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Employment Law News - June 2008 Newsletter |
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| EQUAL RIGHTS FOR AGENCY WORKERS |
 The Government has recently announced that temporary and agency workers will get the same rights as their permanent counterparts after they have been employed for twelve weeks. So, after twelve weeks in work, these workers will qualify for the same pro-rata pay and conditions as full time workers. However, they will not qualify for other in-work benefits such as sick pay and pensions.
The Government now have to meet with the EU as Brussels must pass the directive before it can be introduced in the UK.
John Cridland, deputy director-general of the CBI said,
"Agency work is good for temps and for the firms that use them... there has been a major risk of damaging legislation coming from Brussels, and the CBI has judged that the government's proposals represent the least worst outcome available for British business."
However, the CIPD warned that employers are not likely to be satisfied.
"Our research shows significant employer resistance to a qualifying period of less than six months, so the government's intention to push for 12 weeks seems bound to cause a great deal of unhappiness amoungst employers." warned Mike Emmott, Employee Relations Advisor for the CIPD. |
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| STRESS AND DEPRESSION WITHIN THE WORKPLACE |
Despite rigorously enforced health and safety legislation, there were over 200 deaths in the work place in the UK last year. We also have one of the highest sickness absence rates, much of which can be attributed to work-related stress and depression.
As an employer, where does your liability end?
The House of Lords has recently ruled on a case where an employee committed suicide. The employee had suffered a work place accident, triggered by the employer's negligence, which resulted in post traumatic stress disorder. They subsequently found that the employer was liable under the Act, even though the death was self-inflicted.
The case has raised serious questions as to how far employer obligations to the employee extend if an employee is diagnosed with stress or depression as a result of an occurence at work. In practice, there may be very little you can do to support someone suffering from severe depression or to prevent them from committing suicide.
What steps can you take as a employer to limit your risk?
If you maintain regular contact with an employee who is suffering from depression or stress, you may at the very least be able to alert healthcare professionals if you can see your employee's condition deteriorating. |
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| WHERE DO YOU EAT YOUR LUNCH? |
 According to a Reed Employment poll of almost 5000 workers, 44% of employees eat at their desk every day. This is despite desks not being particularly hygenic! This high figure may be because many claim to feel guilty if they take a break away from their desk, despite 71% stating that their employer provides an area where they can take a break.
And do you take the full hour?
The same study has shown that only 18% of those surveyed took the full hour for lunch, with four out of five workers taking less than thirty minutes break each day. The majority of the group say that they would not spend more than £5 on lunch - a remarkable 81%. Reed suggested that perhaps this is due to the fact that many employees don't see their employers taking a break, and feel that the behaviour may be frowned upon.
What do you do in your lunch hour?
One third of the workers surveyed said that they use the time to get some fresh air and a walk, while another third work straight through or use the time to visit customers. Of the remaining 34%, 19% surf the Internet, 13% run errands and only 2% go to the gym!
Sadly, this is all a reflection of the work ethics displayed throughout Britain. The question is, should we allow these long hours to become the norm, when working without a break is proven to be bad for employee's health, productivity and saftey? |
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| DID YOU KNOW? |
| Q: An employee wants to bring someone with him to a disciplinary hearing but we are worried that the person will interfere and disrupt the hearing. Can we refuse? |
 A:All workers, irrespective of length of service, have the right to be accompanied at disciplinary hearings.
Under s.10 of the Employment Relations Act 1999 (ERA) a worker has the statutory right to be accompanied at a disciplinary hearing by either another of the employer’s workers or a trade union official (full time or lay member).
This is regardless of whether a union is recognised. If the employer fails to comply with this the worker may present a complaint to an employment tribunal under s.11 of the ERA with the maximum compensation being two weeks’ pay.
Under s.2 of the ERA, a worker dismissed as a consequence of seeking to exercise these rights, or for making a complaint to an employment tribunal, will be regarded as automatically unfairly dismissed.
There is no statutory right to be accompanied by a family member, relative, friend or solicitor.
However, employers should always check their own disciplinary procedures and/or collective agreement to see if the right to be accompanied extends beyond that under statute.
Prior to the hearing, the worker should inform the employer who he or she has chosen as the accompanying person. If the accompanying person cannot attend on the proposed date, the worker can suggest an alternative time and date provided that it is reasonable and not more than five working days after the original date.
In the disciplinary hearing, the accompanying person should be allowed to:
confer with the worker during the hearing
put the worker’s case
sum up the worker’s case
respond on the worker’s behalf to any view expressed at the hearing
ask witness questions.
The accompanying person is not permitted to:
answer questions on the worker’s behalf
address the hearing if the worker does not wish it
prevent the employer from explaining its case.
Therefore, all workers have the right to be accompanied at disciplinary hearings and the accompanying person is able to participate in the hearing subject to the above points. |
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Crispin Rhodes, a UK based company that provides human resources and outsourced personnel services in Milton Keynes and surrounding areas. |
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