Dear Subscriber,

It’s exciting times at Exclusive Human Resources as we approach our 2nd birthday. Our unique HR business offering is continuing to expand – and we are delighted to introduce Margaret Jewell as the latest exciting addition to our HR Business Services team.

Margaret is an experienced Organisational/Human Resource practitioner with more than 26 years in both private and public sectors. She has been working as a consultant and executive coach for 10 years, specialising in coaching managers, facilitating teams and designing and implementing bespoke organisation and leadership development initiatives for clients.

Margaret holds Level 5 in Strategy Training & Development and is an approved trainer up to level 7 in executive coaching through the Institute of Leadership and Management.

Her other qualifications include:

• Investors in People UK Practitioner
• ILM (Institute of Leadership and Management) approved Trainer – delivery of both front line management and diploma level management level – Level 3 through to Level 7 in executive coaching
• ILM verifier for leadership and management level 3-4 & 5
• Margaret is also a Member of the CIPD and a Member of ILM - part of the City & Guild Group

To discuss any HR Business Service requirements with Margaret and the potential of obtaining Business Link funding, please call 0191 438 7989 or 0113 243 0900.

Written exclusively for 'HR News & Views':

Jonathon Stokes, employment partner at Gordon Brown Associates takes a look at the implication of the recently published Equality Bill.

The Equality Bill

At the end of April the Government published the Equality Bill. Its’ most controversial provision, which would have required employers to publish the differences between male and female earnings, will only be put into effect in certain circumstances and in any event not before 2013.

The Bill allows “positive action” – where two people are equally suitable for the job, an under- represented person could be chosen instead of the over-represented category and public bodies would have a new duty to “consider what action they can take” to reduce socio-economic inequalities.

Although the Bill is not yet law (and no one knows what form it might eventually take) , now would be a good time for employers to consider whether their current practices are fair, or whether there are unjustified discrepancies between pay of men or women or other discrimination in their company. The Bill will also provide further protection for the elderly and disabled.

The Government sums up the changes as follows:

1. Introducing a new public sector duty to consider reducing socioeconomic inequalities
2. Putting a new Equality Duty on public bodies
3. Using public procurement to improve equality
4. Banning age discrimination outside the workplace
5. Introducing gender pay and equality reports
6. Extending the scope to use positive action
7. Strengthening the powers of employment tribunals
8. Protecting carers from discrimination
9. Protecting breastfeeding mothers
10. Banning discrimination in private members’ clubs; and
11. Strengthening protection from discrimination for disabled people

It will also be an offence to discriminate against someone because of their association with another protected group – an extension of the principle recently established in the case of Coleman –v- Attridge Law. It would become unlawful to discriminate also because someone was perceived to be gay. The Bill is likely to receive royal assent next year.

For further information call Jonathon Stokes or Barry Hutchinson, specialist Employment solicitors at Gordon Brown Associates on 0191 230 8103.

Each month we run a series entitled 'HR Doctor' where we invite one of our HR Consultants, Fiona Ward from our HR Business Services Division to answer a series of HR related questions.

Question: I have recently heard about Bradford Factor Rating as a measurement for absence. But would like to know more about how it can be used.

The Bradford Factor measures the effect of persistent short-term sickness absenteeism by an individual. The Bradford factor calculation is as follows:
Bradford Factor = S2D where S is the number of occasions of absence in the period and D is the total number of days’ absence in the period. The period used is usually 52 weeks.

For example:

One single absence of 20 days is 20 points ((1 x 1) x (1 x 20))
Four absences of three days each is 192 points ((4 x 4) x (4 x 3))
Ten spells of absence of one day each is 1000 points ((10 x 10) x (10 x 1))

It is usually used to compare individual’s absence against other employees within the organisation and as a trigger point for disciplinary action. For example in a previous organisation where I have used this, 27 points (3 days on 3 separate occasions) would trigger a disciplinary meeting and unless there was extenuating circumstances a verbal warning would be issued. It is important to mention at this stage any sickness absence relating to a disability or being pregnant must be excluded.

It should be remembered that the Bradford Factor rating although very good for identifying persistent short term absenteeism, should not be used in isolation for managing absence. There are a number of tools available to employers which can be used as a complete package.

These include:

• Return to work interviews
• Assisted/gradual return to work programmes
• HR working closely with an occupational health provider
• Absence Monitoring – Both on duration of absence and the cause of absence
• Trained line management
• Robust Disciplinary procedures
• Recognition programmes for 100% attendance

If during monitoring the absence a particular problem is prevalent e.g. stress or back injuries, then specialist support such as an employee assistance programme or a review of the operating practices with the working environment may be appropriate.

To discuss your HR Business Service requirements and the potential of obtaining Business Link funding for your project, please call 0191 438 7989 or 0113 243 0900. Alternatively, please check out our dedicated HR Business Services website page.

To read Fiona's profile please click here.

Over the past six months, we have been lucky enough to have international student, Amina Sheretova joining us as part of her Masters degree in HRM from Newcastle University.

One of Amina’s main projects has been the compilation of the most thorough, accurate and up to date salary survey ever published in the North of England for HR practitioners. Amina has painstakingly reviewed in excess of a thousand candidates on our extensive database to produce a salary survey that breaks down not only into levels of seniority but also into precise detail across industry sub sectors. So, for example, if you are interested to find out a benchmark salary for an HR Advisor working in manufacturing, you will be able to access current information easily and quickly.

We are in the process of putting the survey together into a professionally produced PDF document, ready to mail out to those that express an interest, free of charge during the month of June.

We expect the survey to be the definitive guide for salaries within the North of England and we would be delighted to share it with you.

To receive a copy, please email our Senior Consultant, Gareth Harrison and he will provide you with the document.

Don’t miss out, register your interest today!  

Following on from our last (e) newsletter:

You should now have your P60s printed and distributed to your employees, and form P35 (the employers PAYE annual return) lodged with HMRC. As promised in the last newsletter we’ll now look at P11Ds.

The employer uses a P11D to tell HMRC about the value of any benefits in kind they've given you during the tax year. This means benefits or expenses that the employee won’t (necessarily) have been taxed on during the year, such as:

• a company car
• private medical insurance
• interest free loans
• home telephone bills

Travel expenses refunded should also be shown on a P11D as these are a potential benefit in kind. The employer can apply for dispensation from reporting certain expense types.

The P11D is only applicable if the employee earned at least £8,500 in the year (pro-rated), including the value of the benefits. A copy must be given to the employee.

BLU SKY LLP are Chartered Accountants focused on providing small businesses and self-employed people in the North East of England with personal, high quality accountancy & taxation services. More information can be found at www.bluskytax.co.uk