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Suicide is a significant public health concern; it is an emotive and complex subject from both a personal and work place perspective. This article considers what support organisations can put in place to help employees at risk of suicide in times of crisis.
The Business Case for Action
This topic has been prevalent in the media in recent months, most recently following the death of a Head Teacher pending publication of their School’s Ofsted Report. Academics in the British Medical Journal have subsequently recommended that every work-related suicide should be investigated by the Health and Safety Executive. On 12 June 2023, Ofsted announced that school inspections are to change in England as a consequence of this case, after the Head Teacher’s Union claimed that the system was fundamentally flawed.
Statistics for work related suicides are not reported on, however suicide rates have returned to pre-pandemic levels, following a decrease in 2020. Additionally as we reported last month, the HSE has seen an increase in work-related ill health cases 2021-2022, with one of the primary causes of ill health being work-related stress. Against a backdrop of financial worries and job insecurity, these figures suggest there is a very real context for employers to be concerned.
How Can Employers Support?
It is important to note that suicide is not inevitable. Most people suffering with suicidal thoughts are ambivalent about dying but may be unable to imagine other potential solutions. With the right support, people can find their way through a suicidal crisis and recover. Suicidal feelings are necessarily related to the presence of a mental illness. These feelings are far more common that one may think and usually occur as a result of a multi-factorial process.
So what can managers do in practical terms?
Stay Connected
It is critical that managers connect regularly with their teams, and use those opportunities to ask each individual how they’re feeling. This is especially important if they can see changes in the person’s behaviour, such as them becoming quieter and more withdrawn, defensive, tearful, forgetful or error prone. Being attuned to possible risk factors for employees – stressful life events, such as a bereavement, a relationship break-up or divorce, getting into debt or being made redundant, can all put people at risk.
Those who feel lonely and isolated are also at heightened risk because they often lack the friendship, family and other support networks needed to open up about their feelings and get reassurance that even though they feel like this now, it won’t always be the case. However, managers need to recognise that many people feeling like this, will hide their feelings.
Create opportunities for the team to reconnect with each other. Many of the opportunities people used to have to connect with each other through work – in the coffee area, at lunch or while passing people in the corridor – have gone. Think about how to re-engineer those social interactions for people to chat and socialise with each other, the way they might have done during a coffee break or at lunchtime in the physical workplace. You could also consider arranging an informal gathering, even if people are no longer based in the office full time.
Engage
As an employer, managers have a duty of care to understand if anyone who seems particularly low in mood or overwhelmed is at risk, as such if a manager is concerned about an individual it’s okay to sensitively ask: “Are you feeling suicidal or have you had feelings of hurting yourself?” Far from putting the idea to do this into someone’s head, asking this question is essential to understanding if the person is at risk, because if they say yes, the manager can then take steps to direct them towards support. The Charity Mind advises that ‘asking direct questions can encourage employees to be honest about how they are feeling. Many people feel relieved and less isolated when they are asked’.
Signposting Support
Company wellbeing policies that tackle all areas of an employee’s health can provide essential information and guidance for both managers and employees. As well as signposting to external resources, they can provide much-needed clarity by outline what internal support is available and what processes are in place for individuals to access that support.
Internal support could include access to counsellors and therapy services delivered through a company’s employee assistance programme (EAP). External support might involve signposting to charity helplines or to the individual’s GP. Managers could offer to contact support services on behalf of the employee, as often it’s easier for someone to accept help than to proactively seek this.
Mind recommend putting a Support Plan in place for at risk employees. This is a document that sets out how someone would like to be supported and what they can do to help themselves in in a particular situation. It is also a useful document to keep important information and useful contacts in the same place. If, as an employer, you don’t feel able to support all ideas from the employee, it enables managers to research other resources or support organisations that may be able to help.
Whilst employees may be accessing external services, managers should still continue to check in with them to see if this is actually helping and if there’s anything else they can do to help. Other practical help might include flexing the individual’s hours to help them deal with the underlying issue that led to their depression or suicidal feelings in the first place. For example, by shifting their hours so they can meet their children a few days a week from school after a relationship breakdown. Time off within working hours could also be offered to enable an employee to meet with a counsellor.
Line Manager Training
Given the pivotal role line managers can play in providing the right support to employees, it is essential that they are properly supported themselves to enable them to fulfil this role successfully. The provision of appropriate, relevant training will be critical to this success as well as having access to internal resources and support for further guidance. It will be equally important for managers to understand that their role is in helping employees access the right support, but not to feel that are personally responsible for advising or counselling that individual.
Awareness
Employers should seek to increase awareness of all areas relating to employee health and wellbeing and can use key focus days, such as World Suicide Prevention Day on 10 September 2023 to let employees know that if they are struggling, there is support in place to help them feel better.
Further Support
www.mind.org has a useful article to support someone who is feeling suicidal. They also share useful contacts for employers, friends or family to use in this situation.
If you would like more help with understanding what support you can provide to your employees in this situation, or for any other HR concerns, please contact Helen Couchman in our team on 07799 901 669.
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We review this age old debate in light of the recent media interest in the Dominic Raab investigation and findings.
As HR professionals, we understand that maintaining a positive workplace culture is essential for the success of any organisation. Unfortunately, sometimes the line between strong management and bullying can become blurred. What one person perceives as a reasonable management technique may be seen as bullying by another, leading to conflict and damaging the overall work environment. Recent media interest in the actions of high-profile figures, such as Dominic Raab, has brought this issue to the forefront of public consciousness.
It’s essential to recognise that bullying is a serious problem which should never be tolerated in the workplace. The negative impact it has on employees, both personally and professionally, can be significant and long-lasting. Workplace bullying can lead to low morale, decreased productivity, increased absenteeism and high staff turnover. It can also result in mental health issues, including anxiety and depression, which can have a devastating impact on individuals and their families.
What Is Effective Line Management?
There is a distinction between bullying and legitimate management techniques. Effective line management involves providing guidance, feedback and direction to employees to help them perform at their best. This can sometimes require tough conversations or performance improvement plans, which may be uncomfortable for the employee in question. It is crucial to ensure that these conversations are conducted with sensitivity and respect. Managers must listen to their employees, take their concerns seriously, and act to resolve any issues in a constructive manner.
Perception Makes this More Tricky
It’s important to recognise that what one person perceives as bullying may not be the intention of the manager in question. Perception is subjective – different people have different sensitivities. What one person perceives as a motivating challenge, another may see as an unreasonable demand. Also, workplace environments differ vastly, with significant differences in everyday language and the way colleagues interact. Staff might whisper in an office, whereas staff might shout across a building site to be heard. Cultures of banter can also add a layer of complexity to the way some employees might perceive bullying from a line manager, which can make this harder still to navigate. This is why it is essential to foster an open and transparent work culture, where employees feel comfortable expressing their concerns and managers can receive feedback on their management techniques.
Boundaries
The recent media interest in the actions of Dominic Raab highlights the importance of clear boundaries in the workplace. Mr Raab was accused of bullying and mistreatment of staff, leading to calls for greater accountability and transparency. It’s highlighted the need for a robust approach to preventing bullying in the workplace. Regardless of whether his behaviour met the legal definition of bullying, it is clear that his conduct caused harm to the individuals involved, and damaged his employer’s reputation. This serves as a reminder that even well-intentioned managers can sometimes cross the line, so it is important for organisations to have clear policies and guidelines in place to prevent and address workplace bullying.
So, How Far Is Too Far When it Comes to Line Management?
There is no single answer to this question – the difference between tough management and bullying can be difficult to define. As we have seen, different workplaces and individuals have different standards and expectations. It depends of the individual employee’s personality and work style, the culture of the organisation and the nature of the job. However, there are some general guidelines that can help mangers avoid crossing the line into bullying territory. Managers should:
- Focus on specific behaviours or performance issues, rather than making personal attacks or criticism. Be clear about expectations and provide constructive feedback on how to improve. Be willing to listen to employees’ concerns and ideas and be open to feedback themselves.
- Be respectful and professional in their interactions with employees. Avoid aggressive or threatening language. Never engage in physical or verbal abuse. If a manager is feeling angry or frustrated, they should step away and calm down before speaking with the employee.
- Be aware of the power dynamic in their relationship with employees. Don’t use their position of authority to intimidate or control others. Always strive to create a collaborative and supportive work environment.
It’s essential to ensure that all employees feel respected and valued. If an employee feels uncomfortable or upset by the behaviour of their line manager, it is essential to address the issue immediately. HR professionals need to be able to recognise the signs of bullying and intervene effectively. This can involve informal discussions, mediation, or formal investigations, depending on the severity of the situation.
If you would like any additional help or training with the most effective approach to line management, please contact Jo Bradbury in our team on 07570 372118.
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This year’s statutory pay increases represent between a 9% and 10.1% increase from 22/23 as an effort to soften the blow of the rising costs of living on employees.
It’s the time of year that the Government updates statutory payments for employees. The updates cover a wide range of statutory rates of pay, from statutory sick pay to the national living wage for those aged over 23 years old.
What Has Changed?
From 1 April 2023 onwards:
- National Living Wage for age 23 or over – £10.42 per hour
- National Minimum Wage for age 21 to 22 – £10.18 per hour
- National Minimum Wage for age 18 to 20 – £7.49 per hour
- National Minimum Wage for under 18s – £5.28 per hour
- National Minimum Wage for Apprentices (in their first year only) – £5.28 per hour
From 2 April 2023 onwards:
- Statutory Maternity Pay and Maternity Allowance – £172.48 per week
- Statutory Shared Parental Pay – £172.48 per week
- Statutory Paternity Pay – £172.48 per week
- Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay – £172.48 per week
From 6 April 2023 onwards:
- Statutory Sick Pay – £109.40 per week
No Change
The minimum weekly earnings threshold has not changed, for eligibility for statutory sick pay or statutory maternity, paternity, adoption or shared parental pay, which remains at £123 per week. Actions for Employers
From an employer perspective, it’s important that you are aware of these increases to ensure that your policies and practice are up to date in order to remain compliant and maintain your employer brand. In particular, we would recommend for you to review how you manage increases for younger workers. For example, if the rate of pay for a 20 year old employee in your organisation is currently £8 per hour, this is in alignment with minimum wage for their age. However, once they reach their 21st birthday they will be entitled to be paid a minimum of £10.18 per hour. You will need to ensure that you have processes in place to monitor age increases and review pay accordingly to avoid inadvertently breaching the Regulations.
Additionally, we would suggest that you review the pay of all those absent due to sickness or parental leave to ensure their pay is increased in line with the April 2023 updates.
For a discussion on how NQHR can support you to audit your current pay policies and practices in line with the statutory increases contact Kathryn Chidzey-Jones, HR Consultant in our team on 07881 092524.
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This week we are celebrating Mental Health Awareness Week. With sickness rates at a record high and cases of mental health absence on the rise, what does it mean for employers?
What is Mental Health Awareness Week?
It’s an annual event hosted by the Mental Health Foundation and it’s a time where the whole of the UK comes together to highlight the importance of achieving good mental health for all. Each year, there is a key theme to drive focus on a particular mental health topic and this year’s topic is anxiety.
Why Do Employers Need to Worry?
First of all, it’s the law! Employers have a ‘duty of care’ which means they must do all they reasonably can to support their employees’ health, safety and wellbeing. As such employers must treat mental and physical health as equally important.
Aside from the legal obligations, the statistics on absence are fairly sobering. Data from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that there were more than 1.8 million work-related ill health cases – new or longstanding – in 2021-22, with one of the primary causes of ill health being work-related stress. The data suggested that these accounted for more than 30 million working days lost over the past year.
Grim predictions indeed. And economists are warning it could get worse. With the financial worries people are now experiencing, this will only be adding to the levels of depression and anxiety.
So it’s a problem employers can’t afford to ignore.
What Can Employers Practically Do?
Absence policies
It may not seem particularly innovative, but robust and clear absence management policies are an essential part of an employer’s toolkit to providing the right support for employees in the workplace. Clear policies help line managers understand how and when to intervene and they provide clarity for employees on procedural steps, reassuring them on what happens and when, as well as signposting what support is available.
Return-to-work interviews (RTW)
Taking prompt action to talk to employees about their absence is important for the management of any absence, but can be really insightful in regards to providing the right support with mental health concerns. The RTW interview is dedicated time to allow an employee to share any health concerns or anxieties in a safe space. Using this time to listen and ask appropriate questions can be powerful, especially if employees are struggling to articulate what’s going on or just feel embarrassed asking for help. Managers can use the time to discuss with the employee what support might help – that may be internal support such as temporary flexible working arrangements to attend external appointments, additional training or agreed reassignment of tasks if the individual is feeling overwhelmed by their workload; or it might be signposting to any external support such as a company employee assistance programme or external agencies such as Time to Change and Mind. Line managers should check in with employees regularly to assess the effectiveness of interventions and identify any further adaptations or support needed.
Regular one-to-ones
Dealing with the issue when it presents as absence is great but ideally you want to prevent it getting to that stage if possible. As with the RTW, regular one-to-ones provide valuable time for line managers and employees to focus on that individual. With remote and hybrid working very much in vogue, it’s never been more important to check in with your team regularly. Whether you do that in person or remotely, you can still ask the relevant questions and look for visual cues on how that person’s doing – how are they coping with their work? Do they have any issues or concerns? Is there anything going on for them outside of work? Not only will managers have a detailed understanding of how their staff are doing, but by committing to regular one-to-ones, line managers can also show their employees that they are a truly valued part of the organisation.
Awareness campaigns
Events such as Mental Health Awareness week are a great way to shine a spotlight on the subject of mental health but you don’t have to wait for official events. You can start the conversation with your staff by having your own focus week on mental health, signposting policies and support available, running discussion events or inviting external speakers in to talk to staff. Importantly keep the conversation going by regular communications with staff, ensuring they know where to access wellbeing and support services that could help them.
Training
Encourage positive mental health by offering mental health training to all your staff. Enable line managers to help their teams, and colleagues to provide meaningful support to each other by increasing their understanding of the subject. You could also train some staff to become mental health first aiders providing another source of guidance for staff when they need it.
Create space
If your work environment allows for it, consider providing a room or an area that encourages headspace or downtime. If that’s not possible or if staff are working remotely, encourage them to take regular breaks away from their screens. Research has shown that when work becomes pressurised, taking breaks can increase productivity and focus when staff return.
If you would like more help with creating the most optimum work environment in terms of promoting positive mental health and wellbeing, please contact Sue Meehan Boyes in our team on 07384 468797.
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Having celebrated International Women’s Day (IWD) on 8 March, we want to consider how employers maintain momentum and have a continuous focus on equity, diversity and inclusion all year round.
Not Just a One-Off Event
Whilst IWD has become the significant focus for celebration, March has, for many years, been recognised as ‘Women’s History Month’ with individuals and organisations using this time to pay particular attention to women’s achievements and to continue raising awareness of work still to be done.
This year, the IWD campaign theme was #EmbraceEquity, aimed at getting the world talking about why equal opportunities aren’t enough – that although used interchangeably, equality and equity are not the same.
One definition the campaign uses really helps to provide that distinction:
- Equality is giving everyone a shoe.
- Equity is giving everyone a shoe that fits.
What Actions Can You Take?
The following are ideas that can be part of your celebrations for IWD itself, can be organised throughout March and beyond:
- Celebrate the accomplishments of women in your workplace to inspire further women to achieve their full potential.
- Showcase women throughout history to remind staff of the importance of their contribution and to encourage internal recognition of your own staff’s achievements.
- Fundraise for a female-focused charity or organisation.
- Create an equity, diversity and inclusion forum of staff and managers to provide regular discussion on key EDI topics and create momentum for actionable change.
International Women’s Day provides a key moment to celebrate women’s achievements in the workplace and showcase employer initiatives and support.
Using this month as the impetus, you can review your recruitment practices, promotion and development opportunities, to consider how equitable they really are. View them through the lens of the IWD example definition above.
Consider how your culture is reflective of this ambition – is equity role-modelled by senior leaders and line managers? Are your values in line with this?
Celebrating IWD is a great way for you to demonstrate the value all of your staff play in your organisation. Taking it beyond that day (and month) to promote further action – progressive policies, practices, benefits, and support mechanisms so women’s careers can thrive – will drive higher engagement and can lead to increased production and retention in your workplace – something every employer can get behind.
For specialist HR support with any issues regarding equity in the workplace, please contact Sue Meehan Boyes in our team on 07384 468797.
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A Contract of Employment ensures both the employer and employee understand the expectations of the employment relationship. The terms are clear, set out in black and white. But what happens if an employer wants to change their employees’ contractual terms – can it be done?
One option open to employers is ‘termination and re-engagement’, more colloquially known as ‘fire and re-hire’. This is where an employer terminates the employees contract and offers them employment on new terms, which contain the new term.
Is Fire and Re-Hire a Fair Option?
The moral question could be debated for a long time! Legally, this option is potentially fair provided you (the employer) have done three things:
- Firstly, you must show a fair reason/rationale for the change.
- Secondly, you must show a fair procedure has been followed – this would include an attempt to first seek agreement via consultation, offering the right of appeal, and warning staff that, as a last resort, ‘fire and re-hire’ might happen.
- Thirdly, you mitigated losses by offering re-engagement on the new terms. Essentially, it can be a possible option but should be used very much as a last resort, where there is a deadlock and all other options have been exhausted.
Why Is Fire and Re-Hire Viewed So Negatively?
Cases hit the press from time to time which highlight the less scrupulous ways that employers can misuse the fire and re-hire option in an excessively severe way, or which tips the balance significantly in favour of employers.
P&O Ferries faced much criticism in March 2022 due to a system which allowed them to evade UK employment law by sacking 786 employees without carrying out the legally required collective consultation or negotiation, and replacing them with a cheaper, non-unionised workforce.
This, and similar practices by employers, have attracted much criticism, prompting the Government to draft a nine point plan (including primary legislation), to tackle the issue. They published a draft Fire and Rehire Code of Conduct on 24 January 2023 which, subject to consultation, tells employers not to use threats of dismissal to pressure employees into accepting new terms.
How Can This Be Managed Better?
It is possible to lawfully fire and re-hire, but it must be thought of as a last resort.
The draft Code proposes responsibilities for employers, focusing on the importance of meaningful consultation. The guidance advises that:
- where possible, changes (especially if numerous) should be introduced over time
- employers should reassure employees that they will keep changes under review
- employers should re-examine their strategy if agreement cannot be reached
Adhering to the guidance should help to reduce scope for disagreements which, in turn, should reduce industrial action, reputational damage, management time and associated legal costs, whilst at the same time improving trust and confidence, recruitment and retention, and an employer’s reputation.
The Code won’t be legally binding, but Employment Tribunals will reflect on any unreasonable failure to comply, and should it come into being, it will include a provision allowing employment tribunals to adjust compensation awards upwards by up to 25% in an employer adopts a fire and re-hire approach without prior consultation.
The consultation period on the new draft Code remains open until 18 April 2023.
Are You Considering Making Changes?
Employers will need to make contractual changes from time to time for various strategic, economic or other reasons.
