Black Friday – Are you ready?

The day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, is a major retail sale event that will take place in the UK this year on 29 November. Along with Cyber Monday on 2 December, these days promise significant price reductions for consumers and may cause disruptions at work as staff try to find ways to secure the best deals during working time.

Figures from America reveal the impact shopping discounts on these days have in the workplace. Estimates suggest Black Friday will cost US businesses $10 billion in lost productivity whilst 78 per cent of American Amazon Prime customers have admitted plans to shop deals at work.

Despite originating in America, these days continue to attract increased attention in the UK in recent years, creating greater issues for employers in terms of misconduct and lost productivity as more staff look to find ways to make purchases online.

Remind staff of the rules

Sending a memo to all employees beforehand is an easy way of reminding them about the rules on using mobile phones at work. Most organisations will have a mobile phone use policy so the memo can outline the rules contained in this, such as keeping phones out of sight during working hours.

Although staff are more likely to use their mobile phones to shop the sales, they may be tempted to use their work internet access or work emails to view Black Friday offers. To avoid this, organisations should also consider outlining their stance on using work equipment for personal matters. Again, if a policy is in place, this can be highlighted.

Monitor behaviour

Line managers should be instructed to keep an eye on staff during this period to ensure they are complying with any workplace policies. A brief word may be enough to discourage anyone caught trying to make the most of the sales during working time and managers should be fair and reasonable with their application.

Organisations who wish to use more intrusive monitoring procedures, such as CCTV recording or internet browser analysis, should inform staff this will take place in advance and ensure they do not breach data protection law.

Take action

Organisations who subsequently discover employees have broken the rules by accessing sale sites during working time may take action for this under their disciplinary policy. If an informal conversation is deemed insufficient, then a formal warning can be provided. This is more likely to be utilised if the employee has a history of similar misconduct.

Consider flexibility

Having said this, some organisations may consider taking a more flexible approach to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, especially considering many retailers offer time limited or flash deals; where goods are reduced for a certain period of time.

Therefore, to accommodate staff, organisations may agree to allow workers to take all, or part of, their breaks at a different time than normal to make the most of these time restricted offers. This agreement will allow workers to grab a bargain whilst ensuring no working time is lost.

Could secret Santa cause anxiety at work?

Leading psychologist suggests secret Santa spending limits could stop unnecessary anxiety. 

As Christmas approaches, many organisations are likely to be organising their own version of secret Santa, in which staff are encouraged to exchange presents anonymously between themselves. However, organisers have been encouraged to consider whether this practice is actually doing more harm than good.

Dr Ashley Weinberg, a psychology lecturer as the University of Salford, has explained that secret Santa has become an increasing source of anxiety for workers. She suggested that staff often fear that they will be judged negatively and considered ‘stingy’ by their colleagues for not spending an acceptable amount on these gifts.

These comments follow a recent survey from Jobsite, which found that 35 percent of employees would like to see secret Santa banned in their workplace. It was also revealed that 26 per cent typically give more than they can afford on presents for co-workers, whilst 17 per cent feel that they are judged based on how much they spend on gifts.

With this in mind, it may be wise for organisations to review their own approach to secret Santa and, as with any business practice, consider the impact this could have on staff.  Given the financial ramifications involved, participating in secret Santa could have a disproportionate impact on minimum wage employees, or those working in junior positions, who are typically paid less than their senior counterparts. To this end, it may also have a disproportionate impact on women given the well-documented gender pay gap.

Therefore, as suggested, it may be wise to set a clear monetary limit on gifts for secret Santa to ensure staff are not excluded from taking part. Many organisations typically agree to a limit of £5 or £10 in order to remove any excessive financial burden and make it more accessible for staff. This measure may also help to reduce any feelings of anxiety around the gift giving process.

Having said this, individuals should still not feel pressured into taking part; after all the idea behind secret Santa is to have fun and promote a festive spirit in the workplace. Also, given that Christmas is traditionally a Christian holiday, organisations should bear in mind that staff with certain religious beliefs may not feel comfortable taking part and it is vital to avoid creating an intimidating or hostile environment for them.

There is also always a danger with gift giving at work that certain individuals may use this as a vehicle to bully or harass colleagues. Therefore, it will be important to have rules in place that forbid any potentially offensive or discriminatory gifts and anyone found to have ignored these requirements should face relevant disciplinary action.

What to think about when planning the Christmas party

Christmas is just around the corner and many organisations will likely be planning the annual Christmas party. However, they may not be thinking about the dangers of employee misconduct.

Christmas parties may seem like the ideal opportunity for organisations to allow their staff to let their hair down and dance the night away with their colleagues. That said, alcohol consumption, coupled with a relaxed social atmosphere, can foster situations which may not occur in the every-day office. Although such social gatherings are fundamentally a social and fun occasion they are also, as official company-organised events, an extension of the working environment.

Legally, organisations have a duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees. By extension, they can be liable for actions committed by employees in the course of their employment if they cannot demonstrate they took ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent it. This includes forms of misconduct at company-organised events. In other words, if employees behave in an inappropriate, aggressive or dangerous manner whilst at the party, the organisation may be responsible for their actions.

Organisations can also be liable for misconduct that takes place within ‘after party drinks’. Although these are technically not officially organised by the company, liability can still arise if it can be established that the employee’s conduct was sufficiently connected to their position. An example of this was seen in the recent case of Bellman v Northampton Recruitment Limited, where a manager had punched one of his employees in the face after they, along with some colleagues, had gone for further drinks at a local hotel when the Christmas party concluded. The Court of Appeal found that the company was liable for the actions of the manager as, although this occurred in an after party, all drinks and taxis had been paid for by the company and the manager was acting within his management capacity.

Whilst organisations will want staff to have fun on the night, provisions should be in place to ensure behaviour doesn’t get out of hand. To this end, it is highly advisable to implement a policy which addresses office parties and work-related social events, outlining that staff have a duty to behave responsibly at all times. It is also advisable to issue individuals with a reminder that the organisation’s rules on acceptable behaviour will still apply at the event and that incidents of misconduct will be treated seriously. If an employee claims they have harassed by a colleague, swift action should be taken to deal with it in line with policy.

Living wage, Minimum Wage information

The Living Wage Foundation – latest updates

The Living Wage Foundation has outlined that rates have increased to £10.75 for workers based in London, and £9.30 for those in the rest of the UK.

Reviewed each year by the Living Wage Foundation, the voluntary Living Wage is based on the ‘real’ cost of living as is set by the Foundation, which is calculated by basing averages on a ‘basket of household goods and services’. Its purpose is to provide workers with higher minimum wage rates than what is currently facilitated by the government. As a voluntary scheme, organisations can choose to opt-in to paying the higher minimum wages but, once they have done so, must ensure worker salaries to fall into line with the rates as set by the Foundation.

These increases are as follows:

  • London Living Wage – increases by 1.8 per cent from £10.55 to £10.75 per hour
  • UK Living Wage – increases by 3.3 per cent from £9.00 to £9.30 per hour.

Going forward, all organisations who provide the ‘real’ Living Wage will now have until 1 May 2020 to implement these changes, although they are encouraged to do so as soon as possible. As of 2019, over 6,000 UK businesses have signed up to the scheme, which has resulted in a pay rise for in excess of 180,000 employees. This includes around one third of the FTSE 100, alongside recognisable, high-profile operators such as IKEA, ITV and Everton.

Although voluntary, providing the ‘real’ Living Wage can be an effective measure of both attracting employees to an organisation and retaining them. With Brexit uncertainty continuing to dominate the headlines, organisations may wish to consider introducing new measures that can assist them in finding the individuals they need to in order to ensure continued company development and progression.

The ‘real’ Living Wage is not to be confused with the National Living Wage (NLW). The NLW was introduced by the government in April 2016 and is the statutory minimum hourly rate that should be paid to all workers aged 25 and over. As the previously expected autumn budget has now been delayed due to the upcoming General Election, we still are unaware of what the new statutory rates will be come April 2020.

That said, organisations should make sure they are up to date with these developments. Those who do not pass on the increases to statutory rates will be operating in breach of the law. This could result in penalty fines of up to 200 per cent of the underpayment, which can be up to a maximum of £20,000 per worker.

New Legislation To Require Organisations To Provide Basic References

New legislation could require organisations to provide a basic reference for all former employees.

The UK government has confirmed their intention to consult on forcing organisations to comply with requests to provide a basic reference to former staff.
Coming as part of their response to recommendations made by the Women and Equalities Select Committee regarding the misuse of non-disclosure agreements at work, the government accepted that the threat of withholding a reference could work to silence victims of sex or other forms of discrimination.
Business secretary Andrea Leadsom announced that the proposals would ‘ensure individuals are protected, striking a fair balance between the interests of employers and workers’.
Although there was no detail on what information would be required in a mandatory reference would, suggestions for basic references have included confirmation of an individual’s employment, as well as their start and finish date.
If anything, this proposed change could help to clarify the existing legal position around employee references as this can often be a source of confusion. In the meantime, organisations should keep in mind that there is currently no statutory requirement for them to provide a reference for a former employee, unless this is a contractual obligation or they operate in certain regulated sectors.
However, it is relatively unusual for an organisation to refuse requests to provide a reference and doing so to punish an employee for involvement in harassment claims, or whistleblowing, will be unlawful. Any inconsistency in giving references is also likely to increase the chances of employees feeling that they have been discriminated against.
Those who agree to provide a reference also have a duty of care to ensure the information given is accurate and fair. Organisations can be sued for defamation, or malicious falsehood, for providing unfavourable statements which are untrue, if the person giving the reference either knew it was untrue or was recklessly indifferent as to whether it was true.
As a result, it is becoming more and more common for employers to have a policy only to provide bare references, giving dates of employment, position held and sometimes salary. For assistance in writing a reference of this kind, please see our template letter for providing a reference to a former employee.

Brexit Delay HR

Brexit Delayed Once More – What To Bear In Mind Moving Forward

With Brexit delayed once more, we take a look at the implications of this latest development and what organisations will need to bear in mind going forward.

Many organisations will no doubt have been struggling to keep up with Brexit as it has unfolded over the last few months, but it seems that we now finally have a little bit more certainty. As of 28 October, the EU have agreed in principle to extend the deadline for which the UK is set to leave the EU until 31 January 2021. This new date is therefore the end of a further period of time within which the UK can aim to put forward, and have accepted into law, a Brexit deal.

Under the provisions of the Benn Act, the Prime Minister will have to accept this extension offer from the EU. Fundamentally, this delay has all but confirmed that a Halloween no-deal scenario is off the table, something that will likely cause a great number of organisations to breathe a sigh of relief. That said, although it seems we do have a temporary reprieve from the no-deal shadow, it would be wise not to get too complacent. As the UK once again enters into negotiations with the EU, a no-deal situation could still be very much a possibility going forward.

A 31 October no-deal would have meant that EU nationals needed to be in the country by 11am on 31 October in order to apply for ‘settled status’ under the EU Settlement Scheme. Now, this deadline will need to be extended as we wait for a new Brexit date to be confirmed. In addition to this, any EU employees who arrived after this date would have needed to apply to obtain Temporary Leave to Remain, with no guarantee that they would be able to stay in the UK once the new immigration system was introduced in January 2021. Now, organisations can be assured that they can continue to take on new workers from the EU following 31 October, until a new Brexit date is set, without this issue potentially arising down the line for those specific individuals.