Is It Legal To Force Women To Wear High Heels?

A 27-year old woman has recently claimed that she turned up for work wearing flat shoes on her first day as a corporate receptionist for a City accountancy firm, only to be told that she had two choices – be sent home without pay, or go buy a pair of heels between two and four inches high.

Nicola Thorp says that she was laughed at by bosses, and has since set up an online petition which has attracted over 100,000 signatures. This means that the issue will be considered in Parliament for debate.

Perhaps the most shocking thing about these events isn’t that they happened (because let’s face it, sexism is often still a very real issue in workplaces), but that the business in question wasn’t actually breaking the law.

Employers in the UK are within their rights to dismiss a member of staff if they fail to adhere to ‘reasonable’ dress code standards, and different codes of dress for men and women are still permitted. Though the legislation doesn’t explicitly address high heels, and is open to interpretation, it’s not possible to say that the accountancy firm was flouting their legal responsibilities.

But let’s forget about the law for a second, and apply a little bit of common sense. High heels can be uncomfortable, even painful, and have zero impact on anyone’s ability to do their job. If you’re asking your female staff to turn up to work wearing anything other than a formal shoe, or if necessary, safety footwear, then now’s the time to seriously rethink your practices.

Ditch the outdated requirements, and bring your business into the 21^st century. Not because they might soon become illegal, but because it’s the right thing to do.

If you’re concerned about the impact that old people policies and practices could have on your business, now’s the time to take action. We can review your full HR agenda, identify any potential issues, and make sure that you’re firmly on the right track. Get in touch today with TheHuman Resource, the small business HR consultancy, on 07884 475303 or email enquiries@thehr.co.uk for a no-obligation chat. 

Brexit uncertainty and recruitment

Is the possibility of a Brexit vote on 23rd June making you uneasy about greater risks if you recruit into your business right now?

You aren’t alone.  There are signs that uncertainty about whether or not Britain will stay in the EU is dampening down recruitment levels.  “City hiring grinds to a halt as Brexit poll looms” screamed a recent Financial Times headline.  With opinion polls tight, surveys suggest that companies are delaying making hiring and investment decisions until after the 23rd June vote on Britain’s membership of the EU.

At the same time, you still have a successful business to run.  There may be threats just around the corner, but you still need to retain the ability to react quickly to them, and to be geared up to meet increasing demand without running your existing staff into the ground.  

What are your alternatives to hiring more permanent staff? 

• Hire a temp through a recruitment agency instead. This person would be the agency’s employee not yours and this can be a flexible, obligation-free way of covering the work without making a long term commitment.  

• Take on a fixed term contract employee for a finite length of time until the impact of the referendum on jobs in your company becomes clearer, to work on a particular project.

• Find a self-employed freelancer with specialist skills and experience to enhance the know-how in your company over a finite period of time, invoicing you on a day rate basis. 

Now would be a good time to think through your just-in-case strategies, especially if your business has a presence in other EU countries.  One of the basic principles of the EU is freedom of movement and at the moment there are no real restrictions.  Depending on the terms of the Brexit, in the medium term it’s likely to be harder to hire EU workers.

If demand for your company's goods and services is affected by the stock market and overall business confidence in the economy, a Brexit vote is likely to have a negative impact, as the IMF has warned today.  Financial modellers in investment companies anticipate a fall in stock market values if Britain leaves the EU, and a small bounce up with a remain vote.

Even if the UK does break away from Europe, the process won’t happen overnight. There would be a two-year period to negotiate the mechanics of the withdrawal, and the exit itself is likely to take even longer.  For now, there are so many unknowns that there’s very little planning employers can do to mitigate the risks associated with the referendum and a possible Brexit. But a prudent employer will be cautious about entering into lengthy commercial agreements - in employment or otherwise.  Staying agile is key.

Newish to recruitment? - there’s more advice with the practical steps to consider here.  And to explore how to make the best recruitment decisions for your business, contact The Human Resource on 07884 475303 or email enquiries@thehr.co.uk.

  

Recruitment interviewers: top 10 tips for success

If you have a job to fill, the way to go about it is to interview at least one person and ideally several.

Right?

Maybe not.  It depends on the interview.  Because research has shown that unstructured interviewing has as much chance of selecting the right person for the job as tossing a coin. 

If you select the wrong person, you’ve lost a significant sum in advertising costs, agency fees, interview time, training time and costs, internal disruption and lowered morale. Plenty of research has shown that the cost of getting it wrong is two or three times the annual salary of the individual.  

If the interview process casts you or your business in an unfavourable light as an employer, it’s likely the applicant you want for the role will turn you down.  And the others you interviewed will pass on their negative impressions to their friends and family.  You may even lose customers and local reputation.

Here are our top tips for identifying the right person for the job  - so that you have a significantly better chance of selecting the right person than tossing that coin!  While protecting your company's reputation too.

1     Analyse what you’re looking for and how you’ll recognise it.

2   Screen out the no-hopers before interview so you use your interview time effectively

3   Plan beforehand which parts of the individual’s CV you’ll focus on and core questions for all applicants. Structuring the interview does improve its ability to predict performance in the job.

4   Bring out the best in each applicant with good listening and questioning

5   Make sure you don’t ask illegal questions but face up to sensitive ones

6   Assess what you hear objectively and analytically against what's required to do the job. Gathering information systematically helps to predict how the applicant would be likely to perform in the job. 

7   Screen out any personal, irrational biases from your judgements: 

• The self-fulfilling prophecy effect – if you make up your mind about an applicant in the first few minutes, it's likely you'll spend the rest of the interview proving to yourself that you were right, in the sort of questions you ask and the non-verbal feedback you give the applicant.  So the first impression becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
• The stereotyping effect - assuming that particular characteristics are typical of members of a particular group. Some people even make stereotyped assumptions about people with red hair.
• The halo and horns effect. Once interviewers rate candidates as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ in some aspects, they often replicate this judgement across the board, reaching unbalanced decisions.
• The similar-to-me effect – some interviewers unconsciously give preference to candidates they perceive as having a similar background, career history, personality or attitudes to themselves.  The result is a team of clones of the manager.
• The personal liking effect – making decisions on the basis of whether they personally like or dislike the candidate. 

8     Let applicants demonstrate to you what they’ve found out about the company and what they want to know about the job.

9     Use ability tests and personality profiles to supplement your judgement at interview.

10    Communicate the decision within the timeframe you gave the applicant.

Recruiting doesn’t have to give you a headache or damage your company’s image, but you do need to be prepared, in control and know what you’re looking for. 

Need help with an upcoming recruitment exercise? – defining what you’re looking for and how you’ll recognize it, wording the advert, questions to ask at interview, coaching in interview skills, decision making? 

Email The Human Resource on enquiries@thehr.co.uk to arrange a no-obligation chat and download our free Expert Interviewer's Guide.

Naff interview questions

Some interviewers adopt favourite questions that - while not actually illegal and discriminatory - are cringe-inducingly naff and corny.  The applicant’s response (perhaps after an inward snigger) will contribute nothing to the task of identifying whether the person can do the job.  Not only can a bad interview question take your interview wildly off course, it may also put you in a negative light in the mind of the interviewee.

Here are a few to avoid:

• Tell me about yourself —it’s far too broad.  What you need to know about someone relates to work so provide a clear starting point: then the response might tell you what you were hoping to find out. Try an alternative such as “What led you to choose this career path?”
• What are your greatest strengths/weaknesses?  This is such a common question that applicants have either answered it multiple times before or have read articles on the best way to answer it. Either way, it will give you absolutely useless answers. So what if a person says they can deliver on time or is a perfectionist? You’ll never really know whether it has any basis in fact or whether the applicant has just listed points Googled from a “best answers” cribsheet.       Instead you could ask about a story of failure which will more genuinely tell you the person’s weaknesses rather than simply asking about them:  “Tell me about a time you failed at a goal you needed to achieve.”  A good interview question extracts information indirectly. 

• Where do you want to be in five years? — The truthful answer might be on a beach in The Bahamas after winning the lottery. The answer you’ll be given will probably be a platitude like “to have progressed within your company into a management position” or an equally ‘interviewer pleasing' answer.  Or even “I want your job.”  Instead, ask “Which of your skills do you hope to develop over the next few years to help you take a step up in your career?”
• What can you do for us that others can't? — Isn't that your job as the interviewer to figure out?   The candidate won’t know about the strengths and weaknesses of their competitors, so will generally resort to an answer related to their work ethic.  Instead, “What makes you the ideal applicant for this role?” will give you much more useful answers.
• If you were an animal, which one would you be? — This used to surprise candidates, but many will now be prepared for this amateur attempt at psychological analysis as it’s been widely communicated as laughable on social media. If you're looking for a lion (or someone who shows leadership) then ask a more direct question about their leadership skills.
• What salary are you hoping for? — This is something that can be discussed before or after a job interview, but not during as it's not right to put your interviewee under pressure to commit to a figure on the spot.  You could however check what the applicant is earning currently or how much they earned in their last job, to give you a point of reference if you decide to make an offer.

Another type of question to avoid is the Leading question where you imply the answer you want in the question, e.g. “Can you cope?  Are you a good teamplayer?  Leading questions inspire meaninglesss answers.  If you ask a question where the answer you want is obvious, you will hear what you expect.  It will add little to your understanding of the candidate - so why waste your time?

The Human Resource helps managers to find the right new recruit – sorting out exactly what you’re looking for and how you’ll recognize it, wording the advert, questions to ask at interview, decision making. Download your free Expert Interviewer's Guide and contact us on enquiries@thehr.co.uk. 

Why engaged employees are good for your business

What does it take to be a really great employer, like the ones who feature in the Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For list?  Is it something to aspire to with very real business benefits?   Or is it just soft and fluffy stuff?  What’s the point in encouraging happy employees? If they’re all sitting around laughing they won’t get much work done, you might think.  Or ”I don’t want this to be a nice place to work, I want us to succeed”.

Certainly winning awards like The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For is about a lot more than happy and satisfied employees, or providing a nice place to work. Companies are assessed for their leadership, employee wellbeing, giving something back to society, personal growth for staff, how they feel about their manager, company and immediate colleagues, and how far staff feel they get a fair deal for pay and benefits.

Being able to do all these things well isn't just for large corporates able to afford costly company benefits and perks: the winner of this year's 100 Best Small Companies was an interior design company in Nottingham with 102 staff and a turnover of £48M.  

People who work for these great companies go the extra mile to deliver and are truly engaged with work. Their enthusiasm rubs off on other employees and on customers. They provide better experiences for customers, approach the job with energy – which enhances productivity – and come up with creative product, process and service improvements. They remain with their employer for longer, which reduces turnover and its related costs. In turn, they create happier customers who buy more, stay longer and tell their friends – generating sustainable growth.

Research over a 7 year period has shown that firms with highly engaged employees grew revenues two and a half times more than those with low engagement levels. Organisations with the most engaged employees are, on average, 22% more profitable.  Highly engaged employees perform 20% better than the most disengaged. 

What do these benefits look like in practice? 

• Personal investment: Research indicates that if employees are engaged with the company, their job satisfaction levels increase. They’re invested in the success of the business and committed to it. They’re ambassadors for the company and will promote and support the company’s mission, strategy and brand.
• Productivity: Engaged employees are committed to going the extra mile to achieve success in their job.  They take less time off work sick and they’re more motivated, leading to increased productivity. Research indicates that offices with engaged employees are as much as 43% more productive.
• Retention & Recruitment:  Engaged employees are more far more likely to stay, so that recruitment costs are minimised. The business with a highly engaged workforce builds a reputation as an employer that increases their ability to attract the best applicants.
• Innovation: Because engaged employees perform at a higher level and bring passion and interest to their job, this often leads to innovation in the workplace. These employees feel they have a real stake in the organisation, and will often strive to create new products, services and processes.
• Profitability: Companies with more engaged employees tend to be more profitable. Their employees become more productive and efficient, so operating costs are lower and the profit margin increases.  A recent study has shown that highly engaged employees produce 26% more revenue per employee.

Not so soft and fluffy then! Employee engagement is a strong force that will deliver a genuine, hardnosed business benefit for you.  People deliver profits - so it's worth looking after them.

There’s more about how to grow levels of employee engagement in your company here and for more help contact The HumanResource on 07884 475303 or enquiries@thehr.co.uk.  If you're ready to make strategic changes so your company can feature in a Best Employer list next year, we do that too.

Health & wellbeing: are your employees bouncing with Spring energy?

At this time of year, many of us are keen to get our health and fitness back on the right track after all those Easter chocolates and winter sloth. This counts for your team as well.  You need everyone fully energized and firing on all cylinders, so it makes sense to encourage them to take care of themselves and live a healthier and more balanced lifestyle.  

Here are some ideas for positive action:

Help people eat more healthily

Birthday cake and occasional treats are unlikely to do anyone any harm. But when your workplace traditions include fried breakfasts on Monday mornings, pizza during Wednesday meetings, chocolate on sluggish afternoons, and beers on Friday evenings, the health impact can quickly mount up.

The alternatives are simple, low cost, and highly effective. Maybe encourage staff to bring in their own healthy bakes to share? Have fresh fruit available to snacking instead of biscuits? Arrange for local juice providers to supply energy-boosting pick-me-ups during busier periods?

Creating new traditions and having healthy snacks easily available could be just what your employees need. 

Get people moving

Sitting behind a desk all day is a pretty unnatural state for a human being and to a certain extent, most of us are stuck with more sedentary ways of working.

But small changes can make a huge difference.  For example, encourage staff to walk to their colleagues’ workstations instead of sending emails, and set an example yourself by moving around the office every hour.

You might find that some people would be interested in:

• a cycle to work scheme with secure bicycle parking.
• exercise during lunch or running/cycling to work – if you could provide lockers for kit.
• a lunchtime walking club.
• subsidised membership of the local gym

These are relatively easy, low cost measures to introduce that will improve energy levels.

Consulting with your team

If you’re going to really improve the level of health and wellbeing in your company, changes need to be what matters to your employees, not something that’s done to them.   Ask what activities they want to see happen: it will mean you invest in activities that your staff actually want, not what you think they need. 

These are the sort of ideas that I’ve seen employees come up with:

• team competitions towards a goal or milestone, and a reward for whichever team gets there first. It could be miles walked, pounds lost, or something entirely different, maybe with charity sponsorship.
• help to stop smoking
• on-site vaccination during flu season.
• lunchtime meditation and mindfulness classes. 

With workers spending more and more time in the office, businesses can make a lot of positive difference to the health and wellbeing of their employees, to ensure that some kind of balance is achieved.   The business benefits can be plentiful when you get it right. Healthier and happier workers are more productive. Fact. 

For more ideas to improve health & wellbeing, or help with consulting employees and implementing changes, contact The Human Resource on enquiries@thehr.co.uk.

Three strategies for managing sickness absence

Most managers have to pick up the phone now and again to be told that one of the team is too ill to make it into the office today. The impact can be a short term nuisance while you rearrange workloads.  Or it can turn into more than that and start to affect the service provided to customers, over-burden others in the team and, if you’re paying for the absence, have a severe impact on your bottom line.

Here are some proven strategies that you can put into action to make sure that absence doesn’t become a real problem for your business.

Clearly outline your expectations

First of all, it’s essential that your staff have clear written guidelines about the process to follow if they aren’t able to come to work because of sickness or injury. 

Do you require them to call in by a certain time?  Do they need to speak to you or is a text or email acceptable?  Do they need to communicate with you personally or someone else in the team?  Do they need to keep in contact with you each day they’re off?  Are you paying Statutory Sick Pay only or more?

Of course, your process won’t be worth the paper it’s written on if it’s only applied sometimes.  In the worst case scenario, if you have a bad apple of an employee who simply disappears for a few days at a time, you need to be able to impose sanctions such as stopping pay, you can only do this if there is a clearly communicated policy consistently applied. 

Hold return-to-work discussions

After any period of sickness absence, whether it’s two days or two months, hold a return-to-work discussion with the individual returning to work, as soon as possible. This is the one single measure that’s been found to have the most effect on reducing absence.

This discussion should cover the reason for the absence, and if was more than 7 days, check whether the Fit for Work certificate from the GP recommends any adjustments.  Check that your reporting in process was followed and give reminders if it wasn’t.  Give the opportunity to say whether anything at work may have contributed to the ill health. 

If it appears that the employee isn’t getting enough support from the NHS, a useful resource to have up your sleeve is recommending the employee to contact the confidential helpline run by occupational health professionals at the Fit for Work service – it’s completely free and confidential.

Make a file note of the conversation in case of later repercussions.

Make reasonable adjustments to ease people back into their roles

If anyone takes more than 2 weeks off for sickness in one block, it’s normally due to a serious health problem and you’ll need to be more proactive and flexible in supporting the person back to work.

For example, if the journey into work is limiting how quickly the person can return, consider organizing for some tasks to be carried out from home.  This is a particularly good remedy if someone has broken a limb and is in a plaster cast – they will probably be bored stiff at home and immobile!

To ease long-term absentees back to their jobs, it’s often helpful to agree a phased return-to-work of shorter working hours, gradually building back up over say 6 weeks as the individual completes their recuperation and re-acclimatizes. 

Talk to the individual in question to establish a way forward that will genuinely help them.

We help businesses to manage sickness absence and advise on policy and on individual cases.  Do you want to discuss your challenges with a professional, and walk away with a manageable action plan so you know exactly what you need to do? Give us a call today on 0784 475303 or email enquiries@thehr.co.uk.