A new majority government means new approaches to employment
I believe that for businesses, one of the most constructive things they can be doing right now, is check they are aligned with good employer characteristics. This will ensure they are best placed to embrace upcoming change and enable them to implement new ways of working effectively and efficiently with their people.
Whilst we wait for more details to emerge on the government’s Employment Rights Bill, media outlets are rife with speculation. They are busy scare mongering about the threat of increased litigation for businesses.
There will certainly be a wide range of changes in store: strengthening sick pay, enhancing family friendly rights, removing age bands from the national minimum wage, reforming the apprenticeship levy, to name but a few. However, it is the proposed removal of the unfair dismissal qualifying period, currently standing at two years, that is causing employers the greatest concern.
In its Plan to Make Work Pay, published ahead of the election, Labour said it would legislate to ensure all workers are given basic day-one rights, including greater protection from unfair dismissal. It clarified that this would not prevent fair dismissal (eg dismissal for reasons of capability, conduct or redundancy), or for unsuccessful probationary periods, as long as they have fair and transparent rules and processes. How this will work in practice is yet to be explained, but the government intends to work in partnership with both employers and trade unions before any changes are implemented.
Critics suggest that employers might be deterred from hiring new people, put off by increased complexity and costs if they make a mistake. They might also be reluctant to take a chance on someone different, or less experienced, reducing moves to improve diversity.
Alternative views suggest day one unfair dismissal rights will help employees feel more valued and engaged earlier on in their employment relationship, increasing productivity and reducing staff turnover. It could also lead to a decrease in unmeritorious discrimination claims, used to currently circumnavigate insufficient qualifying periods.
So, what should employers be doing in the meantime?
As well as being a good time to review work practices, proactive employers should assess themselves against ‘good employer characteristics’. Adopting these characteristics will give businesses the best possible chance of successfully navigating the upcoming employment law changes with their people, making the whole process simpler and smoother.
Good Employer Characteristics include:
- Having ambition and direction for their business, with a clear set of targets, goals and values that are understood by all their people – giving meaning and purpose to every job holder.
- Respecting and caring about their people, providing well-thought out benefits and fair remuneration, treating people as individuals and giving them autonomy.
- Having good processes in place to ensure the best candidates are selected via objective, consistent and non-discriminatory recruitment methods.
- Paying attention to thorough onboarding, induction and probationary practices to give new recruits support to integrate into the business more quickly and effectively.
- Investing in targeted training and development opportunities to give everyone in the business the best chance to succeed in their role, including new joiners.
- Providing effective communication and review methods to give individuals regular constructive feedback on performance.
- Recognising the importance of life inside and outside work by promoting honesty, openness and equity, providing a safe and healthy work environment and adopting flexible working practices wherever possible.
- Actively listening to their people, seeking staff feedback and implementing good ideas and suggestions on a regular basis.
- Recognising the importance of social responsibility, giving back to their community and supporting charitable endeavours.
These all help engender pride and commitment in what people do at work, help them feel part of a team and develop a supportive culture that enables employers and their employees to undertake and adopt any necessary employment changes together.