HR - is it on your agenda?

HR – is it on your agenda? David Wright – Employment Law Specialist Consultant

I have provided HR support to salons for over 20 years, and although an employer may never have an issue or dispute with an employee, if it does happen, employment law can be very complicated with lots of jargon and costly advice. Employees are often your biggest cost and using them effectively and efficiently can be the difference between success and failure. I offer an advice line for a fixed annual fee with no tie in, providing you with a user friendly contract and a set of practical HR policies.

In this article, I will answer a number of the most commonly asked questions on my helpline…

I think at least 50% of the queries I receive concern holidays and holiday pay.

STAFF HOLIDAY

The Law – The Working Times Regulations in 1998 – first gave staff an entitlement to be paid leave.

How much paid leave must staff receive?

Employees working a 5 day week must receive a minimum of 5.6 weeks paid leave per annum. For most full time staff, working 5 days a week, this equates to 28 days. The 28 days includes bank holidays if that is your wish.

Can I pay staff to work their holidays?

The 5.6 weeks leave was given for Health and Safety purposes to ensure staff had a minimum paid break from work i.e. to ensure they have rest. Therefore you cannot pay staff to work their annual leave.

Is it possible to specify when staff take their leave?

YES! Many staff have a clause in their contract indicating specific times of the year when leave can or cannot be taken, this allows the salon owner to fix when some leave is taken.

Do staff receive full pay whilst they are on leave?

They should receive their normal weekly salary. If staff regularly receive commission then a sum to reflect average commission earnings should be paid in addition to their normal weekly pay.

How do I calculate the leave for part time staff?

This should be worked out in hours and not days. A part-time therapist working 20 hours per week, should receive: Twenty (hours) multiplied by 5.6 (weeks) which equates to 112 hours per year. Once again this can include bank holidays that fall on the employees normal working days. When the employee books a days or a week’s leave, simply deduct the hours they have taken from their overall annual entitlement.

STAFF SALARY

My apprentice is now aged 19 but is not yet competent to work independently. Therefore we agreed that they will not receive the minimum wage for another year. The employee has agreed to this, so is it ok?

I am afraid not and it would be illegal. If the low pay unit became aware you would be liable to a fine of up to £20000. An employee cannot agree to accept less than their statutory rights and it is the employer’s responsibility to ensure they receive them.

I am regularly contacted by clients who begin their sentence with “am I allowed to ……?” Am I allowed to insist staff take holidays in quiet months, or can I fix a week’s holiday?

The answer is a definite “yes” and it is covered in the “Working time regulations” It’s a good idea to include the requirement in your contracts e.g. “we reserve the right to fix up to 1 weeks leave each year”. But even if you haven’t then it’s still possible. Legally if you wanted to fix a week holiday to require staff to take holidays you would have to give 2 weeks’ notice of it. So the notice has to be twice as long as the length of the holiday. In reality this would be a last resort and you would give staff significantly more notice.

Instant Dismissal?

Gross misconduct means instant dismissal, so am I allowed to dismiss someone on the spot?

Sorry NO. There must always be an investigation, a hearing and the employee must have the ability to respond. Instant dismissal or gross misconduct doesn’t mean you can sack someone on the spot however guilty they are. In all cases you are required to investigate, invite the employee to a hearing in writing spelling out the allegations and their right to be accompanied.

My staff get a paid break. Am I allowed to ask them to answer the telephone or miss their break if there is a walk in?

The law requires staff to receive a minimum 20 minute break if their working day is 6 hours or more. For under 18’s its 30 minutes after 4 ½ hours. Payment is optional. The breaks are given under the auspices of Health and Safety to give staff a rest break. The break is meant to be continuous and therefore if the break was interrupted, in theory the 20 minutes would start again. In short the fact you pay for the break makes no difference.

Am I allowed to insist that part time staff who are pregnant attend their antenatal appointments on their day off?

The simple answer is No. You can always ask them and indeed it’s exactly what some employees will do but the law simply requires employers to give pregnant staff (and indeed their male partners) time off to attend antenatal appointments.

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