Coronavirus or COVID 19: HR responsibilities

CORONAVIRUS or COVID-19

March 2020

Coronavirus or COVID 19: HR and Employee Responsibilities

The outbreak of Coronavirus or COVID 19 that the world is experiencing has produced a torrent of information in this past week.

This level of concern is, of course, understandable. What with the threat of a worldwide pandemic on everyone’s lips as the situation worsens. While the government’s response changes as the UK’s situation gathers pace, it’s clear the situation will worsen before it gets better.

CORONAVIRUS or COVID-19

Aiming to bring clarity to the CORONAVIRUS or COVID-19 situation for employers

Go-Legal HR have aimed what follows at clarifying the situation as it stands from an employer/employee perspective.

The underlying principle is to follow government guidelines. But at the same time recognise that the circumstances are fluid and may change daily. 

The government publishes daily updates with the latest stats and advice.

Company & Statutory Sick Pay

One big concern surrounds payment of sick pay to employees off sick due to COVID-19. If the absence relates to having symptoms of the virus, normal sick absence rules under company policies will apply.

This week, the government announced provision for payment of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from day 1 of sick absence. This removes the so-called 3-waiting days before SSP applies. It’s unclear when this will start. But any emergency legislation passed by government to deal with this virus, will include it. Moreover, it only relates to absences due to COVID-19 and will lapse when there’s a resolution to this particular situation.

Employees who choose to self-isolate or do not want to come into work

Let’s say you have an asymptomatic employee advised to self-isolate. Either because:

  1. They’ve travelled to an affected area or
  2. been in contact with someone known to have the virus. In this instance, it’s reasonable to treat that as a sick absence.

What is your course of action in this situation?

If an employee is not sick but is in quarantine or self-isolation, there have no legal right to sick pay in these circumstances. Yet it would be good practice. And preferable to them coming into work with the risk of spreading the virus to the rest of the workforce. 

It’s clear that small to medium sized businesses have a difficult judgement call to make, given the costs involved.

NB: Do keep checking updated government guidelines for updates. 

But these are exceptional circumstances requiring creative solutions. It’s expected that the Budget will offer some guidance here.

Employees of course also have a duty to look after their own health and safety and that of their colleagues. This includes following self-isolation advice and cooperating with their employer to ensure a safe workplace. 

A virus cell -CORONAVIRUS or COVID-19

The Grey Area

This is those who choose to self-isolate from concern about contracting COVID-19. And in so doing, refuse to come into work. If this is the case, listen with care to the concerns of your employees. If you can, offer flexible working arrangements such as home-working.

Home-working is a practical solution to this current exceptional situation, even if it’s not otherwise suitable for your business. Choosing to explore this option is unlikely to set a precedent. It may soon become the norm wherever practical, if the outbreak worsens.

Employees can also request time off as holiday or unpaid leave. But there is no obligation to agree to this. And anyway, it may not be practical if the circumstances become protracted.

Hygiene

As an employer, it’s your duty to take reasonable steps to ensure the health and safety and welfare of all your employees. This includes any employees who may be particularly vulnerable. For instance, pregnant employees, or anyone with pre-existing medical conditions. 

It’s essential to keep abreast of official recommendations. Implementing the advice to avoid infection is a must. For example, providing good access to hand washing facilities and hand sanitisers.  

Do encourage employees to be extra vigilant with washing their hands and using/disposing of tissues etc. Where practicable, provide the resources to help that.

This situation is of course a fluid one. It’s crucial to keep things under review, while treating each case on its own merits. There are bound to be unusual cases even within these exceptional circumstances.

Be consistent in your approach and don’t single out any employees to avoid the risk of allegations of discrimination. 

Other sources of information:

The current situation in the UK is one of containment. But, if the outbreak gathers pace as it has elsewhere, we may see a rapid escalation in the measures needed.

The current situation in the UK is one of containment. But, if the outbreak gathers pace as it has elsewhere, we may see a rapid escalation in the measures needed.

Keep abreast of government updates, but if you are unsure contact Go Legal HR at www.go-legal-hr.com

Dress Codes in the Workplace

Dress Codes in the Workplace

Once upon a time, there was no need for formal dress codes in the workplace. How so? Because, before the 1950s/1960s, we inhabited a much more formal world. Thus, un businesses, offices and shops – wearing smart clothes for work was the social norm. It was simply how it was. As this article from Xamax states: ‘From the Victorian era, right through the first half of the 20th Century, people opted for formality as a matter of course. Even painters & decorators, brickies and factory workers would wear a shirt and tie to work.’

But why and how did the need for workplace dress codes come about?

The decades since the 1950s have seen a gradual shift to smart casual or business casual – call it what you will. And the reasons for that are somewhat complicated. Sartorial formality varies between industries, companies and job-roles. Most workers, even if they spend most of their time in business casual will dress up for an important presentation. The reason for that being, as this article on Born again Swindonian explains, is that you are what you wear. And people recognise that – even if on a subconscious level.

This article from Business Insider.Com offers an interesting theory on how and why the way we dress in the workplace has transformed – some might say slipped – since the mid-20th century. Before then offices expected their staff to adhere to a dress code that today’s office workers would view as super formal.

  They posit that, and quoting The Atlantic, companies back then tended to be more process oriented. Whereas today, organizations are more results-oriented. And what results-oriented organizations care about is… well… the results. Put another way, what you achieve in the workplace rather than what you wear while you do it.

Which is all well and good. But this ultimate evolvement from dark suits, white shirts, dark ties and overcoats and a hat (for the men) and tailored suits over blouses for the women to an almost anything goes situation is a workplace dress code headache for the HR manager.

It’s important to note here though, that workplace formality remains in some areas: banking, accounting and the legal profession for example.

A HR headache

According to ACAS, dress codes and the workplace appearance of staff are becoming ever-more important. This is, in part, because of the media highlighting legal cases between employers and employees about what constitutes an acceptable workplace dress code.

A workplace might have a uniform for its workers to communicate a corporate image and make them identifiable to its customers. Or a manager might bring in a dress code for health and safety reasons. But whatever dress code a company introduces it must not discriminate in respect of the 2010 Equality Act and the nine defined protected characteristics of:

  • Age
  • Disability
  • Gender reassignment
  • Race
  • Religion or belief system
  • Sex
  • Sexual orientation
  • Marriage & Civil Partnership
  • Pregnancy & Maternity

Dress Codes in the Workplace

 In this respect, this YouTube video from ACAS, What Should I Wear at Work, is worth a watch: 

https://youtu.be/HnRs5TEUj3Q

 

Dress Down Friday and Exceptions to the rule

 Workplaces that have a more formal dress code from Monday to Thursday may have a Dress Down Fridaypolicy. Or even a stipulation that everyone wears the strip of the local football team on Friday. If you’re a manager you might want to consider the effect on morale such a stipulation might have on a staff member that loathes football clothing, that particular team or football in general. This would apply to any other stipulation that might be well meant and light-hearted, but employees should not feel obliged to comply with.

Supporting charities

Something else for you, as HR manager, to have awareness of is the times when your employees wish to support charities in a way that needs exceptions to normal dress code rules. That’s something we’ve touched on this blog about why celebrating festivals in the workplace is good for business. Christmas Jumper Day and Jeans for Genes Day are two such occasions.

Dress Codes in the Workplace - jeans and belt

Then there’s the issues of religious dress and tattoos and piercings to consider. As ACAS point out, some employers might wish to include issues around religious dress in their polices. But they advise treading with care in this area.

Apropos tattoos and piercings, it might be that you, the employer, might wish to promote a certain image through your staff that reflects the ethos of your organization. This can mean you ask them to remove piercings or cover tattoos in the workplace – in particular if in a customer-facing role.

If you do want to adopt a dress or appearance code then you must have it written down in a policy that you communicate to all your staff. That way they’ll have full understanding of what you expect from them.

It’s not hard to see how tricky this might be. But rather than risk getting it wrong why not let Go-Legal’s HR expertise navigate you through the dress-code policy minefield. All our contact information is here. 

Get in touch now and let’s get your dress-code policy ironed out before you find yourself getting a dressing-down from a disgruntled employee.  

Are your employees emails their own affair?

Are your employees emails their own affair? Eye on computer monitor

July 2018

Are your employees emails their own affair?

There can’t be many, if indeed any, workplaces that don’t have open Internet access and work email accounts for their employees. But that doesn’t mean that they can send jokey emails, watch the tennis and carry out hours of social media activity without consequence. The reason for that lies largely in a case taken to the European Court of Human rights.  

All raising the question: Are your employees emails their own affair?

Strasbourg legal eagles made the decision that employers have the right to spy on staff’s work emails and so forth following the sacking of a Romanian engineer found messaging his fiancée on Yahoo chat. The employee in question had been given Yahoo chat for work purposes.

All of this said, there are of course caveats and considerations for the employer. Not least of which is GDPR. As this article in the Birmingham Mail points out, as a boss you have every right to monitor your staff’s electronic communications. BUT. You must pre-warn them. You must tell your employees what monitoring arrangements you have in place and the reasons for them. No playing I-Spy without they know the rules of the game!

Are your employees emails their own affair

 

From the HR Perspective

From an HR perspective, ACAS outlines these key points about workplace monitoring and the reasons for doing it.

  • You must, must, must, must have policies and procedures in place about workplace monitoring. And they MUST be written down. This is your golden rule.

Crystal Clear Policies

Your policies should explain with clarity the extent – if any at all – of personal use your employees are allowed. It also needs to explain that you may well check on their computer use and what the consequences are of breaching the policy. Your policy needs to emphasise that you forbid them from sending unsuitable and inappropriate email material that relates to:

  • Gender
  • Ethnicity
  • Race
  • Sex
  • Sexual orientation
  • Religious or political convictions and 
  • Disabilty
  • This monitoring must not be excessive and it should be justifiable. You’ll need to take care if finding message that are clearly private and personal. The onus is on you, the employer, to be circumspect. Yet, if you feel this usage contravenes your policy then you must raise it with the staff member as soon as possible.

 

  • It’s vital you communicate to your staff what information you’re recording, why you’re recording it and how long you will keep it for.

 

  • You should keep secure, any information you collect through monitoring.

A three pronged approach

Anyone that’s raised either a puppy or a child knows that a three-pronged approach is the best one:

  1. Firm
  2. Fair
  3. Consistent

Well, it’s much the same with the monitoring of workplace emails and Internet usage. As the contributor to the Birmingham Mail article points out – problems come about with toleration of excessive use.  In particular, where inappropriate images and jokes are involved. What’s needed is a robust and consistent approach to ensure cooperation from all concerned.

And as for employees – if you don’t want your boss to read your messages, then don’t send it over your employer’s system. Simples.

If you’re an employer and this is a situation you’d like advice and support with then get in touch.  Send a message via the webform or call the office on 01793 877787.

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