PUBLICATION: The Grapevine

TITLE: Current Issues facing HR Directors as regards Employment Law

Three issues currently causing major problems to HR directors are:

• Managing sickness absence. This will often have a Disability element under the Disability Discrimination Act if, for example, the employee in question develops a back problem which affects their ability to (say) lift or move pots in a kitchen. What reasonable adjustments are appropriate in these circumstances? At what point is it appropriate to commence a dismissal procedure?

Managing persistent short term absence is also a real headache for HR Managers, but whether or not the absences are entirely genuine, this is something that organisations can effectively address.

As soon as a HR Manager notices that someone is signed off with stress, particularly if it is work related, alarm bells should ring. If this issue is not addressed promptly, a serious problem is likely to develop and there is a risk of costly litigation and/or high awards of compensation. Add to that the loss of working hours and the scale of the problem becomes clear. Thousands and thousands of working hours are lost to the British industry due to stress related absence, which may at the end of the day, simply be a symptom of dysfunctional working relationships.

• Managing email and internet usage in the workplace is a real problem for many HR Managers. What is excessive personal use? When does internet use became ‘inappropriate’? In particular, what level of monitoring is acceptable and appropriate in the circumstances? For example, if someone views pictures via their hotmail account on the web from work, is it acceptable to monitor the content of the images viewed? This too can be effectively managed, but not without first balancing the competing interests of the European privacy legislation and needs of the workplace.
  
• More and more employees are aware that if they want, they can use the Data Protection Act to demand the disclosure of a wide range of documents and electronic communications about them under a ‘Data Subject Access’ request. Such requests can be very unwieldy to manage, especially if extensive reviewing of (for example) email communications are required.
  
• A swathe of legislation affecting maternity and family friendly policies has come in over the last few years, and changes are afoot in this parliament to shake up maternity / paternity leave. Simply keeping on top of that and anticipating legal developments in general remains a major challenge for many HR professionals.
  

This information was written by Caroline Walker, head of the Employment Law Department at Sprecher Grier Halberstam LLP, Solicitors.

Caroline Walker Partner / Head of Employment Law 020 7544 5625 carolinew@sghlaw.com