As the end of the year approaches, many of us are starting to think about priorities for next year. With that in mind, below are some HR priorities which may affect your business over the coming year.
Hybrid working
Whilst many employees are back at work and it is business as normal, many employers are still offering Hybrid Working.
Many clients have indicated that these arrangements will likely be a more permanent feature of their new business culture. However, some are still unsure.
Whatever your intentions, the key thing is to remember to communicate with employees and ensure that you have the policies and procedures in place to support the way you want to work- and importantly- the way you want to work in the future.
If you do want to encourage employees back into the workplace, deciding how you want to approach this and giving as much notice as possible is always the best approach as is taking into consideration travel and other commitments outside of work.
Dress code
Many of you may have seen that Virgin Atlantic has seen a significant increase in candidates applying for roles after they changed their dress code to reflect their inclusive values.
Whilst it may be that the change of dress code has had an impact, more likely, is that Virgin Atlantic have placed themselves as a forward thinking, more inclusive and thus more attractive potential employer setting itself apart from its competitors.
With that in mind, and with recruitment being challenging for everyone, setting yourself apart from your competitors and marketing yourself as something different has certainly worked in their favour.
Recruitment
Almost of our clients have reported challenges with recruitment. Not only attracting candidates but attracting the right candidates.
With the market being extremely competitive, now is a good opportunity to review your needs over the next 12 months. From succession planning to recruiting for long term vacancies, looking at what you have to offer and identify your market is a must.
Cost of Living
With the cost of living on the minds of many of many of your employees, it is important that you recognise this and do what you can to support employees who may be concerned or struggling. This does not always mean that employees want or expect a pay increase but often ensuring that employees know of any benefits you offer and how to take advantage of them is a good start.
Mental health awareness
In the last 12 months it is reported that up to 27% of employees have gone to their employer and asked for support with their mental health, although it is expected that the number of employees struggling with their mental health is actually much higher.
Now more than ever it is necessary to have a strategy to be able to provide support where necessary, either through an Employee Assistance Scheme or through alternative counselling schemes you may have access to. Where you do not have a scheme in place, reviewing your health and wellbeing strategy is a must.
National Minimum Wage
The National Minimum Wage is expected to increase to £10. 24 in April 2023 with the associated increases to the National Minimum Wage.
Revocation of EU law
You may be aware that the Government announced in September new legislation, The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill 2022.
According to the Government’s press release:
“Retained EU Law was never intended to sit on the statute book indefinitely. The time is now right to end the special status of retained EU Law in the UK statute book on 31st December 2023. The Bill will abolish this special status and will enable the Government, via Parliament to amend more easily, repeal and replace retained EU Law. The Bill will also include a sunset date by which all remaining retained EU Law will either be repealed, or assimilated into UK domestic law. The sunset may be extended for specified pieces of retained EU Law until 2026”
Whilst it is not yet known how this will impact employers, what we do know is that laws such as TUPE, the Working Time Regulations, discrimination laws and rights for agency workers derive from EU legislation. That said, here in the UK we enhance the minimums required under EU legislation such as the right to paid holidays and therefore it may not have as much of an impact as first thought.
As always, we will keep you up to date as we find out more.
Additional bank holiday in 2023
It has been announced that an additional bank holiday will be given in 2023 for the coronation of King Charles III.
You should be aware that, unless specified within an individual’s contract of employment, employees do not have a legal entitlement to receive the extra public holiday. If an employee has a clause in their contract that says they are entitled to receive all public holidays, then you will have to honour this and provide the day paid day off. If no such clause exists, employees will not be entitled to the additional public holiday and will only be entitled to their normal holiday allocation as per their contract.
Aside from the legal position on the matter, businesses will need to consider the wider implications of whether or not they choose to give employees the holiday. Not recognising the holiday could have a negative impact on morale. Businesses should therefore consider carefully how they communicate to employees their position on the matter.
The first thing to make clear to employees, whether they are being offered the additional public holiday or not, is that it is not a legal entitlement. Where you do decide to offer the additional public holiday paid, you should emphasise to employees that it is a discretionary one-off event.
If it is decided that the additional day cannot be granted, you may wish to communicate to employees the reason why. There may be a requirement to maintain a certain staffing level that would make it impossible to allow employees the day off. Even where no minimum staffing level is required, the financial burden of lost productivity may a prohibitive factor.
As a compromise, you may wish to offer employees the opportunity to take the day off as part of their normal annual holiday entitlement, possibly in exchange for another public holiday. Other options may be to allow employees to take the day off as unpaid leave, or to allow employees to swap the day for another day.
As always, if we can be of any assistance please let us know.
