Rita Donaghy, ACAS Chair, today called upon employers and employees to work together and resolve workplace disputes as early as possible. Left unresolved, disagreements can damage workplace relationships which can affect business efficiency.

Speaking at the ‘Dispute Resolution and Workplace Mediation Summit’ in London, she urged employers to seek ways of dealing with issues as they arise rather than waiting until it impacts on the working environment. Disputes can lead to low morale, increased absence or, if unresolved, an employment tribunal. In 2005/06 there were 109,712 applications to employment tribunals.

Rita Donaghy, said “With any relationship breakdown if the individuals stop talking, it often takes intervention from a third party to get communication back on track. Workplace mediation is increasingly being recognised as the ideal way to resolve workplace disputes between employers, employees or colleagues.

“Most people don’t like conflict which is why a mediator can help individuals focus on where things have gone wrong and possible ways of moving forward. It makes good business sense to have good working relationships. Disputes and disagreements at work are costly in time and money.

“We believe that prevention is better than cure and mediation is just one of the services we offer which can help to resolve conflict in the workplace before it gets out of hand. Our new training course called ‘Handling difficult conversations’ will equip line managers with the right skills to deal with day to day people matters and help avoid conflict escalating.

“ACAS offers a range of mediation services. Our independent mediators help resolve workplace conflict, typically at an early stage, and we also train individuals from other organisations to be their own workplace mediators. “

Visit www.acas.org.uk for more information.

UK police officers should be awarded the 3 per cent index-linked pay increase for which they have been campaigning, according to an independent panel charged with resolving the dispute between police employers and the UK Police Federations.

Officers reacted with anger to the refusal by the Government to implement the customary index-linked rise; the Federations pointed out that the rise had been awarded by successive Governments since the mid-1970s.

Negotiations between the two sides were convened in July, but failed to result in agreement. The Federations subsequently threatened to launch a work-to-rule protest; the issue was passed to the Police Arbitration Board in August.

Ministers will now discuss whether or not to ratify the Board’s recommendation of a three per cent pay increase.

The Herald, November 7, 2006

Negotiations to end Britain’s opt-out from the European Union’s 48-hour maximum work week have collapsed.

Rival camps led by Britain and France have failed to overcome deep divisions on whether the European Union should have a greater say over closely guarded national labour legislation.

The 48-hour working week is part of the EU’s Working Time Directive, a law written in 1993 which lays down health and safety standards, including a maximum weekly working time of 48 hours, rest breaks, and annual holiday. The law is in the news because it is being updated and Britain is under pressure to embrace the measure in full. Britain and Malta are alone in applying an across-the-board ‘opt-out’ from the legislation, though Luxembourg, Spain, France and Germany have used the measures to exempt specific sectors such as hotels and catering.

The UK’s opt-out has riled several of its partners on the continent because they believe that Britain is undercutting their minimum standards of worker protection. France’s labour minister, Gerard Larcher, argued that “the 48-hour work week is something that is absolutely vital”. He wants a cast-iron commitment to end the opt-out by a specific date.

France, which has even stricter working laws than the EU measures stipulate, sees the Working Time Directive as a key symbol of the principle that the EU exists for the benefit of working people and not just big business. The French unions point to the dangers of Britain’s long-hours culture. Their sentiments are echoed by the European Commission, which argues that there is a negative effect of long working hours on the health and safety of workers. France believes that British workers are pressured by the trend towards “presenteeism”, one which poses a threat to family life.

The European Union’s Finnish presidency said that it was abandoning efforts to reach a deal after a set of carefully calibrated proposals was not enough to bridge differences between Member States.

“We were quite close to reaching a solution, but not sufficiently close, unfortunately,” said Finnish Labour Minister Tarja Filatov, who chaired the talks.

BBC News, November 8, 2006

Many employees believe that connections, rather than performance, aid progression in the workplace.

Novations Group, a US-based consulting firm, quizzed employees on both sides of the Atlantic on their attitudes towards career advancement.

While two thirds of employees cited job performance as the key to advancement; the remainder felt that knowing the right people was the crucial factor in promotion.

“One in five US employees is still pretty cynical about how co-workers get ahead, and the British are only a bit behind,” said Novations Group vice president Paul Terry.

“This a classic challenge for management, to motivate and lead in a way that’s seen as fair and based on getting the job done.”

According to the research, social class has a significant impact on attitudes towards promotion. Almost three quarters of “middle and upper class” employees interviewed trusted job performance. For “working class” employees, however, this figure fell to 58 per cent.

“Organisations on both sides of the Atlantic have improved their development and promotion practices,” said Mr Terry.

“And the findings suggest most employees can make the connection between performance and advancement. Nevertheless, those in lower-level positions seem to need more coaching and support in order to feel included.”

Novations Group press release, November 8, 2006

The pay gap between men and women is at its narrowest ever and has disappeared entirely for workers in their twenties, according to National Statistics.

Based on median earnings, the current pay gap stands at 12.6 per cent – down from 18 per cent in 1997. The average wage for a man is £11.71 per hour compared with £10.24 for female employees.

In the 22-29 age bracket, however, women now earn slightly more than men, taking home an average hourly rate of £9.55 compared with £9.53 for men.

According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the disappearance of the pay gap between younger workers can be attributed to the improved educational achievements of women in recent years. Another factor is the later age for child-bearing – women now typically take time out to raise children in their thirties rather than their twenties.

Pay inequality is felt most keenly in the 40-49 age bracket, with the gap between men and women of this age standing at 18 per cent.

Jenny Watson, chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission, pointed out that pay inequalities could amount to a difference of £333,000 in the average working life of a women.

“The pay gap suggests that our three decade-old laws, which rely heavily on women bringing costly individual legal cases to challenge inequality, have reached the limits of their usefulness,” she said.

CIPD press release, November 9, 2006

November 7 was National Ban Bullying at Work Day and figures released by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) revealed that bullying is steadily increasing in UK workplaces.

Of the union safety reps surveyed in the latest TUC bi-annual survey, 15 per cent said that bullying was a major problem in their workplace, compared to 12 per cent in 2004 and 10 per cent in 2002.

“Bullying is bad for business and for people. Bullies in the workplace must not go unchallenged and should not be given free rein to intimidate and victimise their colleagues,” said TUC general secretary Brendan Barber. “For individuals who are targeted by the office bully, the taunting and the jibes can severely damage their work and their home lives.

“But bullying is not hard to tackle. Every workplace should have a policy which it makes clear that intimidating behaviour towards colleagues will not be tolerated and that those who persist in undermining their fellow members of staff will be dealt with severely.

“Ban Bullying at Work Day offers the perfect opportunity for employers to start to get to grips with this increasingly common workplace problem, and the introduction of a new Dignity at Work Bill would encourage employers to take the problem more seriously,” he added.

Trades Union Congress press release, November 7, 2006

Many rules, regulations and rights apply only to employees, but a number apply to all workers.

The precise definition of who is an employee and who is a worker differs slightly from one area of legislation to another; but in general an ‘employee’ is someone who works for an employer under the terms of a contract of employment, whether it is written down, agreed orally or implied by the nature of the relationship. Many casual workers are likely to be employees with short-term contracts.

A ‘worker’ is any individual person who works for an employer, whether under a contract of employment or not, who provides a personal service e.g. a casual worker, agency worker, or some freelance workers. For the most part, genuinely
self-employed people or businesses to whom an employer subcontracts are not defined as workers.

All employees are workers, but not all workers are employees.
Where ‘workers’ are referred to, remember that it is not just employees that have to be considered in relation to these rules and regulations - anyone who works for an employer that isn’t self-employed or employed by someone else is entitled to these rights.

‘Individual rights and responsibilities of employees – a guide for employers and employees’ is available on-line and as a printed booklet which can be obtained free from the DTI Publications unit.

Many rules, regulations and rights apply only to employees, but a number apply to all workers.

The precise definition of who is an employee and who is a worker differs slightly from one area of legislation to another; but in general an ‘employee’ is someone who works for an employer under the terms of a contract of employment, whether it is written down, agreed orally or implied by the nature of the relationship. Many casual workers are likely to be employees with short-term contracts.

A ‘worker’ is any individual person who works for an employer, whether under a contract of employment or not, who provides a personal service e.g. a casual worker, agency worker, or some freelance workers. For the most part, genuinely self-employed people or businesses to whom an employer subcontracts are not defined as workers.

All employees are workers, but not all workers are employees.
Where ‘workers’ are referred to, remember that it is not just employees that have to be considered in relation to these rules and regulations - anyone who works for an employer that isn’t self-employed or employed by someone else is entitled to these rights.

‘Individual rights and responsibilities of employees – a guide for employers and employees’ is available on-line and as a printed booklet which can be obtained free from the DTI Publications unit.

Employees who have worked at a company for less than two years are more likely to voluntarily leave than those with more than two years of tenure, according to a study by the research firm Sirota Survey Intelligence.

The study, which questioned 47,000 employees, found that staff with less than two years of service voluntarily leave at an average rate of about 20 per cent per year, while those with more than two years tenure quit at an average rate of about 10 per cent per year.

“During the first two years of employment, employees are confirming that the job meets their expectations, as well as those that their employers led them to believe during the recruitment process,” said David Sirota, chairman of Sirota Survey Intelligence. “Since management’s attitudes and behaviours can enhance employee retention, companies should invest in improving managers’ leadership skills, and concentrate on creating an environment where employees feel genuinely valued by their employers.”

Mr Sirota added that companies could improve the retention of newer employees by:

• making the work more challenging,
• if possible, creating an atmosphere where employees feel valued;
• encouraging high standards of personal and professional integrity;
• ensuring that managers are consistent in what they say and do.

“Our research shows a measurable decline in employees’ morale after they have been working for an organisation for six months, and this deterioration worsens as they continue to evaluate what they expected against what they are receiving,” said Douglas Klein, president of Sirota Survey Intelligence. “The best companies do not create this decline in morale.”

Sirota Survey Intelligence press release,November 8, 2006

In just over seven years, only a fifth of the workforce will be white, able-bodied, male and under 45.

This is the fact that has driven ACAS, Britain’s leading employment relations advisers, to develop its first free equality and diversity online learning tool.

“It must be an intolerable situation to know you are working in an environment where you feel your contributions are not valued. Unfortunately many can suffer – for years sometimes – without being able to overcome this problem, and even more worrying is that employers are not trained to be aware of the types of issues that can make people feel undervalued and ineffective.” Says Stephen Williams, Head of the Equality and Diversity Unit at ACAS.

“This has been the main driver behind ACAS devising a series of equality and diversity e-learning tools designed to help both employers and employees recognise relevant issues and be able to address them.”

The e-learning tool, on sexual orientation and gender reassignment, is available at http://www.acas.org.uk/elearning/ and provides a practical learning tool to assess an organisation’s position and how any issues can be further identified and addressed. This new learning tool is provided alongside a free consultation from ACAS as part of the Government’s drive to promote good practice to underpin the Sexual Orientation and Religion and Belief Regulations 2003.

Tesco employees who submitted a film to the free video-sharing web site YouTube are facing disciplinary action.

The employees filmed themselves performing stunts in the style of the cult US TV show ‘Jackass’. The footage shows one employee ripping open staff lockers with a walking stick and headbutting the lockers wearing a crash helmet; another worker was filmed somersaulting on to a pile of boxes at a Tesco storage area. The film then shows an employee playing football with some fruit in an aisle and another employee smashing a metal tray over a friend’s head.

Company property was damaged when the employees made the film and, although Tesco has declined to comment on the specific incident, it is likely that they will face disciplinary action as the staff were clearly identifiable in the
two-minute clip.