Sage Blog

The way you report accidents and injuries in the workplace is changing from today.

What is RIDDOR and what is the impact?

RIDDOR stands for Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (1995). In short, it highlights your legal duty, as a business owner/manager, to report to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) certain cases of workplace:

• Injuries
• Disease
• Gas-related incidents
• Near misses
• Death

To streamline this procedure, you will now have to notify the HSE of any injuries and incidents reportable under RIDDOR via their website (www.hse.gov.uk), as of 12 September 2011. From today, the HSE’s website will host seven new forms in order to make the statutory reporting quick and easy. All this means that the HSE will be will be terminating its Infoline telephone service at the end of September.

However, to ensure that the HSE can give a personal and prompt response, you can still phone them in the case of fatal or major injuries.

If you are still unsure of your statutory requirements you can join our Sage People Advice service which can provide you with unlimited access to expert HR, Employment Law and Health & Safety guidance.

Matt Forrest, Small Business Team

Since joining the Sage HR and Payroll team I have come to completely admire payroll professionals. I am sure we are all guilty, including myself, of forgetting, or not even really thinking about the people that make the reason we come into work a reality.

The payroll function is so much more than just ‘pushing a button’. Payroll professionals control a business’s biggest controllable cost – the salary bill – and they protect the company’s reputation by ensuring compliance with a vast range of legislation. And yet how often are they thanked or even acknowledged?

Payroll professionals are highly skilled, technical and accurate and work to probably one of the most important deadlines in an organisation. They also have to work to continuous change. This is particularly true at the moment with numerous changes on the horizon that they need to be prepared for. Including changes in legislation, shared parenting, the default retirement age, childcare vouchers, not to mention all the changes required within the organisation.  These can include annual salary increases, increasingly complex benefit packages and bonuses.

So the next time you open your payslip take a second to think about who made it happen and give them a thank you!

Share this article with your colleagues to raise the profile of the ‘unsung heroes’ in your business.

Adele Bennett, Sage HR and Payroll

The current spotlight on talent management is much more than the latest HR fad, as businesses that have effective strategies for attracting, developing and retaining talent seeing lower employee turnover, higher productivity and greater business stability.

As a result, finding and holding on to talented people has become a preoccupation of both HR and the board, but who is really responsible for talent management? What does HR and the board need to do to embed talent management in the business?

Here are my top tips on managing talent:

1. Identify talent requirements

New research has shown that there is too much focus on ‘talented’ individuals rather than identifying talent requirements across the whole organisation. HR needs to go back to the beginning and define job roles, ensuring both the workforce and business structure are assisted.

Make sure your talent management strategies support your business objectives rather than a specific demand, a product launch for example. Remember to look at the bigger picture.

2. Retain talent

It is easy to focus on finding talent but don’t forget to ensure you also look after the talent once it’s in the business. Providing a consistent framework to recognise staff performance and ensuring employees have clear and regular access to their performance objectives is essential.

These days it is the companies that provide career progression that are seen as good places to work, remember on average it costs £7,000 to replace a member of staff.

3. Gain board level buy-in

Effective talent management is a critical business goal for all leading organisations in today’s economy. It is essential that business managers recognise that workforce and talent management can directly impact a company’s profit and give them a competitive edge.

Talent management won’t be a success if it’s seen purely as an HR initiative. To be truly effective, it will need senior management buy-in, but also buy-in from a range of other stakeholders.

4. Work with line managers

HR need to work closely with line managers to ensure employees are motivated, productive and want to stay in the business. But managers often feel personal development tasks take their attention away from what they are actually rewarded for.

It is vital that these two functions understand each other and work in partnership. Take the time to explain why and how talent strategies can constructively impact a business, and give your line managers more accountability for the schemes.

5. Get  measuring

In order to show that talent management can impact the business positively you will need to effectively measure it. HR must therefore look at what data is collected and, more importantly, why? Is there a clear rationale behind data collection or has it simply evolved? Is it possible to build a talent map of the business from the data, highlighting areas of expertise and talent deficits?

6. Be creative

When attracting top people to your organisation look outside of HR for inspiration and enlist the use of different marketing methods. Investing in employer branding can improve communication channels and help create, maintain or refresh your company culture. Consider that an influential brand can connect with employees and gain their buy-in for your future business direction.

Try new channels in which to engage with them. For example social media is an important and interesting tool to help you recruit and you will also be able to reach those who are not necessarily seeking new job opportunities but wouldn’t turn them down.

7. Innovative reward packages

Success in attracting and retaining the ‘noughties’ generations will come from innovative development and reward packages that are tailored to the general trends in attitudes and values.

There is now a need for more personal and individualised packages. The world is made up of different people and different priorities and for HR it’s essential to remain receptive to that.

8. Talent banks

You should be looking to build collections of talent before or after recruitment. Talent banks operate where an organisation identifies and attracts potential recruits before they’re required, as candidates often emerge who are clearly desirable and interested in the organisation but there may not be a suitable current opening. Staying close to the business and understanding future recruitment needs is essential.

9. Job rotation and enrichment

Deployment is an important aspect of talent management, and job rotation and job enrichment are vital aspects of experiential learning in becoming a leader. Many organisations use secondments within the UK and/or internationally to grow talent.  Lack of employee mobility can affect deployment of talent and can lead to employee engagement and commitment problems later on.

10. Alignment with succession planning

Both succession planning and talent management are dynamic processes occurring in changing times. Succession planning needs to be aligned with HR initiatives including talent management. Lack of alignment can cause problems, such as having a transparent talent management process and a secretive succession planning process.

Paul Tooth, Sage HR and Payroll

For the hottest in HR visit HR Vision and join our Sage HR and Payroll LinkedIn group.

This month with HR Vision we are talking about talent management and who should drive it. Paul Sparrow, Director of the Centre for Performance-Led HR, Lancaster University Management School and Bob Marsden, Director of People and Organisational Development, Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions, discusses who owns talent management, HR or business managers.

Paul Tooth, Sage HR and Payroll

In my opinion effective talent management is a critical business goal for all leading organisations in today’s economy. It is essential that business managers recognise that workforce and talent management can directly impact a company’s profit and give them a competitive edge.

Talent management won’t be a success if it’s seen purely as an HR initiative. To be truly effective, it will need senior management buy-in, but also buy-in from a range of other stakeholders. Having said that I believe it is only HR professionals that have the skills and expertise to create a talent management strategy.

Bringing together everything from recruitment through performance management, training and development, leadership programmes, to individual professional development, talent management must be aligned across divisions and designed to support business strategy.

How is talent management addressed in your business? Should CEOs get more involved? Have your say at www.hrvision.tv

Paul Tooth, Sage HR and Payroll Team
Join our Linkedin group for more HR tips and info

The first topic we’ve been exploring at HR Vision is ‘Has HR become remote from the line?’ It’s been interesting watching Tanith Dodge, HR director of Marks and Spencer and Jo Hennessy, director of research, Roffey Park, discuss the issues and their experiences. No matter what your experience we hope you’ll find something that gets you thinking. And if it does, why not have your say and tell others what you think?

Paul Tooth, Sage HR and Payroll

We all know that the HR function has transformed over the past decade. It is no longer administrative but specialist and strategic. However this does mean that HR are relying on line managers to ensure employees are motivated, productive, competent and fully engaged with corporate goals. Therefore it is vital that these two functions understand each other and work together but we know this can be challenging!

So how can HR build effective relationships with line managers to ensure they are working in partnership?

Here are my top 10 tips

1.       Coaching and development

Line managers need both skills and development to execute HR responsibilities. Make sure the necessary coaching and development is in place. This will give them confidence and mean they will be happier with the extra responsibilities.

2.       Be honest

If you are introducing a new strategy or policy and it will involve a lot of line managers’ time and resources, be honest with them and ask them how they feel about it. Involving them like this will automatically make them more engaged and cooperative.

3.       Timing of communications

When you are trying to communicate with any audience, timing is vital. Don’t try to communicate with your line managers during the busiest time for the business because it is unlikely you will be heard. Pick your moments to communicate carefully.

4.       Listen and respect

It is likely that they will have different views and attitudes to certain things but this does not mean that they are less important. In order to build an effective relationship you need to listen and respect their views and take on board what they say.

5.       Equip them with the right tools

If you are relying on line managers to manage many of the day-to-day duties of people management ensure that you give them the tools and equipment to make this as easy as possible. Self-service technology can significantly reduce the administration and save line managers valuable time.

6.       Support

Make sure the HR department is there to support line managers when needed and make sure line managers know HR is there to support them!

7.       Personal performance objectives

Make people management responsibilities part of personal performance objectives as this demonstrates corporate sponsorship of HR activities as being crucial to the business.

8.       Make HR’s role and contribution clear

Explain the role of HR as a strategic partner and showcase the benefits that it can bring to the business.  Provide examples of how HR can add value to the business on a strategic level now that it has moved away from tactical activities.

9.       Recognise them as strategic partners of HR

Line managers should be recognised as strategic partners of HR and given recognition and reward for their responsibilities

10.   Give praise

If line managers have implemented a new policy successfully, engaged employees effectively, or are just are just doing a good job, make sure you tell them!

Well, that’s my top 10. What would you add to the list?

Paul Tooth, Sage HR and Payroll Team
Join our Linkedin group for more HR tips and info

Here at Sage HR and Payroll we’re working in partnership with HR magazine to produce HR Vision. HR Vision is a series of videos, in-magazine features and web content exploring key themes that will be of increasing importance in the future of work.  There will be 7 videos in total, released monthly from this month.

You’ll be able to watch interviews, read articles, post comments, have live chats, download white papers and have your say.

Each month I’ll be writing a blog around the topic, giving you my opinions, advice and experience. Look out for my first blog later this month on building effective relationships with line managers.

Paul Tooth, Sage HR and Payroll

One of our services here at Sage is to help customers navigate HR issues and make sure that they are advised on changes to the law.  Many of our HR Advice customers appreciate our plain English approach and clear advice on HR legislation. The introduction of “fit notes” is one of the many areas where we have been working hard to make sure our customers have the information they need.

Georgie Cragg-James is a Senior HR Adviser for Sage HR Services

The change from traditional sick notes to new fit notes came in amid a whirlwind of controversy and confusion. Now that the dust has settled and fit notes have been trialled for real, we’ve put together what we hope will prove to be a useful guide to using them.

What is a fit note?

Technically called a statement of fitness for work, a fit note is provided by a doctor to an employee who has been off work for longer than seven days. The fit note will advise you, as an employer, whether your employee is fit enough to return to work.

What does a fit note do?

In the fit note, your employee’s doctor will select one of two options; that the employee is either:

• Unfit for work; or
• may be fit for work, taking account of the following advice.

If the doctor has written that your employee may be fit for work, they will then offer advice about the circumstances in which they could return to work, for example:

• A phased return to work.
• Altered hours.
• Amended duties.
• Workplace adaptations, such as them working on the ground floor only.

Do I have to take the doctor’s advice?

You don’t have to follow the advice given in the fit note if you think it’s impracticable. After discussing the advice with the employee, it’s your decision whether to allow the employee back to work. You’ll know more about any health and safety issues in your workplace than the doctor.

If you can’t provide what the doctor has suggested, tell this to your employee and treat them as being unfit for work. The employee doesn’t need to go back to their doctor for a new fit note.

However, if your employee’s illness could be described as a “disability”, you need to understand what “reasonable adjustments” you can make to allow them to come back to work.

To get a picture of how this process works, take a look at these real-life case studies:

Case study A

Julia is 31 years old and works as an administration assistant in a small company. She has been off work for six weeks with severe back pain for the third time in a year.

In her fit note, her GP advises that she ‘may be fit for work taking account of the following advice’.

The advice is that Julia:

• May need time off to attend physiotherapy after a referral.
• Should avoid static postures by taking more frequent breaks and be able to sit/stand when she needs to.
• Should have a workstation review.
• Should consider a referral for occupational health advice.

In the fit note, the doctor also ticked ‘a phased return to work’, ‘amended duties’ and ‘workplace adaptations’.

The doctor noted that this will be the case for eight weeks and he will need to assess Julia’s fitness for work at the end of this period.

Julia and her manager discuss the advice on the fit note and how her health condition affects her ability to do her usual job. They agree that Julia should observe a phased return to work with more frequent breaks during her shifts. Her manager has also organised for a workstation review and an occupational health assessment to identify any action that may help prevent future episodes.

Julia immediately returns to work under these conditions and is back to her normal hours after four weeks.

Case study B

Eric is 47 and works in a retail store on the service desk, but also stocks shelves and works on the till. He has chronic anxiety and has been off work for three weeks.

He would like to return, but has concerns about coping with customer complaints that make up some of his role.

In his fit note, Eric’s GP advises that he ‘may be fit for work taking account of the following advice’.

The advice is that Eric:

• Should avoid customer facing duties.
• Should observe a phased return to work.

The GP additionally advises that Eric’s employer should consider creating a support network at work.

The doctor noted that this will be the case for three weeks and he will need to assess Eric’s fitness for work at the end of this period.

Eric and his employer discuss the advice on the fit note and agree that Eric should return to work on a phased return to a non-customer facing role, before gradually returning to the services desk for shorter then longer periods.

Additionally, Eric’s employer arranges for an experienced member of the team to become a ‘buddy’ to support him and advise on techniques to deal with handling difficult customer issues.

Eric returns to work immediately and returns to normal duties after three weeks.

Georgie Cragg-James, Sage HR Advice Service

As well as translating the law into plain English, Sage HR Advice Service advises you of forthcoming changes to the law and gives you all the tools you need to remain compliant.

Georgie Cragg-James is a Senior HR Adviser for Sage HR Services

You may have seen a recent news report, highlighting the findings of a Business Link survey. The results revealed that two thirds of SMEs are failing to implement employment laws.

There were three reasons why:

• A quarter didn’t think it was their job to implement the law.
• A fifth weren’t sure how to do it.
• A third simply didn’t know what their legal obligations as an employer were.

I’m always interested to find out more about why businesses struggle to meet their legal obligations, but most of our customers agree that it’s clear, expert HR advice that helps them avoid employment law pitfalls and takes the pressure off them.

Failing to implement employment laws? How can this affect your business?

From the initial recruitment process through to people leaving your business, the entire employment cycle is governed by legislation. For example, there are employment laws concerning:

• Pre-employment residency and police checks.
• Discrimination, from the wording of your job advertisement through to employment practices.
• Grievance procedures, if an employee has a complaint.
• Retirement and redundancy.

Yes, this is a lot to think about and unfortunately simply being unaware of your human resources responsibilities is no defence. In fact failing to comply with the law could have serious consequences for your business:

• Employment tribunals that can be time consuming and stressful.
• Paying out fines and compensation, causing a financial burden on your business.
• A damaged business reputation that can result in lost customers.

So what can you do to stay on top of employment law?

A lot of businesses are concerned that staying legally compliant is too time consuming and holds them back from managing and growing their business. But it really is simply a case of putting the correct procedures in place now, making it easier for you to implement the regulations, and protecting your business for the future.

For a start, consider if you have documented processes around:

• Confirming employee’s entitlement to work in the UK, by checking and copying certain original documents.
• Providing compliant contracts of employment, no later than two months after the employee starts work.
• Adhering to the national minimum wage, the minimum level of pay allowed by law to most workers over the age of 16.
• Creating and distributing your staff handbook, providing your employees with valuable policies and procedures.
• Providing equal opportunity recruitment, by objectively matching the criteria of the job specification to the competencies, qualifications and skills of each applicant.
• Successfully managing poor performers legally, fairly and consistently, by having a structured process in place.
• Sensitively handling grievances, providing structured informal and formal avenues of communication.
• Having a clear retirement policy to provide consistency and clarity to leavers.

It really is worth setting some time aside now to help  save yourself time and hassle in the future.

Georgie Cragg-James, Sage HR Advice Service

As well as translating the law into plain English, Sage HR Advice Service advises you of forthcoming changes to the law and gives you all the tools you need to remain compliant.