Latest posts:
Rate this!
Martin Newlan
Member - 34 posts
I think radio or music is acceptable in a factory, but not in an office and certainly not where there is a lot of telephone business to conduct. For staff working on their own and carrying out something like repetitive data entry, then maybe. However, you would need to have a measure of productivity already to enable you to check the effect of allowing entertainment of any kind. (Some offices have news TV on, possibly for monitoring financial markets, and the same comments apply). I would offer staff an experimental period, but retain the express right to withdraw the privilege if it is having a detrimental effect.
The PRS licence does not distinguish between staff and customers, but they do make allowances for the number of people listening. They have a number of tariffs to suit different workplaces.
Rate this!
Martin Newlan
Member - 34 posts
What has this news item got to do with Workplace Law??
Rate this!
Martin Newlan
Member - 34 posts
What is the situation when the staff are being employed through an agency on a daily basis. Can we accept the assurances from the agency, or must we see the individuals' documents on each occasion?
Rate this!
Martin Newlan
Member - 34 posts
Flexible working is a concept that means entirely different things to employees and employers. It is going to take a great deal of case law to clarify which requests can reasonably be refused. Consequently, employers will tie themselves in knots trying to adjust working practices to suit the requirements of those employees who request flexible working when the honest answer is "sorry, no, because that is not good for our business". Good for the busines is ultimately good for the workfoce of course.
Rate this!
Martin Newlan
Member - 34 posts
This is a very sensible piece, and a very important topic, but I am afraid that it is too late to reverse the change in culture. The emergency services are manacled by risk-assessing everything they do.
Rate this!
Martin Newlan
Member - 34 posts
I am attracted to the water mist suggestion. We have erected a gazebo with seating at a suitable distance, but inevitably nobody is using it, preferring to huddle around the doorway.
Rate this!
Martin Newlan
Member - 34 posts
I am the Bursar of a residential conference centre in a Grade II listed building. Since the smoking ban was imposed we have had regular problems with groups of smokers gathered outside our entrance late at night (up to 03.30 last Friday) who cause a disturbance to our staff and other guests simply because they are in a huddle smoking and talking. The ban has produced a wonderful smoke-free environment in our bar and recreation rooms, but at a real cost in terms of nuisance. Telling peoiple not to smoke is one thing. Telling them not to talk, laugh, and smoke under bedroom windows is a different matter.
Has anyone found a way to manage smokers outdoors?
Rate this!
Martin Newlan
Member - 34 posts
This case highlights once again the need for a "no-fault" compensation system that pays the relatives promptly and without them having to go to court. Why on earth should it take five years?
Rate this!
Martin Newlan
Member - 34 posts
Is it true that Kian Williams actually died as a result of contracting MRSA in hospital after being treated for his head injury? If so, the prosecution of the school's owner alone seems a little unfair.
Rate this!
Martin Newlan
Member - 34 posts
Two points for clarification:
1. An employment lawyer once told me that there was a potential risk of a specified term of probation being interpreted as a fixed term of employment. Does that affect the precise wording of the probation clause?
2. I understood that membership of a stakeholder pension had to be offered after three months, which would be a problem if the probation was six months. Can the waiting period for joining the pension start at the end of the probation, or is that unfair?
Martin Newlan
Rate this!
Martin Newlan
Member - 34 posts
Our business, which is also a charity, is a conference venue and hospitatlity is our primary activity. Front of house staff are not allowed to drink on duty, but other staff who are hosting guests for lunches and dinners do drink (if they choose to)on occasion and it would be difficult to stop the practice now.
Surely the issue is one of degree? We absolutely do not encourage heavy drinking.
The only times that all staff are invited to drink are at "gatherings" - either farewells to colleagues or at summer and Christmas parties. On these occasions we keep a close eye on those who seem to be abusing the free drink on offer.
Are we being niave?
Rate this!
Martin Newlan
Member - 34 posts
I am just embarking on a kitchen refurbishment caught by the CDM Regs. Because I can no longer project-manage the work, which to be fair is quite extensive, I now have to pay not just professional fees, but the additional profit element for the main contractor on all the component parts, including the six-figure cost of the kitchen equipment. I estimate that CDM has added in the order of £70k, and my vote is with Mr Cameron on this. Mine is an acutely safety conscious registered charity, and we do not and would not take short cuts. I disagree strongly with IOSH.
Rate this!
Martin Newlan
Member - 34 posts
If a mandatory retirement age is abandoned altogether (regardless of the actual ceiling) employers will have to rely entirely on capability as their reason for denying annual requests to continue to work. That will be hard for both sides, and is bound to prompt claims of unfair or unequal treatment. This legislation, whilst eminently sensible and generally fair, is going to cause plenty of problems and lots of case law before it beds down.
Rate this!
Martin Newlan
Member - 34 posts
I was hoping for definitive guidance on the role of fire wardens in residential premises, but so far have found nothing. We particularly need advice on how many trained people should be available at night. The official line will be risk assessment, but that does not really help. Does anyone have any relevant experience?
Rate this!
Martin Newlan
Member - 34 posts
Being an on-line porn actress may be a novel side-line, but the principle is quite clear. An employee can't be off sick and be paid to work elsewhere without the express permission of the employer, and Ms Batowski does not "have a right to do other things outside work".
Rate this!
Martin Newlan
Member - 34 posts
A very good answer Katy. You should follow a political career! I take your point, but I think there is a need for a consistent message about stress, and the problem with the upbeat report about European league tables is that it encourages employers to do nothing. It is rather akin to the contradictions about global warming.
Rate this!
Martin Newlan
Member - 34 posts
This item seems to be slightly at odds with your news on 21 October last year that UK workers were among the least stressed in Europe - apparently only Spain and Holland had lower ratings. (You provided a link to the article. I can't claim that good a memory!) It is also confusing to note the correlation between long hours and stress. We are constantly reminded that Brits work longer than almost anybody else in Europe, which would lead one to expect our stress league table position to be at the top of the leader board.
Could Workplace Law check the statistics and clarify these contradictory reports?
Rate this!
Martin Newlan
Member - 34 posts
Robert Ormandi's question is not exactly part of the smoking break thread. In the situation described, I would be on the employer's side of the table, and would strongly advise Robert to approach his manager to clear the air. As an individual, I hardly ever take a break at lunchtime, but I never reproach my staff for taking theirs, and it would be unreasonable to do so. However, there is clearly a difficulty if staff sit at their desks throughout their lunch, particularly when using a computer, because it is not clear to everyone that they are "off duty".
Robert sounds defensive, particularly so if he feels a need to keep "meticulous" time records, implying a lack of trust on both sides. He must get this out into the open.
Rate this!
Martin Newlan
Member - 34 posts
Mark makes a useful suggestion, but the member of staff has already negotiated to shorten her lunch break so that she can leave earlier in the afternoon!
Rate this!
Martin Newlan
Member - 34 posts
Thank you Jayn for the clarification. We will move carefully, but the employee knew that we were a non-smoking establishment when she joined.
0 (0)
