I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone that voted for me in the ‘Women Inspiring Women’ Awards.

I am delighted to tell you all that I won the ‘Woman in Business’ Award and was finalist in the ‘Inspirational Woman’ Award.

Thanks again. Without your votes this would not have been possible, you have all made me a very happy lady.

Well done to all, click here to see all the winners & finalists!

Our MD Jacqui Mann has been shortlisted for two awards in the Women Inspiring Women Awards and we’d be absolutely thrilled if you’d please vote for her before midday on 16th May. Please follow the steps below…

Visit Jacqui’s nomination page on the Women Inspiring Women Awards website

http://www.womeninspiringwomenawards.co.uk/jacquimann.html and follow the link ‘Click here to register to vote’.

Enter your name and email address on the voting registration page. As soon as you’ve done this you’ll be sent an email with details of how to vote. If you don’t receive this email right away, please check in your spam folder.

Click on the link in the email to be taken to the voting page. It’s vital that you do this as it confirms that you’re a real person (otherwise your vote won’t count). This link is unique to you and must not be shared.

Cast your vote on the voting page. Jacqui has been nominated for Woman in Business and Inspirational Woman. You can vote for as many people in as many categories as you wish, although obviously we’d love it if you’d please vote for Jacqui!

Go to page 6 (the final screen) of the voting and enter the same Name and Email Address that you used when registering to vote. This is designed so that the voting is secure and fair. Then click on the Finish Survey button and you’re done!

The deadline for voting is Midday on Thursday 16th May. The winners are to be announced at the Awards Ceremony & Dinner on Friday 17th May. Thank you so much for your support.

These latest minimum wage rates were announced by the government and recommended by the Low Pay Commission (LPC). The LPC did recommend a wage freeze for apprentices but the government increased the rate by 3 pence to £2.68 an hour.

• From 6th April 2013 the standard rate of statutory sick pay increases from £85.85 to £86.70 per week
• From 7th April 2013 the standard rates of statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay increase from £135.45 to £136.78 per week

Look out for our blog & on our social media soon where we’ll be highlighting the key changes to employment law your business will need to know.

With the disruption that’s been caused with the recent snowfall and adverse weather conditions, and reports indicating more to come, this guide highlights the issues you may face and practical advice on dealing with them:

What if my employee cannot get to work due to the severe weather conditions?
Employers are not obliged to pay employees if they are unable to get to work and carry out their work required by the company. However, employers can choose to pay employees as a goodwill gesture.

What if my employee has to stay at home and look after their child due to a school closure?
This is a popular problem that most employers face. Employees are entitled to time off for emergencies related to their dependants. This time however can be unpaid.

Can my employee work from home?
It may be worth looking into whether your employee is able to carry out some of their day to day duties and work from home. If an employee suggests working from home they are only entitled to be paid for work carried out so you can pay employees pro rata for any hours worked. However, this can be difficult identifying and proving exact hours worked. If you as an employer agree that your employee can work from home, you should expect to pay them their normal rate of pay.

Can I make my employees take the time off as annual leave?
Employers cannot force employees to take any time off as annual leave. You can however decide between employer and employee whether they should take their time off as annual leave, unpaid leave, or possibly make the time up.

Due to the temporary nature of adverse weather conditions, you may wish to exercise good will when dealing with the above issues, and pay employees who cannot attend their normal place of work through no fault of their own.

The Government has announced increases to the limits for Employment Tribunal awards and related payments. These will come into effect from 1st February 2013.

Redundancy payments
When calculating statutory redundancy payments the limit on a week’s pay will rise from £430 to £450. This rise also applies to the calculation of the basic award in unfair dismissal cases.

Unfair dismissal payouts
The maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal will increase from £72,300 to £74,200. The Government is currently reviewing the level of compensatory awards and this, in time, may see them decrease dramatically from this high.

The minimum basic award in cases where the dismissal was unfair by virtue of being an employee representative or trade union official, health and safely reasons or reasons connected to being an occupational pension trustee will increase from £5,300 to 5,500.

At present, companies must consult with staff for a minimum of 30 days before making more than 20 staff redundant, or 90 days when 100 or more jobs are at risk.

The changes form part of the government’s commitment to review employment law to support business and concentrate on growth.

Draft regulations will be laid in the New Year and the changes are expected to be made with effect from 6 April 2013.

In April 2009 the holiday entitlement for a full-time employee increased to 28 days or 5.6 weeks paid leave per year. There is no statutory entitlement to paid leave for public holidays. Any right to paid time off for such holidays depends on the terms of the employment contract. If your business is closed on a public holiday, then you can include the public holidays as part of the statutory 28 days or 5.6 weeks holiday entitlement.

CALCULATING DAYS
The holiday entitlement due to employees depends on the number of days that they work. This is where the confusion arises. Holiday entitlements for a full-time employee are based on the number of days a week they work, not the hours that they work.

For example, if an employee works five days a week and seven hours a day, they are entitled to 28 days holiday. If an employee works five days a week and two hours a day, they are also entitled to 28 days holiday. They will only be paid for the hours they would have normally worked.

DAYS WORKED AND HOLIDAY DUE
5 days a week 28 days
4 days a week 22.4 days
3 days a week 16.8 days
2 days a week 11.2 days
1 day a week 5.6 days

If you have included the bank holidays in the calculation, then more confusion arises. Let me explain.

At the beginning of the holiday year you will need to look at which days the bank holidays fall on. Most are Mondays. You will then need to look at all employees who work four days or less, and if a bank holiday falls on a day they normally work, you must deduct that from their holiday entitlement. Once you have deducted all of these, you will then be left with the days they can then take as holiday for the rest of the year.

Part-days cannot be rounded down, they can only be rounded up. Or you may want to consider letting the employee come in late one day, or finish early.

UNEQUAL HOLIDAYS
If you currently give employees who work less than five days a week all eight bank holidays, then you are giving them too much holiday, which means an additional cost to the business. It also means they have more holiday than employees who work five days a week. Interestingly, if an employee works more than five days, the holiday entitlement does not increase.

You have to ask yourself – can your business really afford that additional cost?

• Mothers will still be entitled to 52 weeks of maternity leave, but having taken the first two weeks after the birth of their child, the rest can be shared with the partner taking some, or both parents taking some together

• The only rule is that no more than 12 months can be taken in total; with no more than 9 months at guaranteed pay

Currently, fathers can take 2 weeks of paternity leave around the time a baby is born and can then take a further 26 weeks (additional paternity leave) – but only when the baby is 20 weeks old and even then, only if the mother has returned to work. The new plans are aimed at supporting more women to get back into the workplace whilst giving partners the option to care for their child.

You can watch the video announcement from Nick Clegg here

We’re not trying to be a party pooper… this is the night your supposed to let your hair down, have fun with your co-workers & employees, but you’ve got to strike that balance. Have too much fun & you might find yourself in a spot of bother!

You’ll want to encourage all your staff to attend the Christmas party, but don’t make it a written rule that everyone has to. Remember Christmas is a Christian holiday & some members of staff may not want to come along due to religious beliefs. If this is the case in your company, why not scrap the ‘xmas’ theme & just make it a staff night out? Remember that if your get-together is out of office hours, some people may not be able to come due to family responsibilities.

If your party involves staff bringing along a ‘secret santa’ gift, you might want to ask that all gifts be non-offensive. We’ve all been at that party where ‘Annie the Office Accountant’ gets a saucy little number from Ann Summers, & while we’re sure Annie would see the funny side, some inappropriate gifts have sparked complaints in the past & could be seen as harassment.

If you’re inviting employees’ partners to the event, the invitation should include partners of the opposite and same sex, as well as husbands and wives, to avoid potential sexual orientation discrimination claims. You should also extend the invitation to any employees on family related leave (i.e. maternity or paternity leave), or those absent through illness or injury.

Avoid what’s known as ‘tipple tattle’. Don’t discuss promotion, career prospects or salary with employees or talk about any issues, which would be more suited to a formal appraisal or private meeting.

Be careful if you provide free drink or put a credit card behind a bar. Most tribunal claims after office parties are as a result of excessive drinking & inappropriate behaviour, more commonly with employees claiming sexual harassment or acts of violence. Try & limit the amount of alcohol that’s provided & encourage your staff to act responsibly, keep an eye out for the office junior and don’t allow under-18s to drink.

Your employment policies on bullying, harassment & discrimination still apply at the office party. Make sure everyone knows this, what the policies are & what is expected of them. An innocent comment or advance under the mistletoe between co-workers could end up costing you as the employer, if a tribunal were to characterize the behaviour as victimization or harassment.

If employees are at a party drinking alcohol provided by you, then you are responsible for them & their actions. If a member of staff has clearly drunk too much & is planning on driving home then you, as their employer needs to take responsibility. Consider organizing a mini-bus to get employees home safely or provide numbers for local taxi firms.

Disciplinary issues can often arise when employees fail to show up for work the morning after a party, more often for alcohol related reasons. On occasions such as this, your normal disciplinary rules for unauthorized absence should be applied. Employees should be warned of the consequences of pulling a sickie the day after. Make sure you provide plenty of non-alcoholic drinks and food at the party to minimize this risk.