| HR & EMPLOYMENT LAW
Jackie le Poidevin, Editor-in-Chief, HR Adviser |
5 Tips for Managing Home Workers’ Return to the Workplace
From 1 August, the Government has said you can ask staff who have been working from home during the COVID-19 outbreak to return to the workplace. In practice, though, it’s unlikely you’ll be bringing everyone back immediately, not least because social distancing will limit the numbers who can safely return. Also, some staff will be resistant to returning and you could even face grievances and employment tribunal claims if you try to force them to return. Here, we give 5 tips for managing home workers’ return while minimising ill feeling and the risk of disputes.
- Make Your Workplace as Safe as Possible
The Government has said that before you allow anyone to return, you must make your premises ‘COVID-secure’ in line with the guidelines for your sector and in consultation with your employees or their representatives.
- Assess the Mental Health Risks to Home Workers
The safest option may seem to be to continue with working from home for the time being. You’ll avoid disputes with reluctant staff and, if your workplace remains completely closed, you’ll keep making savings on your running costs as well.
However, you should assess the risks to employees’ mental health before going down this route, as some may be working in unsuitable conditions or struggling with the isolation of remote working. You may therefore wish to allow a limited number of staff to return.
- Adopt a Voluntary Approach if You Can
However rigorous your workplace precautions are, it’s still safer for employees to keep working from home (unless there are mental health concerns), especially if they have to commute by public transport.
If you try to force home workers to return before they’re ready, there’s therefore a risk of claims under the Employment Rights Act 1996 that they reasonably believed returning would place them in serious and imminent danger. To minimise this risk, it’s safest to ask for volunteers to return to the workplace, rather than coercing anyone.
- Make Allowances for Employees’ Personal Situation
If you do decide to require home workers to return, you may need to make some exceptions:
- Although the Government is encouraging ‘extremely vulnerable’ people who’ve been shielding to return to work from 1 August too – and they will lose the right to statutory sick pay if they don’t return – some may well be reluctant. They’re likely to qualify as disabled, so if they’ve been working effectively from home, you should allow them to continue doing so as a reasonable adjustment if they wish.
- Some employees in the lesser ‘vulnerable’ category, such as pregnant women and the over 70s, may be able to bring a discrimination claim if you force them to return to the workplace when working from home has proved itself to be a viable alternative.
- An employee who is living with an ‘extremely vulnerable’ relative may be entitled to claim associative disability discrimination.
- Some employees may still have childcare problems over the summer holidays, as many holiday clubs are closed and grandparents may be unable to step in. Not letting them continue to work from home might lead to an indirect sex discrimination
With all these categories of employees, I would advise letting them keep working from home for now if they wish.
- Familiarise Yourself with the Flexible Working Regime
If you haven’t already, it’s likely you’ll now start to receive requests under the flexible working legislation to keep working from home. You can refuse such requests on certain grounds, such as a detrimental impact on quality or performance.
If there haven’t been performance concerns, it will be difficult to turn a request down entirely. However, it’s widely accepted that full-time home working has its drawbacks, so you could require employees to attend your premises for part of the week. The next Special Issue of HR Adviser will focus on how to deal with flexible working requests.
| PAYROLL
Sarah Bradford, Editor-in-Chief, Pay & Benefits Adviser |
Bonus for Employers Who Retain Furloughed Staff
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is now in its second and final phase. Employers are now able to take advantage of flexible furlough to bring employees back to work on a part-time basis, while claiming a grant for the usual hours that the employee does not work. Support under the scheme starts to reduce each month from August and the scheme comes to an end on 31 October 2020.
Job Retention Bonus
To help employers to bring furloughed workers back to work, the Government are to pay a Job Retention Bonus to employers for each furloughed employee who is continuously employed from the end of the Coronavirus Retention Scheme until 31 January 2021.
The bonus comprises a £1,000 one-off payment for each furloughed employee who remains on the books until the end of January and whose earnings are on average at least equal to the lower earnings limit for National Insurance purposes, set at £120 per week (£520 per month) for 2020/21. Payments of the bonus are to be made from February 2021.
The scheme has not been without criticism. Jim Harra, Chief Executive of Customs and Excise, questioned the efficacy of the scheme. Labour have also raised concerns, both over the cost of the scheme, which would costs £7bn if bonuses were paid for every worker who is potentially eligible under the scheme, and as regards its effectiveness, claiming that money would be paid to large firms who do not need it in respect of jobs that were never in danger. Some larger employers, including Primark and Rightmove, have publicly stated that they will not be claiming the bonus. However, the Chancellor has defended the scheme, saying that it ‘would serve as a significant incentive’ to preserve jobs.
Other incentives
In his Summer Economic Update, the Chancellor outlined his Plan for Jobs, which includes incentive payments to employers offering training and apprenticeships.
Kickstart Scheme
The Government are to introduce a new Kickstart scheme to create 6-month work placements for 16–24-year-olds who are on Universal Credit and who are deemed to be at risk of long-term unemployment. The scheme will provide funding for 100% of the National Minimum Wage for 25 hours per week, plus the associated employer contributions and employer pension contributions under auto-enrolment (where relevant).
Traineeships
The Government are also to provide funding to employers to help them provide high quality placements and training for 16–24-year-olds. Provision and eligibility for traineeships is to be expanded to those with Level 3 qualifications and below. Employers providing trainees with work experience will receive £1,000 per trainee.
New Apprenticeships
Employers who hire new apprentices during the period from 1 August 2020 to 31 January 2021 will receive a payment from the Government. The Government will pay employers in England £2,000 for each new apprentice that they hire aged under 25 and £1,500 for each apprentice that they hire aged over 25. These payments are in addition to the existing £1,000 payments that the Government make to employers who hire apprentices aged 16–18 (or under 25 with an Education, Health and Care plan).
| HEALTH & SAFETY
Paul Smith, Editor-in-Chief, Health & Safety Adviser |
Prime Minister: Get Back to Work (if Your Boss Says it’s Safe)
PM Boris Johnson has announced further easing of national lockdown arrangements, with a softening of the advice that people should work at home wherever possible. He encouraged people in England to return to normal work from 1 August but placed on employers the onus to assess whether it was safe for them to do so. As a result, managers now have more leeway, but with it comes increased pressure to ensure you have put in place the correct COVID-Secure precautions.
Employers to Bring Back Workers at their Discretion
In his announcement, the PM said: ‘Instead of Government telling people to work from home, we are going to give employers more discretion, and ask them to make decisions about how their staff can work safely. Whatever employers decide, they should consult closely with their employees, and only ask people to return to their place of work if it is safe.’
The effect is to place more discretion (and more responsibility) with employers. Assessment is crucial to:
- Reassure employees that it is safe to return to the normal workplace.
- Prove, if challenged, that you acted correctly by formally evaluating risk and systematically acting to minimise it.
- Increase customer confidence so as to increase footfall, especially in sectors such as food, drink and retail that involve direct customer contact.
On the third point, a specific example is the separate announcement by Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock making face coverings mandatory in shops and supermarkets from today, 24 July. His statement makes it clear that this measure aims both to protect workers and to encourage people back onto the high street.
Response to these latest announcements has been mixed. The TUC accused the Government of ‘passing the buck on this big decision to employers’ and highlighted ongoing shortcomings in the Government’s Test and Trace system. They also called on employers to publish their risk assessments on their websites, highlighting that not all firms have yet done so. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats described the changes as ‘utterly reckless’ and contrary to scientific advice. The British Retail Consortium, though, has broadly welcomed the new mask rules while calling for flexibility where staff are already protected by other measures such as screens and social distancing.
What is ‘Safe’?
The starting point in making sure the workplace is safe, or as safe as possible, is to follow the relevant guidelines (see links at end). For most employers, though, necessary measures will include:
- Documenting your risk assessment (see the COVID-secure Risk Assessment template on your Online Resource Centre).
- Warning workers with any of the three COVID symptoms (new persistent cough, raised temperature and loss/change in the sense of taste or smell) to stay away from work and follow guidance from the NHS.
- Observing social distancing: ideally 2 metres, or ‘1 metre plus’ where other mitigation is in place.
- Introducing one-way systems to support social distancing, especially at entrances/exits, as well as in corridors and on staircases.
- Avoiding situations where people need to be face-to-face with others, unless screens are provided.
- Providing extra hand-washing/sanitiser
- Frequent cleaning of touched objects/surfaces and communal areas.
- In shops, storing returned items for 72 hours before returning them to the sales floor.
The HSE and local authorities have ramped up checks on these precautions. A spokesperson said the three most common problems inspectors are finding in practice are employers who are not:
- Monitoring, supervising and maintaining social distancing.
- Introducing adequate cleaning regimes – particularly at busy times of the day.
- Providing access to welfare facilities so that employees can frequently wash their hands with warm water and soap.
COVID-Secure Links
England: https://tinyurl.com/yaolw3rb
Scotland: https://tinyurl.com/y8v25afp
Wales: https://tinyurl.com/y85txrz9
Northern Ireland: https://tinyurl.com/y9mza5hf