What to expect in 2010

2009 was a tough year with a steep learning curve for most employers.  The economic climate created a shopping list of problems and difficulties for anyone running a business; not just in terms of the potential for reduced profits, struggling with sales or with trying finding new clients but also in terms of the knock on effect on their businesses in ways that no-one may have considered at the start of the year.

As the writer of the Cleardocs blog, the one thing that has been evident is the non-stop barrage of disappointing news for employers; from the story that rates of employee theft has risen to the news that more employees are moonlighting outside their regular job amongst others.  All this on top of rising numbers of unfair dismissal claims, some drastic legislation changes and the dreaded Swine Flu.

However, amongst all the difficulties that 2009 brought, it hasn’t all been doom and gloom.  There were some glimmers of hope for business owners and from our experiences working with you at Cleardocs, a lot of you learnt valuable lessons last year.

The good news is that whilst unfair dismissal claims have risen, the number of employment tribunals in general have fallen.  ACAS will be able to take some credit for this with the introduction of their Pre-Claim Conciliation (PCC) Service preventing businesses avoid over 2000 tribunal cases.  News like this bodes well for what is hoped to be a more prosperous 2010.

For those businesses who have weathered the storm, 2010 is expected to show the return to growth for the UK economy.  Here at Cleardocs, we’re certainly hoping so.  If 2009 was anything to go by, when it comes running your business and maintaining good employee relations, preparation and communication are priceless.  True to form, certain aspects of Employment legislation are changing and these changes may impact on how your business is run day to day. As an employer, you need to be on top these changes as early as possible in 2010.

If you’ve been a customer of ours throughout 2009, you’ll know that Employment legislation changes happen twice a year – in April and October.  2010 will be no different and the following are some changes that you can expect to see over the next twelve months:

Amendments to the Working Time Regulations

Under the amended Working Time Regulations (WTR) it is expected to allow employees to reclaim holidays during which they fall ill. The amended WTR will even allow employees to carry them over into the next leave year.
 
What can your business do?  In particular, it may be advisable to restrict discretionary sick pay to statutory sick pay for periods that coincide with pre-booked holidays. Additionally, ensure that reporting requirements for sick leave are equally as rigorous regardless of whether the sickness occurs while your employee is sunbathing in Tenerife or on a normal work day when the employee would normally be due in the office.

Reviewing working practices

As the smart small business owner knows, attracting – and keeping- the best staff isn't all about pay and the New Year may provide an opportunity to introduce new working patterns, such as:

• Flexible hours
• New salary measures such as profit share rather than pay increases
• If hiring permanent staff posses morale issue due to recent redundancies – ease the situation by considering a fixed-term contract of employment for new hires
• Part-time contracts/job sharing
• Consider opening up consultations with employees so they can have their say, pitch ideas and contribute to the business ensuring that it is in the best possible position to meet the up-tick in demand.

All of the measures are designed to allow employers to get on with running the business, to be in the best shape to respond to the upturn while keeping existing staff motivated and still be able to attract the best new recruits.

Agency Workers Regulations 2010

Looking ahead, as an employer it is worthwhile also spending some time anticipating likely new legislation, such as the Agency Workers Regulations 2010, and how it will impact your business. Whilst draft Regulations at the moment, they are scheduled to come into force on 1st October 2011. If you employ or are likely to employ agency workers you may greatly benefit by using next year to prepare and adjust for the new rules. Here’s a taster of what’s to come;

After 12 weeks in a job, agency workers will be entitled to: 

• the same pay and holidays as permanent staff doing the same job;
• information about vacancies to give them the same opportunity as other workers to find permanent employment;
• equal access to on-site facilities such as childcare and transport services; and
• improved rights to protect the health and safety of new and expectant mothers (including the right to reasonable time off to attend ante-natal appointments and adjustments to working conditions and working hours).

Are you going to be ready to implement the new regulations for any agency workers? Or will the new rules change the way you staff your business?

Maternity and Paternity leave

The subject of paid absence for child rearing brings with it another likely piece of new legislation. The right to extended paternity leave meaning that – having returned to work – the mothers of children due on or after 3rd April 2011 can transfer up to six months of their maternity leave to the father.

Do you need to make any changes in your business to accommodate the new legislation? What sort of impact might this have on your business?  

Much like any sort of leave this could be particularly disruptive when running a small firm: especially if you’re caught off-guard by people you never expected to disappear for prolonged periods to suddenly do so.


2010 – make ‘prepare, improve and communicate’ your motto

Whether you hire or grow your business with existing staff numbers, changes in employment legislation are likely to expose you and your business to potential slip-ups. There are - and will be - new issues out there that the rounded employer will need to know about. These include equal opportunities - rights to religious expression in the workplace, new judicial guidance on defining the meaning of a disabled person and disability discrimination by association.

Let’s say an overdue farewell to phrases like credit crunch, pay freeze and downsizing, and welcome the New Year with old friends - growth, profit, hiring, motivated staff and innovation: all companions to being ahead of the competition.

And remember, here at Cleardocs we up-date all staff handbooks automatically & FREE OF CHARGE for 12 months. This means that you do not need to worry about your company’s policies and procedures suddenly becoming obsolete.  We also provide you with up-to-date employment contracts and other documentation that always reflect the latest legislation changes.

If you have any questions about how we can help, please give us a call on 0845 474 0372.

We wish you all the best for the year ahead.