March, 2009

A New Focus on Mediation   With the introduction of a new ACAS guide to managing discipline and grievances at work there is a greater emphasis on mediation as a method of resolving conflict in the workplace.

What do you know about protecting personal and sensitive data?   

Employment Law changes effective from April 09   Changes summary.

A New Focus on Mediation

The repeal of the statutory dispute resolution procedures on 6th April 2009 brings a new focus in the management of discplinary and grievance procedures within the workplace.  The emphasis now being to make greater efforts to resolve conflict within the organisation and to take all steps to avoid the need for employment tribunal involvement. 

One element that ACAS suggest should be considered is the use of mediation. Mediation is a voluntary process whereby the mediator facilitates communication between the concerned parties with a view to assisting them to resolve the problem.  Although the mediator is in charge of the process they do not control the outcome and it is important therefore, that both parties are willing to commit to resolving their conflict in this manner. 

Mediation can be conducted by either external or internal qualified mediators and many organisations are amending their grievance procedures to make this option available to both employees and managers early in the process.  Where this is the case the formal discipline or grievance procedure can be suspended in order to allow the opportunity for mediation to resolve the dispute.

Picasso HR can provide further advice regarding the use of mediation within the workplace and can assist you to update your disciplinary and grievance procedures to ensure that they meet new best practice standard. Please contact us on 01473 890037.

What do you know about protecting personal and sensitive data?

There are still many organisations who are failing to meet the requirements the Data Protection Act 1998 (‘Act’). This is partly due to lack of awareness of the Act and not understanding the consequences of not meeting the requirements. Depending on the severity of the offence the penalty could be imprisonment.

The Act regulates the processing of data relating to individuals. This includes the obtaining, holding, using or disclosing of such data and covers computerised records as well as manual filing systems and card indexes.

The employer (also the ‘Data Controller’) is required to hold the minimum personal data necessary to enable it to perform its functions. All such data is confidential and needs to be treated with care, to comply with the law.

Any personal data which employer collects, records or uses in any way whether it is held on paper, on computer or other media will need to have appropriate safeguards applied to it to ensure that they comply with the Act. 

There are 8 Principles of Data Protection, set out in the Act.

In summary, the Principles state that personal and sensitive data shall:

1. Be obtained and processed fairly and lawfully and shall not be processed unless certain conditions are met.
2. Be obtained for a specified and lawful purpose and shall not be processed in any manner incompatible with that purpose.
3. Be adequate, relevant and not excessive for that purpose.
4. Be accurate and kept up to date.
5. Not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose.
6. Be processed in accordance with the data subject’s rights.
7. Be kept secure from unauthorised access, accidental loss or destruction.
8. Not transferred to other countries without adequate protection

Basically, to comply with the law, information must be collected and used fairly, stored safely and not disclosed to any other person unlawfully.

Personal data or information is information which identifies a living person and affects their privacy.

Sensitive personal data are information concerning an individual’s:

1. Racial or ethnic origin
2. Political opinions
3. Religious beliefs
4. Trade union membership
5. Physical or mental health
6. Sexual life

The Act has a wide ranging impact on areas of employment such as:

1. Advertising and recruitment, including retention of recruitment records and references
2. Collecting and keeping general employee records
3. String of sensitive information such as sickness and injury records, including information from drugs and alcohol testing
4. Equal opportunities monitoring information and its storage
5. Marketing and holding of potential client information

Data subjects, whether employees or not, have the right to see information that is held about them.
 

Compliance

To assist in achieving compliance with the principles, the employer should ideally appoint a Data Protection Officer at a senior level with specific responsibility for data protection within the company.

The Data Protection Officer’s responsibility would be to:

1. Assess the understanding of the obligations of the Company under the Act.
2. Identify and monitor problem areas and risks and recommend solutions.
3. Promote clear and effective procedures and offer guidance to staff on Data Protection issues.
4. Review business changes and determine whether registration under the Act is required.

Data Security

It is not just the employer’s responsibility to keep personal and sensitive information secure. All staff are also responsible for ensuring that:

1. Any personal data they hold, whether in electronic or paper format, is kept securely.
2. Personal information is not disclosed deliberately or accidentally either orally or in writing to any unauthorised third party.
3. Any breach of this Data Protection Policy whether deliberate or through negligence could lead to disciplinary action being taken by the employer or even a criminal prosecution.

The Data Protect Act is vast and complex. If you need any guidance or advice please call us on 01473 890037.

Employment Law changes effective from April 09

We summarise the changes below:

1. Flexible working entitlement

With effect from 6th April 09, the right to request flexible working is extended to parents of children up to the age of 16. Previously the right only applied to parents with children up to the age of 6. Parents of disabled children can request the right to work flexibly up to the child's 18th birthday. The right is to request a more flexible working pattern and does not convey an automatic right to have that request granted. If the employer decides to turn down the request, the refusal can only be justified on business grounds.There is a specific process to be followed by the employer in the event of receiving a request for flexible working - call us and we can help you through the process.

2. Statutory Holiday entitlement

A reminder that the statutory entitlement to annual leave increases to 28 days per year with effect from 1st April 2009. Employers are allowd to count Bank Holidays as part of the 28 day total, so if you currently grant employees at least 28 days of annual leave including the Bank Holidays, you do not need to take action.

3. Increases in statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay, plus statutory sick pay

With effect from 6th April, the weekly rates of SMP, SAP and SPP will increase to £123.06 or 90% of the employee's average weekly earnings, whichever is the lower.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will increase to £79.15 per week with effect from 6th April.

4. Statutory Dispute Resolution Procedures repealed

With effect from 6th April 2009, the statutory legal process to be followed when handling discipline, grievance and dismissal issues, commonly known as 'the three step procedure' will be repealed. This means that employers will not face a finding of automatic unfair dismissal for failure to follow the statutory procedure. However, employers are still required to follow a fair procedure when handling disputes or dismissals in the workplace. ACAS has issued a revised Code of Practice on how to handle such issues, and this gives guidance on what is meant by a 'fair procedure'. If you have to deal with any such issues at work, give us a call and let us guide you through the new requirements.

5. New penalties for failure to pay the National Minimum Wage

With effect from 6th April, employers could face penalties of between £100 and £5000 for failure to pay employees the National Minimum Wage (NMW). The penalty will be in addition to any arrears payable.

For information, the NMW rates currently in force are:

• Workers aged 22 and over - £5.73 per hour
• Workers aged 18-21 -         £4.77 per hour
• Workers aged 16-17 -         £3.53 per hour  

These rates have been in place since October 2008.

The information in this newsletter is of a general nature and is not a substitute for professional advice. You are recommended to obtain specific professional advice before you take any action.

For further information, advice or assistance on any of the matters raised in this newsletter please contact Picasso HR on 01473 890037.

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