News

3008, 2022

More Healthcare Professionals Given Powers To Certify Fit Notes

August 30, 2022|Categories: Absence Management, All|

New legislation to allow a wider range of healthcare professionals to certify fit notes (formerly sick notes) has been introduced by the UK government to ease pressure on GPs. This legislation change applies across England, Scotland and Wales.   The list of those who can sign fit notes was extended on July 1, 2022, to also include nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists and physiotherapists, reducing pressure on doctors, particularly GPs. How Will This Affect Employers? HR Team co-director, Breda Cullen, said: “By giving powers to more providers to legally issue fit notes, it should be quicker and easier for employees to prove reasons [...]

3008, 2022

5 Reasons Why Recording Annual Leave Is Important

August 30, 2022|Categories: Absence Management, All|

When it comes to managing and recording employee leave, there are many reasons why you should diligently manage, track, and pay leave. Proper leave management will allow your business to operate more effectively, help you meet your employees’ need for time-off, and ensure you satisfy your legal obligations. If organisations mismanage their annual leave, the errors can be costly. Here are five reasons why recording your annual leave efficiently is crucial to managing your business successfully. Here Are 5 Reasons Why Recording Annual Leave Is Important 1. It Is The Law First and foremost, keeping track of leave and paying [...]

409, 2021

Helping Employers Overcome The Key Challenges Of Reduced Working Hours

September 4, 2021|Categories: Absence Management, All|

HR Team director, Breda Cullen, says HR Team’s consultants are making a number of recommendations on how to mitigate risk when seeking to reduce hours for employees as a result of Covid-19. Employers have a number of options available to deal with these challenges, as businesses face operational reductions. Lay-offs and short-time working Temporary lay-off is an option when an employer is temporarily unable to provide an employee with the work for which they were employed. Short-time working is also an option when operations have been reduced. Short-time working means an employee’s hours of work or pay are reduced to less than [...]

1211, 2020

How to Manage your Annual Leave Backlog

November 12, 2020|Categories: Absence Management, All|

Regardless of the employee’s length of employment or status, everyone is entitled to paid time off, whether they are part-time, fulltime, temporary, or casual workers. How can you manage your employee’s annual leave? The spread of coronavirus has had many impacts on businesses. One of these impacts being the accumulated amount of annual leave for employees. An employee accrues annual leave for any hours worked. If an employee has been laid off, they do not accumulate it during this period. Please note, employees accrue public holiday entitlements the first 13 weeks on layoff. A part-time employee will only qualify for [...]

1303, 2020

Can you send an employee home for having a hangover? 

March 13, 2020|Categories: Absence Management, All, Disciplinary and Dismissal, Performance Management|

As St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Tuesday this year, your employees may be hungover or drunk at work. The St. Patrick’s Day parades are cancelled, but staff may still be worse for wear the following morning. What are your rights when dealing with this matter? Problems with workplace hangovers Lower productivity. Reduced workplace morale. Customer service is of a lower standard. Co-ordination, attention span and reaction speed is slowed. Employee suspension or termination. How do you manage an employee that is over the limit at work? HR Team Director, Breda Cullen, says: “It is recommended to have a witness [...]

2702, 2017

Managing bereavement leave in the workplace

February 27, 2017|Categories: Absence Management, All|Tags: , |

When tech giant Facebook announced a doubling of its bereavement leave allowance for staff, it brought into focus what can often be a grey area for employers. Facebook's chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, who lost her husband in 2015, said the company's change in policy was driven by a need for "public policies that make it easier for people to care for their children and aging parents and for families to mourn and heal after loss." Sadly, most people will experience the loss of a loved one at some stage in their career, meaning that as an employee they will [...]

109, 2016

Paternity Leave In Ireland And What It Means For Employers

September 1, 2016|Categories: Absence Management, All|Tags: , , , |

Paternity leave in Ireland is no longer a courtesy extended at the discretion of employers following the enactment of new laws today. Starting from today employers in Ireland can expect applications from fathers in both heterosexual or same-sex relationships for two weeks’ paternity leave following the introduction of The Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016. That means that all employers should have paternity policies and procedures in place to ensure employment law compliance. It’s important for employers to have all the answers to potential questions employees may pose by ensuring that policies and procedures on paternity leave are fully up to date and clearly [...]

2108, 2015

Sick of the sick note – employers need not despair

August 21, 2015|Categories: Absence Management, All|Tags: , , |

By Miss Performance If I had a penny for each time an employer sighs at the arrival of a sick note, I’d be living in a palace and bathing in milk. Unfortunately I’m still in our Derry-Londonderry office hammering on the keyboard with no more than a glass of stale milk and a cup of cooling coffee - but hey, that’s no cause for despair. Equally employers need not despair when faced with cases of long term absence as there are many steps they can take to solve their issue with minimum risk. The sick note is a fact of [...]

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