Living with COVID-19, Long COVID and the Impact on Business

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Along with the much anticipated arrival of Spring, comes the Government’s equally anticipated response to Living with COVID-19.

As part of its response the Government have effected a number of changes to current arrangements which will have an impact on businesses and employees alike – including:

  • changes to SSP rules for COVID-19 related absences
  • removal of COVID-19 as a consideration for risk assessments
  • the consolidation of guidance to businesses in line with public health advice

Find out more detailed information about these changes.

Long COVID – Is it Classified as a Disability?

A challenge for employers as we move into a post pandemic working environment, is the long-term consequences of ‘long COVID’ – its medical impact and whether it is likely to be classified as a disability under Equality Act 2010.  

Rebecca Thomas, Head of Employment Policy at the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), recently suggested that organisations should presume that an individual’s long COVID symptoms meet the threshold required to be classified as a disability in order to avoid falling foul of equality law.

Managing Long COVID

In the absence of official EHRC or legislative guidance on long COVID, businesses should endeavour to manage this risk by assessing individuals on a case by case basis, against the statutory definition of disability:

  • they have a physical or mental impairment
  • the impairment has an adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities
  • the adverse effect is substantial and long term (lasting 12 months or more)

Employers should seek medical advice as to whether an employee’s condition meets the definition of a disability for equality law purposes. This advice may also be able to provide details on the individual’s prognosis and timescales for recovery, along with any reasonable adjustments which might help their return to work.

If you would like advice on how to deal with long term absences or undertaking an occupational health referral please contact Sue Meehan Boyes in our team on 07384 468 797.

Making Your Workplace More Inclusive for Disabled Staff

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On 12 March, the Business Disability Forum (BDF) published guidance to help employers improve access for disabled workers.

What Does the Guidance Say?

The first part of the guidance, Access for all – Creating inclusive global built environments, sets out what an inclusive built environment may look like and sets out the importance of creating an inclusive environment for both disabled staff and businesses. It also looks at who to involve in this process and some of the challenges that employers may face.

The second part of the report looks at practical issues to consider when designing a more inclusive and accessible built environment.

The built environment refers to the interior of a building and will include things like entrances, stairs and lifts, lighting, seating areas, offices, catering and bathrooms.

The report suggests that thought should be given to how the people using the building really ‘use’ the environment, and that this must include those with disabilities. This will involve thinking about how easy it is for people to use the desks, the entrances, the toilet facilities and how easy it would be to enter and leave the premises, including in an emergency. 

The report encourages employers to consider the whole range of possible disabilities, including not only physical disabilities but also mental health conditions and sensory conditions. Aiming for inclusion in this context focuses on the built environment being able for all people to access and use spaces without specific adjustments being needed on an individual basis.

Why Is This Important?

The report suggests that a focus on the accessibility of built environments of workplaces will help to:-

  • attract and retain staff
  • attract customers and clients
  • reduce costs of high absence rates and high staff turnover
  • enable an organisation to become more energy and time efficient

The report gives some useful pointers for those working in HR to consider when thinking about the built environment of their organisation. 

To discuss these issues further, or for specialist guidance on issues relating to disability in the workplace, please contact Caitlin Anniss in our team on 07909 683 938.

Championing Women in the Workplace – Creating a Future of Equality and Inclusion

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To update Jane Austin’s 19th century message with 21st century context, “It is a truth universally acknowledged that an employer in possession of a successful business must be in want of a male-dominated trust board and female support staff.“

The UK has been trying to address the disparity between men and women in the workplace since the introduction in 1975 of the Sex Discrimination Act. Nearly 50 years later, active steps continue to be taken to level the workplace to a point where gender ceases to be a factor.

We look at three such examples that have been in the spotlight this spring.

How Do Caring Responsibilities Limit Women’s Career Progression?

New research by Business in the Community (BITC) and Ipsos has found that women’s careers are held back due to the challenges of balancing work and caring responsibilities (including caring for children and other dependent relatives).

Around three in five women have avoided applying for a job or promotion because of concerns about how they would balance the job with their caring responsibilities. Meanwhile, only one in five men avoided applying for a job or promotion for this reason.

Latest trends show that more women than men in the UK are accessing Higher Education and gaining degrees. The participation level for young women attending University in the UK reached 55.7% in 2019-2020, compared to only 44.3% for young men. This suggests that more women than men have the requisite qualifications to be holding senior positions in the workplace. However, data suggests that employers are not utilising this resource effectively.

How Can You Demonstrate Your Commitment to Gender Equality at Work?

Ensure employees are aware of and understand family friendly policies such as flexible working and shared parental leave. In our experience as HR Consultants supporting our clients, requests for flexible working arrangements are almost exclusively made by women.

The option of shared parental leave came into force in the UK in 2014, allowing fathers/partners to take up to 12 months off work (instead of the mother taking up to a year’s maternity leave). However, applications for the male partner to share any part of the leave entitlement are still rare.

Promoting family friendly policies to both men and women should help to challenge the stigma around male care-givers, as well as any lingering stigma around working flexibly.

The Government is also looking to improve flexible working rights in the UK, with consultation currently underway – we will report separately on this as changes are implemented.

Setting the Culture

You can further improve equality in your workplace by embracing a shift in culture. Reflect on your workforce and take proactive steps to embed change – for example:

• Consider caring the norm, not the exception.

• Champion equitable access to care for all genders in your policies.

• Foster a culture that supports men to care.

• Promote flexible working directly to men.

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Normalising Career Gaps

Are we seeing a global change in attitude about time off work? Having carried out an international survey, LinkedIn suggests we are.

The stigma of career breaks is gradually being eroded, with employers increasingly accepting gaps and recognising the positive advantages that can be gained from extended breaks.

Staff who have travelled, taken time to pursue personal goals, cared for loved ones or just looked after their own health are recognised as benefitting from a crucial developmental advantage, both personally and professionally, when they return to the workplace.

As testament to this, LinkedIn has introduced a new career feature that allows users to add career breaks to their profiles. The feature includes a choice of 13 different reasons for your career gap, including travel, career transition, bereavement, personal goal pursuit, gap year, voluntary work and care-giving.

Women currently represent the largest demographic of people taking career breaks. Around two thirds of career-break-related posts on LinkedIn are by women.

As time out of the workplace becomes increasingly accepted by employers and society alike, whether taken by men or women, the disproportionate impact that care-giving currently has on women’s career progression and earnings potential should gradually be mitigated.

How Can Employers Support this Trend?

What can you do as an employer to replicate the global trend, to retain your best staff and remain an attractive employer to strong candidates?

  • At interview, explore the gaps and contextualise the benefits gained that will transfer to the workplace.
  • Meaningfully promote the offer of sabbatical leave to your staff. We have seen a sharp increase in companies offering sabbaticals, coupled with more programmes available to help employees transition back into work after a break.
  • Embrace a culture where both employer and employee recognise the mutual advantages that career breaks can deliver.

Increasing Representation

Further efforts to address the disparity between men and women in the workplace are being implemented from the top down, with the FTSE reporting earlier this year that of the UK’s top 100 companies, the composition of men and women sitting at board level is creeping slowly towards a 50:50 split, to represent the UK population’s demographic.

As at 22 February 2022, women held 39.1% of FTSE 100 Board positions, although 15 companies in the top 100 have yet to achieve the target of 33% of women sitting around the board table. That target is due to increase to a minimum of 40% of women on the top 350 FTSE Boards, by 2025.

If you would like further advice on family friendly policies or to discuss steps to address gender disparity in your workplace, please contact Jo Bradbury in our team on 07570 372118.

Stress Awareness Month – Top Tips for Supporting Employee Wellbeing

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April is Stress Awareness Month and this year’s theme is Community. It seems entirely apt that coming out of a pandemic which isolated us from the various communities that support us, that this is the theme for 2022.

The Importance of Community

It’s well known that human connection is fundamental to our happiness and fulfilment. The various communities we are all a part of help to provide that.

The Stress Management Society who are behind the awareness day say they chose the community theme because a lack of support can cause loneliness and isolation, which in turn lowers people’s wellbeing, impacts mental health and can lead to mental illness.

UK workers put in the longest working week in Europe, spending on average 42.3 hours a week at work. With this in mind, what role can employers play in optimising our workplace communities, bearing in mind the changes we are seeing to the way we work as a result of COVID?

Five Ways Employers Can Help Mitigate Employee Stress

  • Think about what changes your workplace has seen as a result of the pandemic. For some it might be minimal, for others there may have been a massive shift from the ‘norm’ with staff working in a different ways. If things do look different, can any gaps be identified in terms of the ways employees might have previously communicated with and supported each other?
  • Review your absence data. Look at any recent trends. Have you seen an increase in stress or mental health absence? Can you identify any themes? Do these give you any insights from a team or wider workplace perspective?
  • What are your staff telling you? If you do a staff survey, consider whether the questions capture the topics of support, both from a manager and colleague perspective. If you don’t, consider using staff forums or other frameworks to see what these tell you.
  • Encourage staff to reach out if they are feeling unhealthy levels of stress or anxiety. Give the message that the workplace is a supportive community that wants its staff to thrive. Issue communications to this effect via email, noticeboards, team briefings or other means.
  • Keep talking. Checking in with people, chatting about non work related topics – it’s some of these more informal catch ups that have been lost in some workplaces as a result of less face to face contact. It’s sometimes in these moments that people feel more able to open up about things or discover a shared connection that makes them feel less alone.

For more information on how you can support employee wellbeing, please contact Sarah Martin in our team on 07799 136091.

New Consultant Brings More Education Sector Expertise to Growing Team

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We are pleased to welcome Jo Bradbury to the Narrow Quay HR team. Jo joins from a multi-academy trust where she was a Senior HR Advisor, with responsibility across five secondary schools and eleven primary schools.

Jo is a qualified employment lawyer and spent the first 10 years of her career at Birmingham firm Shakespeare Martineau before deciding to opt for a change and further her career within a school in-house HR team.

Jo commented:

“This was a wonderful opportunity to see a different perspective of the sector, develop my knowledge, and understand the challenges and pressures first hand.”

As a member of the school leadership team, Jo worked extremely closely with Headteachers to introduce and embed a new culture of raised teaching standards, supported by robust business management, and improved training and professional development for staff. 

Jo’s immersion in the education sector, coupled with her background as a qualified employment lawyer, means that she is ideally placed to provide a great level of support to both our schools clients and those in the other sectors we support.

Jo is a school governor at an outstanding academy, holding the office of Chair of Governors for six years, further signifying her passion and commitment to the education sector.

Commenting on her appointment, Jo added:

“I’m thrilled to be joining Narrow Quay HR and a team whose values resonate with my own. They deliver exactly what I’d look for as a client – that magic blend of friendly and approachable, robust and pragmatic, focussed on the client’s needs, committed to understanding each distinct project’s sensitivities, a willingness to go the extra mile, and a power-house of HR expertise. I’m looking forward to being a part of that!“

Narrow Quay HR Directors Caitlin Anniss and Sarah Martin said:

“We are absolutely delighted to welcome Jo to our growing team. Her experience will no doubt be invaluable to our clients!

Her enthusiasm for working closely with clients in order to deliver the best outcomes to their HR challenges aligns with our focus on really getting to know our clients and providing creative, commercial and pragmatic support.

We are sure that Jo will play a pivotal role in continuing to develop Narrow Quay HR, particularly within the school’s sector.”   

Narrow Quay HR is a commercially-focused, professional HR consultancy with experience in the education sector. We are delighted to work with a range of schools providing them with professional HR support and services, from investigations and panel support, to staff consultations and staff training.

If you would like to find out more, please get in touch.

Why You Should Celebrate Employee Appreciation Day

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National Employee Appreciation Day falls on 4 March 2022. The day provides an opportunity for employers to celebrate their employees and express gratitude for their hard work and contributions.

Actively recognising the contributions of your employees can help improve staff morale and ultimately, staff retention rates. In addition, it is also an effective way of helping employees feel valued by acknowledging that their work is appreciated in the business. 

The day can also be used as a good opportunity to check in on employee well-being. Taking the time to engage with staff in an open and genuine way can help employers find out what they can do to support their staff and if there are any new practices they can adopt to address employee concerns.

In light of the difficulties that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on employees, employers should take any opportunity they can to help improve staff wellbeing. Whether it is an extra hour for lunch, a communal coffee break or time out to pursue a hobby, taking part in National Employee Appreciation Day can be a great way of improving employee / employer relations. 

For more ideas of how you can support your employees, read our previous articles for our top tips for supporting employee health and wellbeing, and how to best support employee mental health.

For support with managing and improving employee appreciation and relations, please contact Helen Couchman in our team on 07799 901 669.

Celebrating International Women’s Day 2022

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International Women’s Day, one of the world’s biggest employee engagement days, takes place on 8 March 2022. It is a global opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge the achievements of women across the world. 

It also provides a chance to raise awareness of female inequality and discuss what can be done to create gender parity. 

#BreakThe Bias

This year, the theme for the day is focused around #breakthebias. The International Women’s Day Website states that, “Whether deliberate or unconscious, bias makes it difficult for women to move ahead. Knowing that bias exists isn’t enough. Action is needed to level the playing field.” Find out more about International Women’s Day. 

Still More to Be Done

Each year, more and more employers take part in the celebrations by marking the contributions of their female employees. However, the day also acts as a timely reminder to employers about gender equality and what still needs to be done to address the gender imbalance in the workplace.

Following on from the data published by the Office for National Statistics in October 2021, while the gender pay gap has been declining slowly, there is still significant disparity with regards to equal pay. In addition, women are still more likely to be subjected to sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace and are also largely underrepresented within executive roles.

It is evident then that more needs to be done to address gender parity and employers should continue to analyse their working practices to ensure that that they are alive to any blind spots and are doing everything they can do create an equal workforce. 

If you think you would like to offer you staff some training around unconscious bias, we would be very happy to speak to you about the training we offer. Please contact Sarah Martin in our team on 07799 136 091.

‘Flexi-Job’ Apprenticeships to Offer More Flexibility for Employers

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Apprenticeships are work-based training programmes which lead to nationally recognised qualifications. In 2017, the Government introduced the Apprenticeship Levy with a view to creating funding for apprenticeships and encouraging employees to invest in apprenticeship programmes.

For some employers they can be a great way to attract and develop new talent. However a key barrier to taking on apprentices in certain sectors is the need for varied and flexible employment patterns.

What Are ‘Portable Flexi-Job Apprenticeships’?

On 6 April 2022 the Government will launch a ‘portable flexi-job apprenticeship’ pilot. This is a new type of flexi-job Apprenticeship which will allow employers taking on an apprentice to only give a three month commitment, instead of the usual 12-month minimum commitment. This will allow these apprentices to complete discrete blocks of employment with training, with different employers and businesses, throughout the course of their apprenticeship.

Who Will Benefit?

Certain sectors will particularly benefit from more short-term or project-based apprenticeships. At the moment, these portable flexi-job apprenticeships may only be carried out in certain sectors, namely within the creative and construction industries.

After the minimum three-month arrangement with one employer, the apprentice can either begin a new arrangement with the same employer or move to continue their apprenticeship with a new employer.

How Long Will the Pilot Last?

The portable flexi-job apprenticeship pilot scheme is intended to last for 18 to 24 months. It will be reviewed after 9, 12 and 18 months. The Government has said it will publish guidance ahead of the pilot start date. If the pilot is successful, it may become more widely available in the future.

If you’re interested in considering the use of apprenticeships generally or want to talk about the ‘portable flexi-job apprenticeship’ pilot and want to find out more, please contact Sue Meehan Boyes in our team on 07384 468 797.

Dean of Oxford College Agrees to Step Down After Three-Year Legal Battle

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Christ Church College in Oxford has just settled a matter that has run for three and a half years to get its Dean, Very Reverend Martyn Percy, to leave his post. This case highlights the risks of not dealing promptly with workplace disputes.

‘Immoral’ and ‘Scandalous’ Behaviour

The matter started following a dispute in 2017 over Percy’s pay and his efforts to reform the college’s governance including reviewing pay scales and safeguarding policies and him asking for job descriptions of senior academics.

 In 2018 as a result of that dispute he was suspended after being accused of behaviour of an ‘immoral, scandalous or disgraceful nature’, which was the wording of the College’s statutes under which a Dean can be removed.

The College instructed Sir Andrew Smith, a retired high court judge, to chair an internal confidential tribunal on the dispute. After an 11 day hearing behind closed doors in June 2019, Smith dismissed all 27 complaints against Percy and ordered his reinstatement. However, his did not resolve matters.

Sexual Harassment Allegations

In October 2020 the Dean was accused of touching someone’s hair after morning prayers and this allegation of sexual harassment added to the list of outstanding matters.  

Following a mediation, and in return for what was described as ‘a substantial sum’, the allegation of sexual harassment has been settled, and an employment tribunal scheduled for next year will not go ahead. Percy has agreed to leave in April.

This process has been expensive and damaging for the College. Estimates vary but some reports have said that the total costs of the matter, including the settlement, the reimbursement of Percy’s legal costs and cancelled bequests and donations to the College may be approximately £20 million in total. 

In December, Lord Patten, the Chancellor of Oxford University, said the “protracted and ongoing dispute” was damaging the University’s reputation. In 2020, the Charity Commission also said the dispute was “damaging to the reputation of [the College], and affecting its ability to govern itself”.

How Can You Avoid Similar Conflict?  

One of the reasons this happened relates to the complex governance structures of Christ Church, which is both a college and a cathedral. The College is run by a governing body but there is also a small but powerful group of academics known as ‘censors’ who wield significant amounts of power. 

A number of our clients, particularly the older independent schools, have complex governance structures and we have found that those can tend to lead to disputes becoming protracted. This can in turn lead to multiple layers of appeals and having many different voices and views often adds to the length and complexity of matters.

This case is a reminder to review how you manage your employees. You ideally want to aim for a simple, streamlined process. I once attended a disciplinary hearing for a client and thanks to their constitution, the panel was 100 people, as you can imagine that was never going to go well. 

Mediation

The other lesson is the use of mediation, which enabled the Christ Church College situation to eventually be resolved. With hindsight, it may have been more cost effective and less damaging to have had a mediation session at a much earlier stage. That echoes one of the regular themes of our investigations, problems that have been left to fester for a lengthy period rarely get better on their own. Bringing in someone to at least facilitate a conversation can help avoid a lot of problems. 

Our experienced HR consultants, including a qualified mediator, can work with you to help to diffuse conflicts in your workplace. Please get in touch with Simon Martin in our team on 07384 813 076 for more information.

IR35 Back in the News Thanks to Adrian Chiles

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TV presenter Adrian Chiles’ recent victory over HMRC in IR35 case has highlighted the complexity of the IR35 rules in the UK. 

Since last April private and voluntary sector businesses with an annual turnover of over £10.2 million, a balance sheet worth more £5.1 million or more, and 50 or more employees, will be responsible for deciding whether IR35 applies, and for deducting tax and NICs from contractors’ fees paid through intermediaries when it does not. 

There are a number of steps that you should be taking in respect of that and it is always worth getting specialist advice on this if the need arises. 

IR35 Considerations for Your Organisation

The first step is to decide where the responsibility for dealing with IR35 lies in your organisation, this is a matter that often straddles HR and payroll/finance and you need to make sure it doesn’t fall between the two stools.

The next is to create a list of who your organisation is contracting with, as IR35 applies to those who provide their services through a limited service company or via a supply agency. 

The next stage, and probably the most challenging, is to decide which of your contactors falls inside IR35. HMRC have provided an online tool which can assist but it may not be determinative, in which case it might be worth taking specialist advice. 

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The Three-Part Test

HMRC applies a similar test as Employment Tribunals to determine employment status, but they often arrive at different conclusions on the same individuals, and it’s worth remembering that a Tribunal decision is not binding on HMRC and vice versa. The test is as follows: 

  • Mutuality of obligations – The individual agrees to provide work, in return for a wage for the skill and work that they provide.
  • Control – The individual has given express or implied willingness to be under the employer’s control.
  • Other factors – The other terms and conditions are consistent with a contract of employment, such as ownership of significant assets, financial risk, or opportunity to profit.

Although a three-part test, traditionally the first two elements have tended to be considered to be the most important. Until recently that is. The sands may have shifted slightly, following cases involving high profile TV presenters who claimed to be working freelance, including for the BBC and ITV. HMRC challenged their employment status and, in the recent case involving the presenter Adrian Chiles, HMRC lost because of the third part of the test. 

What Does This Mean?

Now, it’s clear that it’s worth focussing on the third part of the test, we should think about some of the relevant factors which can include:

  • Is the individual in business on their own account? 
  • Does the individual use their own office, including working from home? 
  • Does the individual provide their own tools? 
  • Does the individual provide services to a significant number of other clients?
  • What percentage of total income does that end user contribute towards the individual’s financial earnings?

Employers, contractors, freelancers and consultants alike should take comfort from the shift in focus with, it would seem, greater significance now being placed on the bigger picture. However, this can be a complex area so we recommend seeking advice.

Please contact Jo Bradbury in the NQHR team on 07570 372118 if you would like to discuss these issues.