| Fit Notes from April – update your sickness absence policies or let us do it for you with our free product! |
Following recent consultation by the Department of Works and Pensions, the new “Fit Note” or ‘Statement of Fitness to work’ Med 3 will be issued from April 2010 replacing the old sick note. This long awaited change is designed to assist employers to manage sickness absence and reduce the number of people on long term sick. Will this work though? As you will see, some employers may have issues with the new approach.
Click here to view copy of the new fit note...
The new form is intended to provide advice to the individual about whether or not they should refrain from some or all aspects of work activities. The statement enables the employee to discuss the matter with their employer and the employer to manage absence in accordance with their sickness policy and statutory sick pay. There is a space to make comments about functional effects of the person’s condition. For example: should not sit for long period of time; can climb up stairways but not ladders. In addition – and this is the significant change, there is a section which states:- “If available, and with your employer’s agreement, you may benefit from: a phased return to work; altered hours; amended duties or workplace adaptations.”
Get in touch if you are concerned about what this means in practice and to what extent you have to adhere to the advice provided in the Fit Note. |
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Here at Blue Star Human Resources we are experts in reducing sickness absence levels and no we don’t have a magic pill – just a free HR product for you!!
We will work with you, completely free of charge, to put in place a sickness absence improvement plan for your business. All we ask is that you share with us some of your savings. If you don’t make savings, we don’t get paid. That’s how confident we are that we can make significant savings. Sounds good? To find out more click here... |
| So what’s wrong with gut instinct? |
According to the results of a study by workplace psychologists OPP, 71% of all line managers would change the people decisions they’ve made if given a second chance. Worryingly, nearly four in ten (39%) line managers said they still rely on gut instinct as one of the most important factors when making any decisions about their people. 25% even admitted that whether they like someone personally was also a major influence.
A major factor in this is managers’ mistaken belief that they truly know their people – a view not shared by employees. 97% of managers feel they know their people fairly well or better. However 45% of staff said that they don’t trust their manager’s instincts on staff decisions relating to them or to others.
Dr Robert McHenry, CEO of OPP, comments: “The results of this study make chastening reading for any management team. Organisations have to ask themselves why they demand objectivity and transparency in every other decision about resources, particularly in these difficult times when all investment is under scrutiny, but when it comes to people, they allow themselves to ‘fly blind’? Mistakes range from overestimating the potential of a person to discovering information further down the line that would have changed the decision. Putting the wrong people in the wrong jobs has a direct impact on productivity and efficiency, and the cost of reversing the decision is often considerable.
He continues “Management habits need to change. It’s possible to obtain robust and objective information on which to decide. Considering proven, prior experience, data from psychometric testing and colleague feedback together creates a better foundation for these decisions. It’s the best way for businesses to manage risk when it comes to their people, and it’s a way that every CEO should demand.”
Blue Star Human Resources helps many local businesses to select the best people. Our psychometric testing services give employers further insight into the qualities people will bring to their organisation. The most popular psychometric test we offer provides recruiting managers with a personality profile of the candidate and highlights areas to probe further at interview. If you would like to find out more about trying this product for free then please get in touch - Karen@bluestarhr.co.uk or call us on 01473 281650. |
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Time off for training |
Under the Apprentices, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 employees in organisations with over 250 staff will have a statutory right to request time off for training which they believe will make them productive and effective at work. This becomes effective from 6th April 2010. Do you have the mechanisms in place to deal with such requests? Want some advice then get in touch. |
| Equality Bill |
Watch this space for ongoing developments on the Equality Bill due to come into force later this year. Blue Star Human Resources is keeping a close eye on what this means in practice for businesses. We will be advising our clients on the best way to prepare for this new legislation which will look at bringing together all forms of discrimination under one Act. Did you know the following? (extracted from A Fairer Future)
- Despite progress since 1997 to reduce the gender pay gap, women still earn, on average, 22.6% less per hour than men
- If you are from an ethnic minority, you were 17.9% less likely to find work in 1997 than a person from a non ethnic minority. The difference is still 13%
- If we don’t address these equality issues the pay gap between men and women will not close until 2085; and it will take almost 100 years for people from ethnic minorities to get the same job prospects as people from non ethnic minorities.
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21 hour working week | For many, the latest offering from the New Economics Foundation (Nef) think tank, will provoke sighs, wistful looks and "If I only I could afford to" comments. Nef is proposing a much shorter working week, with 21 hours as the goal, to address issues that confront us in the 21st century.
The report finds that since 1981, households have added six hours – nearly a whole working day – to their combined weekly workload. Yet nearly 2.5 million people can't find jobs. The report states "Cutting labour to save money without changing working hours means some are burdened with overwork while others lose their livelihoods."
Anna Coote, co-author of the report and head of social policy at Nef, says “Spending less time in paid work could help us to break this pattern. We'd have more time to be better parents, better citizens, better carers and better neighbours. And we could even become better employees: less stressed, more in control, happier in our jobs and more productive.”
While there may be a case for a shorter working week, for many people, the loss of salary from moving to a 21-hour week would be unaffordable, prompting lower and middle earners to seek second jobs to make ends meet.
So do you think a shorter working week could help to tackle overwork, unemployment, over-consumption, and personal wellbeing? Let us know what you think. If you have a large ‘part-time’ workforce, what benefits do you experience?
Or are you thinking about flexible working or more work-life balance for your staff? We can help you with some practical solutions.
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If you would like further information on any issues raised by this bulletin, or indeed any other people management challenges, please call us today on 01473 281650 or email us now at karen@bluestarhr.co.uk
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www.bluestarhr.co.uk |
