Employment issues during an economic downturn

1
Employment issues during an economic downturn

• Joe Thornhill, Partner
• 5 February 2009

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Introduction
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Alternatives to compulsory redundancy
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Wage/benefit reductions gt

• Agreement is required
• Constructive dismissal
• Unlawful deductions from wages
• Morale

5
Changing terms and conditions gt

• Re-organisation for greater efficiency or
  strategic benefits
• Agreement
• Recent case law
• Martland v- Co-operative Insurance Society Ltd
  2008

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Changing terms and conditions gt

• Sound economic reasons
• Legitimate dismissal if employee will not accept
  a change in terms and conditions necessary for
  continued efficiency

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Short time and lay-off gt

• Only if contractual right
• Agreement
• Constructive dismissal

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Short time and lay-off gt

• 4 consecutive weeks
• 6 non-consecutive weeks in 12 weeks
• Guaranteed pay - 21.50 5 days

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Short time and lay-off gt

• Emphasis on short term
• Morale

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Voluntary redundancy gt

• Good practice but not essential

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Compulsory redundancy
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Compulsory redundancy

• Notice
• minimum - one week for each complete year of
  service up to 12 weeks
• otherwise as provided by the contract of
  employment

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Compulsory redundancy

• Redundancy pay
• nothing if less than 2 years of service
• half weeks pay for service under age of 21
• one weeks pay for service over 21 but under 41
• one and a half weeks pay for service over 41
• weeks pay is calculated on gross amount with cap
  of 350 per week

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Compulsory redundancy

• A claim for unfair dismissal can normally be made
  if the employee has been employed for more than
  51 weeks
• Whats the cost?
• Compensatory Award it is indexed linked and
  recently increased to 66,200

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Compulsory redundancy gt

• Redundancy selection

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Compulsory redundancy gt

• Consultation
• The consequences of con-compliance
• Automatic Unfair Dismissal
• must increase/decrease the compensatory award by
  between 10 and 50

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Compulsory redundancy gt

• The obligation to offer alternative work
• Offers during maternity or adoption leave

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Sickness Absence
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The facts gt

• Cost of absence is estimated at 11 billion per
  year
• Equivalent of 400 per year per employee
• Equivalent of 7 days per year per employee
• Average public sector employee was absent more
  than 2 weeks
• 2 out of 5 employees do not take sickness absence

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Destroying the myths gt

• You cannot telephone an employee who is sick at
  home
• You cannot dismiss an employee when the absence
  is certified by a GP
• You cannot dismiss an employee who is still
  entitled to contractual sickness pay

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Claims gt

• If handle badly
• constructive dismissal
• If dismiss inappropriately
• unfair dismissal
• disability discrimination
• If we have caused the ill health
• personal injury

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Type of absence gt

• Categorise the type of absence
• - unrelated miscellaneous absence
• - related ongoing absence

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Type of absence gt

• Investigation
• utilise return to work interviews
• monitor the number and pattern of absences
• If still not clear
• listen to the gossip
• utilise home visits
• consider the need for a medical report

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Unrelated Miscellaneous Absence
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Unrelated miscellaneous absence gt

• Disciplinary action
• invitation
• meeting
• verbal warning, written warning, final written
  warning
• dismissal with notice

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Unrelated miscellaneous absence gt

• When do you take disciplinary action?
• When is the absence sufficiently bad to justify
  disciplinary action?
• when it annoys managers, is worse than others and
  disrupts the working process
• when it exceeds a pre-determined trigger

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Unrelated miscellaneous absence gt

• How do you set the pre-determined trigger?
• are number of days of absence, occasions of
  absence or a combination the problem
• add up the number of days absent
• add up the number of days absent and add the
  number of occasions
• add up the number of days absent and multiply by
  the number of occasions
• What is an acceptable level of absence within
  your business
• Set the trigger and follow it

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Related Absence
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Related absence gt

• Find out what is wrong
• consultation - talk
• medical investigation

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Related absence gt

• Consult as early as possible
• return to work interview
• home visit
• call to meeting
• What if the employee refuses

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Related absence gt

• Medical report
• when?
• from GP
• from independent
• What if the employee refuses

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Related absence gt

• Think about the possible solution
• time
• support with medical costs
• temporary light work
• alternative role/ changes to the role
  reasonable adjustments
• dismissal

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Related absence gt

• Dismissal yes if have evidence that shows
• unable to return to present job for foreseeable
  future
• unable to return to any other job for foreseeable
  future
• cannot make adjustments to make above possible

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Your speaker today gt

• Joe Thornhill
• Tel [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• Email joe.thornhill_at_wardhadaway.com