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HR Policies & Processes

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Company, Employee Engagement, Employee Relations, Employee Wellbeing, General, HR Policies & Processes, Vacancies
July 8, 20210

Furlough and ‘The Return-to-Work Journey’

As the final stage of lockdown restrictions in England are delayed until July 19th and the Government’s COVID Job Retention Scheme (furlough) reduces from July onwards.

Overview

In response to scientific analysis that the ‘Indian’ or ‘Delta’ variant is now the dominant strain in the UK and significantly more transmissible than other COVID strains, the Government has confirmed that the final stage of easing lockdown restrictions in England will be delayed until July 19th with the aim that an extension to lockdown measures will provide more time for people to receive first and second doses of the vaccine to maximise protection against the virus.

This means that social distancing, mask-wearing and limits on sporting events, theatres and cinemas will continue and employees should work from home where possible and organisations should take steps to facilitate this.

Job Retention Scheme (CJRS)

Since March 2020 the Government has provided employers whose businesses have been affected by the coronavirus with salary assistance, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), also referred to as the ‘furlough scheme’.

At the time of publication this scheme has been extended to 30th September 2021, below is a summary of the scheme over the coming months – please note the Government’s reduction in contribution from 80% from July onwards:


Source: HMRC

To make a claim for furlough days, submissions must be made by the following deadlines:

Source: HMRC

Should amendments need to be made for any claims these must be made by the following deadlines:

Source: HMRC

Record Keeping

Presently Government guidance is a little unclear in relation to document retention time-scales, currently ranging from 5 and 6 years, however it essential to retain a record of the following:

  • The amount claimed and the claim period for each employee.
  • The Claim Reference number.
  • How calculations were made.
  • Where employees are placed on ‘flexible’ furlough, their usual hours, including any calculations and the actual number of hours they worked.

For more information from the HMRC about COVID support schemes visit: HMRC’s digital assistant additional assistance is available at: contact HMRC

Temporary Adjustments to the Recruitment Process

During the recruitment process UK law has always required employers to conduct ‘right-to-work’ checks, evidenced via original documents, signed and dated to confirm validity. As a result of COVID restrictions, the Home Office has introduced temporary adjustments to the process, permitting employers to view these on-line in the presence of the owner, obtain copies/validate in a subsequent video call. As a result of the Government’s announcement to extend the date for the easing of lockdown restrictions and social distancing measures, these temporary adjustments will remain in place until 31st August 2021. NB. Employing an illegal worker can lead to a fine of £20,000, criminal charges, reputational damage and/or the loss of any sponsored workers.

For further guidance visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-right-to-work-checks

Preparing for your employees’ return to the workplace

Employee Communication
It is essential that employees are provided with reasonable written notice of return, whether on a permanent or flexible furlough basis (even where furloughed employees were given an end date to furlough) so important contractual requirements are adhered to and employees have reasonable notification of any changes, so arrangements can be made e.g. to childcare, other caring responsibilities.

Employees should receive a letter confirming the end of the furlough/flexible furlough period and the intended return to work date, to include the following:

  • Return date.
  • Return arrangements.
  • COVID compliance workplace changes that have been implemented to ensure a safe return to work.
  • Advise them of their obligations and any new processes.
  • Remind them of key company policies e.g. reporting concerns in the workplace, sickness absence etc…
  • Confirm any temporary changes e.g. working times/patterns in writing.

Employment law requires that all contractual changes are agreed by the employee, even if these are made on a temporary basis. It is recommended at all times that this is placed in writing and counter-signed/dated by the employee to confirm their understanding and acceptance.

It is important to note that if an employer imposes contractual changes this could lead to the employee deciding to resign and the potential to bring a claim for constructive dismissal, or, perhaps (which may be more likely in the current market) remain in post and claim damages for breach of contract, or compensation for unlawful deductions from wages.

Ensure that all changes are fair and do not directly/indirectly discriminate any group or groups of employees.

Workplace Assessment
All employers must carry out a COVID-19 Risk Assessment in-line with Government guidance. The objective is to identify sensible measures to assess and control the risks of COVID in the workplace. It is advisable to involve your employees in all decisions about health and safety and (where applicable) consult with H&S Representatives and any recognised Trade Union(s).

The results of your Risk Assessment should be communicated to all employee’s and you should prominently display a notice in the workplace to confirm that this has been undertaken.

To find out more about how to make your workplace COVID secure visit the following Government links for additional support and guidance: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19

The following provides useful guidance for special schools and other specialist settings e.g. the childcare sector: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-send-risk-assessment-guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-send-risk-assessment-guidance

Return to Work Options
Where continuation of home-working is not possible, consider the following:

  • Plan for the minimum number of people needed to work and operate safely and effectively so that contact with different people is kept to a minimum.
  • Consider staged/phased return to work, shift-working, revising rosters, splitting teams, staggering start/finish times, break-times etc.
  • Consider temporary flexible working arrangements, adjust or reduce working hours, change working times.
  • If employees rely on public transport to travel to work, can reasonable adjustments be made, or assistance provided to avoid public transport?

Ensuring the Workplace is ‘return ready’

  • Nominating an individual and/or team responsible for auditing compliance to workplace safety and delivery of COVID-19 training.
  • Maximising the use of remote working tools, avoid hot-desking and in-person meetings.
  • Closing/suspending all non-essential work areas, tasks and/or operations.
  • Designing new workplace layouts to ensure social distancing, hygiene measures are in place.
  • Ordering safety equipment e.g. temperature test kits, masks, gloves, visors, close contact wristbands, hand sanitisers, putting up appropriate signage, tape on floor etc.
  • Introducing additional hygiene processes for communal areas and facilities and high contact areas; door handles, telephones, counters, toilets etc.
  • Consider how the sharing of equipment, tools, desks, phones can be minimised or avoided.
  • What restrictions (or bans) will be placed on visitors the workplace? To ensure there is documentary evidence, some companies are implementing ‘visitor questionnaires’.
  • Review your workplace policies to ensure that they cater for COVID and remote working, for example:
    • COVID policy, risk assessments, questionnaires and checklists
    • Homeworking and/or Remote Working Policy (to include H&S Assessments)
    • Absence Policy (to include reference to ‘long COVID’ or ‘Post COVID Syndrome’
    • Holiday Policy
    • Flexible Working Policy.
  • Consider offering Mental Health First Aider training for key personnel.
  • Management training to include developing skills in communication, effectively managing your remote team, spotting the signs of anxiety, providing clear and supportive direction etc.

First Day Back
Employee safety has to be the priority of the day for everyone. Some employees may be cautious about returning to the workplace for fear that it puts them at a greater risk of contracting COVID. Line Managers to allay concerns by advising them of the measures that have been taken to ensure the workplace is as safe as it can be, e.g. deep-clean workspaces, hand sanitizers, protective clothing, restricting visitors etc.

As previously established, it is essential that all protective actions taken are documented; the following are suggestions as to how this information can be captured, recorded and audited:

  • Consider a re-on-boarding meeting to welcome everyone back to the work-place and cover:
    • Process changes
    • Expectations
    • Individual obligations and responsibilities
    • Processes for social distancing (at least 2m apart) and hygiene measures.
  • Deliver COVID training to include:
    • How to identify and recognise the signs and symptoms of COVID
    • How COVID is spread
    • Cleaning routines and hygiene controls (including respiratory hygiene, cough etiquette
      and handwashing and physical distancing)
    • What to do if an employee becomes unwell/believes they have been exposed to COVID
    • When individuals in the workplace have had contact with a confirmed case of COVID
    • Cleaning offices, public spaces where there are suspected or confirmed cases of COVID
    • Rubbish disposal, including tissues
    • Travel restrictions
    • Restricted movement advice
    • Familiarising key staff with your COVID plan.
  • Ensure Line Managers have familiarised themselves with key policies e.g. absence, sick leave, compassionate leave, dress code etc., and their role to watch, stop and report any cases of alleged harassment or any other form of discrimination.
  • Remind all employees of their own personal obligations and refer to relevant HR Policies.
  • Ensure processes are in place and clearly communicated to ensure returning employees are not potentially infected or have been exposed to the virus – and the escalation process for raising any concerns/issues in the workplace.
  • Can you offer health and wellbeing support for example through Occupational Health or your Employee Assistance Programme?
  • Issue wellbeing questionnaires (note your obligations under GDPR).
  • Line Managers to hold documented 1-2-1 meetings with all team members with the discussions focussed on employees’ health and wellbeing and include exploring whether any temporary adjustments or support is needed to enable the employee to carry out their role.
  • Be aware of any employees who may have experienced a recent bereavement and offer them support when they return to the work-place.
  • Implement measures so that anyone suffering from ‘long COVID’ (Post-COVID syndrome) can be recognised early and supportive interventions put in place.

What happens when the Government Scheme ends?

When the scheme ends you need to consider whether:

  • You can bring all employees back to work on their normal hours (confirmation in writing required).
  • You need to reduce their hours or change their working patterns (contract variation and agreement required and TU consultation/negotiation may be required, where applicable).
  • Termination of employment (please note that normal redundancy rules apply to furloughed employees and remember, voluntary redundancies could make the process easier for all involved).

All of the above options will require you to formally confirm your decision in writing and follow your own internal and the relevant statutory process(s). In some instances, where a Union is recognised advance notification and consultation may also apply.

If you have any questions, or require further support please contact us.

We all know this is a tricky and everchanging journey, if you need any support or assistance B2P is here to help.

Keep an eye out for our second article in the series “Weathering the Pandemic: Recovery – Return – Re-engage” focussing on the bigger picture as we transition into the ‘new world’ and covering various topics from building team resilience, maintaining employee well-being, tailoring support to address employee concerns, reluctance to return to the workplace and recognising and supporting ‘long COVID’.

The following is for guidance purposes only and should not be regarded as a substitute for taking legal advice and keeping appraised of the Government’s regular updates.

HR Policies & Processes
March 11, 20190

Ready, Steady, Go……?

We’re all fed up with the ‘B’ word… but irrespective of our decision by the 31st January 2020 it is essential that we all have the right processes in place to check the ‘right to work in UK’ documentation for our new and existing employees (those under an employment contract, service or apprenticeship).

Are you familiar with the penalties for employing illegal workers?

Penalties include a jail sentence of 5 years and/or having to pay a fine if found guilty of employing someone who you knew, or had ‘reasonable cause to believe’, did not have the right to work in the UK, for example if you had any reason to believe that:-

  • They did not have leave (permission) to enter or remain in the UK;
  • Their leave had expired;
  • They were not allowed to do certain types of work;
  • Their papers were incorrect or false (Source: Gov/UK)

There is also a civil penalty fine of up to £20,000 for each illegal worker, or being disqualified as a Director, facing closure of your business or issued with a Court compliance order and businesses details could be published by Immigration Enforcement as a warning to other businesses, serious situations we all want to avoid!

If we leave the EU, we’re being advised that it’s not anticipated the Government will commence formal auditing of EU Nationals ‘right to work’ until after December 2020.  Irrespective of this our  thoughts at B2P are that (as there is already prevailing law in place) we still need to be able to demonstrate we have been compliant and fulfilled our obligations of conducting current and recent checks.

 

What can you do now to protect your business?

Irrespective of our decision by the 31st January 2020 we would recommend the following:-

  • Audit and check the documentation you hold for all employees
  • Review your recruitment process to ensure status checks are conducted for all applicants, not just those who may appear to be migrants, otherwise you could be deemed to be discriminating and breaking the law, and that these are concluded prior to any offer (verbal or otherwise) being made.
  • Regularly audit the documents you hold. We would recommend reviewing these annually as a minimum, to ensure all documentation remains valid (e.g. a drivers licence or passport has not expired), or more frequently where permission to work in the UK is time-limited, or you have an obligation to do so on a more regular basis (see the Governments List B Group 2 below).
  • Consider your HR policies and processes to ensure they are inclusive and support equality and diversity, that they are easily understood and provide information and support that caters for everyone’s needs e.g. ‘how to guides’.
  • Should we decide to leave the EU, it is anticipated post-Brexit more companies will be making Sponsorship Licence applications. It would not be unreasonable therefore to expect this could cause processing delays, which is why some companies are taking the plunge now and making their applications early.

Whilst there is uncertainty in relation to exactly how things may change post-Brexit and how the ‘right to work’ process may be affected, it has the potential to result in Companies needing to introduce process changes, which could potentially impact the speed of the recruitment process e.g. having to allow extra time to recruit EU Nationals.  On this basis it may be wise to start considering factoring additional time and costs into commercial plans and HR / recruitment budget(s).

 

What should I be checking? 

Checks can be either manual or on-line (the latter requiring the applicant to provide a share code), dependent upon the documentation you need to check.

Where an applicant cannot show or produce documents, it is recommended that guidance is sought from the Home Office.

Check that all documents produced are valid, genuine and unchanged and that work visas have not expired.

Compare all information e.g. photographs, date of birth etc., to ensure these are consistent across all documents. Where inconsistencies arise, seek further evidence to establish whether these differences are valid e.g. where a different name appears this may be explained by obtaining a copy of a marriage/civil partnership or divorce certificate.

 

What do I do with these documents?  

It is essential to see the original version of all documents (see below).

Check that all documents produced are valid, genuine and unchanged (e.g. they have not been tampered with) and have the person to whom they relate to present when you are checking these.

Take copies of the documents, ensuring that these are clear and readable and cannot be subsequently altered e.g. photocopies are securely/confidentially stored and access rights limited.

For passports copy pages with the expiry date and employee/applicants personal details e.g. nationality, date of birth and photograph and you should copy both sides of Residence Cards and Biometric Residence Permits.

Where copies have been taken we always recommend these are initialled, that you clearly print your name and job title and write:
‘I confirm that I have seen the original of this document [date]’.

Ensure that all documents are stored, retained (a minimum of 2 years post-employment) and destroyed in-line with your GDPR obligations (read our recent GDPR Article for further information and guidance).

What are ‘acceptable’ documents?

The type and numbers of acceptable documents required will vary from individual to individual and largely determined by their nationality and status, acceptable documents could include:-

  • A Passport or National Identity Card
  • Permanent Residence Card
  • A Birth or Adoption Certificate

The Government has published a list of acceptable documents:-

  • List A – acceptable documents for employees/applicants that have the permanent right to work in the UK.
  • List B – acceptable documents for employees/applicants who have a temporary right to work in the UK. This list is divided into Group 1 and Group 2, the latter of which may require you to undertake 6 monthly reviews.

For additional information on these visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/acceptable-right-to-work-documents-an-employers-guide

In addition to the documents we have referred to in this article, we would always advise undertaking additional (basic) identity and address checks and list below some examples.

We would recommend that you obtain copies of at least one of the following documents, again ensuring these are current, valid and originals:-

  • Utility Bill (issued in the last 3 months and not a mobile telephone bill)
  • Current Drivers Licence (UK/EU)
  • Marriage/Civil Partnership Certificate (UK and Channel Islands)
  • Mortgage Statement (issued in the last 12 months)
  • Bank/Building Society or Credit Card Statement (issued in the last 3 months)
  • P45 or P60 (issued in the last 12 months)
  • Council Tax Statement (issued in last 12 months)
  • Financial or Benefit Statement e.g. pension (issued in the last 12 months)
  • HM Forces ID Card (UK)

It is of course important to note that the above may also be subject to change post-Brexit.

Further useful information can be found on the following Government websites:-

Detailed Right to Work Checklist https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-work-checklist

UK Visa (Tier 2 and 5) Sponsorship https://www.gov.uk/uk-visa-sponsorship-employers/apply-for-your-licence