“the Do’s & Don’ts when managing staff” INTRODUCTION TO EMPLOYMENT LAW AAT Birmingham Branch 8 th June 2011 Dr Ian Canham Canham Associates

What are we going to talk about ? Legal Aspects of Recruitment & Selection Offering Employment & Contracts Terminating Employment Disciplinary Procedure Ways of Protecting the Business Questions & queries from audience

Do we need to worry? Most businesses will have some employees SME might not have specialist HR resource Employment issues may only arise occasionally Advice from solicitors expensive/ impractical/ not available on the “shop floor” Employee has a range of legal rights & employers have legal responsibilities (common, contract & statute law) Employment law can be complex & getting it wrong can be expensive Lets have a look at some examples & see

Recruitment Primary Objectives Legal Responsibilities  Accurate advertising  No discrimination  Right To Work in UK  Employment contract  Trained to work safely  Payments (min wage) Business Objectives Get right person for the job To start quickly ? Productive as quickly as possible Least cost wages

Recruitment (legal requirements) Advert must be an accurate description Only relevant job related criteria be used  Must not be discriminatory (examples being) !Race/ ethnicity/ Religion/ Gender/ Sex/ Disability !Sexuality/ Sexual Orientation/ Age/ Part time/ full time workers  Inadvertent indirect discrimination (examples ?)  References to young dynamic/ mature workers  Job title or unnecessarily long lengths of previous experience  Suggestions of worker types (suit retired person/ mother)

More Recruitment Legislation Ensuring equal opportunities Candidate selection criteria (impartial & free from prejudice) Fair consideration of ethnic/ disabled applicants Access/ resources for all candidates Candidate & Appointment Monitoring (to check & demonstrate fair process & equality) Data Protection/ Confidentiality Collect only information that is relevant to the job Data only to be used for purpose it was collected Kept securely and destroyed after use/ consent to retain data

Offering Employment On employing a person the employee and employer enter a binding legal contract. Like marriage it is relatively easy to get into but potentially very difficult & expensive to get out of! As such its important to protect the business by; Employment not offered until all checks have been carried out. Issue a written letter of offer setting out the terms on which employment is offered. All offers MUST be subject to probationary period and satisfactory references

Contracts of Employment A written contract MUST be issued within 8 weeks of commencing work. Contract must include: – names of employee & employer, – Date of start & job title, – Remuneration (rate & frequency of payments/ bonus calcs, etc.) – Hours of work – Holiday entitlement – Termination notice provisions – Details of the disciplinary & grievance procedures May use Employee Handbook (General terms) & Individual statement of main terms & conditions

Disciplinary Procedures Starts when employee conduct/ performance fails to meet Company expectations. Designed to enable employee to correct their actions & is a progressive multi stage process. Informal warning Verbal warning (Recorded) (6 months) First written warning(12 months) Final written warning(12 months) Termination of employment (with or without notice?) (what is payment in lieu of notice)

Disciplinary Procedure Investigation – Establish facts & collect evidence Invite to disciplinary hearing – Advise of disciplinary nature of meeting – Advise of allegations/ problems/ reason for meeting – Provide any evidence/ examples that will be used – Advise of right to be accompanied Hearing – Present evidence & Company’s perspective – Employee given opportunity to explain/ question – Employee may question evidence/ witnesses Appeal

Potential Disciplinary Hearings Outcomes Conduct Issues No further action Issue written warning – Confirm reason for warning – Confirm level of warning – Provide direction of expected behaviour to avoid further action being taken – Right of appeal Employment Termination – Right of appeal – Notice/ without notice Capability Issue a written warning – Document failings & actions required to address – Document stage in process & duration period – Next stage of process – Right of appeal Employment Termination – Right of appeal – Serve notice

Termination of Employment Employer can terminate employment for following reasons: Misconduct (gross/ repeated minor misconduct) Capability (ability to do the job/ performance) Redundancy (job longer required/ reduced need) SOSR (statutory bar/ lost qualification) Retirement (Default retirement age no longer exists) Each has a procedure & failure to follow may result in ET complaint (also mutual agreement – beware)

Employment Tribunals Most disciplinary issues are dealt with in-house & satisfactory results achieved without the need litigate. Before taking a complaint to the ET employee MUST exhaust the internal grievance procedure. At tribunal each party is responsible for their own costs (save as to exceptional circumstances) – Circa £7 – 10K+ Awards made for successful complaints are: – Reinstatement to job – Financial compensation – or both

How ET Awards are Calculated Unfair dismissal* – Basic award ( Max £12,00 – equiv redundancy) – Compensatory award ( Max £68,400) – Loss of employment rights (£250) – Loss of earnings (current & future capped at £400/wk) Sex/ Race/ Age/Disability discrimination* Whistle blowing/ H&S/ union related* Failure to issue written contract2 wks Written reasons for dismissal2 wks Harassment/ Bullying * Same calculation procedure but unlimited compensation.

Employee Grievance Employees who have a complaint about their manager or other issues can use the grievance procedure to get these resolved.  Investigation  Invitation  Hearing  Appeal

So what can we do to protect the business?

Protecting the Recruitment Process Use Application Forms (carefully designed) Prepare job criteria & control candidate interview All questions/ comments must be objective & relevant to job. Use question sheet. Check claimed qualifications/ certificates Take up references from previous employers Check & record the right to work in the UK Conduct practical skills testing Keep all notes/ documents securely (ethnic analysis)

Protection for Offering Employment All job offers made in writing -subject to satisfactory references & probationary period. Have process for second check of all recruitment documents & set up personnel file. Plan & carry out formal induction for new employees. Review progress with employee at regular intervals through probationary period. Make decision on new employee ASAP. Issue written contracts of employment.

Protection for Disciplinary Action Remove emotion, deal only in facts & be consistent in approach to all HR issues. Act ASAP. If you are not happy then do not delay. Provide adequate notice of disc meetings, etc. Before taking any action be sure of the correct procedures. If in doubt seek advice FIRST. Document procedures, provide clear statements of actions/ expectations & keep records.

So do we need to worry? Worry NO be aware of procedure & plan any course of action carefully If in doubt take advice BEFORE starting At all times proceed with caution

Further help & assistance Canham Associates work with its clients to provide practical guidance on HR issues. By advising on procedures, drafting briefing notes/ supporting letters or full “Hands on” involvement. If you would like to discuss how Canham Associates may help your organisation call Ian Canham on or