Selection Process in a UK redundancy exercise

Selection

Many organisations are reviewing their human resources at this critical time of the economic downturn. The private sector has mostly gone through this crisis but many managers in the public sector are having to face this in a way that they may not have faced before?

Two nouns litter the text books in this topic in nearly every sentence: fairness and objectivity. The criteria that are used therefore, should not depend solely on the person making the selection and should be capable of being checked against objective criteria such as attendance record (sickness/absence register), job efficiency records (performance appraisals/production output charts) and experience logged on training or competence records.

Matrix

Usually a matrix is setup and if the employer has sufficient managers who know the individuals in the selection pool, then at least two managers (both having been trained in the scoring process) independently assess all the employees in that pool and then their scores are “refereed” by a third person (not involved with the department) who can assist the two assessors (by facilitisation) to arrive at an agreed common score between them where their individual scores differ wildly? The referee needs to satisfy himself/herself that they are genuine in their comment and that fairness and objectivity have been applied.

Obviously there are many redundancies of just one job which is not shared or pooled with any other and so when affected by redundancy this single isolated position is the one to be made redundant and no selection is necessary. In medium/ large organisations the chances of one job acting in such isolation is remote but it can occur.

Avoid discrimination

When the consultation process commences (subject of another article) the agreed common assessments of the assessors are listed in hierarchy and those with the lowest score can be chosen as the set number of redundantees at the base of the list. Employers need to take care in assessing attendance and sickness absence to ensure that any employee classed as “disabled” is not discriminated against. Equally any pregnant employees or those on maternity leave should have special consideration to avoid sex discrimination.

Pass over assessment documents

Those on this preliminary list should then be the employees to be consulted and each should receive their copy of their own assessment “score” well before the meeting to be able to prepare and table their case at the session. In more progressive organisations they will also receive the scores of the next nearest “safe” score (not necessarily identified) so that the employee knows how much argument he needs to bring to the table.

Link to other articles

For more assistance on this sensitive area please see further articles. Please note that more employers fall at Employment Tribunal on the question of consultation (both collective and individual) than they do on selection process and so although the above topic is important it must fit in with a tangled and complex web of several other responsibilities to ensure that the dismissal is fair.

The authors and publishers can accept no legal responsibility for any errors, omissions or opinions expressed by authors. It is the reader’s responsibility to take appropriate professional advice before acting on any issues raised in this article.

© 2011 Strategic HR Support Ltd

All Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be copied or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.

Published by Strategic HR Support Ltd       http://www.strategichrsupport.co.uk/       Email :  info@strategichrsupport.co.uk

Health questions at interview now so restricted it is better NOT to ask!

Introduction

The new Equality Act introduced last October (2010) puts restrictions on asking health questions at the recruitment stage. Employers must NOT ask a job applicant questions about health or disability before offering the applicant work, or (if recruiting to a pool or bank) before including the applicant in the pool. [Exceptions are allowed for checking whether the applicant can fulfil intrinsic job function (see below) but this is a subjective area].

The restriction is enforced directly by the Equality & Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and so we can expect high profile investigations. Any breach will be a helpful factor too for individuals bringing claims at Employment Tribunal.

Exceptions

These can be allowed to assess whether the applicant can undertake the assessment process and/or the intrinsic functions of the job. It can also be used for monitoring (but must be hidden from the recruiter), if there are genuine occupational requirements and for positive action.

Where does the ban occur?

At all pre-offer stages including application forms, health questionnaires/ health declarations, interview questions, pre-offer reference requests, etc

Job offers can still be made on a conditional basis subject to satisfactory medicals, references, etc

What could be dodgy?

•          Wide-ranging health questions that do not relate to the intrinsic functions of the job

•          Raising health and disability-related questions in a reference request

•          Asking applicants how many days off they have had in previous jobs or last 2 years

•          Asking health and disability-related questions in interview that do not relate to intrinsic job functions of the job

What should employers do?

•          Identify risky practices

•          Assess for which types of jobs and functions you can legitimately ask health/disability questions pre-offer

•          Understand what is and is not “intrinsic” to your job types

•          Review application forms, pre-employment health questionnaires and instructions to occupational health advisers

•          Establish guidelines for responding to information about health or disability which a job applicant volunteers (without your prompting)

•          Re-consider what health information you collect and store

•          Review guidance/ training given to staff involved in recruitment

Links

See EHRC website and their employer’s guidance at: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/advice-and-guidance/new-equality-act-guidance/

The authors and publishers can accept no legal responsibility for any errors, omissions or opinions expressed by authors. It is the reader’s responsibility to take appropriate professional advice before acting on any issues raised in this article.

© 2011 Strategic HR Support Ltd

All Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be copied or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.

Published by Strategic HR Support Ltd            www.strategichrsupport.co.uk                Email :  info@strategichrsupport.co.uk

Moving on with the Equality Act: Training Required!

Since the new equality Act came into force last October employers have had to cope with:

•          Harmonised definitions

•          Claims on the basis of combined discrimination

•          Restoration of the disability related discrimination concept

•          Introduction of indirect disability discrimination

•          Precluded pre-employment health questionnaire

•          Employment Tribunals that can make recommendations that benefit the wider workforce

and new terms such as protected characteristics:

•          Age

•          Disability

•          Race

•          Gender reassignment

•          Marriage and civil partnership

•          Pregnancy and maternity

•          Religion or belief

•          Sex

•          Sexual orientation

There have also been new concepts to understand:

•          Discrimination by perception

Where someone thinks a person has a particular protected characteristic whether or not they do

•          Discrimination by association

Where a person is associated with someone who has a particular protected characteristic

·         Combination claims

When someone is discriminated against because of a combination of two protected characteristics (21 possible combinations)

·         Strengthened disability discrimination

as it is easier for an employee to qualify as disabled

Training:

Employers need to train their workforce and explain what actions they must take to ensure that they comply with the new legislation. If not they will have little defence/evidence at Employment Tribunal to demonstrate that they have done all in their power to ensure that they have reduced the risk of discrimination in the workplace!

The above is intended to provide opinion and not advice. Before you implement any decision based on this information please contact us at:  http://www.strategichrsupport.co.uk/.

© 2011 Strategic HR Support Ltd

All Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be copied or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written

permission of the copyright holder.

Published by Strategic HR Support Ltd, 61 Weston Road, Edith Weston Road, Edith Weston, Rutland, LE15 8HQ Tel 01780 721574

www.strategichrsupport.co.uk

Family Friendly Issues: Mini Guide with April 2011 changes

When family rights were first introduced, only mothers were provided for with maternity leave and pay. More recently fathers and same sex partners have been granted family rights. Men and women, including adoptive parents, may be entitled to parental leave.

Flexible Working

Employees with responsibilities for children up to 16 years (18 if disabled) have the right to ask employers for a change of hours to enable them to care for their children.

Time off for Dependants

All employees, not just parents, have the right not to be unreasonably refused unpaid time off work to deal with emergencies involving their dependants.

April 2011 change

For any child born after 3 April 2011, mothers can transfer up to 6 months of any remaining leave to the father. Any remaining maternity pay that would have been payable to the mother for any period during the additional paternity leave is transferred to the father.

Minimum benefits or statutory rights

Employees often get confused with the rights they are provided in their contract and the statutory minimum rights that all employees are entitled to. An employer can enhance the benefits if he wishes to and many do, however an employee should look at her/his contract to ensure that she/he has the correct information at this important time. In particular employers sometimes ask employees to comply with certain conditions in return for exceeding the statutory provisions and it is important that these are understood.

Health & Safety

The employer must respect the right for time off for anti natal care and he must take whatever steps are necessary to deal with the specific risks to health and safety that the employee faces as a pregnant woman in the workplace. It is a criminal offence for an employer to allow a woman to do any work in the 2 week period after she has given birth, or in the 4 week period if she works in a factory.

Maternity Leave

Employees have the right to 26 weeks of Ordinary Maternity Leave and 26 weeks of Additional Maternity Leave making one year in total. The combined 52 weeks is known as Statutory Maternity Leave. There are a host of issues relating to the taking and returning from maternity leave which are outside the scope of this article.

Statutory Maternity Leave

If a mother qualifies for SMP, it is paid for the first six weeks at 90 per cent of average gross weekly earnings with no upper limit and for the remaining 33 weeks at the lower of either the standard rate of £124.88, or 90 per cent of average gross weekly earnings. From 6 April 2011 the standard rate will increase to £128.73

Statutory Paternity Leave

Eligible for those employees who are the child’s biological father (providing he has responsibility for bringing up the child) and those married to or the civil partner or partner of the child’s mother or adopter and has main responsibility (apart from the mother or adopter) for the child’s upbringing (may be of same sex as the mother or adopter and therefore the person taking the paternity leave could be a woman). The employee can opt to take either 1 or 2 week’s paternity leave paid at the same rate as Maternity Pay (ie £124.88 per week up to April 5 2011 and £128.73 thereafter).

Rights to return

Those on maternity and paternity have the right to return to same job and same terms and conditions as would have applied if she or he was not absent.

Parental Leave

Employees with responsibility for a child, including adoptive parents, may have the right to unpaid time off work to care for the child. This is for the purpose of caring for the child but also looking after the welfare of the child in a general sense and making arrangements for the child’s good. Employees must have 12 month’s service and have the right for a total of 13 week’s leave in respect of each qualifying child for whom they have the responsibility. Parents of a child entitled to a disability living allowance are entitled to 18 weeks’ parental leave. The leave must be taken before the child’s 5^th birthday, or 18^th if disabled.

© Strategic HR Support Ltd 2011

"Too many sickies" leads to stronger absence and attendance management.

ONS Survey
The recently published article from the Office of National Statistics indicating that public sector workers are a "third more likely to take a day off sick", rejuvenates the call for management teams to review their absence policies.

Up to date absence policy?
When we have advised Companies it is surprising how out of date or non existent their policies are. More importantly, when the chips are down, and management teams investigate their practices, it is surprising just how little absence management is being done at all.

Do we follow our own procedure?
How many of us have delayed or not bothered to carry out a "return to work" interview? Do we ever question whether the employee has been to see a GP and have we ensured that we make it very clear that the employee must advise immediately if the GP has ticked the "may be fit for work" box on his/her medical certificate. After all, unless you insist, the employee may not wish to return to work and adjust to his Doctor's recommendation even if you do!

The first call-in
How many of us allow staff to call in sick to the receptionist or the boss's secretary? Sick employees are very adept at finding out just when Managers are unavailable so that they can avoid ringing direct and therebye avoid having to answer any tricky questions.

New case law on holidays and sickness
There has been some important new case law on long term sick employees taking their holiday either during or after their illness. You may need help in this area to incorporate these issues within your policy.

Frequent/ intermittent sickness
These absence periods are the easiest to manage and generally do not incur the problem of disability discrimination claims. You may wish to use a points scoring trigger mechanism or the "Bradford factor" scheme where more frequent illnesses of the same total absence will be treated more seriously than one period of the same time off. In either case, you will need to investigate thoroughly and then decide the appropriate action having due regard to consistency, potential discrimination claims (very expensive for the business if dealt with incorrectly) and any medical feedback.

Huge savings to be made
There are significant potential savings to be made in just small reductions in sickness absence. Additonally the rest of the workforce will be thanking you for arresting the decline in attendance standards, which the well attending employee hates with a passion. The more consistent you are in the way you manage this area of HR and employment law, the less criticism of unfairness will be heard. Tell me you have not heard these moans from your workforce and I will take you off my list of clients needing advice to place their bottom line in greater shape! You would be hard pressed to find new sales of the magnitude of these cost savings. However if this is successful you should have a larger, fitter workforce that is now able to turn out increased product and/or services and so there you have your "double whammy".

Please contact me at Strategic HR Support Ltd if you need further help. We have many examples of success in this area of HR Support.