eve-olution newsletter March 2004
Contents
- Are you up to date with employment law?
- Coaching Tips from Jane Campion
- Siemens' most senior woman joins the CFL programme
- Corporate Performance linked to Gender Diversity - Catalyst report
- Capitalwoman Conference Saturday 6th March 2004
- Positively Flexible by Anni Townend
Are you up to date with Employment Law?
As part of our business we are always keen to keep up with the most recent changes in employment law, and few people in the UK would disagree that the number of changes in employment law makes this difficult to do.
To help with this problem the DTI has indicated that new employment related legislation would be brought into force on one of two dates each year, 6th April and 1st October. The DTI will also publish a statement every January stating what forthcoming changes are expected.
This is good news and it should also be borne in mind that this relates, we understand only to employment regulation changes emanating from the UK and on which the department leads. It does not apply to other law emanating from other government departments and there may be difficulty complying with these dates for employment law originating from the European Union, which comes directly into force in all member states.
Here are some of the employment laws that we understand are due to come into force during 2004:
6th April 2004
- Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003.
These are extensive but broadly they introduce more onerous obligations on employment agencies and businesses.
- Technical amendments to cover small matters arising from last year's new statutory maternity, paternity and adoption leave regulations.
- New national minimum wage regulations.
1st October 2004
- Statutory minimum disciplinary and grievance procedures in the workplace, introduced in the Employment Act 2002 are scheduled to commence.
- A revised ACAS Code of Practice, providing practical advice and guidance on the issues involved.
- New laws of procedure for cases in the employment tribunal system. It proposes that standard rules will apply to England, Wales and Scotland.
- There will also be new regulations to streamline the complex rules of procedure in tribunal cases under the Equal Pay Act.
Other potential legislation that has come to our attention:
- We understand that changes are also likely in relation to disability discrimination.
- The governments new Employment Relations Bill is also working its way through parliament and is on the DTI's list for coming into force this year.
Amongst other things it will extend the existing statutory protection against unfair dismissal in connection with flexible working arrangements.
Whatever the detail of all this legislation, what is clear is that employers can at least be warned that there are further changes pending for which they can and should prepare now!
Coaching Tips from Jane Campion
Jane is out of the country for this month.
Siemens' most senior woman joins the CFL programme
We are delighted to welcome Jayne Chase to our CFL team this spring. Jayne is an international executive with over 15 years experience in business development, strategic marketing, corporate communications and branding, and will be delivering 'negotiation skills' on our next course and sharing some of her personal experiences.
She has held positions with Siemens, (where she was the most senior woman employee) Nortel, Oracle, Cadence, Unisys and DEC. A Professor of history and CEO of a communications consultancy, Jayne promises to bring a whole revelation of insights to the programme.
Corporate Performance Linked to Gender Diversity
A recent study by Catalyst, a leading research organisation based in USA, has delivered real proof to demonstrate the bottom line benefits of recruiting and retaining senior women in the workforce.
Click here for a synopsis of the Catalyst report.
Capitalwoman Conference Saturday 6th March 2004
The annual Mayor of London conference for women marks International Women's Day - Saturday 6th March - and is the central event for dialogue with women in London. It promises to provide a unique platform for discussing strategic priorities of importance to the lives of over 50% of the capital's population (us) and will begin with a keynote address by Ken Livingstone, followed by an open question and answer session.
For full details of the speaker list and themes to be discussed, or to reserve your free place please contact the organising office on 020 7983 4302 or visit their website.
Positively Flexible
by Anni Townend, eve-olution's business psychologist
Anni gives her thoughts and reflections on the recent Working Families Conference and its implications.
This year's conference and launch of Working Families focused on working and caring across the generations and the changing face of family, and working, life over the generations. Working Families is a new charity which supports and gives a voice to working parents and carers, as well as working with employers to change the world of work so that we all have more time to create a better personal balance between work and family. In particular we heard from both presenters and delegates more about the needs, and the rights, of carers - be they parents caring for younger and indeed older children, family members caring for other family members, for example grandparents caring for grandchildren, parent caring for parent with special caring requirements, parents caring for children with special requirements, parents caring for their parents, and requirements and the needs and rights of carers themselves. A lot of caring!
So how does the person who needs and wants to work care for self and wants and needs to care for others do so? Recent legislation supports parents with children under the age of 6 to ask to work Part-Time and Flexitime but what about those parents whose children over the age of 6 need to spend more time rather than less time together as they get older? Research would suggest that many children are looked after by their grandparents but that this in and of itself creates tensions for those grandparents who had perhaps been looking forward to a relaxed and ‘ripe older age' or who themselves are working and therefore have to navigate similar issues as the parents of the children.
What about those people who work who either have chosen not to have children, are not ready to have children or who are not able to have children easily? Currently the legislation and support for Part-Time working is very much geared towards parents and not towards people who do not have children but who would like to work Part-Time or Flexitime. A number of delegates at the conference made the case for Part-Time working and Flexitime working being a choice for everyone and not just those people with childcare responsibilities. Some organisations do recognise the need of people who have other social care responsibilities such as elder care responsibilities but the vast majority of Part-Time working is geared around childcare and mostly it is women who work Part-Time and continue to be the primary carers of children.
However it is women who ask and tend to work Part-Time and who often, as a result suffer a career detriment. Men are less likely to ask for Part-Time or Flexitime working as they do perceive this as having a detrimental impact on their career progression and career opportunities. Men are also less likely to be considered for Part-Time or Flexitime working as it is still perceived as being for women, and in particular women with child care responsibilities. Line managers, both women and men, do make assumptions about who can work Part-Time or Flexitime and what the valid reasons are for doing so.
The suggestion was made that no one should have to explain why they want to work Part-Time or Flexitime in order to be considered for working Part-Time, and that this one day will be a non pc question to ask.
Understanding the needs of carers with children and, or family members who need special care and extra care was an area of concern and learning for many of us at the Working Families Conference. Several delegates and presenters spoke passionately about needing support and care that really does support and care not only for them but also for the people they care for. The kind of care offered known as respite is for the most part not what carers want. They do not want to have to talk about their children and, or needing care family member in really negative terms in order to get the support they need. They do not want to be given respite which for many suggests that the people they are caring for are hard work and difficult; they do want to be given appropriate care and choice about the care that best suits their needs and the needs of those they are caring for and to share the care.
For more information about and from Working Families:
www.workingfamilies.org.uk - for fact-sheets re flexi work options, how to negotiate with your employer and employment rights of parents and carers; also case studies of employers who offer good work-life balance options. Carers can also contact the Working Families ‘Waving not Drowning' network, coordinator Janet Mearns, on 020 7253 7243 for personal advice and support and to join the network of almost 2,000 other working and caring families.
Working Families is a truly inspirational organisation. If you do want to contribute by way of making a donation to Working Families they can be contacted at the address below or the website above.
Working Families, 1-3 Berry St, London EC1V 0AA