The Growing Need for Effective People Management in SMEs

(And What To Do About It)

Key new legislation being introduced by labour in 100 days

A guide for employers

Helping employers think about the legal requirements and the best approach for their business.

2021 brings a new future for the UK as the transition period from exiting the EU has ended. The main impact of Brexit in employment law terms will be seen in the recruitment process as immigration laws change. Employers are already under an obligation to take steps to ensure a worker’s right to work in the UK and this process has been altered in light of the consequences of Brexit. Employers are under a legal duty to prevent illegal working and you can be subjected to penalties where you fail to do so; this can include a criminal offence so it is important to make sure that you have the right processes in your organisation. Existing Employees EU citizens who are currently working for you, or were in the UK before by 31 December 2020, need to take action to gain permission to remain in the UK. This applies unless they have already been granted indefinite leave to remain (ILR) or are from Ireland. Employees must apply to the EU Settlement Scheme. Successful application guarantees the right to continue living and working in the UK indefinitely. Applications for the Scheme are made from the gov.uk website . It is free to apply. New Employees The UK has introduced a new system of immigration control. For the first time in decades, EEA and Swiss nationals (EEA nationals) will be subject to the same immigration controls as non-EEA nationals. Free movement for European nationals ended on 31 December 2020. The new system will apply to the recruitment of European nationals, who arrive in the UK on or after 1 January 2021, as it does to all other overseas nationals. The key characteristics of the new system are the same as the current system – an employer must be licenced by the Home Office, an employee must be sponsored to do a specific job, the job must meet a skill and salary threshold. Should I become a Immigration Licence Holder? If you have regularly employed EEA nationals or you think that you may need to recruit a foreign national in future, you should consider applying for a sponsor licence. It can take an average of 8 weeks to process applications so it is better to act before the immediate need arises. You’ll need to check the eligibility criteria to decide if you qualify. You will need to pay a fee to apply for a licence, which varies depending on the size of your organisation. Small companies will pay £536 for each application. Larger organisations will pay £1,467 for a licence to take on long-term staff, and £536 for temporary staff. You are likely to be considered a large company if your annual turnover is over at least £10.2 million and you have at least 50 employees. You can expediate the licence at an additional cost of £500. Once you are a licence holder, you’ll need to issue a Certificate of Sponsorship to any individuals who are to be sponsored. This fee is £199. A visa application fee and health immigration surcharge are payable by the individual applicant. Some employers may agree to cover these costs. The visa fee depends on the duration of sponsorship and whether the applicant is inside or outside the UK on application. The fee ranges from £610 - £1,408. The health surcharge is £624 per year. Right to Work Checks for EU Nationals This is potentially the area that could cause the most confusion as changes to right to work checks do not come into force until 1 July 2021. Until this date you should check a job applicant’s right to work in the UK under existing rules (i.e. there is no change to right to work checks until then). Currently, job applicants can prove the right to work with any of the following: their valid passport or national identity card if they’re an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen their valid biometric residence card if they’re a non-EU, EEA or Swiss citizen family member their status under the EU Settlement Scheme using the Home Office’s online right to work checking service. Whilst job applicants can use their status under the EU Settlement Scheme as evidence, you cannot require them to produce this. If they do so, you can use the share code to check status online. If an EU citizen produces their valid passport, then this is sufficient evidence of their right to work. There is no obligation to provide their status under the Settlement Scheme. Requiring this is likely to constitute discrimination. You cannot make an offer of employment, or continued employment, dependent on an individual having made an application. Summary These proposals will make the skilled work visa more accessible and more streamlined for both employers and employees. It will still require satisfaction of Home Office duties which require robust HR systems and specialist knowledge. The recruitment process under the immigration system will be more expensive than free movement. If you would like a copy of our Brexit FAQs for employers send an email to nicole.james@bamboopeoplesolutions.co.uk

LAST UPDATE 16 MARCH 2020 What a weekend, the reality hit for many that Coronavirus is going to have a significant short-term impact. We’re in uncertain times and no one is quite sure as to how it will play out and when things will happen. These times will pass, but in the meantime, it makes good business sense to think about how to respond and have trigger points in place. International travel is significantly restricted, the Foreign Office is advising against all but essential travel to 31 countries today (it was 5 at the start of the year). Awareness of self-isolation is increasing, and it is anticipated that whole families may need to isolate if one family member is affected in the not too distant future. Coupled with this is speculation that schools may close at some point too. All these factors are likely to have an impact on your ability to trade, the types of task you require could change and your employees’ availability to work may change too. If you haven’t done so already, now is the time to plan what this means for your business, your trading and your workforce and communicate those plans. You should review and adjust the plan regularly as information changes. There are a number of key questions to ask yourself when planning: Current Resources and Activity • If sales / trading is dropping off, are there any other tasks that have been on that ‘to do’ list that have never made it to the top? Are there any activities that may be useful to set you up for success when things start to become a bit more normal? Are there any hidden opportunities? • The need for some roles could have decreased, could you temporarily refocus these employees on something else? • It is becoming more likely that the government will increase focus on working from home, what does this mean for your employees? Does it work for some roles and not others? Are some roles more essential? You don’t have to do anything but you will need a clear rationale as to thinking so that you can share this with your employees • Is there any technology that can aid working from home that could be set up now? • Is there any way you can minimise the spread of the virus amongst your workforce? Some workplaces are splitting their workforce and asking 50% to spend 2 weeks working from home and the other 50% to come to the office. And then they switch • Can you shift your mindset – many leaders worry about working from home as to whether individuals are productive. Can you focus on outputs and achievements to reassure yourself work is still being completed? • The bottom-line reality is many roles just don’t work from home – what actions can you take to support employees who need to come in to support them and minimise the spread. For example, some businesses are encouraging card transactions rather than cash. Some may be feeling anxious, is there any support you can offer? Absence Management • You could have a period of very high absence, how will you cope through this period? Are there any critical roles / tasks? How will they be covered? Will you need to change focus? • What happens if you get ill? Who will take charge if you have a period of time out of the business? • What will you do if an employee has coronavirus? Do you need to prepare for an office deep clean? Will you send others home for a period? • What will you do if employees need to look after their children due to school closures? • What is your stance on pay during absence – whether for sickness, caring for a family member or childcare? How much will you support and how much will you pay? Resource Reductions • A number of clients are becoming increasingly aware of a fight to survive; having trigger points identified in advance is useful to know the appropriate time to consider hours reduction and/or redundancy. What are your trigger points? Don’t forget that taking action on these triggers takes time – build in enough space to react. • Do you have a lay off clause in your contracts? This easily allows you to reduce/stop working for a short period. If you don’t have one, don’t panic, you’ll need to follow a different process. • You’ll need clear and easy processes in place should you need to trigger reductions, what do these look like? • What are appropriate messages to staff today and on an ongoing basis? Communication • Whatever you decide, communication is essential. What do you need to share with your employees and when? • What do you need to share with your customers and when? Here are some answers to key questions you may have: Do you have to pay for absence linked to Corornovirus? Employees can take emergency time off for childcare. They are expected to make alternative arrangements as soon as possible. The important thing here is open dialogue and understanding your employee needs whilst balancing with the needs of the business. With older people more at risk, employees may be reluctant to get support from grandparents. If an employee is absent due to childcare issues you do not legally have to pay them. If an individual is self-isolating because they are suspected to have coronavirus, they are entitled to SSP from day one. The government have said that they will reimburse small businesses for this cost. If you are only paying SSP it is worth reflecting that those who are self-isolating may choose to ignore the requirement if they are worried about losing pay and this could have a detrimental impact on further absences. If an employee is absent due to being unwell from Coronavirus you should follow your normal absence procedure and sickness pay policy. When it comes to self-isolating because a family member it is not yet clear what the government stance will be in relation to SSP. As the employee is not sick you would not legally pay them. If you are able to budget for it, this could be a good way to protect the rest of your workforce and grow loyalty and support for the future. Don’t forget when it comes to pay, the answer isn’t necessarily all or nothing. Pay has to be carefully considered against what the business can afford and a partial payment could be more realistic. Whatever you decide in relation to pay, take a moment to consider if this is the right thing for your culture. Withholding payment could cause a level of frustration and may impact on longer term loyalty. And we will get through this and expect to return to normal and committed working relationships in future. What should I share with my workforce about good hygiene factors? Good hygiene is considered the most effective way to prevent infection. You can encourage your workforce to follow these guidelines with a couple of effective communication techniques: • Promote the ‘Catch it, Bin it, Kill it campaign’ – there are handy posters you can email or put up • Encourage regular handwashing – the NHS has some guidance posters that could be placed by all sinks within your workplace • Ensure the workplace is cleaned properly and regularly • You may want to make hand sanitiser available in public spaces such as reception and eating areas. Hand sanitizer is not considered a replacement for hand washing, which is more effective but it can be a useful addition to hygiene. It should be noted that face masks are not considered to be effective. Do you need to monitor absence to identify risks to your business? As those affected increases in the UK, there could be a substantial impact on your workforce. You may want to consider setting up a centralised absence tracker so that you can monitor absence levels and identify business risks. If you have particular areas of the business that are essential you may want to consider contingency plans to keep these areas operational – this could include asking workers from other areas to support and change their duties for a short period or agency support. Can employees Work From Home? Some roles have a level of flexibility and can be completed remotely. This may be an option, particularly for those with childcare or isolation concerns. You’ll need to check how many people can be logged in remotely and identify key workers if the numbers are restricted. What to do if you have employees travelling or have travelled to affected areas If your employee is travelling for work purposes, you must follow the government guidelines regarding travel. You may also want to review all travel to non-restricted areas and consider whether it is essential at this time. It is important to have open and honest dialogue with those that are travelling, discuss any concerns and share your expectations. If you have a worker (employee or contractor) who is returning from an affected area, you need to review the guidance and have open and honest dialogue as to your expectations and the impact on their pay. It is likely that their colleagues may be nervous and you should share plans in a sensitive way to ensure that people do not panic. What do I do if someone becomes unwell? If the individual has returned form an affected countries (click here for most up to date details), you should remove them to an area that is 2 meters away from others. Ideally on their own in a well ventilated room. Call 111 for advice. If they need the bathroom If the individual has not visited an affected country you should manage as per your normal absence procedure. Do you need to reduce your workforce? It is possible that as the virus continues, your business may be affected and you need to review your pay budget. You can consider the following: • Reducing hours for contractors, agency staff or casual workers • Reviewing whether your contracts have a lay off clause that allows you to temporarily reduce employee hours • Even without a lay off clause you may be able to reach agreement with your employees to reduce their salary and hours for a period of time • In certain circumstances you may need to consider redundancies if you think the impact will last for a significant period of time It is recommended that you take advice from your HR Consultant if you are considering any of these actions. What should you communicate to employees? The most important thing in planning is to ensure that you have clearly communicated with your workforce. Consider sharing the following information: • Reminding all employees of the absence policy and reporting procedures • Confirming how absence will be paid in relation to sickness, isolation or care for dependents • Confirming good hygiene methods • If you have anyone travelling to or returning from affected areas share plans in a sensitive way If you would like to discuss or need support then please do get in touch. Call me on 01883 460770 or email nicole.james@bamboopeoplesolutions.co.uk.

I once worked for a retail clothing business, which had a store on the beach in Newquay. The footfall changed with the weather – the store manager was excellent at roster management and would flex her staffing levels based on the sunshine. She’d developed great relationships with her team that meant they understood business needs and were in a position to offer flexibility. Hospitality, retail, leisure and contact centre environments are all good at looking at anticipated demand levels and flexing their staffing rotas as appropriate (in the short term at least). Workforce planning on a long term basis is a little more challenging. There is an element of crystal ball gazing but it’s still possible. I worked with a Buying Director who had a team of about 120 employees. We developed an ideal structure – it was something we were never going to get to overnight but it meant we knew where we were trying to go. Every time someone left or moved roles we edged a little closer. We knew which roles could be challenging to fill and focused our energy on developing employees in these areas. The recruitment team knew which roles could be tricky and they could proactively talent bank external individuals before a vacancy came up. Workforce planning is about planning for business change – whether that’s an increase/decrease in people required to do the work or a change in skill sets needed. The aim of workforce planning is to align your business needs with your people strategy. As Benjamin once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail”. The fundamentals of workforce planning are: 1. Understand your business priorities and plans 2. Identify your ideal structure – both headcount and skill sets 3. Analyse your current resource capability 4. Review the gaps and where challenges may exist. Understand where you may become over resourced or have changing needs 5. Take actions to address skills gaps, shortages and mismatches 6. Review and repeat

As a leader it can feel like a constant juggle between tasks. You want to think about your people but are also worrying about operational delivery and running a business. Having worked closely with lots of leaders over the years I know most leaders want to make sure they do the best for their teams but sometimes just aren’t quite sure what they need to do to achieve a great working environment. We all have a natural inclination towards our preferred tasks and will tend to focus in these areas. The Leadership T is a really handy tool to help you categorise and plan where you need to focus your energy.

Scrolling LinkedIn this week and I spotted a post by Femi Alberici, who was brave enough to share that she’d quit a job after 1 month because it wasn’t right for her. I have a huge amount of respect for Femi, the biggest career mistake I made was staying in a job I hated for 11 months and I knew it wasn’t the job for me in that first month. So, why did I end up in the wrong place for 11 months? Three words - the recruitment process. Quite simply, the whole process was the complete opposite of what it was really like to work in the business. I naively assumed the questions I was asked and the presentation I did reflected the types of things I’d be doing. I was left horrified by the way people were treated and spoken to by leaders. It was so far against my values of what a workplace should be. I don’t think anyone really set with the intention to deceive, in fact the leader I was interviewed by remains a friend on Facebook as she was quite lovely. It worked out for me in the end, I made my escape and got a role I loved, working somewhere that reflected the things I wanted to do, used my skills and fitted with my values. And I learnt to not take things at face value in the interview. But what does this all mean for you as a leader and business owner? Getting recruitment right is key for your growth - you need to find the right people and you need to make sure they want to stay. I imagine you spend lots of time focusing on getting the right skills for your role. But it’s just as important to make sure you get the right personal fit too - for the sanity of both sides and to make sure they want to hang around for the right reasons. There is a fine balance when we talk about personal fit - you don’t want a bunch of clones who think and do the same. That’s not going to take you forward and make sure you have a constant flow of small improvements in your business. But you do want to make sure that your values align and people are supportive of your vision for the future. So, what can you do to get this right? It all starts with the job description- be clear about what you really need doing both now and in the future Make sure there’s balance to your interview - checking they’ve got the right skills is key but also taking the time to find out about them as a person (their values, beliefs and what makes them tick) Think about whether you can learn more about someone through activities and presentations rather than just a standard interview - but make sure those activities are a genuine reflection of the job as you don’t want to create false expectations Remember the interview is a conversation- not just a tick box list of questions. Keep it real. Be really honest about what it’s like to work in your business - there’s no point in dressing it up and having someone open the cupboard to discover the skeletons. If they’re not comfortable with those skeletons they’ll leave - whether it takes one month or 11. Or worse, they’ll stay and become a negative drain on energy If you’re recruiting someone to help you make X better then share it - don’t let them think you’re already there and share what you think that journey might be like Remember it’s a two way process - you need to share as much with the candidate as they share with you And if you’re sitting here thinking but that will never work, no one will be interested in the job if I’m honest about what it’s really like in my business, then maybe it’s time you thought about your culture and the type of workplace you create. Get in touch, we can help you with all things recruitment. We can also support a review of your culture and create a plan for the things you’d like to change - whether that’s attitudes and behaviours, leadership style or particular key areas like rewards and benefits. Email nicole.james@bamboopeoplesolutions.co.uk