News Bytes

Low productivity - Setting work related goals, good management, positive reinforcement and pay/benefits are the steps a manager can take to motivate employees and create a happier environment, according to PMA Consulting Group. The reasons for low productivity in the workplace are varied. “It could be the employee themselves – his or her physical and/or emotional health may not be particularly good. It may be the actual job, as sometimes the nature of the position doesn’t fit with the individual doing it so it can be extremely hard to get motivated. The employee might also feel undervalued by the company.

Absenteeism – is a bigger problem the larger the organsiation, a reprot formt he Small Firms Association (SFA) has found. According to the report, the national average figurefigure for sick days is 7.8; the large firm avarage is 10.5; whereas the small fir average is 5.5.

Sick Leave – There is no employment law inIreland on the issue of sick leave, so it is left to the discretion of each company. Nig organisations typically have good sick-pay schemes and a policy whereby they give employees full pay for up to six months in the event of illness or accident. Though smaller companies are rarely so generous, most leave the issue to the discretion of management. Installing a blanket not to pay sick leave is not the answer to alleviate absenteeism, this only leads to employees coming into work ill and infecting everyone else in the office. It also affects the culture of the organisation.

Bonus schemes – Though business today is all about becoming increasingly productive, the more satisfied an individual is at work, the more productive he or she will be. Some companies put in place attendancw policies and bonuses such as giving staff and extra day’s annual leave if they don’t take any sick days throughout the year or giving them a holiday if they are never late and never out sick. These are good incentives and are mostly used by production companie, but they may not suit every business.

Flexible Working (UK) – A Bill which will increase maternity allowances and give carers the right to request flexible working has received Royal Assent. Final regulations to implement the Work and Families Bill will be introduced shortly.

Work and Families Bill (UK) – The changes to the maternity regime will see maternity allowance increase to nince months from April 2007, with plans to increase this to 12 months by the end of the next parliament. The Act will also introduce “keeping in touch” days to allow women to pop into the office without affecting their maternity pay.

Statutory Sick Pay (UK) – Proposals to simplify Statutory Sick Pay by removing the three waiting days, the linking rule and the Percentage Threshold Scheme have been shelved.

Fixed Term Workers (UK) – Four year rule on fixed-term workers kicks in…Fixed-term workers with four years’ continous employment will automatically become permanent members of staff if the contract is remewed or they are re-engaged as of Monday 10 July 2006.

Pay Increases Compared (UK) – Pay increases in the private sector are generally ahead of the public sector analysis by IDS Pay Report has shown. Private sector increases in the three motnhs to June 2006 have hit a median point of 3% whilst most public sector workers received April increases of around 2 to 2.5% (apart from local government, where pay increased 2.95%). Also with the inflation rate set to be at 3% for the rest of the year the median pay increase in the private sector may well rise to 3.3 or 3.5% in coming months.

Absence Gap Highlighted (UK) – The CIPD annual Absence Management Survey has highlighted a gap between absences in the private and public sector, with private sector workerstaking seven and a half days compared to nearly 10 days in the public sector. More than 1,000 employers took part in the survey.

Sick Pay Policy can Apply to Disabled Staff (UK) – A disabled employee who is off sick as a result of their disability is not necessarily entitled to more in sick pay than an employee who is disabled. The EAT believe there is in reasoanble adjkustment which could be made to the level of sick pay to favour disabled employees. In fact there are powerful economic reasons for the rule adopted. It would cost a very significant sum to pay full pay to all disabled employees absent sick in circumstances where their pay would otherwise be reduced.