People Management September UK by peoplemgt

September 2017

S O C I AT E S SHEFFIELD & AS SOLICITOR S

L ACTION A G E L D E D N E T IN F NOTICE O Date: 09/17

Your ref: CLAIM01

Dear HR department, s ent, Ms Brown, who ha cli y m of lf ha be on t to ac I have been instructed business. ievances against your gr of r be m nu a d ise ra ent rimination, harassm sc di x se , to d ite lim t no These include, but are ained in full in these claims are cont of ils ta de e Th l. sa is and unfair dism sed with this letter. the appendices enclo response at yo I look forward to your Yours sincerely, Antonia Cooper Senior partner

. ur earliest convenience

M OV I N G YO U R F L E E T F O R WA R D W I T H T H E U K ’ S M O S T T E C H N O L O G I C A L LY A D VA N C E D S M A L L C A R

P11D

BIK

C02

COMBINED MPG

£21,070 - £12,520

22% -18%

118-82g/km

54.3-88.3

Official fuel consumption figures in mpg (l/100km) for the All-New Ford Fiesta range: urban 40.9-80.7 (6.9-3.5), extra urban 67.3-94.2 (4.2-3.0), combined 54.3-88.3 (5.2-3.2). Official CO2 emissions 118-82g/km. The mpg ﬁgures quoted are sourced from official EU-regulated test results (EU Directive and Regulation 692/2008), are provided for comparability purposes and may not reﬂect your actual driving experience.

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Contents September 2017

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p27

We all know the feeling when that terrifying legal letter pops through the door (or, more likely, pings into our inbox). Even the bestintentioned employers sometimes find themselves in the dock, and all-too often what lands them there is inadequate knowledge of current legislation or practical missteps when dealing with difficult situations. So consider this issue a way to top up your legal knowhow – without the hefty bill. Robert Jeﬀery Editor

News & analysis

Welcome from the CIPD p5 This month we’ve learned… p6 NEWS: Tribunal fees: what’s next? p8 PLUS Closing pay gaps; the power of HR volunteering Legal lowdown p17 Columnist Anthea Marris p18

p34

Case studies

Rapha Cycling p20 Macmillan Cancer Support p22 Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust p25

ANDREW FERRARO, SIMON FERNANDEZ, REX SHUTTERSTOCK

Features

COVER See you in court... p27 Our highly practical guide to the six most contentious aspects of UK employment legislation Legal roundtable p34 Seven leading lawyers share their knowledge Q&A: Liane Hornsey p40 In an exclusive interview, Uber’s HR chief reveals how performance management will fifixx the troubled business 10 best eco cars p45 Don’t know your hybrid from your EV? We help you make the smart choice for your fleet

Career path

Who I am Pat Thomas p49 Reviews p50 The Fixer p53 People and posts p54 Research p57 CIPD Focus p58 Could HR solve...? Trust Me p62

nversation Join the co ter: on Twit

t @peoplemg

p58

p45

5% *

pa O ss u ra r C te IP is D 9

This is your team. Reaching goals together through improved, focused talent development.

Optimise your skills by contacting our expert CIPD course advisors today. Ask us about our interest-free payment plans. icslearn.co.uk/cipd 0330 134 2936 cipd.enquiry@icslearn.co.uk

Welcome from the CIPD

? y a p f o t in o p e th is t a h W Peter Cheese Chief executive

Revelations about the pay of female presenters such as Claudia Winkleman put inequality under scrutiny

HANNAH J TAYLOR, PRESS ASSO

CIATION

p10

people are finally recognising that one of the reasons for differences may be that men focus on and demand more in terms of reward – so how do we adjust for that? But there are many other issues around reward, such as why and how bonuses are used, and whether they reward versus collective behaviours. ic alist individu this to e voic our ed how individual or group We then add of It is often unclear ly measured, let alone ysis lysis ana our ugh thro ate deb nt orta imp real with performance iss to reward. FTSE 100 CEO pay, in partnership w nect con it how h showed a 17 the High Pay Centre, which There’s a wealth of evidence in the last year – th the over p drop age per cent aver of behavioural science that identifies field 130 nd arou still is pa pay es’ utiv exec top but real implications for HR practice in times that of the average employee. reward. This ranges from how we perceive There is little doubt that there is fairness, to cognitive biases such as the and , ness busi of tiny increased scru different ways we respond to short and n give s tion ecta exp lic pub ed hten es. We have to use this heig nt long-term incentivmore in our practice. the many problems and scandals of rece ence body of evid years. Top levels of pay and differentials Now is the time for businesses of all this ier earl and et, targ easy ly are a relative sizes to take stock and really understand , May resa The , ister min e prim the year what reward looks like from the top signalled the government’s intention to to the bottom of their organisations. hold business more accountable for how If wealth is being unevenly distributed es. utiv exec top it rewards today, the ongoing trends will make this lute abso an not is ard rew rse, cou of , But worse. Is it sustainable for average pay to and needs to be seen in context. We remain so static at the time of the highest as a profession have a primary role in rates of employment in 40 years? understanding and creating the context We know we have to address the and d arde rew are ple peo how for productivity, how we better engage and principles that drive this. Perhaps it’s time support people to give their best, how we we took a bolder step back and challenged create more progression opportunities people’s skills properly. the long-term trend of bonuses and ls and how we utilise and incentives is a key leve t eren diff at ard rew nate rtio ropo disp Fairness in reward or for different groups, and work more to . driver –and will bring better outcomes the principles of fairness and transparencys for society as well as business. We should go back to the fundamental and ask: what is reward for? What performance and behaviours are we trying to incentivise? What are the different elements and ways in which we reward? Where is the evidence around reward practices and behavioural science insights? How do we create greater fairness? Gender pay gaps are another strong reminder of the need to do this. Many

dlines. First, Executive pay is once again making the hea in July ries the BBC’s disclosure of its top talents’ sala anisation seemed caused a widespread reaction that the org nces were stark, rather unprepared for. The gender differe lanations many and may be a precursor to the detailed exp e when gender companies are expected to have to provid pay gap reports hit the streets next year.

peoplemanagement.co.uk

This month we’ve learned... The big lesson Silicon Valleyisn’t allsunny {Diversity}

Burberry shareholders gave its proposed executive pay deals a frosty reception

{Reward}

Execpayisontheslide–sortof The annual conference season has become a yearly opportunity to berate bosses and bemoan their soaring pay. But this year has been a bit different. In fact, FTSE 100 chief executives have seen their pay fall by an average of 17 per cent over the past 12 months, according to new research from the CIPD and the High Pay Centre. This still means the average CEO salary is now £4.5m a year, with WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell still topping the list, having earned £48.1m in 2016 (down from £70.4m the previous year). And nearly two-thirds (60 per cent) of FTSE 100 chief execs are paid more than 100 times the annual pay of their workers. The report warned that political events may mean this “limited and late” drop in remuneration is not sustained: “Our concern is that if the government vacates this space, CEO

PRESS ASSOCIATION

“Theissue offairness isbeing called out and needs to be addressed atalllevels” 6

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remuneration will accelerate once more, undermining employee engagement and attempts to boost workplace productivity. We want to see Theresa May stick to her guns and introduce a bill to reform executive pay before the year end.” Gender pay problems continue to persist at the top, too, with male chief execs earning an average of 77 per cent more than their female counterparts. “Quite rightly this issue of fairness is increasingly being called out and this needs to be addressed at all levels of businesses,” said CIPD chief executive Peter Cheese. Even so, there is a sense that companies are getting the message on soaraway boardroom pay. True, there were still a number of shareholder revolts this year – notably at Pearson and Burberry, where one in three voted against the proposed deal – but plenty of others reviewed or amended packages before they were put to the floor. Charles Cotton, performance and reward adviser at the CIPD, urged HR professionals to ask more questions over why and how their organisations were rewarding executives.

Another month, another iconic Silicon Valley business under fire over diversity and corporate culture. This time it wasn’t Uber in the headlines, but search behemoth Google, after software engineer James Damore’s 3,300-word memo – entitled ‘Google’s ideological echo chamber’ – was leaked externally. The crux of Damore’s argument is that women are underrepresented in tech firms because of biological differences between genders, not primarily because of discrimination or bias. “We need to stop assuming that gender pay gaps imply sexism,” he wrote. While some commentators said Damore’s views deserved to at least be debated, others felt their emergence underlined the difficulties faced by female engineers in a notoriously male environment. Google itself was far from fired, impressed. Damore was fired, with CEO Sundar Pichai telling staff in an email that difficult task he faced the difficult of balancing “the rights of Googlers to express themselves” and taking action against those who violate the company’s code of conduct. “To suggest a group of colleagues have traits that make them less biologically ensive suited to that work is off offensive and not OK,” he wrote. ✶ Uber’s HR chief on how she’ll tackle its diversity woes: see page 40

{Corporate governance}

Badbosses facejail

Corporate governance can be a hard slog. But Sir David Metcalf, who was appointed UK director of labour market enforcement in January, has come out fighting with new proposals to jail bosses who consistently exploit workers, and investigate industries that breach labour laws. “Tackling labour market abuses is an important priority for the government

and I am encouraged that it has committed record funds to cracking down on exploitation,” said Metcalf. His proposals include heavy fines for retailers and construction companies whose contractors are involved in practices such as minimum wage underpayment and modern slavery. “Over the coming months, I will be working with government enforcement agencies and industry bodies to better identify and punish the most serious and repeat offenders taking advantage of vulnerable workers and honest businesses,” he added.

{Diversity}

Mendon’thaveiteasy

Men who feel unable to balance their work and home lives are “silently struggling” with stress and mental health issues, a global study has found. A survey of 250,000 participants found that the majority of working fathers feel unable to discuss the stresses they are suffering, for fear they will suffer career repercussions or threats to their masculinity.

Lead researcher Kristen Shockley said it was considered more ‘socially acceptable’ for women to discuss their work-life balances than men, as they were still traditionally viewed as primary caregivers. “Women hear that other women are struggling with this issue, so they expect they will experience greater workfamily conflict,” she said. “I do think it’s harming men, who are silently struggling [while] experiencing the same amount of work-family confl ict.” conflict.”

James Damor e wanted to star (left) t but CEO Sund a debate – ar reached for th Pichai e P45

The facilities s department wa r unprepared fo the cosplay outbreak

{Employee relations}

Dresscodesdon’twork

Most British workers would welcome a strict dress code at work, according to a survey released last month. On the other side of the Atlantic, they feel a bit differently. When Chicago employee June Rivas was told her headscarf and ponytail were ‘unprofessional’ in the office, and breached her employer’s dress code, she took a highly visual revenge. For weeks, Rivas has been turning up for work

in various superhero and fantasy outfits – known as ‘cosplay’ to afficionados – and posting the results to her growing army of Facebook friends. Appearing as characters from Star Trek and Superman doesn’t breach the HR rules, she pointed out – and for good measure, she has also reported her business to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

{Reward}

Whenitcomestopay, theomensaren’tgood

If you’ve been feeling light in the pocket, don’t expect things to get better any time soon. Pay growth in the UK is anticipated to reach just 1 per cent over the next 12 months – the lowest expectations have been for three-and-a-half years, according to the latest CIPD and Adecco Group Labour Outlook. Market Outlook Among employers who were unable to increase wages to match the 2 per cent Bank of inflation England infl ation target, two five in fi ve (42 per cent) blamed the public sector pay cap, a quarter (24 per cent) said

their organisation was simply unable to pay more, and 14 per cent cited recent rises in the national living wage. An increase in labour supply over the past year has also been putting downward pressure on pay, experts said. Employers reported an average of 24 applicants for the last low-skilled vacancy they tried to fill, 19 for mediumskilled roles and eight for high-skilled positions. Alex Fleming, president of general staffing at The Adecco Group, said the subdued wage growth was an issue employers had to tackle “head on”. peoplemanagement.co.uk

News & analysis

TRIBUNAL FEES – and here’s what

Should employers brace themselves for a tsunami of claims? And will the government reintroduce fees in a different form?

t is a matter of weeks since the Supreme Court sent shockwaves through the HR and legal communities by deeming tribunal fees unlawful. Now, attention is turning to what happens next. The charges – which were introduced in July 2013 and could reach as much as £1,200 for a single claim – had been praised in some quarters for deterring meritless claims but slammed by others for blocking access to justice, particularly among some of the most vulnerable subsets of society. The introduction of fees undoubtedly triggered a fall in claims. Sources cited during the case revealed that they had decreased by as much as 70 per cent since fees were brought in. Others say, anecdotally, that the drop has been even greater. Official figures record 83,031 applications to tribunals in 2015-16, compared to more than 190,000 in 2012-13. But while, on one level, the system is simply reverting to the previous status quo, there are several unanswered questions. For example, will the level of claims return to around the 200,000 mark? Or could it rise even further, if the government decides that some 8

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claims relating to events since 2013 can be brought retrospectively? (A decision on this is awaited soon.) “On the face of it, there’s no reason that things shouldn’t go back to 2013 levels because underlying employment laws haven’t changed significantly,” says Colin Leckey, partner in the employment team at Lewis Silkin. However, Paul McFarlane, partner and employment law specialist at Weightmans, doubts that claim numbers will come roaring back immediately. “Tribunal fees were a massive shock for everyone and it’s going to take a little while to readjust to the new world,” he says, adding that the advent of the gig economy means the types of claims being brought may become broader. Stuart McBride, partner at TLT, says: “It will be a wait-and-see approach to the question of whether we are looking at a return to the pre-2013 level of claims. Much will depend on whether having the fee regime in place for the past four years has led to a change in the claims culture previously seen.” The wider economic climate, and the introduction of the Acas early conciliation regime, are other factors that may affect the number

of claims. But whatever happens, there are fears being voiced that many employers have de-prioritised employee relations expertise or may have lowered the amount of legal training they provide since the fees have been abolished. Organisations must think carefully about both their process and their wider culture, experts suggest. “This may sound trite and very basic but employers need to be good employers,” says McFarlane. “They need to follow their own procedures. They need to try and treat their staff well. If they are good employers and follow those basic principles, they will have fewer claims, full stop.” McBride adds: “Prevention is always better than cure. It will be wise for employers to ensure they follow proper procedures when dealing with disciplinary and grievance matters and that all line managers are up to speed on internal policy in this area.” Should an individual situation appear to be escalating, McBride recommends considering a settlement agreement before the employee leaves the company and, should a claim be filed, engaging in early conciliation as fully as possible.

“Wewillhave towaitandsee whetherthe feeregimehas changedthe claimsculture”

123RF, GETTY IMAGES, SUPERSTOCK, ALAMY

WORDS HAYLEY KIRTON

ARE FINISHED

Hotel hellmakes forBritain’ for fo s most fearedjob feared fe

happens next

Paul Quain, founding partner at GQ Employment Law, says employers should take extra care to follow procedures to the letter from now on. “People have to be prepared for the fact that where they might have thought something was low value – if it was worth a week or two’s pay – they might have thought: ‘Well, actually we’ll take the risk; we won’t follow the procedure we should follow or we won’t make the payment because the individual is unlikely to bring a claim,’” he says. “I think they will have to think twice, and in those circumstances they should do things by the book.” Leckey also notes that there is the potential for more spurious claims of the kind that were often highlighted before 2013, which are hard to prevent. “Either you’re hit with one or you’re not and you have

to manage that as and when it comes along,” he says. The ruling means the government is now in the process of paying back fees to those who have shelled out over the last four years – a task trade union Unison, which brought the case to court, believes will cost more than £27m. The good news for employers, Quain adds, is that, if they have been asked to pay a claimant’s fees during the last four years, they too may be able to claim them back. Quain recommends that affected employers either speak to the tribunal themselves or ask their lawyer or representative to do so. But given the amount it added to state coffers, the government is unlikely to be thrilled with the idea of costfree tribunals and there has been speculation that it could try to bring the fees back under

a full act of parliament – which could not be challenged in the courts in the same way – once parliament returns from recess in September. McFarlane says that, if the Conservatives still had an outright majority in the House of Commons, “they could have brought back legislation to introduce fees at a lower level”, but it now seems less likely. Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats pledged in their general election manifestos to scrap the fees, he notes. He also points out that the government has “got bigger fish to fry in terms of Brexit”, potentially pushing the likelihood of fees being brought back down the agenda. In a statement issued shortly after the judgment was released, justice minister Dominic Raab said: “The Supreme Court recognised the important role fees can play, but ruled that we Unison, which brought have not struck the right the case, believes the balance in this case. We cost of paying back will take immediate steps fees will top £27m to stop charging fees in employment tribunals and put in place arrangements to refund those who have paid. We will also further consider the detail of the judgment.” ✶ Learn how to prepare and deal with an employment tribunal claim on a two-day course from the CIPD: bit.ly/ CIPDETcourse ✶ Need more advice on tribunals? Visit the CIPD topic page: bit.ly/CIPDtribunals

HR is regarded in popular culture cul as the ‘police’ of an organisation – so it’s a surprise org that tha the profession has missed mis out on a place in a list of Britons’ B most intimidating occupations. But it also didn’t feature in the list of the UK’s most liked professions – as determined by a poll of 2,000 people by Fletchers Solicitors. Better luck next year. UK’s most feared professions 1 Hospitality 68% 2 Financial services (accountants, bookkeepers, traders) 64% 3 Trades (construction, electrical, plumbing) 59% 4 IT and telecommunications 55% 5 Transport (rail workers, airline staﬀ) 53%

UK’s most liked professions 1 Healthcare 73% 2 Education 69% 3 Emergency services (police, ﬁre service) 64% 4 Legal 62% 5 Marketing 60%

“If you’re in the process of interviewing with us, I’ll text you about something at 9pm or 11am on a Sunday just to see how fast you’ll respond” Candidates had better reply to Barstool Sports CEO Erika Nardini’s messages within three hours, or they’re out of the running

83% of Brits would not tell their boss about a major lottery win

SOURCE: WINKSLOTS.COM POLL

peoplemanagement.co.uk

News & analysis

HOW DO YOU CLOSE A HOWDOYOUCLOSEA GENDER PAY GAP? GENDERPAYGAP?

sations of ITV saw oﬀ accu y when it lit ua gender ineq McCall as hired Carolyn her a pay g CEO by handin d the ha at th e ag ck pa lipse her potential to ec am Crozier, Ad r, so es ec pred r basic pay even though he less in t Bu r. was lowe s, achieving prestigious role be n ca pay parity more complex

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With organisations fearful of following in the BBC’s footsteps, employers are being urged to take action to tackle inequality

hen the BBC published the salaries of its highest-paid employees in July, the numbers were met with predictable outrage. They demonstrated a huge gulf in pay between many comparable male and female presenters. And for employers, the reaction was particularly ominous given that businesses with more than 10

peoplemanagement.co.uk

WORDS LOUISE FARRAND

250 staff must report their gender pay figures by April 2018. Some of those that report will have headline pay gap figures far larger than the BBC’s 10 per cent (the UK average has been put at 18.1 per cent). And they won’t, of course, be publishing individual salary breakdowns that will be scrutinised by the tabloids. But employers are still concerned about damage to their

brand, discontent among employees and inaccurate interpretation of their results. Beyond communicating the context of their pay gap, what can they do? One of the biggest issues – and a major factor for companies in the creative or knowledge industries – is that recruitment practices can perpetuate and broaden pay gaps. Many businesses rely on the open market to source talent and end up paying the

GETTY IMAGES, PRESS ASSOCIATION, SUPERSTOCK

asking price for their preferred candidate, instead of setting clear salary bands for specific levels. Paying one person more than another at the same level can be justified if the individual has a skillset of genuinely unique value to an organisation, but the process can result in the bravest candidates getting the biggest packages. “Previous research has shown women tend to be more moderate on what they ask for, which can have a medium and long-term effect,” says Charles Cotton, the CIPD’s senior performance and reward adviser. “When you are recruiting externally, you have to think about what the short-term impact is going to be and what the impact on the medium or longer term will be. Can you increase pay for the rest of the staff?” The BBC will close its gender pay gap by 2020, director general Tony Hall pledged in a letter to employees. It’s an ambitious goal, particularly when shortterm fixes are hard to come by. Anyone looking to make pay more consistent in a hurry will have to boost women’s pay, rather than cutting men’s, says Cotton. “You could either increase women’s pay, which would be a quick fix with a cost implication issue, or you could reduce men’s pay, which would be a legal issue.”

Where pay inequality exists, boosting women’s pay early will at least put companies on the front foot ahead of challenges from female staff. A group of BBC presenters, for example, is vocally lobbying Hall for a pay boost. “If there are gaping, unjustified gaps then address them immediately. After this, it is vital that employers work to build clear, definitive structures around pay, linking rises and promotions to expertise, performance and tenure,” says organisational psychologist Dee Murphy. Another quick fix – which could be less expensive – relates to bonuses, where employers could pay everyone at the same level a fixed bonus rather than a percentage of their salary, a practice that entrenches pay gaps. The alternatives can be costly. Duncan Brown, head of HR consultancy at the Institute for Employment Studies, blogged about the experience of his colleague, Sheila Wild, founder of the Equal Pay Portal. Wild helped a professor friend to fill out an equal pay enquiry questionnaire, downloaded from the government’s website. She submitted it to her university’s HR department and was given a pay rise of more than £20,000. But employers shouldn’t be tempted to take refuge in short-term fixes at the expense of more meaningful measures, warns Cotton. “If your organisation is predominantly female and you have a handful of men, you could easily change the mean and

median by employing a few lower-paid men, but that wouldn’t necessarily benefit women. It would just reduce the pay gap. “Organisations may be tempted to take the quick-fix route, but they should recognise that it’s not so much where they are now, as where they are getting to and how they are going to get there.” Firms that articulate the often-nuanced reasons behind a pay gap could win more sympathy from staff, especially if they are able to demonstrate what they are doing to close the gap. This is also likely to win favour among investors, says Luke Hildyard, policy lead for stewardship and corporate governance at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association: “Showing they have been frank, reflective and self-critical on why they might have an unbalanced workforce is the first and most immediate step investors would want companies to take.” EasyJet is one organisation that has articulated both its problem and its proposed solution. In its 2016 annual report, the airline explained that pilots are predominantly male and cabin crew are mostly female. Irrespective of gender, pilots are paid similar wages at easyJet, and the same is true for cabin crew. To bridge the gap this causes, the airline introduced a scheme to encourage more women to become pilots. It set itself incremental goals, one of which was to double its female pilot intake within two years. It succeeded in just 12 months: the figures went from under 6 per cent in 2015 to 12 per cent in 2016. It is just one small step but, when it comes to gender pay gaps, being able to show you are confronting the problem is immeasurably important.

“Women tendto bemore moderate onwhatthey theyaskfor”

The BBC faced a public outcry when it revealed its gender pay gap last month

Procrastination …er…prevails

Given that humans’ attention spans are now shorter than goldfishes’ (we can only concentrate for eight seconds, compared to fishes’ nine, according to research published in 2015), it’s little surprise that our productivity at work is suffering. Just 6 per cent of UK office workers feel productive for the full working day, a poll by Fleximize has found. One in five employees, at all seniority levels, admit to procrastinating for more than two hours a day, while more than four-fifths say they procrastinate for at least 30 minutes a day, adding up to 2.5 hours of lost working time per week. Unsurprisingly, social media is largely to blame, with WhatsApp (72 per cent) and Facebook (70 per cent) named as the biggest distractions. The news comes alongside research from recruitment firm Robert Half UK, which has discovered that managers recognise that employees are spending nearly 14 per cent of their working week being bored. For the average employee working full time, this equates to 5.3 hours of boredom per week. Managers attribute staff boredom to work that isn’t interesting enough (35 per cent), tasks that aren’t sufficiently challenging (32 per cent), roles that lack variety (30 per cent) and meeting overload (30 per cent).

43% of people say they wouldn’t hire someone who smokes

SOURCE: VAPOURLITES.COM

peoplemanagement.co.uk

News & analysis

HR professionals share their experiences of giving something back

WORDS GEORGI GYTON

R professionals have a unique perspective on the world of work and the role of business in society. So it makes sense that they should want to volunteer – but the scale of CIPD members giving up their free time is still remarkable. More than 3,700 are now donating time and skills to help others; 3,200 alone are signed up to the CIPD’s Steps Ahead mentoring programme, where they are paired with jobseekers to help them improve their employability skills, build confidence and find work. Meanwhile, around 500 have become ‘enterprise advisers’ through the CIPD’s link-up with The Careers & Enterprise Company. This involves working directly with a school’s leadership team to develop effective employer engagement plans and careers education strategies. We spoke to three HR volunteers to find out more.

peoplemanagement.co.uk

PETER SPINNEY

What volunteeri volunteering did for me didforme Matt Corbishley

Director of HR and support services, Ashgate Hospicecare

Matt Corbishley signed up to the Steps Ahead scheme 18 months ago. Having entered HR after a career in ﬁnancial services, he felt volunteering was an opportunity to expand his passion for coaching and mentoring.

“The mentees often don’t know what they want to do in terms of a career, so I’ve found that a great icebreaker is to undertake a skills and values assessment. They identify the skills they have and haven’t got, the ones that are exhausted and those that are underutilised. Then we look at whether they are a risk-taker, for example, how important friendships are at work or how motivated they are by money, as well as their interview experience and how to construct a CV.

“My work through Steps Ahead has helped improve my coaching and mentoring skills, but it has also improved my confidence because of the knowledge that I have got something useful to contribute. “The experience has taught me to challenge how we select people to work in our organisations. We are moving towards a values-based recruitment model at Ashgate – partly influenced by my work with Steps Ahead and partly by my engagement with the local chamber of commerce. It is incredibly easy to miss out on opportunities to recruit some great people who may not be naturally academically gifted but who are very bright.”

PM HAS A DRINK WITH…

Director, HR Provider

Sabrina Willabus has been involved with the Steps Ahead programme for the past two years. Her 20-plus years as an HR professional have given her an interest in the barriers people face when they ﬁrst enter the labour market, as well as a passion for coaching and mentoring, which she previously explored by oﬀering career development seminars in her local community and working as a mentor through her local church.

NOW TELL YOUR STORY

e r more from those who hav The CIPD is keen to hea or campaigning activities. If ring ntee volu in t HR taken par how you have used your you would like to explain rs and your organisation, or L&D skills to beneﬁt othe uk .co. ott@cipd contact Fiona Scott at f.sc

Hazel Bradford

Future talent recruitment adviser, Marks & Spencer

Hazel Bradford began volunteering in 2016, when she became an enterprise adviser through The Careers & Enterprise Company. Her manager suggested she think about opportunities for her development, so she found one that suited her background in recruiting graduates and school leavers, and was matched to a school in east London. She used her experience to create a ‘schools pack’ for M&S colleagues, to help them better engage schools, which also built on a project she had worked on while qualifying as an HR

“Part of my role has involved sitting on interview panels, where I recognised that various groups were struggling, whether it was employees applying for promotions or those returning to the jobs market. “The mentoring takes various forms, but revolves around career development; for example, helping people decide which career path to go down, coaching for interviews and visiting Jobcentres to promote the scheme and get more young people engaged with mentors. “There is huge satisfaction from seeing people develop and grow, and it makes me proud to hear someone I’ve worked with has got a job. It also helps me provide effective support to organisations and managers when they are managing their staff, as I have a better understanding of their developmental needs.”

professional. A year later, she became a Steps Ahead mentor, where she matched herself with a young jobseeker.

“I was thinking about volunteering from the perspective of gaining skills in coaching and nurturing. It also gives me that extra experience to put on my CV, as I will be able to show that I can mentor and manage people who have all sorts of backgrounds. “It’s always rewarding and I enjoy doing it. It’s what other people – namely my manager – have done for me over the years, so in a way it is about giving something back. “I’ve already used my coaching skills to deal with interns at work, and I hope I will also be able to apply these skills when I find myself in a role with a line report, to help them develop their career.”

WHO HR officer and continuous improvement facilitator, Expo Technologies WHERE TW2 Bar and Grill, Twickenham WHAT White wine How did you get into your current role? I joined Expo Technologies as a temporary contractor six years ago, before being offered a permanent position as a training and HR coordinator. It was an amazing opportunity, but I had a lot of learning to do. I was lucky that the company sponsored me through it all, including a master’s degree in international HRM. I learned the theory two evenings a week, and put it into practice at work. How does Expo Technologies engage and develop staff? We work primarily with oil and gas so we’ve had to think radically about what we can do to support the business while oil prices are falling. Part of that is striving to represent our values: continuous learning, focus on quality and safety, sustaining relationships and customer service. These are an essential part of what we do, from the top to the bottom. Trust is also vital; we want our employees to feel they can approach their line managers with any concerns they have. We’re also looking at implementing a pay grade scale, so there’s more transparency Clark-Raee’s leadership programme focuses on about how employees developing soft skills can progress to the next band. You’ve recently introduced a new leadership programme. What are its aims? We’ve promoted 11 employees into leadership roles in the last 12 months; none of them had leadership experience, so we needed to give them the tools and skills to do their jobs effectively. It has a primary focus on soft skills such as emotional intelligence and self-awareness, which can easily get pushed down the priority list because they are rarely seen as urgent. How would you describe the culture in your workplace? Luckily for me, there’s no such thing as a stupid question, because our culture is so open and collaborative – I still ask my colleagues about the engineering side of things from time to time. We’ve got such a good mix of people, some of whom have been at the company longer than I’ve been alive, as well as a mixture of ages and nationalities, which is great in such a small organisation. peoplemanagement.co.uk

WORDS MARIANNE CALNAN

Sabrina Willabus (left)

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INTERVIEW CATHRYN NEWBERY PHOTOGRAPHY SIMON FERNANDEZ

Q&A

“Diversitydoesn’thavetobe burdensome–it’smagic” Stonewall co-founder and D&I consultant Simon Fanshawe on

how to bridge the gap between good intentions and real change

imon Fanshawe’s route to the HR sphere is more unusual than most, taking in stand-up comedy, journalism and broadcasting. Now, through his consultancy, Diversity by Design, he’s keen to tell HR practitioners: “Don’t put together a business case for diversity – that’s like putting together a business case for love. Diversity isn’t something you do – it’s the way you do something.”

heavy, rather burdensome, a bit serious. And it is bloody serious if you are denying people opportunities, but the sheer joy of opening up opportunities for people is magic – it’s really lovely.

Are employee networks eﬀective at encouraging change? I don’t think employee networks can ever drive the change – they can only ever be a resource for the change. Change has to be driven by people What are we still getting wrong on who have the power to do it. Being clear diversity and inclusion? about the terms of reference of employee If D&I was a product line with this bad a networks, and how this insight can help return on investment, it would have been improve the business, is fundamental. stopped or changed quite radically. People Resource groups are useful in helping haven’t seen it as a business opportunity, people articulate how they are and who they or been able to think about it in terms of are, and how that combination can bring widening talent pipelines. insight to a company. I’m gay, which isn’t I always talk about the difference between interesting in itself, but there is something diversity deficits and diversity dividends. interesting about growing up gay. So what The deficits are the structural lacks of insight does that give me as a board member opportunity that are happening because or consultant or as an employee? processes and people’s preferences drive I did something for Rolls-Royce’s LGBT them towards choices they don’t necessarily network the other week, and I said: ‘In want to make. the next meeting, don’t make it about We work with the NHS, where white LGBT issues – make it about the future people are 1.74 times more likely to go from of aerospace and get everyone along. Just a shortlist to a job than BAME candidates. contribute to the business.’ That’s because there are a lot of informal appointments; managers hire people they What support do line managers need? know and trust. With a workforce that is Years ago, I interviewed the director Sam about 80:20 white to black, the effect is to Mendes, and he said he talks to each of his discriminate against BAME staff – even if actors using different language, because that’s not the intention. what you want from one actor in terms of Then there are the dividends. Leaders their character is very different from what need to be able to answer the question: why you want from someone else. would you bother to diversify your staff? That’s what management is. People think What is the commercial advantage? And managing difference is more difficult, but what does that mean for the combination that’s because you think you can manage of difference you need in different teams them all the same. But people aren’t all the and functions? Then you have to change the same – you just think they are. There’s a real system and the processes to support that. illusion to managing homogeneity. But it’s important to emphasise that ✶ Simon Fanshawe will speak at this year’s CIPD it can be fun. There’s always been this Annual Conference and Exhibition, on 8-9 November in Manchester. Book your ticket at cipd.co.uk/ace mistake around diversity that it is rather

Companies haven’t seen diversity and inclusion as a business opportunity, says Simon Fanshawe

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Did you know that CIPD members have the Employment Law at Work Service exclusive access to and legal helplines? cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/employm ent-law.aspx

UK LEGAL LOWDOWN

NewEUdatarules‘shouldbeanHRpriority’

Businesses urged to act swiftly, before legislation takes effect in the UK from May 2018

R professionals should have had the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on their radar for some time now, but the subject hit the headlines again last month when the government revealed plans to publish its own data protection bill in September, which effectively brings the EU data protection legislation into UK law. The main thrust of the legislation is to give individuals greater rights over how businesses use their data; there is a new ‘right to be forgotten’ and people can ask companies to erase any personal data held on them. The potential penalties are heavier, too – the Information Commissioner will be given the power to issue fines of up to €20m (£17m) or 4 per cent of global turnover. Minister for digital Matthew Hancock has said it will give the UK “one of the most robust, yet dynamic, set of data laws in the world”. So far, the government has only released a ‘statement of intent’, rather than the full details of the bill, but it’s likely the UK legislation will follow most of the principles set out in the GDPR, which will apply from 25 May 2018.

Governmentwaives paypenalties forcaresector

The government has announced plans to waive a requirement for employers in the care sector to pay ﬁnancial penalties where they have not given the correct level of pay to ‘sleep in’ shift workers. Under national minimum wage regulations, employers must pay workers the relevant statutory minimum wage per hour when they are required to be on call, even if they are asleep during that shift. However, the government has made an exception for the care sector, which has faced increased

For HR, there will be increased obligations to provide information to employees and job applicants about how their personal data is processed. One of the key tenets of the GDPR legislation is the principle of accountability – that organisations are demonstrating compliance with data protection principles. This means HR should work with other departments to build a register of where personal data is held and the purposes for which it is used, and perform a risk assessment for potential breaches. “As a general rule, personal information should be anonymised if possible, should only be held for a legitimate purpose and should be deleted if it is no longer needed (for example, the CVs of failed candidates should not generally be retained),” says Dominic Boon, associate in the employment team at Mishcon de Reya. “As well as considering how personal information is held, organisations should consider why data is being processed and whether there is a lawful basis for the processing. Although an employer may seek to justify processing on the basis that it is necessary to comply with a legal obligation or for

ﬁnancial pressure since the introduction of the national living wage and cuts to local authority budgets. This means it will waive any ﬁnancial penalties owed by employers that have underpaid for this type of shift before 26 July 2017, and temporarily suspend any enforcement activity by HMRC against social care providers on sleep-in shifts until 2 October. Outlining its plans, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said it “will continue to look at this issue extremely carefully alongside industry representatives, to see how it might be possible to minimise any impact on the provision of social care, and ensure that action taken to protect workers is fair and proportionate”.

the legitimate interests of the business, these are always counterbalanced by a requirement to act in the interests of the individuals impacted.” Boon says HR could identify examples of how it uses data in, for instance, appraisals or attendance records, and consider if there are ways in which the ‘processing footprint’ could be minimised. The regulations will also require employers to look at any areas where they use automated decision-making, such as automated shortlisting or rejection in recruitment. The government has said that the new bill will give individuals a greater say in decisions made about them based on automated processing. The regulations will also change the way individuals can submit subject-access requests on data that is held on them. There will no longer be a charge, and organisations will have to respond within one month of a request. “Given that most businesses find the current timeframes difficult to comply with, this change will require a rethink of how such requests are addressed,” says Boon.

✶ Read more at bit.ly/PMGDPR

SupremeCourt settohear irstgig economycase

The Supreme Court has granted Pimlico Plumbers permission to appeal against a Court of Appeal decision that a plumber who described himself as self-employed was a worker. The plumber, Mr Smith, had signed a declaration of self-employment with the company, but was required under his contract to wear its uniform, drive one of its vans and work a certain number of hours. In February, the Court of Appeal held that Smith should be deﬁned as a ‘worker’, meaning he should receive

certain employment rights such as paid holiday and the national minimum wage. The Court of Appeal said the requirement for Smith to provide his services personally was a key factor in its decision. If the Supreme Court upholds the Court of Appeal decision, this will be the highest level a gig economy case has reached in the UK courts, and will determine how employers should move forward when employing contractors and freelancers. ✶ Read more at bit.ly/PPappeal

For more employment law news, visit HR-inform bit.ly/PMlawnews peoplemanagement.co.uk

Comment

I’LL TELL YOU SOMETHING

ANTHEA MARRIS

PRESS ASSOCIATION, INTERNET ARCHIVE BOOK IMAGES

Managing change can be disheartening – but it’s worth sticking with

t’s unlikely you would have failed to notice Kraft’s acquisition of Cadbury in 2010. At the time, it was headline news. And for those of us who worked there, it was a time of huge and profound change. Despite what numerous reports in the media suggested, not all this change was negative. It created the opportunity for once-in-a-lifetime learning and development for me and many others, most significantly when the business invested £75m to secure the future of the iconic Bournville site in Birmingham, the heart and home of Cadbury. Helping to implement this investment over a two-year period was an exhilarating rollercoaster ride and by far the best learning experience of my career to date. It also taught me a lot about how to manage a change programme – and why so many such programmes fail from an HR or people perspective. Arguably, the first item on any change to-do list is to explain the ‘why’. Employees need help to see the need for change, what’s in it for them and the importance of acting immediately. Transformational change can be critical to ensuring jobs for future generations of employees, so this might be one of the key messages you wish to convey. Make sure you set goals that can only be achieved through world-class performance and team-working. Huge goals are exciting, stimulating and slightly uncomfortable. Then the trick is to develop a plan to help you achieve these goals and to remember to stop and celebrate success along the way. Think of your change journey as a long-term process, not a short-term fix. The senior leadership team needs, of course, to role model the new behaviours and must visibly inspire the team,

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employee conferences, small group discussions, one-on-one meetings, weekly newsletters and monthly briefings. Make sure you know your enthusiasts and key influencers. Both are worth their weight in gold. Enthusiasts embrace change and create a buzz with those around them. Key influencers are where the real power in an organisation sits: taking time to enrol them on the journey will make the change more successful and reduce resistance. But remember to believe in everyone. Most people have the capability to be part of the future organisation – they just Director of need to be encouraged, Anthea Marris creating time to align together, motivated and given Consulting. She act as one and coach those around was previously the opportunity. Focus them. And don’t underestimate the HR change lead your efforts on engaging at Bournville importance of middle and junior the majority, not the small Manufacturing management. High-performing minority who don’t want to managers are fundamental to engage or who may not have creating sustainable change, as they are built the capabilities yet. the ‘lens’ through which employees see Finally, keep moving forward. the business. Work hard on involving Sometimes it’s amazing and at other this group early in defining the new times it feels tough. Keep focused on culture and ensuring they understand your ‘why’ and don’t stop believing. It the change and buy into it. You may also will be worth it in the end. need to teach this group new skills, such It certainly proved that way at as how to have powerful conversations Cadbury. Last month, Mondelēz and how to adopt a coaching rather than International announced that the new a directing style. Dairy Milk Oreo and revived Dairy Remember to keep on communicating Milk Tiffin will both be made in for understanding and buy-in. Use a Bournville because of the investment range of forums to make sure as many programme. Change can be dispiriting people as possible understand and accept when you’re in the middle of it – but it the vision and strategy, such as large is always worth persevering.

Anthea Marris

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In practice Real organisations, real challenges

In practice

Amazon

Rapha Cycling

“We can’t let size get inthewayofculture”

HR is helping a growing SME make an impact on the global stage

WORDS CATHRYN NEWBERY PHOTOGRAPHY ANDREW FERRARO

“T

here were no formal inductions when I joined; I was given a desk and a set of Ikea drawers and politely encouraged to build it myself. Having zero DIY expertise, I thought: ‘Priority number one is to find someone to help us do this.’” Although most HR professionals at small companies can expect to get stuck into things that might not have been in the job advert, Laura Shipperlee’s first day as head of people and culture at Rapha Cycling – a high-end cycle wear company with its HQ on the outskirts of Camden in north London – was probably more hands-on than most. When she joined the business in 2013, it had grown to 75 employees, was braced for global expansion – and had no concrete HR support or processes in place. “When I asked how many staff we had, no one seemed to know exactly because there was no central tracking system,” she says. “Booking leave was done via some awful paper folder that I was given on my first day, and I thought: ‘I need to sort that out quickly.’” Shipperlee started at Rapha after spending time travelling following a five-year stint at Shell, which she joined fresh out of university. Although she

peoplemanagement.co.uk

was offered the opportunity to return to the multinational oil giant, “I knew I wanted to go somewhere smaller”, she says. “But I didn’t realise how much support I’d had there until I came here and realised I had nothing. The buck stopped with me; it was pretty daunting but also really exciting.” Four years into the role, Shipperlee can now laugh at the initial scale of her ambition: “I thought I’d have the world sorted in six months. But it took me about a year to get the basics right – such as inductions, holidays and payroll – and it’s only been in the past 12 months that I’ve been able to focus on the broader organisational challenges.” And it’s just as well that she has – Rapha’s growth is accelerating rapidly. It’s expected to have more than 500 employees in 16 countries by the end of 2017, and for the first time employ slightly more in its 17 clubhouses (as its retail stores-slash-coffee bars are known) than in HQ roles. “We have a very dispersed workforce, so engagement and communication are top priorities,” says Shipperlee, whose HR team now

numbers four and will be joined by an L&D manager later this year. Part of the solution is doing things as they’ve always been done. One of Shipperlee’s first innovations was an employee welcome box, which has evolved over the years. “To really embed a culture, you have to give people the right experience from day one,” she says. The welcome box for HQ employees includes their staff number (which corresponds with their bike storage hook and appears on their coffee mug), the company’s classic cycling jersey, a brand book (co-created by HR and the brand team), cycling memoir The Rider by Tim Krabbé, guidelines for cycling safely and the employee handbook. Every two years, the company hosts a week-long ‘global gathering’ in the UK to help emphasise to regional staff that they are part of the family. “The gathering has been quite momentous in embedding our strategy and making sure everyone knows what’s going on and feels connected,” says Shipperlee. “It’s one of those things we’ve pondered: could that money be spent elsewhere? But how can we expect our staff, some of whom are working

“Nooneknew howmany staffwehad, becausethere wasnocentral trackingsystem”

rkforce Because the wo spersed, di so is a at Raph d engagement an are n communicatio ys sa top priorities, e Laura Shipperle

peoplemanagement.co.uk

In practice Rapha organises three group bike rides a year for its UK employees

independently in their spare rooms, to understand what we are about and be engaged if we don’t invest a bit of money to bring them together regularly? “I’m passionate about making sure our culture stays as we grow, and that size doesn’t get in the way. But we have to be realistic too; we go on big bike rides three times a year, so with 170 UK employees now that’s turning into a whole sportive in itself. But these are the sorts of things we have to do, regardless of the numbers.” Rapha’s global expansion has enabled it to create career opportunities for many staff, but planning progression for employees outside the UK can be tricky. “We’ve done a handful of global moves, but not a huge amount,” says Shipperlee. “Visas and the cost of moving people abroad provides an extra challenge.” And the company has launched it’s first future leader programme, the ‘white jersey’ scheme, open to both clubhouse managers and head office staff. During this pilot, 10 people are spending 12 months on a team project, as well as undertaking personal development training. “We are really proud, as a small company, to have invested in this type of programme,” says Shipperlee. “Managers are completely behind it; it’s a sign of our professionalism, and that we’re investing in our future.” Has working at Rapha changed Shipperlee as an HR professional? “I’ve learned so much. I was a bit naïve when I came here. It’s made me more resourceful, creative and resilient. And it’s given me the opportunity to flourish. There’s no such thing as an average day or year; I think some HR jobs have the potential to be a bit monotonous but there’s always something new to work on here. If you’re up for the challenge, I’d definitely recommend working for an SME.” 22

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Macmillan Cancer Support

“I“Iusedtospend used to spend halfmytimeon half my time on candidates’ complaints”

How the charity revamped its applicant experience as part of an ambitious HR transformation project

ost employers can ill-afford the dent in reputation caused by delivering a poor candidate experience. But the risk is more critical for Macmillan Cancer Support, explains recruitment and resourcing manager Andrew Hyland: “We receive 20,000 applications a year – and each of those is a potential supporter of the charity.” When Hyland joined the organisation six years ago, he faced a relentless barrage of complaints about the hiring process from applicants. “At that time, Macmillan didn’t have an in-house recruitment team – it was outsourced,” he says. “The brand wasn’t being leveraged as well as it could be and candidates weren’t even being recognised for applying.” Clearly, something had to change. The first steps were to ditch its old applicant tracking system, and bring recruitment back in-house – giving the team a blank canvas to start afresh. Now, candidates who’ve registered with Macmillan’s job site each get

personalised information about their application status. Job offers offers can be accepted online via a digital signature, and the system means the new joiner’s line manager can reach out to say hello before their first first day. “People now know where they are at every point in the process,” says Hyland. “It has really improved that connection with the candidate and filled filled the void between accepting an offer offer and starting a job, when traditionally nothing much happens.” The The impact on applicant experience has been profound. “In my first first year, half my day was spent answering complaints from people,” he says. “I’ve only had two complaints in the last three years since the new system was introduced.” There have been more tangible benefits for Macmillan as an organisation, too, he adds – the cost per hire has plummeted. “Because we can create libraries of adverts within the system, managers can be much more self-sufficient in terms of ‘business

I staartrteedd “When Ist cmillan, atM at Maacm re hire t perrhi costpe re than s moore wasm £1,000– it’s now £411”

as usual’ recruitment,” says Hyland. “Previously, we paid external companies £100,000 a year to post job adverts – a cost we took off overnight. When I started, cost per hire was more than £1,000. It’s now £411.” But there’s still some way to go before the recruitment process is perfected. “We have a hugely recognisable external

brand and we want that to be replicated whether you’re an employee or in the unpaid workforce,” says HR director Dawn Wilde. “We haven’t quite got that right yet, but it’s our journey and an opportunity.” The 75-strong HR team is aiming to make the candidate experience more personalised, potentially replacing

peoplemanagement.co.uk

WORDS GEORGI GYTON PHOTOGRAPHY PETER SEARLE

Dawn Wilde and Andrew Hyland are overhauling HR processes in a bid to future-proof the charity

old PDF job descriptions with video clips of line managers talking about the candidate’s role; posting pictures of where in the offi office ce the successful applicant will sit; access to an employee forum or message board; a team plan; and a schedule for what they will be doing in their fi first rst week. Macmillan’s work on recruitment is only a small part of a much bigger HR transformation project, the bulk of which it is aiming to complete in the next 18 months. Employee numbers have nearly tripled over the past 10 years to just over 2,000 staff, staff, which rises to more than 20,000 if you add the army of volunteers into the equation. But this expansion had not, until the appointment of new chief executive Lynda Th omas two Thomas years ago, been accompanied by a coherent strategy. A shift in the charity’s mindset means there’s greater internal recognition that Macmillan needs to nurture and develop talent from within to guarantee future success. Th is has been translated into three core This HR priorities: fi fitt for the future, great place to work and transformation. It has also been working with consultant Perry Timms on how to better unify HR’s voice and structure within the organisation. Th Thee HR team is questioning everything, says Wilde: “What does our internal HR look like? What is our service level agreement with the rest of the organisation? How can we do everything we need to, but in a more agile way? We are taking a pause to think about what we want to look like as an organisation.” Th ings have already begun to change Things signifi cantly: seven new behaviours significantly: have been introduced, and performance management has been decoupled from pay reviews, with conversations now happening on a quarterly, rather than an annual, basis. Although some employees have found the change process upsetting and difficult, Wilde is confident the strategy is setting Macmillan on the right track for a sustainable future: “While a lot of what we’re doing might not sound groundbreaking when compared to what a large commercial organisation might do, it’s groundbreaking for us.”

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In practice

The Trust’s new OD practitioners have helped save money and bring about cultural change

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

“Peopleweresceptical, butnowwe’redelivering betterpatientcare”

such as one-on-one coaching, building team away days and facilitating action learning sets and reflective sessions. “Although the programme was implemented in a short space of time, it has already had a positive impact,” says Esser.

Why an NHS Trust invested in upskilling middle managers as OD practitioners

WORDS MARIANNE CALNAN

The problem As is the case for most public sector organisations, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust always has to keep an eye on its purse strings. But it also urgently needed to boost its staff engagement scores (formerly 3.51 out of 5) and employee and patient satisfaction levels, as well as upskill staff and improve its organisation development (OD) initiatives. The solution In 2015, director of HR and OD Sue Esser launched an OD programme – which included revamping the organisation’s values and behaviours framework, investing in leadership development, improving teamwork, and creating OD capability and sustainability – in response to an employee engagement survey.

Once the values – people first, futurefocused, embracing change, working together and everyone counts – were fashioned, developing managers’ leadership skills was crucial, says Esser. “It was central to helping align staff values with ours. We know from research that when employees connect with their team and their values, that’s when they perform at their best.” Last September, the Trust launched an internal OD practitioners’ programme, opening up access to those at middle-manager level in an effort to make talent investment more sustainable. Applicants had to have line manager approval to apply to ensure a balance between their day-to-day role and what the programme required of them, which included spending two days per month delivering OD interventions

The outcome Between March and May this year, the new OD practitioners delivered 20 intervention events and worked with around 300 people. “The skills candidates have learned have not only helped them, but also the organisation,” says Esser. While delivering these interventions inhouse has saved the Trust around £10,000, more importantly there are now around 560 days of internal OD capacity available to use. Esser estimates the cost of this internal provision to be £170,000 (based on participants’ average salary); hiring external consultants would have set the Trust back nearly half a million pounds. The changes have also brought about a significant cultural shift, says Esser. Employee engagement scores are up to 3.77, matching the current NHS average. Staff satisfaction has increased, too, with a 4 per cent rise in the proportion of employees who say they would be happy for someone close to them to be treated by the Trust. “There was a lot of scepticism, but now there’s a real appetite for OD requests,” says Esser. “We have so many it’s difficult to keep up; the word is really spreading.”

✶ Improve your OD skills with the CIPD Advanced Award in Organisation Design and Development: bit.ly/CIPDOD peoplemanagement.co.uk

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It’ll cost you... £2,000 for allowing an employee to be nicknamed ‘Borat’ (race discrimination)

£15,000 for sacking a practising pagan witch for missing work on Halloween (unfair dismissal)

GETTY IMAGES, 123RF

£4,500 for suggesting two members of staﬀ go on a date (sexual harassment and injury to feelings)

can w la t n e m y lo p m e g Not understanbduint fortunately, People be expensive – has mined case law and Management periences of the country’s the personal ex ds to offer a concise and finest legal minl guide to six of the most highly practicaeas of legislation contentious ar WORDS EMILY BURT, MARIANNE CALNAN & JO FARAGHER

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Discrimination

Why a tricky area of the law is only going to get trickier – and how HR can stay ahead Among the biggest casualties of the introduction of tribunal fees in 2013 were claims for discrimination – there was a 91 per cent drop in the number of sex discrimination cases in the fi rst year. first The Supreme Court’s decision The that fees are unlawful (see page 8) will undoubtedly mean case numbers will rise, according to Sarah Embleton, senior associate in the employment practice at Burges Salmon: “People were still bringing bigger, more complex cases where the stakes were higher, but it was prohibitively expensive for many – particularly in cases where claimants were adding discrimination to other claims such as unfair dismissal.” There are also pertinent cases in the pipeline, says Rachel Farr, senior lawyer in the employment, pensions and mobility team at Taylor Wessing. “In particular, there are a number of cases both recently decided and due to be appealed about tricky areas of disability discrimination: how tribunals are to assess the reason for less favourable treatment, whether (and how far) to adapt recruitment procedures for employees with Asperger’s syndrome, and how far an employer can rely on an occupational health report,” she says. Farr refers to a recent case where an applicant with Asperger’s was asked to take a situational judgement test as part of the recruitment process to gain a training contract with the government’s legal service, GLS. Ms Brookes requested adjustments be made to the test but this was refused – meaning she narrowly missed out on the pass mark for progressing to the next stage – and her claim for indirect disability discrimination and discrimination arising from a disability was upheld at an employment tribunal. 28

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One of the issues that has traditionally been most challenging is managing potential conflicts between protected characteristics at work. How should managers approach a situation, for example, where someone claims their religious views mean they object to another worker’s sexual orientation? Recent consumer cases have put a spotlight on this dilemma, such as the Christian bakers in Northern Ireland who refused to bake a cake with the slogan ‘support gay marriage’. HR consultant Martine Robins from The HR Dept advises employers to handle matters informally where possible, and ensure policies around harassment are clear rather than making the issue about race or religion (or any other characteristic). “The key is to deal with it as soon as possible,” she says. “People shy away from these conversations, but training and awareness can help managers nip issues in the bud.” Jonathan Maude, employment law partner at Vedder Price, agrees: “The worst thing you can do is act more favourably towards one side – it’s much better to take a robust approach based on the facts.” Future developments in discrimination include the outcome of a consultation on whether caste should be covered in the Equality Act within the definition of race. This follows a groundbreaking case in 2015 when a claimant won almost £200,000 in compensation after being discriminated against because of her caste.

TUPE

Service provision changes aren’t exciting, but they could prove costly

It’s the four-letter word every HR professional dreads: TUPE, or the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, has always been fraught with the potential to confuse

WHAT SAY ATNOT TO WORK

“Stroppy teenagerli”ttle

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because it is highly technical and heavy on detail. Recent cases have focused on one key aspect of the regulations – whether there has been a service provision change during a transfer, which can then determine which employees retain their current terms and conditions (or not) under TUPE at their new employer. A 2016 case centred on the Salvation Army taking over a contract to look after homeless people in Coventry, involving a TUPE transfer of employees from a charity, Coventry Cyrenians. The charity had previously supported homeless people by offering accommodation across 10 sites, but the Salvation Army decided it would be more efficient to offer it over two, and made some further tweaks to how it delivered support. Coventry Cyrenians brought a claim to an employment tribunal, where the Salvation Army argued that there had been a service provision change so Cyrenian employees would not be covered by TUPE. Th Thee tribunal judge disagreed, claiming that the service was “fundamentally the same”. Dr John McMullen, partner at law firm Wrigleys, says using service provision change as a way of getting around TUPE rules can be a dangerous route. “Sometimes you see employers restructuring outsourcing arrangements or rewriting tenders so it’s a different kind of service, and therefore TUPE does not apply. But tribunals tend to take a common sense approach,” he says.

PRESS ASSOCIATION

“They will look at the substance of what’s going on. If it’s just a different mechanism, that does not mean it’s a different service.” One aspect of TUPE that could become more difficult to unravel is how workers are defined in terms of employment status – particularly as gig economy work continues to grow. Earlier this year, the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) brought a case against CitySprint, arguing that a courier had wrongly been classified as an independent contractor by the company after it bought his previous employer, and was denied holiday pay. It won this case and the courier was given his outstanding pay, but the IWGB is still fighting for the courier to be recognised as a worker under the TUPE transfer and gain other associated employment rights. If a tribunal finds in the courier’s favour again, it could establish the first precedent on whether TUPE transfer rules cover workers as well as employees. Charles Wynn-Evans, head of the employment practice at law firm Dechert, says that, as employment relationships become more complex, the key is to establish early on who falls under TUPE, and make consultation arrangements in good time: “Make sure you know

who’s applicable, for example in an outsourcing arrangement, and don’t leave it until the last minute to elect representatives.” Brexit, he adds, is unlikely to lead to any changes to TUPE legislation, in the short term at least. “It is possible a government could make changes in the future – for example, making it easier to harmonise terms – but that doesn’t mean it’s likely.”

requests and managing more dispersed workforces is not always straightforward. Maude says: “If people are working remotely, maybe just for the duration of a project, you must be mindful of whether they have an acceptable level of conduct to represent your company – are they meeting the same standards as onsite staff and is everyone treated fairly?” Maude currently works with a client where many workers are on Justifications matter 10-month contracts because the when it comes work is project-based: “They “They have a permanent contract but they to granting or understand there are 40 days a year denying requests when they’re not required. There According to Deloitte’s Millennial are knotty issues with things such Survey 2017, flexible ways of as holiday entitlement, but these working – whether that’s location, can be worked out and it’s a way hours or contractual arrangements of engaging graduates.” – are highly valued by workers born Embleton advises HR between the early 1980s and early professionals not to focus too much 2000s. Those in organisations with on precedents that have been set by a high degree of flexibility are more other staff, because the law around likely to be loyal to their employer the right to request flexible working and to say this has a positive impact centres on business reasons rather on their wellbeing and that of the than what’s happened before. business, Deloitte found. There are She says: “Sometimes managers also obvious benefits for parents and can be scared to say ‘no, we can’t carers. But working out competing accommodate this’ and they end up with a department that doesn’t work. Don’t be scared to look at the business need; if you can put The case of the Christian bakers who forward a good business case refused to make a pro-gay cake is a ing clash and justify your refusal, it would ion relig of ple exam high-proﬁle s be hard for an employee to take with other protected characteristic against it.” It’s important too, Embleton says, to be clear about the justification when you write to the employee in response to their request. “Evidence your decision and show this in the letter, rather than just setting out a couple of bullet points,” she advises. Where employers should exert caution is in being fair-handed about who is able to work flexibly and who is not. “If you have a practice of not letting people work from home, and this impacts on one gender more than the other, for example,

Flexible working

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OT TO WHAT N WORK T A SAY

a me “Finallyeccloset. out of thnd proud ” I am gayomae out at work –hoanse

to c Carp It’s greatou’re gay. When le their to y s s long a ouse workers phone and Wareh al manager’s xu status to e h terose d his Facebook sexuality, update ‘announce’ his und jokingly employer was fo tion their sexual orienta guilty of arassment. h

they may have a claim for indirect discrimination,” says Sue Kelly, partner at Winckworth Sherwood. In a recent case involving XC Trains, it was decided that the company’s requirement that a female train driver work Saturdays and 50 per cent of her roster, rather than the family friendly shifts she had requested, was discriminatory. According to a recent CIPD Employee Outlook survey, the main reasons employees request flexible working are that it reduces the amount of time spent commuting; they can manage caring responsibilities; and they can spend more time with friends and family. As project-based and freelance working increases, too, it’s clear that HR will need to keep on top of a growing number of less formal arrangements while being mindful of the law.

Court of Justice was asked whether a Belgian company’s dress code – which banned staff from wearing any visible religious, political or philosophical symbols in the workplace – was direct discrimination against an employee who wore a headscarf. In Bougnaoui and another v Micropole, the question was whether requiring an employee not to wear a headscarf after a customer complained was direct discrimination. But how should these decisions be applied in the UK? “Employers are generally free to set whatever dress code they wish for staff, so long as the requirements are not discriminatory,” says Farr. In Achbita, where the dress code applied to all groups, this was not discrimination. Telling an employee not to cover her head after a customer complaint, however, was found to be unlawful. Farr adds that the scope of these decisions for UK companies is fairly narrow. “Employers that intend to operate dress code policies banning religious symbols should ask themselves whether a blanket ban can be objectively justified, or if there is a way of achieving the aim of the dress code policy in a more limited and proportionate manner,” she advises.

Another thorny area for managers can be when staff bring up religious views with colleagues – where is the line between enthusiasm and proselytising? A useful case in this respect, from 2016, considered a situation where a young Muslim employee had complained about a Christian colleague’s behaviour, including being given a book about converting to Christianity, which she had characterised as ‘grooming’. The Christian employee was dismissed for serious misconduct and her claim for religious discrimination and harassment was rejected at tribunal. Disciplining someone for merely manifesting a religious belief, by contrast, would be unlawful discrimination. There are often certain practical considerations with teams of multiple faiths, including holiday allocation and shift patterns. Is it reasonable, for example, to expect a Jewish employee to work Friday evenings or Saturdays? “If you insist on it, you have to make the business case for it. Is there a reason that you can’t change the shift pattern? Could agreeing to certain shift patterns for someone of one faith lead to conflict with others? It’s a difficult balancing act,” says Donald Mackinnon, director of legal services at Law at Work.

Religion

When it comes to religion at work, one of the ways it is most visibly expressed is in the way employees dress. Two European cases have provided food for thought on whether employers can be proscriptive with dress codes in relation to religion. In Achbita and another v G4S Secure Solutions, the European 30

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The IWGB has brought several cases against gig economy ﬁrms concerning the employment status of their workers

SELIM KORYCKI

From dress codes to the intricacies of helping people from different faiths work together

Approving holiday requests on religious grounds should be approached with the same caution. In Gareddu v London Underground earlier this year, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) upheld a decision that a claimant’s belief that he was entitled to five weeks’ leave to attend religious festivals in Sardinia was not a manifestation of his beliefs, but a wish to be with his family – and therefore refusal to grant the request was not discriminatory. Kelly says it is important for employers not to shy away from saying no to requests just because the reason given is religion. “Enquire sensitively and look behind the request,” she suggests.

A trip to Sardinia was positioned as a religious holiday – but a tribunal begged to diﬀer

Problems over parity between mums and dads could be storing up trouble

With discrimination against women during pregnancy or maternity leave costing businesses close to £280m a year, according to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, parenthood at work is potentially expensive. And discrimination is a particular consideration when it comes to shared parental leave (SPL). Although it’s a “step in the right direction”, according to Andrew Howard, associate at law firm Allen WHAT SAY ATNOT TO WORK

“Will you marry m e?”

Ro m a n c a Manc e was deﬁnite attendinhester law ﬁrmly not in the air a solicit g a job inter v , when a wom at took theor for her handiew was asked an by in m job but a su – believing he arriage. She b se que was jok nt c a m p ing – sexual h aig a ra awarde ssment saw hen of d mo r £20,00 re than 0.

& Overy, SPL has not brought the gender equality many hoped for. But it has brought confusion. The EAT is due to hear two key cases on whether employers that pay enhanced maternity pay must also pay enhanced shared parental pay to their partners. These cases initially came to conflicting decisions, despite similar facts: in Ali v Capita, the tribunal ruled that not offering enhanced pay to a man who took SPL after his wife was diagnosed with postnatal depression was direct discrimination; whereas in Hextall v Leicestershire Police, it decided that it was not discriminatory for a male employee to receive statutory parental leave pay, as he was treated no less favourably than a woman taking the same type of leave. Meanwhile, in the unrelated 2016 case of Snell v Network Rail, a male employee was awarded £28,321 for discrimination because his employer refused to pay his SPL at the same level as his wife, who was also a colleague. “When the regulations came in, government advice seemed to suggest that organisations would not have to enhance shared parental

pay even if they enhanced maternity pay,” says Karen Plumbley-Jones, practice development lawyer at Bond Dickinson. “If the decisions show this is no longer the case, they’ll have to revise the guidelines.” Howard believes there should be an additional right introduced for fathers. “I’d like to see a right to take a period of leave beyond the current two weeks’ paternity leave. This would result in a better take-up of leave by fathers – one of SPL’s common criticisms,” he says. Only around 7,000 men were paid for SPL in the 2016-17 tax year, according to figures obtained by People Management – this was, in part, because of the rules’ complexity. Rachel Suff, employee relations adviser at the CIPD, says the low take-up has done nothing to “shift the cultural perception of childcare as a ‘women’s issue’”. Suff says it is essential that employers are clear about the statutory provision surrounding paternity and maternity leave dates and arrangements, including SPL. “The law is complex and specific; it’s not difficult for employers to slip up on some of the detail,” she warns. Howard urges managers to not be afraid to talk to their employees peoplemanagement.co.uk

ALAMY

Parental leave

ALAMY

UK employers that do not allow religious dress must be able to prove that a complete ban can be objectively justiﬁed

about family leave – many issues arise when individuals feel ignored or overlooked. Having formal steps also smoothes the process and keeps it consistent, he says: “This will deal with the key points on issues arising before, during and after leave.”

Disciplinaries and grievances

Follow the rule book and keep a written record – or be prepared to write a large cheque

HR isn’t all about the process. But when a disciplinary or grievance makes the news, you can be pretty certain someone, somewhere didn’t follow the rules. Both are situations that organisations strive to resolve informally and internally to avoid a costly tribunal. “Most employees are quite reluctant to raise a formal grievance because they think they will be earmarked as a troublemaker, and employers wish to avoid the fallout,” says Karen Jackson, solicitor and managing director at didlaw. Barry Harwood, barrister at Kenworthy’s Chambers, warns that not enough managers take into account the legal consequences of failing to follow appropriate practice in either situation. 32

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“Either side of a grievance or disciplinary dispute could see up to a 25 per cent increase in compensation if they fail to follow best practice,” he says. “If an employee were to resign, then claim they were constructively dismissed in a tribunal, they could have their compensation reduced for a failure to follow the internal grievance process first. Should an employer fail to offer an appeal to an employee who is being dismissed for gross misconduct, they might have their compensation payment increased for the failure to follow proper, fair proceedings.” When any formal issue is raised, employers are obliged by law to follow the official Acas guidelines for managing disciplinaries and grievances. In July, the case of Ms V Wileman v Lancaster & Duke Limited saw a recruiter awarded more than £7,000 in damages after a tribunal found her employer had dismissed her for gross misconduct without raising formal concerns about her behaviour beforehand. Employers can also be tripped up for failing to carry out fair and reasonable investigations of their employees when disciplinaries arise. In 2014, the Supreme Court prevented an NHS Trust from bringing a disciplinary hearing over confidentiality breaches, as it had not carried out a proper investigation of the breaches.

“In every disciplinary and policy procedure, there is a list of sanctions to implement before issuing a verbal warning or a final written warning, and different levels of sanction or penalty available to an employer,” Harwood says. “Employers must take these into account, or risk acting outside the band of reasonable responses test.” Context may also be taken into account under the ‘Polkey deduction’, which dates back to the 1987 case of Polkey v AE Dayton Services, where a driver was made redundant from his business with no warning. While the dismissal was ruled to be unfair, it was acknowledged that because of limited budgets and trying circumstances, the redundancy would have occurred regardless of fair process. To avoid hefty tribunal payments, experts urge employers dealing with a disciplinary or grievance to try to resolve issues informally and ensure an employee does not feel persecuted for raising an issue. “The key thing is to keep lines of communication open,” says Jackson. “The quickest way to drive someone into the arms of a lawyer is to ignore their complaint – time and again this happens where the company grievance process isn’t followed or an employee is not kept up to date.” ✶ Look out for the new CIPD employment law helpline launching on 18 September, featuring 24/7 access, increased annual call entitlement and much more ✶ Get a complete employment law update in just one day with CIPD Law on Tour this October: bit.ly/CIPDLoT

WHAT SAY ATNOT TO WO R K

“You look like a pim p”

Wh e n L on diﬀe ondon pub wo re n rkers w ere tr yin Day t hats as pa black e promotion, a mr t of a St Patric g A £1, 20mployee he res anager told a k ’s 0 e follow award for rac mbled a pimp images ed, after a tribuial harassmen . t of ‘p na the term imps’ to decidl Googled e wheth h ad b e e er n us oﬀensiv e mann ed in an er.

Michael Bronstein Partner at Dentons

Rhian Radia Partner and head of employment at Hodge Jones & Allen Rajiv Joshi Partner at Blake Morgan

Jeremy Coy Associate at Russell-Cooke

WEARETHELAW We took employment lawyers from top firms and asked them about what really matters to HR â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from Brexit and the Taylor review to staying out of court PHOTOGRAPHY SIMON FERNANDEZ

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Richard Fox Partner at Kingsley Napley Joanna Pennick Associate at DAC Beachcroft

Philip Pepper Partner at Shakespeare Martineau

t is far from hyperbole to say 2017 has been the most significant year for employment law since the Magna Carta was signed. Matthew Taylor has shaken up the notion of employment status, tribunal fees have been scrapped and the implications of Brexit are beginning to become clear, not to mention the introduction of the gender pay reporting regime. To unpick these matters, and set them in the context of the modern workplace, People Management went straight to the top. We asked employment lawyers from seven of the UK’s most prestigious firms to assemble for an afternoon in the heart of London for a wide-ranging discussion. And while their guidance would normally cost thousands, we’re giving it to you for free… peoplemanagement.co.uk

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“Uberisnot exactly gaming the system,butit isexploiting what the system allows itto exploit”

What was your reaction to the abolition of tribunal fees? Fox It took far too long. I couldn’t understand how [trade union] Unison kept losing. The Supreme Court had the courage to pull down the government’s defence of something that was really tricky to defend. Joshi I was surprised. We’ve heard the estimates of what the government will have to reimburse, and the details of how that will be worked out will be interesting. What happens to those who’ve had an award made against them? How will [defendants] be able to pay it back? And what happens to those who didn’t lodge claims because the fees deterred them? Coy We have no idea how many people were put off making claims since 2013 [when fees were introduced]. Things could get back to the same level as they were before then. Pennick There might be an initial spike, but I don’t think we will get to that previous level in the short term because there has been a big culture change. People have been put off [making claims] and that filters through to their colleagues. Have people been deterred from pursuing ‘vexatious’ claims since the fees came in? Fox I don’t think it’s right to say the level of vexatious claims has come down. The same proportion of claims are winning, so that argument is specious. The bigger question is what fees have done to the culture of litigation. For example, sex discrimination cases are down 85 per cent and you have to ask why. Radia [After fees] it seemed to become such an employer-friendly world. It was increasingly difficult for claimants. I received constant cost threats against employees at every stage of the litigation, even before claims had been issued. That really deterred people. Fox You could argue that tribunal fees have not done fair employers a favour,

because many bad ones know they’re unlikely to be challenged for malpractice. Arguably, fair employers will want a proper review of the system to ensure the bad apples – those who don’t pay wages properly or who play fast and loose with process – are taken out, leaving a level playing field.

Will Brexit mean certain employment legislation is removed from the statute books? Bronstein The government repeatedly said in the run-up to Article 50 that there would be no change to workers’ rights post-Brexit. It would be a brave government that would do away with the right to paid annual leave, for example. Plus, there’s a common misconception that all employment rights are created by the EU, and in fact the contrary is true. Fox I’m not quite as sanguine. Theresa May has been associated with worker rights from day one. And one benefit from Brexit might be that the

government can set its own agenda. There may be a focus on sex discrimination payouts, and I wonder if – playing to the employer market – they will feel it’s appropriate to put a cap on those cases. Coy TUPE is most likely to be reformed because it’s not something the average person on the street is likely to know about. If harmonisation [under TUPE] is liberalised, that’s not going to make waves in the national press, whereas, if you

reduce workers’ rights to holiday, Labour will be on top of it. Joshi I can’t see significant changes being made to TUPE. But agency worker regulations have been unpopular with some employers and we may seem some move away from them. Pennick TUPE will stay. Slight tweaks might include the ability to harmonise terms and conditions after a TUPE has happened, because most employers find that unworkable. What is the most likely outcome in terms of a new visa regime post-Brexit? Bronstein It’s extremely opaque. We don’t even know what’s going to happen on 29 March 2019. I’ve got clients who say good workers are leaving because of the uncertainty in their personal lives. The government’s proposals were farreaching but a lot of detail was missing. Pennick We’ve got clients already setting up entities – in Ireland, for instance – and they are asking workers if they are willing to move. For example, a lot of banking employees are highly mobile

Our panel agreed that gender pay reporting is a step in the right direction for equality

so they have been saying ‘I’ll go wherever you want to send me’. Pepper [Home secretary] Amber Rudd has set out a year-long consultation on migration. I’m astonished we haven’t got some certainty in this area. My clients in the food sector say people are leaving and it’s creating real problems for them. Bronstein It’s a spectacular own goal for the UK economy that just at the point peoplemanagement.co.uk

While the lawyers were happy to see the back of tribunal fees, they were divided over whether the abolition would lead to a hike in claims

where we’re beginning to see labour shortages, we’re looking to obstruct the supply of talented labour from the EU and the lower-skilled labour we need to do jobs in agriculture, for example. Does the Taylor review provide clarity over the future of employment status? Pennick The report is commendable but aspirational. If it was easy to determine an employee, worker or self-employed person, we’d already be doing it. Joshi For me, it’s all about relationships and that will always end up in a tribunal at some point, whether we have the categorisation of dependant contractor or not. I don’t think we will see a massive reduction in the number of employment status claims coming before a judge. Bronstein Employers like Uber are not exactly gaming the system, but they are exploiting what the system allows them to exploit. In every case I’ve seen in this area, the employer has lost because the tribunals have taken a robust view. In the Uber case, the judgment saw through the byzantine layers of documents the army of lawyers had invented to say the company wasn’t a taxi service. Taylor has got that right – it is a very nuanced spectrum: at which point do you become sufficiently subordinate to become a worker rather than self-employed? Fox Taylor has shown that being selfemployed is not what it used to be – it’s 38

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Joshi The hard remedy might not be there yet but there is a lot to be said for reputational damage – many employers will fear that. Pennick Over time, a divide seems to have appeared. The Equal Pay Act hasn’t made the difference we all hoped for – maybe putting the gap into the press and making employees aware of it is the only way to change it.

not just solicitors and architects and so on, it’s people who really need support. And while I agree that you need the flexibility of case law around this, the difficulty is how you legislate. Bronstein It comes down to tax. At the moment, there is a big incentive for an organisation to ensure the individuals they engage are self-employed, which means [not paying] 13.8 per cent employer’s national insurance. If that is removed or lessened then the incentive to game the system is diminished and that’s a more logical starting point. Is the gender pay reporting regime fair? Bronstein Equal pay is the employment legislation equivalent of banging your head against a brick wall. Gender pay gap reporting is a sensible thing to try because it makes employers think about the issue and consider addressing it, although the pay gap is not about equal pay as such. Radia I’ve acted on equal pay cases for many female clients who’ve said at the start: ‘It’s no more than a feeling.’ They’ve got no figures to work with. I hope tribunals will be more willing to order the disclosure of pay data at an early stage – you don’t know if you’ve got a case until you have transparency.

What piece of advice would you give an HR professional or employer that would help them avoid litigation? Fox Download all Acas guidance and read it before you make any decision – you will probably knock out a large percentage of claims that way. Pepper Get your managers trained. In lots of organisations, HR might do it by the book but you need managers to do it by the book too. Joshi Seek early advice – not just HR seeking legal advice, but managers seeking advice from HR. Lots of employment tribunals begin with a very small issue that could have been nipped in the bud but instead snowballs into this massive piece of litigation. Coy Small employers often want to get things done right away. They want to investigate, do the disciplinary, do the appeal but, if you just wait another couple of weeks and follow the procedure, you could avoid a litigation claim. If you don’t want to do that, open your chequebook. Fox Remember everything electronic is potentially disclosable. Many a fantastic case has been bust apart because of some injudicious communication, often by managers who don’t have HR expertise. Joshi Often, HR is the ambulance that arrives after the accident has happened. Just getting managers to understand the basics of disciplinaries and grievances, or to understand discrimination, for example, can really help.

“Often,HR isthe ambulancethat arrivesafterthe accident– train yourmanagers inthe basics”

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I N T E R V I E W

“Uberisgoingtobe thebestcompanyin theworldforwomen” HR chief Liane Hornsey explains how she’ll banish the sexist culture that has made the taxi app the world’s most beleaguered business

INTERVIEW ROBERT JEFFERY PHOTOGRAPHY MARTIN E KLIMEK

f Liane Hornsey is in the midst of a crisis, she’s sounding remarkably unruffled. Addressing People Management from her home in San Francisco, she’s at pains to point out that life at Uber – where she has been chief HR officer since January – continues as normal. But the clue is in the timing: it’s a Saturday morning and rather than relaxing in the Silicon Valley sunshine, the British HR leader is busy conducting a round of interviews as part of a hiring spree. The focus on recruitment is understandable. Since Hornsey joined, Uber – already beset by criticism of its business model and employment practices – has been rocked by accusations of systemic sexism prompted by a blog post from engineer Susan Fowler, and has seen CEO Travis Kalanick resign following a range of corporate scandals including his own foul-mouthed rant against one of the ride-hailing app’s drivers.

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Hornsey does at least have the pedigree to take on such a challenge. After spending almost a decade in the top HR role at Google (she had previously worked for lastminute.com and NTL in the UK, among others) she understands both technology and the start-up culture that underpins it. And as she explains, she’ll need her full set of HR skills in the months to come. How would you describe to an outsider what it’s like to work in Silicon Valley? There’s a particular vibe here. Innovation is central – there is a desire to do the next thing, to solve the next problem. There is a lot less tradition and a lot less respect for tradition. What’s valued here is the ability to think ‘beyond’. I didn’t realise how different it was until I came here. And this might sound unbelievably unintelligent, but the heightened sense of being happy in the Valley is definitely accentuated by the

sunshine. Unlike in London, for example, a lot of the workspaces are external and a lot of the colour, such as the eating spaces, is out in the sun. It feels like a campus. What’s diﬀerent in HR terms? Talent is highly sought after, and in particular there is a dearth of engineering talent. So many firms want engineers, particularly in areas such as AI and machine learning. Businesses really have to make themselves attractive workplaces. It’s not a nice to have, it’s an economic necessity that differentiates the Valley. Google sets the tone here both because it is one of the biggest companies and it did things differently when it launched. When Google started with free food, beautiful campuses, plenty of open space and real consideration around benefits, it started to become the norm. The psychological contract is also different. There is no working somewhere for life. There’s no expectation that you will be anywhere more than five or six

years, but there is an expectation that you will learn while you’re at a company – it’s a mutually beneficial, two-way thing. Do we look to US tech businesses too much for ‘best practice’? I think HR professionals in every business should look at what firms like Google, Facebook, Uber and Airbnb are doing. But they need to remember that not everything these firms have done is brilliant – they’ve made mistakes and have had to adjust along the way as well. At the same time, you’ve got to be cognisant of your own culture. Every business has its own unique culture and its own problems to solve. What works for Google might not work for Jaguar. How does the need to ﬁght for talent change the way you recruit? Like other companies in the Valley, we interview engineers for technical competence and test for it. But some of the firms I’ve worked for and know well also test for cultural fit. Certainly at Google, and at Uber, we look very closely at culture. Is this person going to prosper in a highly collaborative, team-based environment? If they’re aren’t, they won’t be hired, even if they have the best technical skills in the world. Fit is critical and Valley companies are very good at testing it, through questioning or behavioural interviewing, because they don’t want to jeopardise it by bringing in the wrong people. And when you do bring in the wrong people, they leave pretty quickly. Would you agree you’ve got the toughest job in HR right now? A lot of people have said that. But I think I have the best HR job in the world, and I mean that. The hardest thing about HR is getting listened to, and getting the leadership to believe in and engage with the need for change. I don’t have that problem. I don’t have to knock on the door – the door opens to me, because everyone in Uber, particularly the leaders, is interested in change and really motivated to change. It’s hard because it’s complex and because 90 per cent of change programmes fail. Intellectually, it’s extremely challenging – thinking through all the steps of a culture change programme over the next two years

“Thehardest thing inHRis gettinglistened to– but Idon’t haveto knock on any doors”

peoplemanagement.co.uk

that takes everyone with you, where employees are wholly motivated through everything you do. I have the energy and I don’t have the resistance I had in other organisations. I don’t have to prove everything. But I do have to prove through action to the employees that I’m serious, the company is serious and the leadership is serious. Is the external scrutiny of the company a help or a hindrance to that process? It’s never easy to be under the microscope. The saddest thing is that I walked into a company six months ago where the employees genuinely believed they were changing the nature of transportation for the better; changing the nature of work for people who needed work. I was talking to someone who has been here three years and he said: “I used to think I was a good person doing good work and now people think I’m a bad person working at a company doing bad things.” These people were mission-driven and dedicated, and what happened in the media has tainted that and people’s pride in the company has dropped. But it’s my job to use all that’s happened as a lightning rod for change and make sure we can rebuild those things. What are the main ways you’re trying to change the business? When I say I thank Susan Fowler for her blog I mean it, because you can’t put things right if you don’t know about them. Having that knowledge has been immensely important. We’ve done a ton of things. We’ve had investigations running into all sorts of egregious behaviour. We opened a hotline so that anyone with concerns could go to outside counsel, not internal people, to talk about that and get their issues investigated. We have terminated 20 people as a result of that, and that’s significant – that’s 20 people who have lost their livelihoods. A number of others have gone into coaching, had training and been given warnings. We

“I‘venevermet anyone who saysthey love performance management – but theyshould”

peoplemanagement.co.uk

are continuing with that hotline and with zero tolerance. I’ve increased the number of employee relations people in my team by 250 per cent and that team now reports directly to me. We are taking everything incredibly seriously. We are monitoring complaints confidentially and anonymously. We are watching to see what happens and I am extremely clear that there is no room for inappropriate behaviour. Would you be happy to be a female engineer in Uber at the moment? Yes, I would. My aim is to get more women engineers into Uber. I believe that within about two or three months – because we are so dedicated to diversity and inclusion, more than any firm I’ve ever known – there will no better place in the world for a female engineer to work. You’re designing a new performance management system as part of your change programme. What will that look like? I’ve never met anyone who says ‘wow, I love performance management’ – and that’s sad, because people should love getting feedback from their manager. They should love the opportunity to understand how they’re doing and what they’ve got to do to learn. People don’t, because they find it a difficult process – and that’s not an Uber thing. Most HR professionals would agree. We sent a survey to the whole company asking how they wanted performance management to change – 3,500 people responded. We then put 600 volunteers into focus groups, and they designed the system we’re implementing now. I didn’t construct it in a darkened room with strategists – our employees created it for themselves. I’m really proud of what we’ve done, but I don’t know where we go from here. We’re going to ask everyone how it went and where they want to go at year end – which is really important, because that’s where you start to link things to compensation.

Uber says it is changing the world of transport – and that even means taking taxis to the water

Do you believe that link between pay and performance should remain? Yes, I think it works. It’s not about the money – it’s about the signal that you’ve done a good thing, and my sense is that people want that. And I believe any performance management system should be linked to company performance as well as individual performance, so there’s a sense that we’re all in it together. But we’ll see what everyone says. What advice would you oﬀer an HR professional who wants to thrive in a business like yours? It’s impossible to offer great counsel if you don’t understand the business you’re working in. When I sit down in interviews, the first question I ask is: ‘Tell me about your current business.’ I’m not an HR professional for life – I’ve worked in sales, marketing, strategy, customer service and operations. I don’t think you can be a great HR practitioner without having worked in the business so that you have a good appreciation of it, or if you haven’t – and that’s fine – acknowledging that you need to spend time understanding your business. Are you optimistic that the tech sector will continue to understand the need for strong HR professionals? There’s never been more need for great internal consultants. The companies that have not done well as start-ups are those that only hire recruiters and don’t hire brilliant HR people. You’ve got to understand how to design organisations – how to make sure the behaviours are right. The need for intelligent, informed consulting will never go away – if it does, companies will fail.

Team Intelligence

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How can safer, healthier, smarter ways of working boost your business? Find out at IOSH 2017, with opportunities to:

Key speakers include:

- meet, hear and get advice from a range of experts, speakers and inﬂuencers - keep up to date with healthy workplace trends

Bev Messinger

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson

Stephen Martin

Chief Executive IOSH

Director General Institute of Directors

Independent Crossbench Peer House of Lords

- learn good-practice, evidence-based solutions to common challenges you face - network, make connections and build enduring, mutually beneﬁcial relationships Kris De Meester

Chairman Health and Safety Working Group, BusinessEurope Senior Adviser Federation of Enterprises in Belgium

Lawrence Waterman OBE

Geoff McDonald

Managing Partner Park Health and Safety Partnership LLP

Executive Director Open Minds Health

Visit www.ioshconference.com for updates and to book your place Get involved in the discussion #IOSH2017 or follow

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FLEET CARS

10BEST ECOFLEETCARS

l cars The writing’s on the wall for petrol and diese – so what should your staff be dri ving ? WORDS RORY WHITE

t might not seem like it right now, but in years to come 2017 may prove to be pivotal in the world of cars – especially for fleet managers. On 6 April, the UK ent introduced major rnm gove changes to salary sacrifice schemes. Employees who order company cars after this date (except vehicles emitting less than 75g/km of CO2) g er benefit-inhigh will be taxed on tthe h car and any the kind (BIK) value of ld have been wou that ive cash alternat one under a forg cash any or e, labl avai salary sacrifice scheme. The rules will be rolled out to all company cars by

April 2021 – a clear nudge towards a greener automotive future. The next big announcement came in July: Volvo said it will stop producing petrol and diesel cars without some kind of electrification by 2019. It’s a bold statement – or, for the more cynical, a brilliant bit of PR – and the first move by a large, mainstream manufacturer to verbally commit to fundamentally changing the industry. The government then announced that, from 2040, there will be no diesel or petrol-only new cars sold in the UK. There’s plenty to be sceptical about here – not least that there’s a

huge amount of time and potentially different governments standing in the way of this becoming a reality. But others in the know showed no real surprise, saying the industry was heading this way on its own. Whatever happens by 2040, the list of fleet cars we’ve compiled here is proof that electrification is very much p e being either a pure each now, ea ble n lable vaila avai -in plug electric vehicle (EV), hybrid, fall st Mo hybrid or mild hybrid. below the 75g/km of CO2 threshold, but all make serious financial sense to company car drivers and the organisations buying them. peoplemanagement.co.uk

Volkswagen’s e-Up is surprisingly roomy and practical

VOLKSWAGEN E UP

SMART FORTWO COUPÉ ELECTRIC DRIVE PRIME PREMIUM

Smart actually offers a pure EV version of all its models: the five-door forfour and its two-door, two-seat fortwo in coupé and open-top cabriolet forms. The electric fortwo Coupé is perfect for city driving, because the instant torque on offer from its electric motor is ideal for darting away from traffic lights, while its tiny dimensions and quick steering make it brilliant at nipping in and out of traffic. A full charge takes around 2.5 hours when using a wall charger, or six hours via a standard three-pin socket, which officially gets you 99 miles of range. Of course, in the real world this will be closer to 75 miles, but that’s the vast majority of UK commutes covered off.

Volkswagen’s city car had a facelift this year, getting a new infotainment system and interior trim upgrades. No Up is expensive to run, but business users looking for low BIK rates should consider this pure EV model, which can be charged via a three-pin socket in nine hours. Alternatively, an 80 per cent charge is possible in just 30 minutes via a fast charger. The Up is small, lightweight, agile to drive and has a comfortable ride, making it perfect for urban adventures. But, unlike the Smart, its ﬁve doors and seating for the same number make it a practical choice too, despite its modest length and width. Like all pure EV cars with zero CO2 emissions below £60,000, the e-Up attracts the government’s maximum £4,500 plug-in car grant (PICG). Price £25,280 (before PICG) | 0-62mph 12.4sec | Max speed 81mph | CO2 emissions 0g/km | BIK tax liability 9% | Oﬃcial pure EV range 99 miles

SUZUKI SWIFT 1.0 BOOSTERJET SHVS SZ5

Suzuki launched its latest Swift earlier this year, and for the first time it’s fitted with so-called ‘SHVS’ (or smart hybrid vehicle by Suzuki) technology. Essentially, it’s made up of a small battery and integrated starter generator that gives the engine assistance when accelerating and can even help start the engine more efficiently under start-stop conditions in town. Not only does this help the little Swift’s 1.0-litre Boosterjet engine feel bigger than it is to drive, it also helps cut CO2 emissions and improves fuel economy. This latest Swift has sharp handling, too, and decent room for four adults. SZ5 trim comes with everything you need and more but at a price that undercuts many of its small car rivals. Price £15,984 | 0-62mph 10.6sec | Max speed 121mph | CO2 emissions 97g/km | BIK tax liability 18% | Official mpg 65.7mpg

MINI COUNTRYMAN COOPER S E ALL4

We’ve all accepted that the Mini is no longer, er, mini, but the latest Countryman is straying into small SUV territory. That won’t be enough to put people off though, because the previous Countryman, with its higher driving position and better interior space, was a huge hit. For the first time, Mini is offering it as a plug-in hybrid, which combines a small petrol engine and electric motor to improve fuel economy and CO2 emissions. A full charge of the Countryman’s battery allows STYLISH an official 26 miles of range on electricity alone, although you’re more likely to see closer to 20 miles AND ECO in real-world driving conditions. There’s excitement FRIENDLY to be had too, though: together, its engine and electric motor help it surge to 62mph in a potent 6.8 seconds. Price £31,585 (before PICG) | 0-62mph 6.8sec | Max speed 123mph | CO2 emissions 49g/km | BIK tax liability 9% | Official mpg 134.5mpg | Official pure EV range 26 miles

peoplemanagement.co.uk

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF GTE ADVANCE

The Volkswagen Golf is an icon with decades of heritage, but this plug-in hybrid only became available on this latest, seventh-generation model. It combines a turbocharged 1.4-litre petrol engine and electric motor for punchy performance along with GTI-like sporty styling. However, CO2 emissions of just 40g/km means a BIK tax rate of just 9 per cent, and the government will deduct £2,500 as part of its PICG scheme. A pure EV range of 15 miles is realistically possible, which for most city-dwellers means commuting on battery power and saving fuel for

weekend jaunts to the countryside. Happily, the GTE is great fun to drive, with precise steering and great body control, yet also a comfy ride helping to smooth the UK’s rough tarmac. Price £32,135 (before PICG) | 0-62mph 7.6sec | Max speed 138mph | CO2 emissions 40g/ km | BIK tax liability ONLY 9% 9% | Oﬃcial mpg BIK 156.9mpg | Oﬃcial pure EV range 31 miles

FLEET CARS

TOYOTA PRIUS PLUG IN HYBRID BUSINESS EDITION

Think Toyota Prius and you could be forgiven for thinking Uber. However, this latest model, launched earlier this year, is a much more rounded car than the previous generation. It’s better to drive, more comfortable and has a higher-quality interior this time around. Buyers have the choice of a standard hybrid or this plug-in hybrid version, which can be charged via a wall box or three-pin socket and returns around 20 miles of pure EV travel. Toyota says

20 MILE

ELECTRIC 283mpg is RANGE officially possible but, clearly, that’s not the case. Even so, the Prius Plug-in is an extremely fuel-efficient car even by hybrid standards, and the government will award you a £2,500 deduction if you choose one. Price £31,695 (before PICG) | 0-62mph 11.1sec | Max speed 101mph | CO2 emissions 22g/km | BIK tax liability 9% | Official mpg 283mpg | Official pure EV range 39 miles

RENAULT SCENIC DCI 110 DYNAMIQUE NAV HYBRID ASSIST

Renault introduced its all-new Scenic MPV earlier this year, but only more recently has it offered its new Hybrid Assist technology in combination with the Scenic’s dCi diesel engine. It involves a 48-volt battery and an electric motor that works with the engine to provide better performance at low revs, but also stores and distributes energy generated when slowing down. Ultimately, not only do you get an improved drive, but also better fuel economy and CO2 emissions. For a car of its size, with the ability to carry five adults in comfort, 94g/km of CO2 is mightily impressive, while an official fuel economy of 80mpg – while not achievable in the real world AMAZING – is a better figure than any of its rivals’ efforts. Price £25,055 | 0-62mph 12.9sec | Max speed 112 | CO2 emissions 94g/km | BIK tax liability 20% | Official mpg 80.7mpg

VOLVO XC60 T8 R DESIGN

Volvo’s move to equip all its models with electric power by 2019 has already begun: both its SUVs, the XC90 and the smaller XC60, are offered in T8 plug-in hybrid form. That means a four-cylinder petrol engine driving the front wheels and an electric motor driving the rear ones, the ability to drive on pure electricity and charging via wall box or domestic socket. Given the XC60 is a large SUV and is capable of sprinting to 62mph from a standstill in just 5.3 seconds, its 49g/km CO2 figure is impressive, ensuring a BIK tax rate of just 9 per cent for company car drivers. It’s a shame the XC60’s ride quality isn’t class-leading, but its interior quality, space and practicality make it stand out from the competition. Price £56,850 (before PICG) | 0-62mph 5.3sec | Max speed 143mph | CO2 emissions 49g/km | BIK tax liability 9% | Official mpg 134.5mpg | Official pure EV range 28 miles

80MPG

*PICG: plug-in car grant (£4,500 for full EV models;

£2,500 for cars emitting less than 50g/km CO2 that can cover at least 10 miles on electricity alone)

BMW 530E SE IPERFORMANCE

The BMW 5 Series is What Car?’s current car of the year in diesel form, but company car drivers looking for the cheapest option of the range should consider this iPerformance plug-in hybrid version. The car’s performance hasn’t been hampered because this 5 Series is capable of 146mph and a 6.2 second 0-62mph time, but it can travel around 20 miles on a full charge using just its batteries and electric motors. When that’s used up, a four-cylinder petrol engine takes over to keep you moving. Everything else that is brilliant about the latest BMW 5 Series remains intact. It has a luxurious interior, sharp drive, comfortable ride and one of the best infotainment systems on the market as standard. Price £44,765 (before PICG) | 0-62mph 6.2sec | Max speed 146mph | CO2 emissions 46g/km | BIK tax liability 9% | Oﬃcial mpg 141.2mpg | Oﬃcial pure EV range 29 miles

PORSCHE PANAMERA 4 E HYBRID SPORT TURISMO

This Sport Turismo version of Porsche’s Panamera is best thought of as an estate, although in truth there are much more spacious and practical estate cars out there – this is an estate concerned with covering continents quickly and luxuriously. Porsche offers the Sport Turismo in this E-Hybrid form, bringing a combination of batteries, an electric motor and a 2.9-litre V6 petrol engine, which takes over when necessary. The car’s figures are pretty staggering: 4.6 seconds to 62mph and a 170mph top speed, yet just 59g/km of CO2 is emitted from its tailpipes and it can travel for around 20 miles on electricity. It can be fast, then, but it can also be frugal, and its heavy batteries do nothing to hurt the Panamera’s brilliant handling. Price £84,869 | 0-62mph 4.6sec | Max speed 170mph | CO2 emissions 59g/km | BIK tax liability 13% | Official mpg tbc | Official pure EV range 31 miles

mera The Porsche Pana rismo Tu 4 E-Hybrid Sport mph can go from 0 to 62 s nd co se 4.6 t jus in

peoplemanagement.co.uk

Career path Helping you get further

Research: why a negative atmosphere at work can make you a binge shopper p57

Masterclass

How to retain women after maternity leave

Working mums can make y’re a vital contribution – if the given the right support

One of the main challenges is ensuring that your well-crafted policies and procedures around maternity leave are understood and embedded in company practice at all levels. Communication with managers is key, so the exit from, and return to, work can be honestly discussed. Keeping-

Workshop or coaching sessions can focus on career planning and supporting the employee through this huge change. Offering different perspectives can help the new parent align their behaviour with the change in identity that comes with having a baby. It can also help them to think about the

“Having meaningful and challenging work is beneﬁcial as the returner will feel she is of value to the company” in-touch days can be planned to be of optimum value to both employee and employer, and contact during maternity leave can be arranged. On the return to employment, having work that is meaningful and challenging is beneficial because the returner will feel she is of value to the company and it is worthwhile being at work, rather than with her baby. Having a senior role model can also be useful. Becoming a parent is a time of major transition that affects all aspects of a person’s life. Parental coaching can often be hugely beneficial, and the investment will be repaid in the form of longterm loyalty to the organisation.

situation from the organisation’s viewpoint and to understand what would work best for both parties, and it is an opportunity to discuss and overcome any obstacles, enabling a successful return to work. This may include practicalities around priorities, building confidence, addressing conflicting emotions around parenting and work, and maintaining a positive perspective on career planning. Time to focus on themselves, their values and priorities, and how they want their work-life blend to look can result in greater commitment – and fulfilment at work for mum.

Taking it further Check out Pregnancy, maternity leave and a successful return to work by Working Families bit.ly/Returntowork

peoplemanagement.co.uk

A Pocket Guide for Managers

Pregnancy, maternity leave and a successful return to work

Read ‘Getting communications right during and after maternity leave’ by Kevin Lau bit.ly/KevinLau

Take a look through ‘Help and support for employers’ by the EHRC bit.ly/EHRCtoolkit

ALAMY

There are 11 million working parents in the UK, making up one third of the workforce. But many organisations find there are challenges involved in retaining women when they become parents. When focusing on increasing the engagement and retention Jane Moﬀett levels of new parents at the Director at Kangaroo Coaching crunch point of their return to work, there are several things companies should consider. Having flexible working policies can be key. Research shows that 46 per cent of people in the UK want to work flexibly, but only 8.7 per cent of jobs are advertised as flexible. Interestingly, data also shows that 47 per cent of fathers would like to downshift to a less stressful job.

Pat Thomas

Organisational change and redeployment adviser at Transport for London (TfL)

My job is to provide support to employees who are referred to us when they have been unable to perform their role for a few months. It could be that they’ve had an accident, or it could be stress or anxiety. Whatever it is, they will probably be feeling vulnerable, so we need to deal with their emotions and build trust with them. They stay with us for about 13 weeks, sometimes longer. We coach and mentor them, think about their development and prepare them for what’s ahead – they often come to us feeling they have nowhere left to go, but in a few weeks they’re completely different people.

I love what I do. It’s so easy to lose hope and direction in your career, so I love being able to give people back their hope. A lot of the people we work with go back to their original positions and many of them continue to stay in touch with us. The key is that we don’t tell them what we think they need – we listen to them and we deliver. We’re honest with people and they respect that.

Getting an MBE was a complete shock. I had no idea it was coming. I’d been in the Caribbean for four weeks and I’d come home feeling relaxed. I saw a letter from the Cabinet Office and my first reaction was ‘oh my gosh – what have I done?’ I’m not a bashful person but I’m not used to this sort of attention and it has been overwhelming. I feel proud, but most of all I’m happy I’ve got something I will be able to pass on to my family.

The ﬁrst time I went to a meeting of TfL’s staff faith network, I sat there for an hour and nobody showed up. It was really disheartening. The chair was about to leave the role, so I put my name forward, seeing it as a challenge. We grew the membership from 10 or 12 people to about 130. It’s gone beyond simply bringing faiths together; we’ve created a community. We’ve got Christians, Muslims, Jews and more – we stand together and we work together.

For many people, the way they live and think is shaped by their faith and it’s the same for me outside work. I work with charities and the Alpha course at my church. I read scriptures and I sing as well. But I make sure I have quality time with my family too.

Pat Thomas has worked at TfL for 14 years, originally joining as a personnel adviser. She worked in HR services and as a senior adviser before taking on her current role. In June, she was awarded an MBE for services to transport in London and the community, recognising her six years as chair of TfL’s faith and wellbeing staﬀ network group.

INTERVIEW ROBERT JEFFERY PHOTOGRAPHY PETER SPINNEY

Who I am

“The solution right under our noses is in bringing the best brains of both men and women together”

Reviews

Results at the Top Barbara Annis & Richard Nesbitt, Wiley, £22.99/£21.84 e-book

We have more female leaders than ever before, and even in Saudi Arabia women now outperform men at undergraduate level. But a step back reveals an inconvenient truth; just one in 10 CEOs is female, and the drive to get women into executive positions has stalled in many parts of the world. Results at the Top attempts to advance the debate beyond the usual solutions (quotas, pipelines or better maternity leave) and address what the authors regard as the true reasons for gender inequality.

‘Gender intelligence’ is the magic phrase here, because in Annis and Nesbitt’s view the way we have treated the topic to date has been dumb. We know diversity leads to better performance but we fail to prioritise it, or, worse, we devote HR resources to interventions that fail, such as mentoring (too often lacking in chemistry), flexible working (ineffective at solving progression problems) or networks (not inclusive enough). Instead, they use neuroscientific insight to ask

Getting there means creating role models and accountability among both sexes for progression and succession planning. HR can help by looking at job descriptions, being more open about bias and getting smarter on talent. “The solution right under our noses is in bringing the best brains of both men and women together,” the authors suggest. And although the attempts at back-and-forth banter are cloying at times, almost every idea here advances that cause.

{Book}

Julian Birkinshaw & Jonas Ridderstråle, Stanford Business Books, £24.99/£23.74 e-book

Jennifer Riel & Roger L Martin, Harvard Business Review Press, £24.43/£21.83 e-book

Highly respected business academic Birkinshaw teams up with fellow author Ridderstråle to tackle the question: what type of organisation will succeed in tomorrow’s economy? They conclude that agility is paramount, and endless strategising leads to a slow death. Businesses must locate their purpose, and unearth the people and practices that will make them truly “achievement oriented”.

Strong leaders are often portrayed as able to make diﬃcult decisions with conviction. But in Creating Great Choices, the authors argue that true success comes from being able to intricately weigh opposing views and come up with an even more dynamic third way. This book contains the tools to make such visionary leadership a reality, and examples of those who do it – from Unilever to the team behind The Lego Movie.

{Video}

{Podcast}

Fast/Forward

The human insights missing from big data

Via ted.com

Big data is a $122bn industry, yet its ROI is dreadful. In this Ted Talk, data ethnographer Tricia Wang says she learned more about the future of technology by selling dumplings in China than from mining data on the topic, yet we continue to value the measurable over the immeasurable even when it is misleading. Data from real life, she argues, is far more useful to businesses than they realise.

us to think again about gender – about why, for example, men are comfortable seeing gender imbalance through the prism of their own self-interest, or why millennial men find misogyny so unacceptable. Advancement, they believe, can only come through joint ownership of the problem – when men are advocates for women’s causes at work.

peoplemanagement.co.uk

Creating Great Choices

Engineering the Future

Via iPlayer Radio or iTunes

The UK requires 200,000 new engineers every year, a target it is woefully failing to meet. As this BBC Global Business show explains, getting women into engineering roles is part of the answer, but there are huge cultural issues to overcome (witness the female engineering manager who was laughed at by a client because of her gender). This podcast tours the UK, visiting JCB, Airbus and Crossrail, among others, oﬀering recruiters’ and leaders’ views on what works.

What’s new We’ve all been in pointless meetings at work. Kevan Hall and Alan Hall claim that they add up to one day a week of wasted time, and in Kill Bad Meetings they outline a formula for banishing them. From bad meetings to bad careers: in The Right – and Wrong – Stuff, Stuff academic Carter Cast looks at why professionals go ‘off the rails’ and examines how they can stay on track. And for those more concerned with making teams work, Chris Fussell’s One Mission is a guide for leaders who are keen to inspire and inform those who work for them.

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ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S PARTY TIME! Join us on 26 September to celebrate the best in the industry at the most prestigious awards ceremony in the HR and L&D calendar. Taking place at the glamorous Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London.

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Your problems

PM’s Fixer Samantha Sales tackles readers’ big issues Samantha Sales is managing director of Call HR Ltd and is a former HR director of a FTSE 100 company with extensive HR and OD experience. Her replies are written in a personal capacity and do not reﬂect the views of People Management or the CIPD, nor are they a substitute for professional legal advice. Not all queries submitted can be answered, and personal replies are not possible. To pose an anonymous query, visit bit.ly/pmﬁxer

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No one will challenge this bully I have submitted three informal reports to exit a manager (within probation) from the business, because they have been bullying a large number of staﬀ, four of whom have left. While I’ve been investigating, I have also become a victim and fear for my job as the manager has taken a dislike to the HR department. I had no choice but to begin formal grievance proceedings, but the manager is very capable and I believe my employer will continue their employment. How can I inﬂuence management to see the dangers in this situation?

On one level, your situation is shocking – it’s terrible to feel your job is at risk when you believe you’re doing the right thing for the company, and it’s

How can we put soft skills at the heart of our L&D eﬀorts? I am working on a project to make L&D a key part of what we do, including developing a toolkit for managers and assessing the most suitable L&D solutions depending on learning styles and personal aspirations. We are a software ﬁrm that needs both technical and soft skills, but our L&D is currently very informal – when people are interested in a course, managers consider the

request. I’ve started a soft skills matrix but I’m not sure how to assess staﬀ on things such as customer focus, communication and critical thinking, or how to enhance these skills.

While the measurable aspects of L&D are important, what really matters is how you integrate learning into the business, and it sounds like you have made a strong start.

horrible to see a good group of people ruined by a toxic individual. But in other ways, I’m not surprised. Businesses, and the senior managers in them, often ignore problems like this until they reach a critical point, or delude themselves into believing everything is fine so long as the bottom line looks healthy. However, you can repair the damage. I assume you have formal complaints from the staff concerned, and information from exit interviews. If you don’t, gather these as a priority and lay them out before senior leaders. If they won’t listen, move it up the organisational food chain quickly. Don’t wait for due process – it’s unlikely that your board has any inkling of what’s been happening so, if operational leaders won’t act, escalate the matter. You don’t

have anything to lose if you really feel you are at risk. Bullies have a way of surviving and often thriving, and it almost always takes longer for a business to deal with them than it should. Good people often leave along the way, and you may end up being one of them. But there’s also an important principle at stake here – the HR department is there to help develop a positive environment and deal with difficult situations, and to arbitrate when there are problems between individuals that they cannot resolve themselves. By threatening the culture of a business and undermining the work of HR, this individual is violating important principles of good working relationships. Any good business cannot allow that to go unchallenged.

Before you think about measurement, consult with employees on what they consider the important ‘soft skills’ to be. It’s a key part of the process that will pay dividends down the line.

the immediate reporting line if possible (customers, for example, could be asked for their input). Appraisals and reviews can be an opportunity to get feedback on progress in areas

“Integrate the reporting of soft skills into any existing personal development reviews” Of course, soft skills are often seen as more difficult to measure and assess than others – managers in particular can feel there is a lot of subjectivity involved. You should integrate the reporting of soft skills into any personal development review you already have in place, and involve peers or people outside

such as personal confidence, resilience, presentation or communication. Ultimately, you cannot measure every aspect of every skill. But by using testimony from managers, employees and customers, you can build a business case for why they deserve attention and investment. peoplemanagement.co.uk

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Communications. Budworth previously worked at Coloplast as senior HR business partner, and spent ﬁve years as senior HR manager at Aveva Solutions. Stella Chandler, Chartered FCIPD (4), director of Focal Point Training and Consultancy, has been appointed to the board of the Institute of Leadership and Management. She has more than 30 years’ experience in HR and L&D, including 15 in the Metropolitan Police. Julian Feasby, Chartered FCIPD, has joined Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust as director of human resources. He previously spent 11 years at the Environment Agency, most recently as deputy director of human resources. BES Utilities has hired Tania Blench, Chartered MCIPD, as

group head of HR and L&D. She arrives from business utility consultancy Inenco Group, where she was head of HR. Montreux Capital Management has promoted Josh Verrills, Assoc CIPD, to HR business partner. Verrills joined the company in 2015. Tim Roberts (5) has been appointed L&D partner at clothing retailer Missguided. Roberts’ previous experience includes development partner at kitchen specialist Nobia, and training and development manager at Eddie Stobart. The Chemistry Group has recruited Carol Rosati (6) as managing partner of its Chemical Connections network. She joins the business management consultancy from Harvey Nash, where she was a director and founder of Inspire, a global network for board-level women.

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I am currently the PA to a CEO, and the group HR manager at an SME. It has been a real struggle, because the company wants to be seen to follow procedures – but actually doesn’t. I have had to backtrack on a lot of situations that have been caused by simply not following procedures to ensure that we don’t end up at an employment tribunal. I have been for several interviews for HR manager and business partner roles, but have not been successful – even though I have ﬁve years’ generalist HR experience. I feel my role is undervalued, I’m disengaged, and I wonder whether a career in HR is the right one for me. What should I do?

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Who’s making HR headlines?

Transport for London has appointed Staynton Brown (1) to the new position of director of diversity and inclusion. Brown joins from Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, where he was director of equality and human rights. Gary Cookson, Chartered FCIPD (2), is the new associate HR director at the Disclosure and Barring Service. He was previously HR director at Trafford College. Muir Housing Group has recruited Charlotte Layton, Chartered FCIPD (3), as assistant director of HR and OD. She arrives from North West Boroughs Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, where she was deputy director of people services. Sharon Budworth, Chartered MCIPD, is the new UK HR manager at software firm Solarflare

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There are two elements to this dilemma, says Jess Falconer (left), organisational development manager at Time Inc UK. First, you need to recognise the value of your role as group HR manager. Second, consider what your next steps could be, whether in a generalist or specialist position, or moving outside of HR. Demonstrating your value can feel challenging, especially in smaller businesses, but you can start by helping your senior team understand the value of embedding HR strategy into the workplace. One quick ﬁx could be to highlight the money that has been saved from procedures that prevented the company from going to a tribunal. This could kickstart a culture change in the whole company, and help you realise your own value as HR manager.

The CIPD provides several mentoring schemes, resources and support networks for HR professionals, and working with a mentor can be invaluable for helping you explore other areas of development. Take a strengthsbased approach when it comes to specialisation: explore what you enjoy in your existing role, and where these enjoyments overlap with your strengths. If you can identify areas of your job that energise you, this can be a good place to start. Feeling disengaged in a role is a common complaint for many people – but before you consider another career altogether, think about the elements that got you into HR in the ﬁrst place, and whether you would like to pursue them down a new career path.

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‘Take the opportunity to read and explore all the research that CIPD has on its website and go on to the online communities. It’s about learning and “how can I bring something new into my workplace or expand my mind?”’ Nicola Barber, Chartered MCIPD HR Business Partner

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The latest findings from the finest minds

Research

Leaders prefer to emulate peers, not textbooks

Employees who deal with rude customers are more likely to indulge in retail therapy

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Abuse at work linked to shopping binges Service workers who face verbal abuse from customers during their working hours are more likely to go on unnecessary shopping sprees in the evening, a research paper by experts based in the US and China suggests. A study of 94 call centre employees working at a large bank in China, who were surveyed multiple times a day for 15 consecutive workdays, found that dealing with customer mistreatment – for example, those who yelled, argued or swore – put staff in a bad mood after work. The stresses led to participants engaging in negative thoughts and behaviours, such as dwelling on the interactions and indulging in impulse shopping. As well as exploring the knock-on reactions of bad customer experiences, the researchers tested two mindfulness interventions in an attempt to solve the negative thought patterns

and behaviours of participants. On days when, before starting work, workers thought about a positive social incident where they had helped a customer, or improved their perspective by considering an interaction from the viewpoint of a customer, perceptions of mistreatment were reduced, negative moods improved and employees became less likely to indulge in impulsive behaviours. Remembering positive social interactions encourages workers to shift their focus away from the self, improves daily customer interactions and reduces the likelihood of engaging in dysfunctional coping responses, says Russell Johnson, the study’s co-author: “Recall and perspective-taking interventions are quick and easy exercises that customer service staff can do before the work day to reduce the stress from rude customers.”

✶ bit.ly/PMImpulseShopping

with them, while one in three imitated the delegation and organisational skills of their superiors in the hope it would get them a pay rise. “The learning of A new study from the Institute management skills has been of Leadership & Management left to osmosis for far too long,” (ILM) suggests management says John Williams, director skills are ‘contagious’ in UK of digital at ILM. “We were workplaces, with 74 per cent aware that many leadership of employees mirroring the and management skills came leadership styles of their peers. as the result of emulating A survey of 2,000 UK others, but were surprised by workers found that they the degree to which this was imitate colleagues and learn happening in the workplace. certain leadership behaviours “Far too often, the by ‘osmosis’. The most assumption is made that contagious traits include people who are technically communication skills, copied proficient can manage a team by 18 per cent of workers, without having been taught customer service (10 per cent) those management skills.” and problem-solving (9 per More than half (58 per cent) cent). Employees reported of survey respondents said emulating colleagues for they would prefer more formal several reasons: three-quarters training and development said they copied the humour of when it comes to acquiring their colleagues in the hope it new skills and capabilities. would help them work better ✶ bit.ly/PMContagiousLeadership

Wellbeing initiatives boost productivity Corporate wellness programmes have been proved to save organisations money by reducing absenteeism – but new research from the University of California has shown they also improve productivity by the equivalent of one additional work day per month for each participant. The study gathered health and productivity data from 111 workers employed at several laundry plants over three years. A free voluntary wellness programme was offered to the employees.

Those who signed up for the scheme were offered a simple health exam and survey. They were given personalised information about their current health, and recommendations for improving it. Researchers found that participation in the programme increased average worker productivity by more than 5 per cent. Those who did more exercise and changed their diet saw the biggest improvement in productivity. Researcher Timothy Gubler says: “The result is healthier and happier employees who are not only less expensive and less absent, but also more productive.” ✶ bit.ly/PMWellnessProgrammes

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Focus

Midlands conference is one of a raft of CIPD activities taking place around the UK and Ireland

Rob Briner, professor of organisational psychology at Queen Mary University of London, will be challenging some common assumptions about HR in his keynote address at this year’s CIPD Midlands Area Partnership annual conference. The event, taking place on 4 October in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, brings together more than 200 CIPD members from across nine branches, and is one of hundreds of events organised by volunteers as part of the 2017-18 programme of branch activities happening around the UK and Ireland. Delegates at the Midlands Area Partnership conference will also hear from Derek Redmond, former Olympic

EXTRA EXTRA

As well as sharing views and experiences on the future of the profession, the branch events are an opportunity to discuss the dayto-day challenges of HR and L&D practitioners. Mental health and wellbeing, talent strategy and Brexit are just some of the topics coming up over the next few months. If any members are working or staying outside their regular branch network, they are free to attend branch activities in other areas, giving them further opportunities to connect with fellow professionals. The branches area of the CIPD website has information on forthcoming events. ✶ cipd.co.uk/branches ✶ bit.ly/MidlandsAreaPartnership

Jonny Giﬀord examines performance managem ent trends in the latest CIPD online factsheet

ODevent

Shapethefuture

Managingperformance

Recent media coverage of the CIPD/High Pay Centre review of executive pay put pay issues centre stage. Members can download the full report, Executive pay: review of FTSE 100 executive pay packages, from the CIPD website.

The CIPD will be holding its Organisation Development Conference and Workshop in London on 11-12 October. As a leading ﬁgure in the ﬁeld of OD, opening speaker Mee-Yan Cheung-Judge will bring valuable insights on the importance of OD in the current economic and political landscape. Case studies will show OD in practice.

Members in the Birmingham area will have the chance to contribute their views to the debate on shaping the future of the profession. A consultation on the Professional Standards Framework, taking place on 20 September, is the latest engagement event organised by the CIPD. To register, go to:

The CIPD’s new online factsheet on performance management includes a short video in which Jonny Giﬀord, senior adviser for organisational behaviour at the CIPD, explores changing trends in performance management. The factsheet summarises the main tools businesses need to get it right.

✶ bit.ly/ExecutivePayReview

✶ bit.ly/ODConference

✶ bit.ly/CIPDShapeTheFuture

✶ bit.ly/PerformanceFactsheet

Paypro ile

athlete and group performance director at Thomas International, who will be looking at the importance of employee engagement in driving high performance. This year’s theme, ‘Developing capability for shifting times’, puts the spotlight on the changing world of work and the role of HR and L&D professionals. Commenting on branch event plans for the year ahead, CIPD head of engagement (branches) David D’Souza says he is hugely inspired by their scope and focus. Last year saw an increase in members’ involvement in the branch network and conferences – a trend that looks set to continue.

Former Olympic athlete Derek Redmond will share his thoughts on employee engagement

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EDITORIAL

While the CIPD draws on its own research and expertise, member in olvement is important

Explorethe lawinautumn workshops Employment law experts will be leading a series of one-day workshops in October that will give HR professionals the chance to explore the practical implications of the latest legislation and case law. With potential workplace issues emerging from Brexit negotiations, a Supreme Court ruling on tribunals, and reviews and inquiries linked to workers’ rights, there are plenty of topical concerns that will feed into the discussions. As well as looking at legislative changes, the legal experts will guide participants through real-life workplace scenarios and how to resolve them. Subjects on the autumn workshop agenda include gender pay gap reporting, fair redundancy processes and pre and post-claim conciliation. The Law on Tour workshops run from 3 to 20 October at locations around the UK including London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Southampton. ✶ cipd.co.uk/lawontour

GivingHR avoiceon publicpolicy When the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy invited the CIPD to a discussion about its bereavement leave proposals, the CIPD asked members to share their views on the policy. Under the new proposals, working parents who have lost a child would be entitled to a period of statutory paid leave to grieve. The CIPD engages with the government and policy makers in various ways, such as meeting with civil servants, to ensure the profession has a voice on public policy issues. While the CIPD draws on its own research and expertise, member involvement is an important aspect that ensures the knowledge, views and insights of members at the ‘grass roots’ of the profession are represented. The CIPD will continue to raise its profile on policy matters that affect members and the wider community, such as diversity and inclusion, corporate governance and skills. ✶ cipd.co.uk/news-views/policy-engagement

Subjects on the agenda include gender pay gap reporting and fair redundancy processes

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