The global recession and the emerging flu pandemic are threatening to increase absences from work when employers can least afford it. In this newsletter, we focus on four ways in which your organisation can respond to these challenges.

The waves of job losses caused by the recession bring with them the threat of psychological ill health among survivors - the employees who are not chosen for redundancy. We have surveyed employers' responses to this "survivor syndrome" of lower productivity and morale and rising absence levels.

We also offer two case studies of employers' actions to improve the psychological wellbeing of their workforces: a wellness programme at Aon Consulting and a mental health strategy at BT.

We then turn to the developing global pandemic of swine flu. We've prepared a model contingency plan to minimise its impact on the workplace, alongside a general model policy on infectious diseases. Both policies are available to full XpertHR subscribers.

Also in this issue:

• employers' practices when using employment and recruitment agencies;
• flexible working in practice, including handling requests for flexible working; and
• the use by global construction company Subsea 7 of flexible benefits as a recruitment aid.

Our employment law section covers two discrimination-related Employment Appeal Tribunal decisions: Chondol v Liverpool City Council involving religion or belief; and Richmond Pharmacology Ltd v Dhaliwal concerning racial harassment.

Neil Rankin,
Section Editor,
Employment Review

Case study: Aon's wellness programme reaps rewards at low cost

A carefully evaluated, pilot health and wellness programme for 50 Aon employees has provided evidence that health-related initiatives can increase engagement, energy levels and morale, as well as having a positive impact on attendance management.

View article in full

Print article

Forward to a colleague

Case study: Managing mental health at BT

BT has developed a wide-ranging programme of services and support to help its employees and their managers to prevent and manage mental health issues.

View article in full

Print article

Forward to a colleague

RELATED ARTICLES ON XPERTHR

Addressing staff wellbeing at board level

Survey: Managing the survivor syndrome during and after redundancies

The emotional and physical impact of experiencing the loss of colleagues during redundancies, known as the "survivor syndrome", has implications for employers as well as for the health of their staff. This IRS survey investigates what is being done to counteract the syndrome's damaging toll.

View article in full

Print article

Forward to a colleague

Survey: Employers' use of employment agencies and recruitment agencies

Employers' practices in using employment agencies and recruitment agencies are investigated in this IRS survey, which examines their reasons for using agencies and the criteria applied when selecting them, together with the most popular services, satisfaction levels and other factors.

View article in full

Print article

Forward to a colleague

RELATED ARTICLES ON XPERTHR

Recruitment going strong in the public sector

Tesco to reserve new jobs for unemployed

Features

France: Government restricts top managers' pay in state-assisted firms

The French Government has imposed restrictions on the pay and incentives of senior managers in public bodies and in firms receiving state financial assistance.

View article in full

Print article

Forward to a colleague

News

Government consults on Temporary Agency Workers Directive

Government to outlaw use of tips to make up minimum wage

House of Lords hears Stringer case on paid leave and sickness

Equality Bill: Government consults on multiple discrimination

Casenotes

Religious discrimination: Chondol v Liverpool City Council

An EAT ruling where an employer's opinion that an employee had engaged in inappropriate promotion of his beliefs formed part of its decision to dismiss for gross misconduct.

View article in full

Print article

Forward to a colleague

Race discrimination: Richmond Pharmacology Ltd v Dhaliwal

In Dhaliwal, the EAT had to consider whether or not the tribunal had been entitled to find that a single remark that was not intended to be racially offensive amounted to racial harassment.

View article in full

Print article

Forward to a colleague

Model policies and documents

Model flu pandemic contingency plan (full XpertHR subscription required)

Model letter informing an employee of a pay freeze (full XpertHR subscription required)

RELATED ARTICLES ON XPERTHR

Legal timetable

Forthcoming law

Statutory rates

Quick reference

This week on the XpertHR/IRS blog

With our blog now approaching its second anniversary, IRS managing editor Mark Crail has been looking at its popularity. His recent posting gives some figures about our visitors over the previous month, how they found us and what interests them most.

Also discussed in recent posts:

• preview job interview questions from 23,000 companies;
• age discrimination: length of service as a redundancy selection criterion; and
• hiring women: how things have changed.

Taking part in our IRS surveys provides a fast, free and easy way to benchmark your HR policies and practices against competitors and other employers. In return, you will receive a complimentary copy of the relevant survey's findings. We are currently researching:

• employers' maternity policies - closes Friday 29 May;
• shift patterns and shift premia - closes Friday 12 June; and
• pay awards.

The IRS surveys website gives details of our benchmarking projects, a link to CELRE salary surveys, and a registration facility. This ensures you'll be invited to take part in surveys in your areas of interest.

Today's tip: using the XpertHR glossary

Want to double-check the meaning of "ex parte" or "obiter dictum", or find out what the post of certification officer involves? The XpertHR employment glossary provides concise explanations of legal and employment-related words, phrases and abbreviations.

Print all articles in this newsletter

This newsletter now has a "print all" button. Before pressing it, please be aware that this uses a lot of paper. Recent editions have run to 170 pages, and others may be longer in future. For the sake of the planet and your toner cartridge, consider whether you need to use it. If you press "print all", this will send to your printer all articles linked from the newsletter. It will not print chapters of the employment law reference manual or blog posts. Print all articles.

Best of the web

News highlights updated daily by the editor. Bookmark this page or add it as an RSS feed.

Missed something?

You can also see earlier editions of this e-journal and others published by IRS. More...

Still looking?

Try XpertHR's advanced search to specify what you want in detail and organise the results in date order or by relevance. More...