Fit for work service

The Fit for Work Service is now available for GP referral in all of England, Scotland and Wales.  For full details on the service visit http://fitforwork.org

Do you employ mobile workers? Changes to working hours may impact your business

The European Court of Justice, in a recent Spanish case gave the judgement that mobile workers who have no fixed place of work, and spend time travelling from home to the first and last customer should have this time considered as working time. The Court added that because the workers are at the employer's disposal for the time of the journeys, they act under their employer's instructions and cannot use that time freely to pursue their own interest.

Employers and employees should be aware that this may have an impact on breaks if the working day is extended as a result of travelling time. Employment contracts should be checked to see what they say about travelling time.

Changes to health and safety laws regarding Sikhs

The right for Sikhs to wear turbans (instead of safety helmets - currently only allowed on building sites) will be expanded to all workplaces.  There are certain exemptions when the person is at risk of injury then a safety helmet must be worn.

The National Minimum Wage rates came into effect on 1 October 2015

·         Rate for workers aged 21 and over will increase to £6.70 currently £6.50

·         the 18-20 rate for workers will increase to £5.30 currently £5.13

·         the 16-17 rate for workers above school leaving age but under 18 will increase to £3.87 currently £3.79

·         the apprentice rate, for apprentices under 19 or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship will increase to £3.30 currently £2.73

New Living Wage announced

The Chancellor George Osborne announced in the budget last week that a new living wage of £7.20 per hour will come into force in April 2016 for over staff over 25 years old.  Companies should start budgeting now for the salary increase.

Use of mobile phones when driving

A company has a duty to ensure that their employees do not use their mobile phones whilst driving.  There have been two recent cases that have highlighted the importance of company policy being fair, consistent and reasonable. 

In a recent case (Ruparell v East London Bus Coach Co Ltd) a bus driver was in the bus station and was seen on CCTV leaving the bus station and whilst driving he took his hands off the steering wheel to put the mobile phone into his pocket.  He returned one hand to the steering wheel whilst using his other hand to secure his phone.  The employee was dismissed for breaching the company policy on mobile phone use.  The Employment Tribunal held that the dismissal was fair as the employer had a strict and clearly communicated ban on mobile phone use policy, which included a prohibition on the “visible presence” of mobile phones in the cab area of the bus. 

In contrast in another case (Whitehead v FirstGroup Holdings Ltd) the employee was observed in his car entering the company car park using his mobile phone.  The employee was dismissed for breaching the company policy on mobile phone use.  The Employment Tribunal decided that the dismissal was unfair for two reasons:

1. The company mobile phone policy was not clear as to whether it applied to staff when entering the company car park in their own car.
2. The employer should have taken into account mitigating circumstances that the employee had 36 years’ unblemished and impeccable service and also the stress that he was under in his personal and work life.

It is important that the policy is communicated to employees and any situation takes into account the context and is applied in a fair manner.

To discuss mobile phone policy please call us on 01245 261883

Check employee driving licences

On 8 June 2015 the paper counterpart to driving licences was abolished.  As an employer you still need to check driving licences for employees who are driving on company business.  You can do this through a number of options:

Option one:

You can ask the employee to show you their personal online driving record.  This can be accessed by logging on to the link https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence and follow the instructions on the screen.  This will show any endorsements that the employee may have on their licence, which would have been shown on the paper copy.

Option two:

You can register for the new share driving licence service.  This allows an individual to generate a unique code which will then allow third parties such as their employers to check their driving record.  For more information follow the link https://dvladigital.blog.gov.uk/2015/05/21/dvla-guide-to-use-share-driving-licence-service

Please note that you must not access an employee’s online driving record without their permission as this is a criminal offence.

We would recommend that you carry out checks on employees’ driving licences at least annually if they drive on company business.  Also you should have a provision in your car policy, handbook or contract that requires an employee to immediately inform you of any changes to their licence.

Call us on 01245 261883 for more information