Summer of sickies? Our quick poll

Extra bank holidays, the Olympics, school summer holidays and the enjoyment of the European Football Championships, it would appear it will be a busy summer this year! We have been giving lots of advice recently on how these events might impact on SME businesses across the UK, especially around managing holiday requests and the reinforcement of a business’ sickness absence policy.

We have set up a really short poll for you, just to see whether you think these events will have an impact on your business. We would appreciate 30 seconds of your time to answer the two questions set up via this link.

As a thank you, please follow these links for more help, guidance and advice from The HR Dept on how to manage this unusual but exciting British summer. Our major word of advice is like with most things: be prepared.

Guidance and advice on what employees are entitled to for bank holidays and for the Diamond Jubilee

Top tips on how to deal with unauthorised absence during the Olympics/EURO 2012

We would love to do something about the summer weather, but miracles are out of The HR Dept remit.

It’s a pod life

Have you ever dreamt that your employees were so committed to their work that they never went home at the end of the day? Well now it appears there is a solution with these newly designed, futuristic pods where employees can spend the night at work. We have recently come across a London based data centre employer who has installed 'sleeping pods' in their offices. The pods have been designed so that employees need not leave the office and can be on site 24/7. These futuristic pods come fully equipped with a handy mirror, magazine rack, a night light, plug sockets and a stereo system.

Photo: PodTime

Originally implemented to avoid long commutes during the Olympics, perhaps these sleeping pods could act as a safety net each time there is strike action/snow/world cup?

The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth

Ever thought someone wasn’t telling you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth in a disciplinary meeting? How do you get the truth from that person? Well... in South Africa we have discovered you are able to use lie detectors in disciplinary meetings!

It certainly is different to our ‘reasonable doubt’ judgement when looking into disciplinary matters.

With theft, fraud, blackmail and sexual harassment cases, lie detectors are brought into disciplinary meetings which in South Africa is considered legal. Permission is always sought from the person being interviewed and it is always made clear that the person has the right to refuse. Naturally those that were taking medication and pregnant women are excluded. However, as with refusing to do an alcoholic breathalyser test, the inference might be that they had something to hide. This sub-technique works wonders.

Naturally on the occasions when the detector went off the scale, this could indicate that the person was being a little economical with the truth. When this was pointed out to them, on about 99% of cases; they then confessed all to the offence.

Using a lie detector in UK disciplinary meetings is likely to attract unwanted attention and we have yet to find reference to it in the best practise guidance of managing difficult disciplinary meetings!

Swiss holidays

If we had a referendum in the UK about increasing our statutory holiday entitlement, it would perhaps cause a huge rush at the polling stations and the clamour would cause a stampede! In Switzerland, if more than 100,000 citizens speak up about a particular issue, they get their voice heard in a referendum, giving citizens the opportunity to have their say on changes to laws, budgets etc.

Recently, voters in Switzerland opted ‘out’ of proposals to increase employee statutory annual entitlement from 4 to 6 weeks a year, to bring them in line with other Western European neighbours.

Are British workers lucky to get nearly 6 weeks off a year?

In the UK, employees currently have a statutory right to 5.6 weeks annual leave and public holidays can be used to make up the 5.6 weeks (20 days plus 8 days). In Switzerland however, the proposals were voted against because business groups warned that it could be too costly to the economy.

Perhaps us Brits should consider ourselves lucky, especially since last year we enjoyed an additional bank holiday to celebrate the royal wedding and again this year to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee – though it doesn’t mean that everyone will be paid for this time off!

So if the additional bank holiday for the Jubilee has thrown your business into confusion, find out more information and some tips here