Essential reading for Business Owners and HR Professionals
Year 5 Issue 5
1 June 2010
Greetings!
Welcome to our fifth issue of 2010.
Amongst this issues articles are updates on the Coalition Governments new emploment policies, the Equality Bill and a Q&A about references for ex-employees.
At the foot of the newsletter is information about our Working with Fit Notes event see the link at the end of this email for more information.
Legislation Update
Coalition Government Publishes their Employment Policies
The Coalition Government has published its Programme for Government which includes the new Government's employment policies. Although no timescales are given for when the new policies will be implemented, the Programme does highlight the key employment issues the new Government intends to legislate on.
For the first time, under the Equality Act coming into force in October 2010, employers will be prevented from asking candidates questions about their health that are unrelated to the job role. It will mean those with mental health issues, a medical condition or a disability will not be forced to disclose their condition prior to the offer of employment, unless it hinders their ability to do the job.
Equality Act: Disability provisions at a glance:
Pre-employment health questionnaires restricted.
Direct discrimination extended to include discrimination by association and perception to disability.
Indirect discrimination relating to disability introduced.
Disability-related discrimination replaced with "discrimination arising from disability".
Employers must now prove that treatment of a disabled employee was a "proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim".
We have been considering what events to run over the next 6-12 months and thought the best way to make sure our events really hit the mark would be ask you what you'd like to see advertised.
Please take a few moments to click on the link below and complete the attached survey, it's brief but there's room for ideas and feedback.
Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you soon, the training team.
We suspended an employee to allow us to investigate a situation of potential gross misconduct.The employee subsequently submitted a med certificate for 4 weeks.The investigation was concluded as far as possible without speaking to the individual on suspension.We wrote to her to confirm that once she was fit for work we would arrange an enquiry hearing with her.A couple of days later we received a letter of resignation.
This was all about 2 months ago and we have now been asked to provide a reference for a new job.
Do we have to give one?We have been told we must supply a factual one but surely that would omit pertinent but unsubstantiated information about lack of trust and dishonesty.
The most common forms of clinically diagnosed mental health problems are depression and anxiety. Many of the symptoms are similar to those that people experience when they are under considerable pressure e.g sleepless nights, loss of or increased appetite, increased use of alcohol, etc; the key differences are in the severity and duration of the symptoms and the impact they have on someone's everyday life.
Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. We hope you found the content useful. If you would like to take any points raised a step further or would like to discuss anything in more detail please get in touch, we'd be delighted to hear from you. Similarly if you would like to see something included in the service please let us know.
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OUR PORTFOLIO
At Kea HR we appreciate that no two businesses are the same and designed our portfolio to suit all styles and pockets.You simply pick the level of support or the product(s) which compliment your existing human resources practices.
Organised by subject area each of the 17 sections offers a practical interpretation of the subject area with 250+ model letters, forms and check lists to ensure you are compliant immediately.
The law relating to Doctors provided sick notes changed in April 2010. The well known 'sick note' was replaced with a new 'statement of fitness to work'.
This training course will help you understand what the key changes are and what the new statement of fitness to work will mean for you, your employees and your organisation.
Delegates who would welcome the chance to discuss and understand the practical application of fit notes will find this course of particular benefit.
Session outline
Why the need for change?
How do Fit Notes differ from Sick Notes?
Detailed explanation of the Fit Note and its application including:
Is the GP's advice binding?
How long do GP's recommendations last for?
What does May be Fit for Work mean?
Return to Work Interviews
Disagreements between the view of the GP, the NHS occupational health specialist and the employer or the employee?
Changes to the role of the line manager
Confidentiality between employer and employee, and employee and other employees - what will change?
Disability Discrimination and Reasonable Adjustments - what will have changed? Includes examples of Reasonable adjustments.
Contractual implications and pay - including (for example) issues where the employer decides not to allow the employee return to work but the employee wants to return to work.
