Sickness absence costs small businesses around £300, 000 a year. The average employee takes 7 days off work sick per year at an average cost of £550 per employee per day. Whilst absence cannot be eliminated, after all we all get sick once in a while, managing absence in a fair and consistent way can reduce costs and add value to the business. Here are 5 simple steps to help you improve absence within your organisation. 1. Ask the right questions when they call in…
A financial services company has saved around £55,000 in legal costs and potential compensation after Moorepay successfully defended against a damaging discrimination claim. The employee's Employment Tribunal claim alleged sex, religious and pregnancy discrimination. The medium sized company had been in existence for more than 20 years and had never previously received an Employment Tribunal claim. Case background After a month of joining the business, the employee came into work and announced she had converted to another religion. A couple of weeks later she asked…
Employees on zero hours contracts could be just as happy as permanent staff, a new survey suggests. The research, from the Charted Institute of Personnel Practice (CIPD), found that on average, zero-hours contract employees experience similar levels of job satisfaction, work-life balance and personal well-being to employee’s on permanent, full-time contracts. In general zero hours contracts have often received bad publicity, but this recent research from the CIPD shows they’re more popular with employees that you might expect. The research suggests that: 65% of zero…
As businesses return to work and look forward to what the New Year will bring, it is also a good time to start the year on the right footing with your Health & Safety Management Programme. So, how do you establish where you are at with your own business and your Health & Safety programme? A simple Health & Safety Audit with Moorepay can give you the support that you need, as a subscribed and valued customer, you may already have the Audits available to…
January 2016 saw a takeaway shop getting fined £2,000, with costs of £2,360, for failure to produce an ELCI (Employers Liability Compulsory Insurance) certificate. Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court heard how local fire protection services notified the HSE that the business did not have ELCI. After numerous letters to the Takeaway business they failed to provide a copy of their insurance. The Company was prosecuted and found guilty of an offence under Section 4(2)(b) of the Employers Liability Compulsory Insurance Act 1969. What is employers’ liability insurance?…
Moorepay recently defended a large and well respected care trust in the Employment Tribunal against claims of race and disability discrimination presented by one of their ex-employees. The Trust were very keen to defend the claim, not only to protect their well-established and excellent reputation, but also to protect the current and future contractual relationships they hold with various government agencies and local Councils. Case background When she was employed by the Trust, the employee who brought the claim had a period of unauthorised absence…
Too much interference from an HR department in disciplinary or investigation processes may lead to a verdict of unfair dismissal, suggests a recent case. Investigating issues of potential misconduct and taking disciplinary action is not the responsibility of the employer's HR department. But how far can HR be involved in the process and outcome of a disciplinary hearing? In the recent case of Ramphal v Department of Transport [2015], the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) was highly critical of an HR department's intervention that appeared to…
The biggest change to Health & Safety Legislation since the 70s will come into force in February 2016, which will see offences such as corporate manslaughter, Health & Safety, food safety and hygiene punished more severely. The introduction of the guidelines will mean that, in some cases, offenders will receive higher penalties for serious offences, particularly for larger companies, whilst reserving prison sentences for very serious offences. We could see an increase in fines across the board and many more directors, managers and junior employees…
Effective management of Health & Safety can save up to 50% of your insurance costs, according to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE). A recent case study from the HSE showed how a relatively small construction site managed to reduce its insurance costs by around 50%. This was achieved by creating a positive Health & Safety culture and ensuring employee engagement. All too often a Health & Safety policy is seen as a bit of paper on the staff notice board and the management of…
Smart phones, the internet, tweeting and blogging have all become part of the 21st century working world, whether employers like it or not. But when do comments made by employees in blogs or on social network sites such as twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or MySpace become an employment issue? What’s the problem? What employees do or say outside work is usually their own choice. However, when this impacts on their work or their employer’s business, it may be legitimate for the employer to intervene. The most…
