of internet users keep the same password for multiple websites.
Nearly a quarter had posted confidential or personal information online, while 17% had opened e-mail attachments from an unknown source, putting themselves at risk from viruses or other malicious software.
The TUC has teamed up with data security body GetSafeOnline.org and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills to produce an online toolkit for staff.
Not safe for Work? provides advice on malicious software, computer rights at work, online privacy, and identity theft — where criminals can break passwords and steal valuable personal and company data. Toolkit to help staff avoid threats to their safety online. Source
Landmark ruling
A landmark tribunal ruling has paved the way for unfairly sacked employees to claim for loss of future earnings even when claiming incapacity benefit.
This follows the case of an employee, known only as Mr Fox, who, suffering from a debilitating skin disorder and Bells Palsy, was subsequently dismissed by his employer earlier this year.
The employer accepted that it told Fox his absence was unacceptable in light of his claimed disability. An employment tribunal held that Fox’s employer had discriminated against him on grounds of his disability, and failed to make reasonable adjustments for him.
The company went on to appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal, insisting that as Fox had claimed incapacity benefit after his dismissal, he must have been incapable of working, and so should not have been awarded compensation for future loss of earnings.
This argument was rejected by the appeal tribunal, and Fox was awarded more than £40,000.
This decision should make it easier for dismissed and disabled employees who are fit to work but claiming incapacity benefit to win compensation when they are unfairly dismissed and discriminated against by their employer. More
Wanted: socially responsible employers
A recent poll by support staff recruitment specialists Crone Corkill revealed that the majority of their candidates wanted an employer who took its corporate social responsibility seriously. 44% of those questioned said that this was a very important issue for them as they want to know that their employer is giving something back.
A further 36% felt that it was important but not vital. 20% of respondents did not consider social responsibility an important issue, with their focus more on whether they were happy in their job.
“We may be experiencing a client led market, but these figures show that the ethos and culture of the company is still really important to office support candidates when choosing an employer” comments Tracy Durrant, Managing Director of Crone Corkill. “In fact a recent report in The Times suggested that many members of Generation Y place a lot of emphasis on work that is ethically as well as financially rewarding. Consequently, employers who link their corporate social responsibility to their employer brand are often more attractive to those candidates who see giving something back as an important element of their career.” Source
Stressed women workers driven to edge by credit crunch
Research indicates that six out of 10 women fear for their finances compared to less than half of men.
Similarly, one in every two women is experiencing increased stress at work, in contrast to just over a third of men.
At turbulent times like these, when stress levels are soaring, looking after your health and wellbeing must be a priority.
Sleep, a good diet and regular exercise are recommended ways to combat stress, but the research found just over a third of women take some form of regular daily exercise, and two out of five women consider themselves overweight. More Advice on dealing with work-related stress.
70% of UK businesses are not monitoring customer satisfaction effectively
Market research company Shape the Future has just completed a survey into the customer satisfaction measurement strategies of UK companies. Statistics show that while 70.3% of businesses claim to measure customer satisfaction, most are only employing very basic and informal tactics, such as relying solely on unsolicited customer feedback. Worryingly, the remaining 29.7% cited reasons for not measuring customer satisfaction as:
- Belief that customers would tell them if there were problems
- Never thought about it
- Too busy
Peter Martin, managing director at Shape the Future said: “Too many businesses assume that people will give them useful feedback. In reality, unhappy customers often leave without telling them why. Falling sales are not always related to falling demand. Companies may simply be losing market share to their competitors and not even know about it. Given the current economic downturn, business owners and managers need as much detail and business information ammunition to hand as possible.”
It is generally recognised that acquiring new customers costs between four-to-six times more than keeping existing clients happy. It makes sound business sense to spend a fraction of this to help ensure your current clients stay just that—current. More Guide to conducting customer satisfaction surveys.
Christmas spirit prevails
The majority of organisations will still provide a Christmas party for their staff this year despite the recession, according to a survey carried out by the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development.
Private services sector companies are still the keenest to embrace the Christmas festivities with the vast majority (77%) still likely to provide a Christmas party or lunch this year.
While the voluntary sector is more likely than the public sector to reward staff with a Christmas party (51% compared with 24% in the public sector), the number of the organisations in this sector throwing Christmas parties has decreased by 12% this year.
“As ever, employers need to think about why they are providing a Christmas party in the first place. If it is to recognise the collective contribution of their employees, then what are the alternatives and are they more effective? If holding a Christmas party is the most effective way of achieving this, then employers should be wary about scrapping them in response to the economic downturn because the long term impact could be damaging on employee engagement and organisational performance. As reward becomes ever more individual, the Christmas party is one way of reminding staff that they are part of a common endeavour.”
~ Charles Cotton, CIPD Reward Adviser
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
January 2009
Thu 1 — New Year’s Day
Sun 25 — Burns Night, New issue of Unlimited Magazine
February 2009
Sat 14 — St Valentine’s Day
Tue 24 — Pancake Day
Wed 25 — Ash Wednesday
March 2009
Sun 1 — St David’s Day
Sat 7 — World Health Day
Sun 8 — International Women’s Day
Mon 9 — Commonwealth Day
Wed 11 — No Smoking Day
Fri 13 — Red Nose Day
Tue 17 — St Patrick’s Day
Sun 22 — Mother’s Day
Tue 24 — Boss’s Day
Sun 29 — British Summertime begins, Clocks go forward
April 2009
Wed 1 — April Fools Day
Fri 10 — Good Friday
Sun 12 — Easter Sunday
Mon 13 — Bank Holiday
Thu 23 — St George’s Day
Sat 25 — New issue of Unlimited Magazine
Sun 26 — London Marathon
May 2009
Fri 1 — May Day
Mon 4 — Bank Holiday
Tues 12-Thu 14 — Times Crème, London Olympia
Mon 25 — Bank Holiday
June 2009
Sat 6 — Derby Day
Mon 8 — Queen’s Birthday
Mon 8-Sun 14 — Aegon Tennis Championship
Thu 18 — Royal Ascot, Ladies Day
Sat 20 — June Round the Island Race, Cowes, Isle of Wight
Sun 21 — Father’s Day, Longest Day
Mon 22 — Wimbledon Fortnight starts
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