HR for Line Managers – Spring Update

This informal CPD article, ‘HR for Line Managers - Spring Update’, was provided by Cath Demaid, Head of Learning and Organisational Development at EST HR, a multi service professional practice offering HR, Accountancy and Commercial Finance services.

We are passionate about informing and training Line Managers about the practical HR changes that they need to know to manage their people effectively throughout the year. We have outlined below several areas of legal and working practice that will be key for an informed and effective start to the spring quarter.

Additional Bank Holiday 8 May 2023

The UK will have an extra bank holiday in May this year, a month in which we already have two bank holidays. The bank holiday will be on Monday 8 May 2023, two days after the coronation itself which will take place on Saturday 6 May 2023 in Westminster Abbey.

Whether or not employees are entitled to an additional day's holiday will depend on the wording of the employment contract. Employees do not have an automatic right to paid time off on a bank holiday. If the employment contract states that the employee's annual leave entitlement is a certain number of days plus bank holidays, they will be entitled to the additional day off. However, if the contract states that the entitlement is to a certain number of days, and is silent on the issue of bank holidays, the employee will not be entitled to an additional day's leave.

Neither will the employee be entitled to an extra day if entitlement is expressed as a certain number of days "plus eight bank holidays", or if the contract specifies which bank holidays are included. Even where employees do not have a contractual entitlement to paid time off on the additional bank holiday, employers should consider providing this as a gesture of goodwill, where possible, or providing time off in lieu if employees are required to work on that day. We advise that employers consider how they dealt with the extra bank holidays in 2022 when making a decision.

Reassuring your team in times of uncertainty

In businesses across the country, employees are dealing with increasing uncertainty. They are experiencing a cost-of-living crisis and interest rates are rising rapidly, which means some will be worried about paying their mortgages. Energy costs have increased, some companies are laying off staff and in others there is a shortage of qualified staff.

Especially when you have new business messages to deliver, the business managers need to be willing and able to reassure concerned team members and need to be able to respond to their questions in order to maintain morale and avoid losing key talent. The most important thing that business leaders can do in this type of economic environment is to stop and think about how best to communicate consistently. The management team need to be on the same page, and they all need to know what’s going to be said so they are prepared to handle any questions that they receive. Otherwise, the message could be undermined. 

During uncertain times, it is important to communicate, share key messages and to invite feedback and suggestions as this shows that you value your team members’ input. If you want to reassure people in uncertain times, you need to share the business’s strategy with them; be clear about where the business is going and how you plan to get there!

Draft fire and rehire code published

The Government has published a long-awaited draft of its statutory fire and rehire code. The code, which is subject to consultation until 18 April 2023, sets out employers' responsibilities when seeking to change employees' terms and conditions, and emphasizes the importance of consultation with employee representatives or trade unions.

"Fire and rehire", or dismissal and re-engagement, refers to when an employer ends an employee's contract and then re-engages them on a new one with less favourable terms. The draft fire and rehire code also explains what an organisation should do if an agreement has not been reached, and says that they should not use threats of dismissal to pressurize staff into accepting new terms. It makes it clear that dismissal and re-engagement on new terms should only be done as a last resort, and with legitimate business reasons.

Once in force, courts and employment tribunals will be able to take the fire and rehire code into account when considering claims from employees and will have the power to apply a 25% uplift to an employee's compensation if an organisation is found to have not followed the code. However, the fire and rehire code itself imposes no legal obligations on employers and the Government makes it clear that a failure to observe it does not, by itself, make an employer liable to legal proceedings.

Duty on employers to give all tips to workers without deductions – legislation pending

The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Bill has recently had its final reading in Parliament and will now go forward to the House of Lords. If approved in the House of Lords (and there is no reason to suspect it won’t be), it is expected to receive royal assent in spring 2023 when it will then become law.

The Bill introduces a requirement for employers to give all tips, gratuities and service charges to workers without any deductions. It also obliges employers to ensure that tips are distributed fairly between workers. Organisations will need to abide by a Code of Practice setting out principles of fairness and transparency. The implementation date is yet to be confirmed.

We hope this article was helpful. For more information about EST HR, please visit their CPD Member Directory page. Alternatively, you can go to the CPD Industry Hubs for more articles, courses and events relevant to your Continuing Professional Development requirements.