The Employer's Handbook: An Essential Guide to Employment Law, Personnel Policies, and Procedures

401 Pages·2006·2.73 MB·English

by  Barry Cushway

ETHEMPLOYER’S
HANDBOOK
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DEDICATION
To Paul Bienkov (1953–2004): a good friend and someone with a considerable expertise
in the field of human resource management. His combination of in-depth knowledge,
practical good sense and a social conscience, tempered with a great sense of humour,
should serve as a model for all practitioners in this field.
This book has been endorsed by the Institute of Directors.
The endorsement is given to selected Kogan Page books which the IoD recognizes as
being of specific interest to its members and providing them with up-to-date, informative
and practical resources for creating business success. Kogan Page books endorsed by the
IoD represent the most authoritative guidance available on a wide range of subjects
including management, finance, marketing, training and HR.
The views expressed in this book are those of the author and are not necessarily the same
as those of the Institute of Directors.
First published in Great Britain 2002 by Kogan Page Limited
Second edition 2004
Third edition 2005
Fourth edition 2006
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or
review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication
may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the
prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction
in accordance with the terms and licences issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning
reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned
address:
120 Pentonville Road
London N1 9JN
United Kingdom
www.koganpage.co.uk
© Barry Cushway, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006
Figure 14.4 reproduced by kind permission from Pearson Education Ltd.
The right of Barry Cushway to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted
by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 0 7494 4700 1
Typeset by JS Typesetting Ltd, Porthcawl, Wales
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Cambridge University Press
Contents
Acknowledgements xxi
Introduction 1
1 Recruiting staff 7
Deciding whether to recruit 7; Preparing a job description 9;
Preparing a person specification 11; How to recruit 13; Application
form or curriculum vitae (CV)? 18; Interviewing 20; Other selection
methods 31; Avoiding discrimination in selection 34; Making a job
offer 36; Taking up references 42; Medical reports 44; Checking
qualifications 45; Rejecting candidates 45; Withdrawing a job
offer 45; Employment of offenders 46; Restrictions on employing
children 48; Employment of overseas nationals 48; Asylum and
Immigration Act 1996 49; Further information 50
2 Writing employment contracts 53
Deciding whether someone is an employee 53; The contract of
employment 54; Statement of employment particulars 54; Specific
contractual clauses 61; Types of contract 68; Amending contracts 69;
Further information 70; Appendix: Specimen service agreement 70
Contents
3 Paying staff 87
Deciding how much to pay 87; Job evaluation 89; How pay is made
up 101; Pay structures 101; Bonuses 107; The National Minimum Wage 107;
Guarantee payments 108; Equal pay 109; Directors’ remuneration report
regulations 2002 109; Deductions from pay 109; Tax and national
insurance 110; Itemized pay statement 111; Further information 112
4 Employee benefits 113
Stakeholder pensions 114; Shares and share options 116; Cars 116;
Flexible benefits 117; Taxation of benefits 119; Further information 120
5 Performance management 123
The importance of managing performance 123; The performance
management process 123; Training and development 136; Further
information 141; Appendix 1: CIPFA Guide 142; Appendix 2: ABC
UK – competency levels and definitions 149
6 Dealing with absence 157
Planned absences 157; Reducing unplanned absences 159; Pay during
absence 167; Dealing with persistent absence 170; Frequent lateness
and unauthorized absences 172; Company health check 172; Further
information 173
7 Maternity and paternity rights 175
Time off for antenatal care 175; Medical suspension during
pregnancy 176; Maternity leave 176; Statutory maternity pay (SMP) 182;
Maternity policy 182; Paternity leave 186; Statutory paternity pay 186;
Adoption leave 186; Statutory adoption pay 187; Further information 187
8 Working hours and holidays 189
Working Time Regulations 1998 189; Time off in lieu of overtime
(TOIL) 193; Annual holidays 194; Parental leave 195; Sunday working 195;
Employment of school children 196; Flexible working arrangements 196;
Further information 203
9 Writing a staff handbook 205
Welcome to the company 206; Background information 207; Terms and
conditions of employment 207; Disciplinary procedure 211; Grievance
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Contents
procedure 212; Confidential information 212; Intellectual
property 213; Restrictions during and after employment 213; Company
property 214; Gifts 215; Equal opportunities policy 215; Health and
safety policy 216; Smoking at work 216; Harassment policy 217;
Other matters 218; Further information 219
10 Personnel records and data protection 221
Personnel records 221; Data protection 222; Monitoring of e-mails and
telephone calls 227; Further information 230
11 Handling organization change 231
Changes in responsibilities 231; Changes to organizational structure 232;
Changes to processes and procedures 233; Obtaining commitment to
change 234; Introducing participation 234; Relocation 235; Mergers
and takeovers 236; Further information 238
12 Handling disciplinary issues 239
Disciplinary rules 239; Disciplinary procedure 242; Conducting a
disciplinary hearing 251; Taking disciplinary action 255; Specific
disciplinary situations 258; Appeals against disciplinary action 262;
Further information 263
13 Dealing with grievances 267
Grievance procedure 267; Handling a grievance 271; Harassment 271;
Appeals against grading 272; Further information 272
14 Terminating employment 275
Meaning of dismissal 275; Dismissal with notice 275; Notice by the
employee 277; Counter notice 277; Withdrawing notice 281; Pay during
notice 281; Pay in lieu of notice 281; Other payments on termination of
employment 282; Termination without notice 282; Written reason for
dismissal 283; Date of termination of employment 283; Avoiding unfair
dismissal 284; Wrongful dismissal 286; Constructive dismissal 286; Types
of dismissal 287; Giving references 305; Exit interviews 306; Further
information 306
15 Dealing with tribunal cases 309
The role of employment tribunals 311; How to defend a claim 311;
Compensation for unfair dismissal 313; Unreasonable claims 313;
Review of a tribunal’s decision 313; Further information 327
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