Business HR Under The Spotlight – Your 3-Minute May Roundup
“Welcome to Spotlight HR’s monthly ‘bite-size’ look at the latest HR news and important
legal changes affecting small to medium-sized businesses across the UK today.”
MAY 2022. By Kimberly Bradshaw (CEO, Spotlight HR.)
Happy Jubilee, one and all!
Huzzah! Get the bunting out, tuck into some sandwiches and enjoy the celebration – we here at Spotlight HR will be doing the same! Woohoo!
With Her Majesty still in mind, but with my HR hat firmly on, one of the most surprising occurrences last month was the absence of the Employment Bill from the Queen’s Speech. This Bill was set to introduce several significant employment rights, including:
- From day 1, carers were to get one week of annual unpaid leave.
- Workers were to get their tips paid in full.
- Extra protection against discrimination & redundancy for pregnant or those on maternity leave was also to become law.
- A single enforcement body for employment rights was to be created.
The measures in this Employment Bill would have had a significant impact on both the employers and the employees of small businesses. We will keep you posted on what happens next.
Through the HR lens – Why are you struggling to hire in 2022?
If you are having problems hiring right now, you are not alone. There are major labour shortages across many sectors in the UK. But with the cost of living rising and the need for extra income to make ends meet – how can this be? Here we look at some of the reasons why – and they may surprise you…
It would be easy to blame all these hiring problems on Brexit & COVID. Indeed, fewer international workers are around to bolster the work market following Brexit and the pandemic, which impacts the situation. However, a major factor is surprisingly simply down to lifestyle choices.
The pandemic lockdowns offered the chance for many people to re-evaluate their lives & careers, and many have chosen to follow a different path, from opting for early retirement to moving away to the countryside or stepping out of middle management to start-up businesses of their own perhaps. This has often led to people pursuing their dreams in completely different industries or professions, leaving a hole in the workforces they have left behind. Surprisingly, considering the cost-of-living crisis, it is more an employee rather than an employer’s market, with many of us struggling to find the candidates we desperately need. So, what can we do?
Spotlight HR Top Tips to hire in 2022:
- Prioritize flexibility: Offer remote and hybrid working models to make your opportunity as attractive to their lifestyle and work-life balance needs.
- Wellbeing: Our businesses are only as healthy as our people. Promote wellbeing as part of your workplace culture. Focus on health and emotional wellness and make your business a motivational and encouraging place to be.
- Talent recruitment: You need to present a competitive offering to attract the best talent in 2022. Getting expert HR advice on achieving this could quickly save you time and money Get in touch if you would like to find out more.
Employment Tribunal in focus – Being called ‘bald’ is now sexual harassment
Following an employment tribunal last month between a factory electrician and his employers, calling a man ‘bald’ can now be classed as sexual harassment. (Mr A Finn vs The British Bung Manufacturing Company and Mr King: 1803764/2021 – Reserved Judgement)
The tribunal heard that baldness was associated more with men than women, which makes it an insult in the law relating to a “protected characteristic of sex.” Also, a 1995 case was cited about comments regarding a woman’s breast size, and a correlation was drawn between this and calling a man bald.
This case shines a light on the dangers of any workplace banter and name-calling and the importance of implementing training on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. This area is a specialism at Spotlight HR, please drop us a line to discuss further.
If you’re affected by any of these issues, please get in touch for dependable HR advice that you can trust. We are here to help.
