School workplace bullying
Bullying is never acceptable, and while for many it is something they just saw or experienced at school, for others it is something they have to suffer at work. In fact, according to a survey by the Workplace Bullying Institute, as many as 30% have experienced bullying in the workplace.
The impact can be devastating for the victim and your wider business. At a personal level, employees may develop anxiety, sleep or eating disorders and other health problems. This could lead to absence or them just leaving.
Left unchecked, bullying can create a toxic culture involving cliques, absenteeism and increasingly unprofessional behaviour leading to drops in productivity. You may even develop a bad reputation in the recruitment market, making it hard for you to fill roles in the future. It is something you or your managers need to address, and fast.
The first job is spotting it, that is if the victim is not confident enough to raise the issue themselves. Workplace bullying can involve a wide range of behaviours that go far beyond the old stereotypes. From the very obvious berating or belittling someone in front of colleagues, to more insidious spreading rumours or gaslighting, and everything in between.
To give a more general definition it could be described as persistent unwanted behaviour directed towards one or more people, including verbal, physical, emotional and psychological actions.
Every employer should already have a bullying and harassment policy and a discipline and grievance policy (if you haven’t, talk to us). These will give you a framework to respond, including investigation and, if necessary, a disciplinary hearing and its outcomes. If it is possible, it is often worth trying to resolve informally first, setting boundaries, explaining that the next step will be the discipline and grievance procedure.
This is more likely if you spot it early and are nipping it in the bud, but sometimes it will be too serious for this and you will have to proceed with the formal route.
Even before any bullying occurs, there are things you can do to be proactive. If you have not done so already, why not attend a workshop on managing conflict? You can ask us about eLearning and in-person courses that we put on. Spending time developing a positive workplace culture is a great defence against bullying too: encouraging teamwork and collaboration, and having support mechanisms in place.
See them in court
“It could be you”… or them. Much like the National Lottery there is a random process performed to select jurors. And if a name is drawn out of the hat, that person has to perform their civic duty and attend court as juror.
Thankfully, on average, this is only for ten days. But it could be shorter, or much, much longer.
The longest trial in British history was for fraud and lasted nearly two years. Some of the jurors needed counselling afterwards!
As an employer your options are limited if a staff member is selected. If there is a really compelling reason, you may be able to defer it within a 12-month period (through an application made by your employee); but in most cases you will just have to accept the disruption and let them go.
You can either pay them as normal, or help them claim a loss of earnings allowance (between £32 to £64 per day). Many employers do the latter and then top it up to their normal wage. Keep in mind, too, that they are protected from redundancy for jury-service-related reasons.
If your employee works a nine to five they must be given the time off while they are on Jury service; and even if they work night shifts they should not be made to work before a day in court. For an SME, jury service can be a disruptive time with uncertainty over its full impact on the business. If you have any questions about managing jury service properly, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Keeping in touch with sick employees
Earlier this year, an employer was found guilty of harassment at a tribunal for sending a sick employee a birthday card. On the face of it that may sound shocking; but there was a complex background, involving a wide-ranging grievance, serious illness, specific requests not to be contacted and to be removed from a birthday card list. The birthday card was one of 11 instances of contact in just three weeks.
There is no law stating you cannot contact employees on sick leave, and sometimes there will be a common-sense reason to do so, or it may be welcomed. However, treat each case on its own merits and in instances of longer sickness absences, setting some parameters is advised. If you agree how often contact should be made, in what form (e.g. telephone, email, face-to-face etc.) and with whom, you should be well on the path to retaining a positive working relationship.
You’re having a laugh
Most employers, we are sure, would like to foster a happy workplace; one where all the work gets done but people have a good time along the way. Well, in one region of Japan it has just been made the law!
A regional government has passed a law ordering everyone to laugh at least once a day and for employers to create workplaces filled with laughter.
We’re not joking! It is inspired by university research over there which has found that people who laugh regularly are less likely to suffer heart disease.
This is not on the horizon here, but how can you strike the right balance so that you benefit from a happy workplace? There are so many ways to do this, and many are relatively simple: from taking the time to show gratitude to sharing a common vision for your company that staff can align with. Going a bit further you could introduce team-building activities and social events, and develop a sense of purpose amongst your team, perhaps tied in with corporate social responsibility.
If there is not enough laughter in your workplace, why not give us a call and we can help you come up with a tailored plan?
Interview questions – What NOT to ask
If job interviews are traditionally seen as a nerve-wracking experience for candidates, they are not always a walk in the park for employers either. Not only do you have to take time out of your day for the interview itself, but careful planning is required to find the right candidate, and ensure you don’t slip up yourself.
You could inadvertently paint your company in a bad light, put a good candidate off by being late or not able to answer a question, or worse say something which breeches equality law. One such case was reported recently when a job offer was withdrawn after the question “How old are your children?” was asked during interview. It led to a sizeable claim being made and won in a tribunal. Many people don’t realise that equality law applies from the moment a job advert is placed.
If you are new to recruiting or would just like a professional review of your process and interview questions, we can help. Please get in touch with your local HR Dept office.
Six-day working week!
Not a fan of the concept of a four-day working week? How about going Greek? Their government has just introduced a six-day working week.
With a declining population and low economic growth (hangovers from the 2008 financial crisis), the Prime Minister wants to kickstart the economy, but the drive has not been well-received by workers.
Ironically, it is argued it will benefit them, ensuring they get remunerated for work they were already doing as unpaid overtime. They get to choose an additional two-hours a day or work an extra eight-hour day – with a 40% wage uplift. With four-day weeks being trialled elsewhere, it will be interesting to see which approach leads to greater productivity.
