NEW DAWN RESOURCES LTD
Issue 4 | Jul 2017
2017
NEW DAWN RESOURCES LTD
HUMAN RESOURCES BY REAL HUMANS
ISSUE 4 – SUMMER 2017 EDITION
Featured in this newsletter
Half Year Update
Pg 2 – Latest News
by Vanessa Scrimshaw Chartered Fellow CIPD
Pg 3 – Latest National Wage Rates
Keeping you up to date and one step ahead during busy and ever-changing times!
Pg 5 – Presenteeism Pg 7 – Mental Health in the Workplace Pg 9 – Attracting New Talent
Welcome to this bumper Summer edition of our New Dawn Resources Newsletter. Grab a cup of coffee or tea, and take a few minutes to look through this collection of news and advice we’ve prepared for small to medium businesses. This issue, we’ve focused on some of the fairly big issues arising around recruitment and retaining staff, and looked at issues around employer health, happiness and productivity in the workplace. We hope you’ll find some of our facts and thoughts of use as you grow and manage your organisations and workforce. As ever, if you have any questions, or feedback on our newsletter, or need any further advice on any topics we look at. Don’t hesitate to get in touch. Hope you’re all having a lovely Summer.
Pg 13 – Latest New Dawn Training Courses Pg 15 – General Data Protection Regulations
Health & Safety Pg 16 – Legislation Updates Pg 18 – Record Keeping and Data Protection
Vanessa Scrimshaw Chartered Fellow CIPD
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Issue 4 | Jul 2017
Latest news in 2017 Trade Union Act – March 2017 The Act reforms the rules on trade union ballots for taking industrial action. The main provisions of the Act are:
50% turnout threshold for there to be a valid ballot on industrial action. Threshold of 40% support from all members in order to take industrial action in key sectors. Four month time limit for which the ballot will remain valid to authorise industrial action
Gender Pay Gap Reporting – April 2017
From April 2017 employers will have up to 12 months to publish this information. Public sector regulations are subject to the approval of Parliament but are expected to follow the same timescale. We will update our guidance following this final approval. There are two sets of regulations. The first is mainly for the private and voluntary sectors (taking effect from 5 April 2017) and the second is mainly for the public sector (taking effect from 31 March 2017).
The Immigration Skills Charge Regulations – April 2017 From April 2017 employers who sponsor skilled workers under tier 2 of the points based system will have to pay £1,000 per certificate. Employers should confirm that they have checked that all their current employees have the right to work in the UK, and that they can prove that those checks have taken place. A paper trail will be essential.
To address the gender pay gap, the Government is introducing a completely new requirement for all large organisations (employers with 250 or more employees) to publish their gender pay gap. Employers will need to publish key wage information, and these details will need to include the difference in hourly earnings as well as the gap in bonus pay.
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Coming Up Soon… General Data Protection Regulations May 2018 Employers will be required to carry out audits of employee personal data that they collect and process to ensure it meets the General Data Protection Regulations.
Gig working Gig working has been much in the news of late and is likely to be highly topical during the rest of 2017 and into 2018. Whilst this form of working offers flexibility for those who want it, our own research has found that many people on zero hours contracts and undertaking agency work are confused about their employment status and rights. This uncertainty can lead to fears around job security and there's been a series of legal challenges against employers recently by workers.
NEW DAWN RESOURCES LTD
Issue 4 | Jul 2017
National minimum wage From 1 April 2017 the rates for the national minimum wage will rise as follows (figures in brackets show the current rate):
Workers aged 25 & over: £7.50 (£7.20) Workers aged 21 to 24: £7.05 (£6.95) Workers aged 18 to 20: £5.60 (£5.55) Young Workers aged under 19 but above compulsory school age who are not apprentices: £4.05 (£4.00) Apprenticeship rate: £3.50 (£3.40)
National living wage The national living wage for workers aged 25 and over came into force last year, on 1 April. At the time, the government announced that its target was to increase the national living wage to £9 an hour by 2020. The national minimum wage was previously uprated every year in October but, from 1 April 2017, all national minimum wage rates including the national living wage will be uprated at the same time. The national living wage should not be confused with the 'Living Wage' or 'London Living Wage' which is an entirely voluntary hourly rate of pay promoted by the Living Wage Foundation. It is set independently and updated annually to reflect the basic cost of living in the UK.
LOOKING AHEAD The Office for Budgetary Responsibility (OBR) has estimated that by 2020, the level of the National Living Wage, at 60% of median hourly earnings will stand at £9.00 an hour (Source: Office for Budgetary Responsibility, Economic and Fiscal Outlook, March 2016). That forecast has been revised down since November 2015 from £9.30 to £9.00 an hour in 2020, which reflects the slower growth in hourly earnings, and the downward revision to the OBR earnings growth forecast. If this forecast turns out to be correct and the Low Pay Commission follows a straight path to the 2020 target, the OBR predicts that the National Minimum Wage for workers aged 25 or over will unfold as follows: 2018
2019
2020
National Living Wage (over 25 yrs)
£8.05 (^15p)
£8.50 (^45p)
£9.00 (^5p)
National Minimum Wage (21 to 24 yrs)
£7.35 (^30p)
£7.65 (^30p)
£7.90 (^25p)
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NEW DAWN RESOURCES LTD
Issue 3 | Jan 2017
Free Breakfast Workshops (Extended dates due to popular demand) covering The Basics of HR and Disciplinary & Grievance A personal invitation for local SME’s in the Holmfirth area. New Dawn Resources Ltd are a Holmfirth based HR Consultancy Company who understand the importance of keeping you, your business and your team ahead of the game in Employment Issues. We are currently running a series of Free Breakfast Workshops covering the following topics; The Basics of HR and Disciplinary & Grievance Our informative workshops are specifically designed to help you understand your role and responsibilities as a Business owner, Manager, Supervisor or Team Leader and how to protect the employee, you and the Company.
Breakfast Workshop session dates and schedule Thursday 28th Sept 2017 7.45am – Coffee/pastries
8.00am – 9.30am - Basics of HR
Wednesday 4th Oct 2017 7.45am – Coffee/pastries
8.00am – 9.30am – Disciplinary/Grievance
Wednesday 18th Oct 2017 7.45am – Coffee/pastries 8.00am – 9.30am - Basics of HR Thursday 26th Oct 2017
7.45am – Coffee/pastries 8.00am – 9.30am – Disciplinary/Grievance
Location New Dawn Resources, Second Floor Bridge Mills, Huddersfield Road, Holmfirth, HD9 3TW
How to Book your free place Contact Jo on 01484 680098, or email joanne@newdawnresources.co.uk
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Doing away with Presenteeism, rather than productivity and creativity With the longest working week in Europe, experts say Britain's health and productivity will decline unless something is done about it. We're all familiar with the problem of absenteeism in the workplace and in HR we spend a great deal of time talking to employers about absent employees. However, we rarely get the chance to talk about the increasing expectation of employees to turn in for work when they are ill, and the impact of a ‘presenteeisum culture’ which may also be affecting productivity. It might seem harsh, but personally, when I turn up for a meeting and others around the table are coughing and sneezing, I don’t think ‘well done for making it in’, I think ‘how selfish. If I had known beforehand that I would be spending an hour inhaling germs, I would have stayed home’. A recent Work Foundation report has found that presenteeism, or sickness presence, could account for as much if not more of a loss in productivity than sickness absence. The report found that personal money troubles, work-related stress and perceived pressure from managers were all contributing factors. As well as affecting the productivity of those staff who report for work when unwell, sickness presence can adversely affect general staff morale and contribute to longer recovery periods from illness. Presenteeism however not only relates to coming into work when you are ill, it also refers to a culture of employees working long hours within the organisation where if you are not ‘seen’ to be at work, you are not working. We have heard for years that the UK has a ‘long hours culture’ when compared to other EU countries, and the number of people working more than 48 hours a week has increased by 15 per cent in five years, according to analysis from the TUC. Yorkshire and the Humber recorded the greatest rise in collective hours worked, with an extra 30 per cent (279,000) of employees now reportedly working beyond 48 hours per week. Four in five employees (80%) claim those who spend more hours in the office are thought by bosses to be working harder, while two thirds (66%) say being seen to work late increases an employee’s chance of promotion. More than two thirds (67%) of those who sometimes work from home admit to sending emails early in the morning to stop colleagues thinking they’re having a lie-in. Presenteesim is felt more by the young; with more than four in five (85%) of 18-24 year olds stating it exists in their workplace, compared to two thirds (66%) of those over 54. Those at the top are also more likely to feel the brunt of this culture, with senior managers three times more likely to have received a negative comment about working out of the office (18% compared to 5% of employees at supervisory level). Unfortunately this presenteeism is a killer for performance, leading to an overworked and frazzled workforce. People need time off to recharge.
If you work consistently long hours, over 45 a week every week, it will damage your health, physically and psychologically. In the UK we have the second-longest working hours in the developed world, just behind the States. Why are UK employers so far behind when it comes to "working smarter", not longer, and introducing flexibility and agility into the workplace?
Studies from the Harvard Business Review, show that taking the time to recharge energy promotes better engagement, better performance and more creativity. Exactly what we need in this economy. Companies need to start focusing on results and managing the energy of the workforce. Businesses that drive a culture of presenteeism force people into work even when a day working from home would be healthier and more productive. Additionally, less than half of us in the UK take all of our holidays. It’s no wonder stress-related illnesses cost UK businesses £28billion a year, and this phenomenon is more prevalent in white collar workers. One area which could help to address this issue is a focus by business leaders on the concept of ‘working smarter, not longer’. When people have mentioned or discussed flexible working over the last 10 to 15 years we have instinctively focused on flexible hours, hot desking or home working. In most recent times and in the future we expect to move away from the term ‘flexible working’ and start to use the term ‘agile working practices’.
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One of the more straightforward and memorable descriptions of ‘agile work’ is “Martini” working (for those old enough to remember the ad slogan): “anytime, anyplace, anywhere”. Most definitions of flexible working follow this tagline. But this is 2 dimensional, and “new ways of working” these days must be multi-dimensional – not just limited to doing the same work in the same way at a different time and place. Indeed effective working is not so much about where or even when people work, it is more about how well they do it. This can be most effective where employers pay staff a fixed annual salary. Paying staff a fixed monthly salary and removing the expectations of presenteeisum would rely on a good relationship between both parties, trust and empowerment. If you agree the annual rate and the scope of the employee’s job role, then so long as the employee delivers the desired outcome and the employer pays them the agreed monthly rate, this is surely the main factor. Agile working is not new, but it is a “new way of working”. It can certainly be included under the umbrella term “smart working”, which is about utilising the benefits gained from changing work practices, deploying new technologies and creating new working environments. Behind the dissemination of new ways of working is progressive improvement in mobile, wireless and fixed line technology and related investments in fibre, bandwidth, server capacity, device capability, cloud computing and unified communication. In fact, the network or digital world is increasingly seen as the place of work with the consequent rise of Twentieth century methods are no longer people working in the “clouds” or “virtual world”.
sustainable in 21st Century organisations – as such agile working is no longer a fringe idea but a mainstream concept that no organisation can afford to ignore. Agile working creates more responsive, efficient and effective organisations based on more balanced, motivated, innovative and productive teams and individuals – essential ingredients in surviving and thriving in the current economically challenged globalised world.
You may ask where terms like “home working” and “mobile working” feature. These are essentially classed as “Workstyles” which relate to the place or location description in the concepts of agile and flexible working. “Hot desking” and “Touchdown” are other well used terms which are specific “work settings” in office workplaces supporting shared and mobile workstyles. One of the reasons agile working is difficult to pin down is that it’s not prescriptive – there is no one size fits all – it has common themes but is essentially individual and involves choice in the ‘how’, ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘when’ of working. Basically, agile working embraces both the physical and digital “workplace” in empowering and supporting people to work where, when and how they choose to maximise their productivity, innovation and ultimately to deliver best value to the employer. Agile working is about bringing people, processes, connectivity and technology, time and place together to find the most appropriate and effective way of working to carry out a particular task. It is working within guidelines (of the task) but without boundaries (of how you achieve it).
Unilever, a major proponent of agile working, began the agile journey 5 years ago. Their approach is all about offering every employee choice and empowerment around where and when they work, as long as their job can be done – a culture that has meant removing the artificial measures of success, such as time and attendance, and focusing on results and performance. Unilever defines agile working as “an approach to getting work done with maximum flexibility and minimum constraints. It goes beyond just flexible working or telecommuting and focuses on eliminating the barriers to getting work done efficiently.”
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Issue 3 | Jan 2017
Mental Health in the Workplace Mental health has been back in the spot light recently due in part to growing fears over NHS resources and also due to public figures such as Prince Harry going public with their own struggle. The recent cases show that no one is immune to mental health issues regardless of their perceived career success, wealth or privilege. Mental health problems are estimated to cost employers in the UK ÂŁ30 billion a year through lost production, recruitment and absence - so why aren't we doing more about it? A stigma still surrounds people talking about their mental health especially at work and employers are still struggling to know how to respond to situations in the workplace. Spotting the early warning signs can help both the employee and the employer.
What to look out for: Not getting things done
Erratic behaviour
Sick and run down Complaints of lack of support
Inability to concentrate
Withdrawn from colleagues
Difficulty with memory
Emotional responses
Indecisive
Tired all the time
Unplanned absences Gastro-intestinal disorders
Weight loss or gain
Reduced participation in work activities Rashes
Dishevelled appearance
Headaches
Complaints of not coping
Loss of confidence
Increased errors and/or accidents
Increased consumption or caffeine, alcohol, cigarettes and/or sedatives
Difficulty sleeping Dealing with a distressed employees The skills required for managing an employee with a mental health problem are the skills of good people management. While some knowledge about mental health problems and their signs and symptoms is valuable, you definitely don't need to be an expert. As with many things, prevention and early intervention can help avoid situations in which employees become distressed and possibly go off sick. As part of the return-to-work process, or your day to day people management function employers and line managers should:
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have regular work planning sessions, appraisals or informal chats to find out about any problems the employee may be having. This is especially important if you or colleagues have started to notice any of the points listed above. use open questions to provide employees with opportunities to express concerns in their own way e.g. "How are thing going?", "Is there anything we can do to help?" address any specific issues of concern as soon as possible to avoid things getting worse, particularly if work performance is a problem keep discussions focused on work-related issues, e.g. ask "How is your concentration?" rather than "How is your depression?" be realistic about what you can do to help be clear about confidentiality and who will be told what, gossiping can be hugely damaging to your employee – line manager relationship. agree about how problems will be monitored ensure that any hurtful gossip or bullying by colleagues is dealt with promptly and effectively
Acas has teamed up with the NHS's Mindful Employer initiative, a leading authority on managing mental health at work, to develop a training package and the pdf Advisory booklet - Promoting positive mental health at work designed to help employers. To see more you can visit the Mindful Employer website at: www.mindfulemployer.net Or download the acas code at: http://www.acas.org.uk/media/pdf/l/a/Promoting_positive_mental_health_at_work(SEPT2014).pdf
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Issue 3 | Jan 2017
Having difficulty attracting new talent? You are not alone Talent has never been so critical to success – or so difficult to attract, retain and keep productive. Recruiting difficulty is reaching levels not seen in years and among smaller organisations filling full-time manager and skilled positions is listed as the most challenging task. Why? Companies have cited:
a smaller number of applicants, candidates without work experience, competition from other employers, candidates’ lack of technical skills
What is going on in the market place? The employment rate in the UK (the proportion of people aged from 16 to 64 who were in work) was 74.8% in May 2017, the highest since comparable records began in 1971. Estimates from the Labour Force Survey show that, between October to December 2016 and January to March 2017, the number of people in work increased, the number of unemployed people fell, and the number of people aged from 16 to 64 not working and not seeking or available to work (economically inactive) also fell. There were 31.95 million people in work, 122,000 more than for October to December 2016 and 381,000 more than for a year earlier. In a free market economy the same principles apply to attracting and recruiting staff as they do with others goods and services, it is simply a case of supply and demand. When skilled and talented candidates become scarce we have to pay more for them and fight harder to get selected by them, not the other way round. In situations of high unemployment and skill shortages the tables turn and it is then the candidate who is in the stronger position, not the employer or organisation as it has tended to be for many years.
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Whilst we all agree that low unemployment is a good thing what is causing this? In summary, a relatively stable and growing economy, plus the Brexit result last summer. Net migration to the UK in 2016 fell by 25% to 248,000 and immigration experts warn of a Brexit brain drain as political rhetoric continues to make foreign nationals feel less secure in the UK. The Office for National Statistics said the reduction in net migration was caused by an increase of 40,000 people, mostly EU citizens, leaving the country. In the last reported 12 months:
250,000 EU citizens arrived in the UK, compared to 117,000 leaving the UK 264,000 people arrived in the UK from the rest of the world, while 88,000 people left for none EU countries. 74,000 British citizens returned to the UK, while 134,000 left the country. Combined, this meant 588,000 came to the UK, but 339,000 left.
Immigration from the A8 states, the eight countries that joined the EU in 2004, is at its lowest-ever levels. The number of citizens coming from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia fell 34% to 48,000, while those leaving the UK grew 37% to 43,000 in 2016 – an estimated net migration of just 5,000. Stephen Clarke, economic analyst at the Resolution Foundation, said: “The sharp fall in migration since the referendum shows that British businesses need to start preparing now for a big shift in the labour market, even before we leave the EU. We already have evidence of some initial emigration with the latest CIPD reports showing that sectors like retail, manufacturing, health and food services, are suffering skills and labour shortages, with more than a quarter of employers predicting that their EU workers could leave their jobs and the UK this year. The CIPD research shows that a Brexit brain drain is particularly likely in the IT, finance and engineering sectors, but this could be swiftly averted if the new elected government guarantees their approach for EU nationals and their right to work during and after the Brexit process, while providing a workable solution for employers who rely heavily on skills from outside the UK. Compounding the problem of finding skilled candidates in the first place is the fact that one in four millennial new starters are leaving in their first year, costing the equivalent of a year’s salary to replace them and new employees are often just 50% productive after six months. Many employers and HR Professionals are concerned that after Brexit we are likely to see a continuation of these trends, and potentially the start of a Brexit ‘brain drain’ from the UK.
What can employers do and how are businesses tackling the problem? We are seeing year on year growth in the number of employers returning to the graduate talent pool, more than four-fifths of employers were recruiting graduates in 2016/2017, with engineering specialists the most sought after. We are also seeing graduates being offered higher starting salaries in recent years. The median graduate starting salary was £23,000 for 2016/2017. The median increase in graduate starting salary levels from a year earlier 2015/2016 (pre Brexit) was nil. The most commonly used method for finding graduate candidates in the last two years was the organisation’s own corporate website, while manual sifting against predetermined criteria was the most common selection method. Whilst the statistics show increased interest in the graduate market half of employers still complain about the poor quality of graduate applicants.
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Getting creative and standing out from other employers: Looking at the reasons behind the recruitment market and acknowledging that this situation is probably going to be with us for several years, it is worth employers investing some time and thought into what might encourage skilled and talented candidates to choose them, rather than a competitor down the road. The easy route is to offer more money, but this could cause you problems with existing employees and even equal pay claims. Money alone is not the answer, you must of course ensure that you are offering at least a competitive industry and regional package. You could also look at enhancing the wider package to include more annual leave days, higher company pension contributions, family friend flexible arrangements, benefits which might make you a preferred employer in your area. While posting ads online has become the normal mode of recruitment and remains effective in hiring entry-level employees, the most skilled professionals aren’t likely scouring Monster.com or CareerBuilder for employment opportunities. If you want to avoid sifting through stacks of poorly written C.Vs, a simple ad posting might not do it. Many companies are developing more creative ways to uncover, target and attract talented candidates, especially when looking to fill upper-level management positions and when recruiting for a position that requires a niche skill.
Gamification Larger tech savvy companies are increasingly using video games to recruit employees. Gamification as it is being called uses gaming principles and design in non-gaming situations, identifies potential employees by posing virtual challenges that require the skills necessary for a given job. This strategy is particularly successful when looking to engage I.T or tech applicants but also for getting the attention of millennials. It may also increases brand awareness, an engaging and fun game can associate your brand with positive values and company culture, and it can introduce your company to applicants who hadn’t previously considered a job in your industry. Here are a few more examples of companies with innovative recruiting strategies:
Secret shoppers Companies often send recruiters to job fairs, colleges and networking events, but First Merit Bank finds talent in more innovative locations. Recruiters often patrol retail stores and seek out those with the best customer service skills. They frequently purchase merchandise, testing whether the salespeople will effectively up-sell them. But the assessment doesn’t stop there. The talent agents return the merchandise to test how the salesperson handles a return. Because so many retail establishments often have poor hours and pay minimum wage, it can be seen as an easy poaching ground. 11
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Gyro’s lunchtime takeover Gyro International, a London-based ad agency, started 2010 with the goal of growing its creative department by 50%. To jumpstart recruitment, the innovators at Gyro identified the strongest competitors in the area and did research to determine the most frequented lunch spots for each competitor’s employees. The creative company contacted restaurant owners and convinced them to replace 100,000 regular sandwich bags with Gyro bags; each replacement bag included messages like “Should I stay? Should I go?” and “Is your career going somewhere?” Soon, strong candidates employed by competitors were eating straight out of the Gyro recruitment message. The 100,000 sandwich bags were distributed over one month, and within a few weeks, Gyro saw a 20% increase in web traffic and made three hires, including a senior creative manager. While poaching directly from competitors may be frowned upon, it is useful to brainstorm creative ideas to help you stand out. Ask yourself what makes your company unique and why these already employed candidates should come to you. Once you have the answer, determine a creative medium in which to spread the message so it effectively reaches the candidates without stepping on too many toes.
Quixey’s one-minute challenge When Quixey, a start-up in Silicon Valley, needed help identifying talented engineers, executives turned to puzzles to test the abilities of hopefuls trying to make their way into the Silicon Valley world. Competing with the likes of Google and Facebook, Quixey knew they had to be innovative and showcase a fun company brand. For one day each month, talented engineers can win $100 by correctly solving a 60-second computer programming problem. To qualify to participate, interested engineers must answer a series of three practice problems. On the big day, winners walk away with cash and Quixey gain exclusive access to talented candidates. CTO and co-founder Liron Shapira says some of the best hires have come through the Challenge. “We have one employee named Marshall who we hired through the Challenge,” Shapira notes. “He was in Grand Rapids, MI. He’s one of our best engineers but he has no college degree, and he wasn’t in Silicon Valley. The only way you can find and hire someone like Marshall is to get creative.”
Keep connected and up to date with New Dawn Resources On Twitter
@newdawnresource
and on LinkedIn
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Issue 4 | Jul 2017
Latest New Dawn Training Courses Supervisor and Team Leader 3 Day Training Programme At New Dawn Resources, we understand the importance of staff training and development, and the difference having a skilled and engaged workforce can make to a business. Unlike many HR training companies, our trainers are all CIPD qualified HR practitioners, which ensures they have the credibility essential for engaging with managers and supervisors. Management skills are complex and often need to be taught. For supervisors and team leaders to excel, they need to understand exactly what's required of them and given the opportunity to learn practical techniques to help them achieve it.
Is this course right for you?
Anyone involved in supervising or leading a team
Anyone who has been asked to take on a new supervisory role
Anyone with little experience of supervising or leading a team
Anyone with experience in the role who want to or need to refresh their skills
Aims This lively and interactive course is specifically designed to help you understand the role and responsibilities of a supervisor or team leader whilst helping develop and hone your skills. Delegates will learn to………
Identify the current role of the supervisor/ team leader and how this fits with the needs of the whole business
Identify the barriers to improving how supervisors/ team leaders manage the expectations and limitations placed upon them
Understand the impact a team leader’s style has on the attitude of others
Understand the benefits and pitfalls of different communication styles
Realise the importance of time management and prioritisation
Understand assertive behaviour
Understand how to avoid and manage conflict
Appreciate the importance of performance management
Have a basic understanding of the disciplinary & grievance procedures
Understand the importance of reasonableness
Understand the importance of following a fair process
Identify your own values and the impact on your role, actions, supervison of others
Understand the standards that are expected of you
Understand discrimination
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Course Style We run this course over three days over a three month period. We do this as we recognise how busy you are and this way allows you to put what you have learnt into practice and feedback to the group. The sessions are interactive with plenty of opportunity to discuss your experiences and challenges, both past and present with others.
Course Modules Day 1: The role of an effective Team Leader Thursday 7th September 2017
Communication
Communication styles & the need for assertiveness
Time Management & Prioritisation
Day 2: Managing a Team Thursday 5th October 2017
Understanding Assertive Behaviour
Forms of Communication
Transactional Analysis
Avoiding & Managing Conflict
Day 3: Protecting the employee, you and the Company Thursday 2nd November 2017
Capability vs Conduct
The Disciplinary & Grievance Procedure
Diversity & Acceptable Behaviour in the Workplace
Understanding Discrimination
Course Schedule 9.15am 9.30am – 12.45pm 12.45pm – 1.15pm 1.15pm – 4.30pm
What we provide
Lunch & refreshments
Full copy of slides
Certificate of completion
Coffee Session 1 with a 15 minute coffee break Lunch Session 2 with a 15 minute coffee break
Location Our training room is located at our offices in the picturesque village of Holmfirth, West Yorkshire:New Dawn Resources, Second Floor Bridge Mills, Huddersfield Road, Holmfirth, HD9 3TW
Cost £279.00 + VAT per person (includes all 3 days) 5% discount applied to booking deposits received of two delegates or more.
How to Book Contact Jo for a booking form on 01484 680098, or email joanne@newdawnresources.co.uk An invoice will be sent upon receipt of booking form. A booking isn’t confirmed until full payment is received which is due 7 days before the first training day. 14
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General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the new European legal framework for the Protection of personal data. The regulation officially comes into effect on 25th May 2018. It comes in place of the 1995 Data Protection Directive (DPD) and, prior to Brexit, would have led to the UK implementing a new act in place of the existing Data Protection Act 1998. The GDPR has been designed to address the inconsistent data protection laws that currently exist throughout the EU’s member states, amongst other data protection concerns; and includes new responsibilities for data controllers and processors. In the light of Brexit it is still vital that UK businesses have a good understanding of the regulation and how it applies to them. Once the UK has exited the Union, businesses trading in the EU will still need to demonstrate compliance with the GDPR when handling personal data. The GDPR will apply in the UK from 25 May 2018. The government has confirmed that the UK’s decision to leave the EU will not affect the commencement of the GDPR. The regulation has been largely driven by rapid technological developments that have enabled both public and private entities to make use of personal data. This has led to a need for a standardised data protection framework enabling data to flow freely and securely. 90% of large UK businesses suffered a data security breach in 2015 and several made the headlines, including Talk Talk, Carphone Warehouse and British Airways. This is an 11% increase in breaches since 2014. Smaller businesses are similarly affected, with 74% suffering from a security breach. The publicity generated by these breaches has had a two-fold effect:
Individuals have a better understanding of the data they share and its value; and The businesses face irreparable reputational damage
Who does the regulation apply to? The GDPR is likely to affect any company in the world that controls or processes personal identifiable information of EU citizens, regardless of whether the company itself is located in the EU or not. Although the regulation applies different requirements depending on the size of the company – companies with more than 250 employees need to appoint a data protection officer – all companies need to comply with the core of the new law. With its focus on personal identifiable information, the regulation moves beyond the commonly held data such as name and email address, to include other identifiers such as phone numbers. For example: Retail companies collecting data via eCommerce and loyalty cards need to comply just as much as fitness applications that require users to submit their dietary and exercise habits, if these are combined with personal registration details. The same principles apply to companies from all other sectors – none are excluded.
COMPLYING WITH THE GDPR Organisations processing personal data of EU citizens, must follow much more stringent data protection rules, when the GDPR comes into effect. This is particularly crucial when getting people’s consent. They will also have to pay much higher fines too for any breaches. Under the GDPR, severe breaches could see fines of up to 4% of the company’s annual worldwide revenue. Or, depending on which is more, fines of anything up to £17 million. Business owners should take note of Flybe’s case and make sure they are adequately prepared for the new GDPR, but without breaking any laws on the way.
Organisations failing to comply with the GDPR can face fines of up to 4% of annual global turnover or £20 million, whichever is the greater!
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NEW DAWN RESOURCES LTD
Issue 3 | Jan 2017
Health & Safety Update: Sentencing guidelines for health and safety, corporate manslaughter and food safety and hygiene offences In February 2016, the new sentencing guidelines for health and safety, corporate manslaughter and food safety and hygiene offences came into force. More than a year has passed since the new Health and Safety Sentencing Guidelines were brought into force on 1 February 2016. As widely predicted by the health and safety profession, we have seen a significant increase in fine levels for companies prosecuted for offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and associated regulations. We now have a better indication of how large and very large companies are being sentenced in accordance to the new regime to analyse whether the Courts are applying these guidelines in a uniform fashion. This should help companies to identify how best to operate their businesses in order to reduce the impact of sentencing in the event of a prosecution or avoid prosecution altogether. Two of the most high profile fines last year were the £1.6 million fine meted out to Foodles Production when Harrison Ford broke his leg on the Star Wars set. The second was the £5million fine imposed on Alton Towers following last year’s roller coaster accident which made headline news at the time. The new guidelines apply to health and safety offences committed by individuals or companies including corporate manslaughter. The new guidelines can be downloaded at www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk In all cases fines are potentially unlimited but prison sentences are limited to 2 years (although there is a potential whole life tariff for manslaughter by gross negligence). The new guidelines set out tables for calculating the sentence based on company turnover (or individual’s ability to pay), actual or potential for harm including how many people were or could have been affected and the degree of culpability. The fine can then be mitigated by cooperation with the authorities and/or an early guilty plea. Under the guidance a ‘large’ company is deemed to be one with a turnover of more than £50 million for whom the starting point for a medium harm and medium culpability incident is £600,000 but ranges up to £10 million for the most serious (non-fatal) incident. Where it involves a charge of corporate manslaughter the start point for a low culpability incident is £500,000 ranging up to £20 million for the most serious offence. The start points are scaled down for smaller companies but the point is that the fines for larger companies are many multiples of what they would have been before Businesses who commit health & safety offences now face penalties up to three times greater than ever before. New sentencing guidelines use company turnover to calculate fines rather than company profit, and the average fine has risen from around £69,000 to £211,000.
HSE releases annual workplace fatality figures 2016-2017 The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) released its annual figures for work-related fatalities on 5th July. The provisional annual data for work-related fatal accidents revealed that 137 workers were fatally injured between April 2016 and March 2017 (a rate of 0.43 per 100,000 workers), the second lowest year on record. There has been a long-term downward trend in the number of fatal injuries to workers – they have halved over the last 20 years – although in recent years the trend shows signs of leveling. The new figures show the rate of fatal injuries in several key industrial sectors: 16
NEW DAWN RESOURCES LTD
Issue 3 | Jan 2017
Construction 30 fatal injuries to construction workers were recorded. While this accounts for the largest share, this is the lowest number on record for the sector. However, over the last five years the number has fluctuated, The annual average for the past five years is 39. The annual average rate over the last five years in construction is around four times as high as the all industry rate.
Agriculture 27 fatal injuries to agricultural workers were recorded. This sector continues to account for a large share of the annual fatality count. It has the highest rate of fatal injury of all the main industry sectors, around 18 times as high as the all industry rate.
Waste Management 14 fatal injuries to waste and recycling workers were recorded. Despite being a relatively small sector in terms of employment, the annual average fatal injury rate over the last five years is around 15 times as high as the all industry rate. The fatalities in the waste and recycling sector in 2016/17 include the single incident at Hawkeswood Metal Recycling Ltd in Birmingham on 7 July 2016 which resulted in five deaths. The new figures also highlight the risks to older workers – around a quarter of fatal injuries in 2016/17 were to workers aged 60 or over, even though such workers made up only around 10% of the workforce. There were also 92 members of the public fatally injured in accidents connected to work in 2016/17. Almost half of these occurred on railways with the remainder occurring across a number of sectors including public services, entertainment and recreation. The average rate of fatal injury over the last five years has been 0.46 per 100, 000 workers. In each of the last five years, the number of fatal injuries has been:
2015/16 – 147 workers died 2014/15 – 142 workers died 2013/14 – 136 workers died 2012/13 – 150 workers died 2011/12 – 171 workers died
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NEW DAWN RESOURCES LTD
Issue 3 | Jan 2017
Record Keeping and Data Protection Health surveillance is a system of ongoing health checks. These health checks may be required by law for employees who are exposed to noise or vibration, ionising radiation, solvents, fumes, dusts, biological agents and other substances hazardous to health, or work in compressed air. Health surveillance is important for:
detecting ill-health effects at an early stage, so employers can introduce better controls to prevent them getting worse providing data to help employers evaluate health risks enabling employees to raise concerns about how work affects their health highlighting lapses in workplace control measures, therefore providing invaluable feedback to the risk assessment providing an opportunity to reinforce training and education of employees (eg on the impact of health effects and the use of protective equipment)
Your risk assessment should be used to identify any need for health surveillance. You should not use health surveillance as a substitute for undertaking a risk assessment or using effective controls. Health surveillance can sometimes be used to help identify where more needs to be done to control risks and where early signs of work-related ill health are detected, employers should take action to prevent further harm and protect employees.
Record keeping A health record must be kept for all employees under health surveillance. Records are important because they allow links to be made between exposure and any health effects. Health records, or a copy, should be kept in a suitable form for at least 40 years from the date of last entry because often there is a long period between exposure and onset of ill health.
What information should be included in health records? Individual, up-to-date health records must be kept for each employee placed under health surveillance. These should include details about the employee and the health surveillance procedures relating to them. Employee details should include:
surname forename(s) gender date of birth permanent address, including post code National Insurance number date present employment started
What health records should not contain Health records are different to medical records in that they should not contain confidential medical information. Health records and medical records must therefore be kept separate to avoid any breaches of medical confidentiality.
Any personal medical information should be kept in confidence and held by the occupational health professional responsible for the health surveillance programme. 18
NEW DAWN RESOURCES LTD
Issue 3 | Jan 2017
Medical records Medical records are compiled by a doctor or nurse and may contain information obtained from the individual during the course of health surveillance. This information may include clinical notes, biological results and other information related to health issues not associated with work. This information is confidential and should not be disclosed without the consent of the individual. The occupational health (OH) professional may obtain data as the result of an immunisation programme (for example, blood titres or 'non responder' information). This information will be provided to the employee and should not be given to the employer. It will be kept in confidence by the OH professional and should only made known to the employer with the employee's consent. The doctor or nurse should only provide employers with information on fitness to work and any restrictions that may apply in that respect. Employees can have access to their own medical record through a written request under the Data Protection Act link to external website. These details can only be released to third parties, such as the employer, on receipt of the informed written consent of the employee, or by a court order.
How long should I keep the health records? As a general rule, individual health records should be kept for at least 40 years from the date of the last entry. However, some regulations may require you to keep them for much longer as ill-health effects might not emerge for a very long period after exposure. It is good practice to offer individual employees a copy of their health record when they leave your employment.
Who can see the health records? In addition to the employer, who is responsible for keeping them, employee health records can be seen when requested by:
the employee concerned HSE the employee's representative (with that employee's consent)
What do I need to do if I use temporary or agency workers? You are not legally required to do health surveillance for workers who are not your employees, but you do need to give them information, in a form they can understand, about any health surveillance necessary. If the risk assessment shows that health surveillance is needed, the duty to carry it out rests with their employer. However, the agency may ask to obtain your agreement to include their employees eg under health surveillance arrangements that you may have for any of your own employees doing similar work. However, if you choose not to include the agency workers under your health surveillance programme, the actual employer of the workers will need to provide any health surveillance that is needed. You may wish to co-ordinate with the agency about arrangements for this and make sure that all parties are clear about who will do what, including record-keeping.
A PERSONAL SERVICE THE SERVICE OFFERED BY NEW DAWN RESOURCES IS PERSONAL, TO BOTH YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS. OFFERING SUPPORT, ADVICE AND PROTECTION WHEN YOU NEED IT MOST. TAKING ADVICE FROM US WILL HELP YOUR BUSINESS REDUCE COSTS AND KEEP YOUR STANDARDS HIGH.
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