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August, 2008 Picasso HR is proud to announce that we have achieved Certification and Registration under ISO9001:2000. ISO9001 provides us with a framework to ensure that all our processes are delivering effective services to our customers.
How to calculate holiday entitlement for casual workers
How to ensure you don't fall foul of the Working Time Regulations
Apprenticeships - what you need to know
Government initiative aims to increase take-up of apprenticeships
Anglian Business Awards
Don’t forget to enter !
New HR Advisor joins our growing team
Picasso HR achieves ISO9001
A major step in delivering quality services
In our April newsletter, we looked at how to calculate annual leave and Bank Holiday entitlement for part-time workers. In this issue we consider how to calculate holiday for workers with no set number of hours per week. One of the most contentious issues arising from the Working Time Directive was that holiday rights were extended to 'workers' as well as 'employees'. The next development in the law surrounding this issue has been that you can't pay rolled-up holiday pay to people any more - they have to be paid at the time they actually take the leave. (NB: if you're still paying rolled-up holiday pay, by the way, call us and we'll help you out of it...!) For those workers who don't have regular hours, such as those being offered casual shifts or doing piece work, it can appear difficult to calculate what their entitlement should be. However, there is a simple formula you can use to calculate their entitlement from the first time they work for you:
For those offering the minimum statutory holiday entitlement:
Pre 1st April 2009: statutory holiday entitlement is 4.8 weeks
Holiday entitlement is calculated as 10.2 % of the number of hours worked.
This is based on the holiday entitlement (4.8 weeks) divided by the time available to be worked in a full year (52 weeks minus 4.8 weeks)
As an example, if someone works a total of 17 hours for you, and you offer 4.8 weeks of annual leave per year, they are entitled to 1.7 hours of paid annual leave
Post 1st April 2009, statutory holiday entitlement is 5.6 weeks
Holiday entitlement is calculated as 12% of the number of hours worked
This is based on the holiday entitlement (5.6 weeks) divided by the time available to be worked in a full year (52 weeks minus 5.6 weeks)
For those employers offering more than the minimum statutory holiday entitlement:
If you offer more than the statutory holiday entitlement, simply substitute your own annual holiday entitlement figure and Bank Holiday entitlement (in weeks) for the statutory holiday figure in the formula above.
For example, if you offer 25 days' holiday plus 8 Bank Holidays (6.6 weeks), the entitlement for casual workers would be 14.5%.
This is based on the holiday entitlement (6.6 weeks) divided by the time available to be worked in a full year (52 weeks minus 6.6 weeks)
This formula allows you to calculate the holiday entitlement from the moment the worker does any work for you, without having to make them wait for a number of weeks while you calculate an average weekly hours figure for them.
If you would like any help in working out the relevant formula for your organisation, please contact us.
Early in 2008, the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills launched a consultation on a proposed Education and Skills Bill. One of the proposals is the creation of a statutory entitlement to apprenticeship for suitably qualified young people. It is hoped that this will increase the number of young people considering applying for apprenticeships, but do you know what apprenticeships could mean for you as an employer?
Contracts for apprentices
An apprenticeship agreement differs in some ways from a more standard contract of employent: The apprentice agreement is usually for a fixed period of two or three years or designed specifically to allow the apprentice to gain a recognised qualification such as an NVQ. The employer undertakes to provide the apprentice with relevant learning during the duration of the apprenticeship agreement. It is very difficult to end an apprenticeship contract before the end of the fixed period or before the apprentice has gained the qualification without incurring damages for the unworked part of the contract.Where an employer has concerns about the apprentice's performance, the employer is required to manage the performance until the required standard is reached, rather than managing the apprentice out of the organisation on the grounds of capability.
Apprentice pay
Apprentices fall outside the scope of the National Minimum Wage during the terms of the agreement. However, they are subject to a minimum rate of pay of £80 per week. In 2007 the Government conducted a survey of apprentices' pay in the UK. This revealed that the average rate of pay for an apprentice undertaking a level 2 qualification last year was well above the £80 minimum, at £159 per week.
Equal Opportunities
Apprenticeships have long been associated with young people. However, since the introduction of anti-ageism legislation, care must be taken to ensure that the recruitment process for attracting and recruiting apprentices does not discriminate aginst older workers. Avoid wording in adverts such as, 'position suitable for recent school leaver', for example.
Health and Safety
Subject to the advice above re equal opps, if you find yourself recruiting young people as apprentices, you need to be aware of the requirements of the Working Time Directive. Young workers (i.e. those aged under 18) are restricted to working 40 hours per week instead of the more usual 48 hours. In addition, young people are entitled to a rest break of 30 minutes after 4.5 hours. They are also prohibited from working between 10.00 p.m. and 6.00 a.m.
You should also consider undertaking a risk assessment when appointing anyone with limited work experience, as they won't always be aware of hazards which the more experienced working population take for granted.
Picasso HR is sponsoring the Young Business Person of the Year award. This award is open to any individual aged 35 and under who has demonstrated exceptional vision and leadership, and has experience of working at a managerial level in a large or small organisation. We will be looking for flair and can demonstrate sales growth and profitability. Some of the other categories are Customer Service, Start Up Business, Innovation & Technology. Find out more about this award and the other categories at www.eadt.co.uk/aba
Ruth Cadman joined the team at Picasso HR as an HR Advisor on 26th August 2008. For the previous 7 years, she was employed at Center Parcs, Elveden Forest. The last 2 years of her employment with the Company was in the position of Deputy HR Manager, whereby she was responsible for the day to day management of the HR team and for the provision of HR advice to the senior management team on site. Ruth said “Working for Picasso presents an exciting opportunity for me to extend my skills into many new industries and I am very much looking forward to supporting the diverse client base that the Company has.”
Picasso HR is pleased to announce that we have achieved ISO9001 Certification and Registration. The ISO 9001 standard is the international reference for quality management and is recognised in over 150 countries. It defines best practice for managing processes that support an organisation's products and services. It leads to benefits such as greater customer satisfaction, improved processes and enhanced service quality. The scope of the Registration is "Provision of Human Resource Outsourcing; Human Resource Consultancy; Security Consultancy; Management Training; Health and Safety Reviews and Advice". Picasso HR is committed to ensuring that it provides the highest level of services to its customers.
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