Tag Archive for Employing & managing staff

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Zero hours contract rights

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By Anna Jordan on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

Zero hours workers may work fewer hours than their fully employed counterparts, but they have a lot of the same rights as them.

Even though the rights are set in law, the definition of a zero hours contract isn’t. Zero hours can mean different things to different companies as there’s no concrete legal definition.

As an employer, the main thing you should know is that they’re not to be used for central business processes – only to fill in smaller labour gaps like seasonal work. For more central roles, you should consider alternatives such as fixed contracts first.

Everyone on a zero hour contract has statutory employment rights, without exception. They’ll either have the status of a worker or an employee. Most will be classed as workers.

Those who are classed as workers will be entitled to at least:

The national minimum wagePaid annual leave Rest breaks (rest at work, rest between shifts or working days and weekly rest periods)Protection from discrimination

On top of that, employees have the right to (among others):

Statutory sick pay (SSP)Time off for emergencies involving dependentsRedundancy pay Parental leave

Employees will also have protection from being dismissed

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Zero hours contract template

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By Anna Jordan on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

Setting out a zero hours contract template can be more complicated than a standard employment contract.

>See also: Zero hours contracts advantages and disadvantages

You must clearly state that it’s a zero hours job and the contract should clearly outline their status and rights. How it operates and what the termination process looks like.

Note that, as of April 6, the right to written terms and conditions extends to workers – this includes zero hours workers. Employers must include terms relating to hours and days of work and how those may be varied.  

>See also: Zero hours contract rights

Below are some areas to focus on and some example phrases that you might want to use when drafting your own zero hours contracts. It’s a wise idea to seek additional advice from an employment lawyer. For more on creating general employment contracts, check out What should you include in an employment contract?

Type of work

This is where you state what kind of contract the person is on – in this case, whether they’re a zero hours worker or a zero hours employee.

Try: The Business is delighted to welcome

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Zero hours contracts holiday entitlement and holiday pay

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By Anna Jordan on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

People on zero hours contracts are entitled to holiday and holiday pay, just like your regular staff.

In this quick guide, we’ll explain how to do it.

How do I calculate holiday entitlement?

Zero-hour contract employees, like any employee, are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday per year. This can include bank holidays if you wish. The rules around holiday entitlement are fairly loose, as long as you meet the 5.6 week minimum.

>See also: Zero hours contract rights

A popular method is the 12.07 per cent calculation. This is arrived at using the calculation of5.6 (weeks of paid leave) divided by 46.4 (remaining weeks in the year). So, holiday is accrued at a rate of 12.07 per cent per hour.

If a worker on a casual contract works ten hours in a week, then they would have accrued 1.2 hours holiday. (12.07 per cent of ten). If the employee worked 30 hours, they would accrue 3.6 hours of holiday for that week. (12.07 per cent of 30).

To calculate average hourly pay rate, only the hours worked and how much was paid for them should be counted. Take the

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Zero hours contracts advantages and disadvantages

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By Anna Jordan on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

Zero hours contracts (ZHCs) continue to be contentious as employers look for ways to plug the labour shortage in certain sectors.

We take a look at what the advantages of zero hours contracts are for employers.    

Advantages of zero hours contracts

Flexibility

As we’ve seen recently, there can be a real ebb and flow in staff numbers, influenced by factors inside and outside your business. It’s especially true of the hospitality and service sectors.        

Having zero hours workers helps employers to deal with sudden staff shortages and busier periods like the lead-up to Christmas. You could even utilise zero hours workers to cover longer-term absences like extended sick leave or maternity leave.

They can also be helpful for a business that’s starting out that only needs sporadic help to fill in some gaps.

An easier way to grow your business

If you want to grow your business but can’t afford to take on extra fixed-term staff just yet, workers on zero hours contracts could be a suitable alternative.

More affordable

Speaking of affordability, ZHCs are cheaper than paying an agency fee and commission for agency workers. What’s more, you only pay people

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What the Equality Act means for employers

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By Katie Maguire on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
What does the Equality Act mean for employers?
The Equality Act 2010 was and still is one of the most important pieces of legislation for employers and employees. It is concerned with discrimination and harassment in respect of nine protected characteristics, namely: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.
Before the Equality Act came into force discrimination law was contained in different pieces of legislation.
The Equality Act gives protection against work-related discrimination, making it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against its job applicants, employees and former employees. If it does so, it will be liable for its actions. In addition, employers may also be held liable for the wrongful actions of their employees or agents. This is because under the Equality Act, anything done by an employee in the course of their employment is deemed to be an act done by the employer. This is called vicarious liability. The only defence available to this for an employer is if it can show that it took all reasonable steps to prevent the employee from doing

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Is an employee entitled to bereavement leave?

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By Peter Done on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
If a person is on a zero hours contract, are they entitled to bereavement leave?
Statutory bereavement leave is available to employees, but only in limited circumstances. If your employee has a child who dies, under the age of 18, or who is stillborn, they can take up to two weeks bereavement leave within 56 weeks of the death. What a week would be for them would be based on their average working week (one, two, three days etc).
Bear in mind, not all zero-hours staff are employees. Some can be workers, who don’t get the same rights as employees. If they are a worker, and not an employee, this statutory right will not apply to them.
>See also: Calculating holiday allowances for part-time staff
In other circumstances, there are some limited rights to time off, especially where your employee has to make arrangements for the funeral, etc. Your contract may set out the rules for this, including if that is paid (there is nothing to say it has to be, unless you normally do so). Do you give paid bereavement leave normally?
Look at the terms of your contract

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Is an employee entitled to bereavement leave?

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By Peter Done on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
If a person is on a zero hours contract, are they entitled to bereavement leave?
Statutory bereavement leave is available to employees, but only in limited circumstances. If your employee has a child who dies, under the age of 18, or who is stillborn, they can take up to two weeks bereavement leave within 56 weeks of the death. What a week would be for them would be based on their average working week (one, two, three days etc).
Bear in mind, not all zero-hours staff are employees. Some can be workers, who don’t get the same rights as employees. If they are a worker, and not an employee, this statutory right will not apply to them.
>See also: Calculating holiday allowances for part-time staff
In other circumstances, there are some limited rights to time off, especially where your employee has to make arrangements for the funeral, etc. Your contract may set out the rules for this, including if that is paid (there is nothing to say it has to be, unless you normally do so). Do you give paid bereavement leave normally?
Look at the terms of your contract

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Pension schemes

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By Peter Done on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
How do we go about setting up a staff pension?
Since the introduction of auto-enrolment into pension schemes by the UK government, all employers must offer access to a pension scheme for eligible employees and make minimum contributions (currently 3 per cent) to it.
Pensions are complex, and you want to get it right. Getting expert advice on which scheme to choose is going to be important, a financial advisor will be able to help you with this.
Once you’ve identified the right scheme for you, you need to identify those you are going to offer access to it. The following employees are eligible:

Those between the age of 22 and the State Pension age
Earning at least £10,000 a year
Normally working in the UK

If you have employees who should already be in the scheme, speak to them about it and what you will be introducing – the pension provider will usually help you answer any of their questions.
>See also: Pensions auto enrolment guide for employers
Standard information for new starters should be available from the pensions provider to introduce them to the scheme you have selected, and you can get

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Pension schemes

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By Peter Done on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
How do we go about setting up a staff pension?
Since the introduction of auto-enrolment into pension schemes by the UK government, all employers must offer access to a pension scheme for eligible employees and make minimum contributions (currently 3 per cent) to it.
Pensions are complex, and you want to get it right. Getting expert advice on which scheme to choose is going to be important, a financial advisor will be able to help you with this.
Once you’ve identified the right scheme for you, you need to identify those you are going to offer access to it. The following employees are eligible:

Those between the age of 22 and the State Pension age
Earning at least £10,000 a year
Normally working in the UK

If you have employees who should already be in the scheme, speak to them about it and what you will be introducing – the pension provider will usually help you answer any of their questions.
>See also: Pensions auto enrolment guide for employers
Standard information for new starters should be available from the pensions provider to introduce them to the scheme you have selected, and you can get

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Can I dismiss an employee on suspicion of theft?

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By Peter Done on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
You are not the criminal court so you don’t need proof beyond reasonable doubt but you do have to have good grounds for believing that, on the balance of probabilities, this employee is responsible for the theft. This is a potential gross misconduct situation so dismissal is a possible response.
>See also: Disciplinary notes
You appear to have a reasonable belief that there has been a theft so you now need to carry out a reasonable investigation to see how far you can narrow down your suspect list. You can then look at dismissing anyone who you reasonably believe could have carried out the theft.
If following your investigation this employee is the only one left in the frame then you can dismiss him. However, if there is more than one employee left then you would need to consider dismissing everyone who you can’t exclude. Just dismissing this employee in those circumstances would be hard to justify.
Peter Done is managing director and founder of HR consultancy Peninsula
Further reading
Can I sack my employee for a racist tweet?
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