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The human toucl

29th January 2004
Page 35
Page 35, 29th January 2004 — The human toucl
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

A new publication aims to tell you everything you need to know about managing your ma precious resource: Patric Cunnane reviews

As the legal section of CMproves every week there is a seemingly endless body of employment law with new egulations arriving as often as the 37 bus from -21apham. But an operator num ing half a dozen ippers is unlikely to employ a full-time human esources professional to manage its employee elations. Where can such a business go to find he answers to legal queries which arise in the vorkplace, with expert advice on managing the kuman side of employment relations?

The answer may lie in a new publication, Best )ractice in HR Handbook. edited by Neil Rankin Ind published by Loris Nexis.The price tag of £65 nay seem a tad hefty for a 680-page paperback. )ut it's certainly a lot cheaper than employing an -IR consultant, even for one day a month.

The book is divided into 14 sections with ase studies and checklists for each topic. The irst half covers issues like filling vacancies; 'ost-effective selection: checking applicants' lackp-ounds; induction, training and developrient;pay and benefits;retaining good staff and !mployee involvement. Later sections deal vith areas where legislation carries more bite. For example.a comprehensive review of equal ■ pportunities legislation reveals just how imporant it is to be aware of the law in this area, with ecent awards of £190,000 in a sex discrimination case and a staggering f.815,000 in a race discrimination case demonstrating just how much you could have to pay for a mistake in this area.

The chapter on managing performance includes sections on grievances and disciplinary procedures: harassment and bullying; and whistleblowing — all now affected by legislation.

Bullying can be expensive

Take bullying, for example. An employer who allows this to go unchecked could face an award of unlimited compensation — and that's only part of the problem.The guide explains:"There may be liability under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. under common law for mental or physical damage, for unfair constructive dismissal where the employee is driven out.or under criminal law for harassment related offences."

With more than 70 pages the section on training is particularly comprehensive. All employers will benefit from adopting its checklist of costs to the business caused by failing to train staff. Under "Aspects of Work Performance" the list includes customer complaints; equipment downtime; delivery delays; breakages and accidents— all potential pitfalls for a transport company.

This section also includes details of government programmes and subsidies; it would surely be handy for a training manager tc all this information in one place.

Since the introduction of union lea representatives in 2002 companies will ognised unions can work in partnerst identify training needs. But what about That's what people come to work for aft Here you'll find some useful advice on h identify the market rate — quizzing appli on their previous wage. for example, give a more realistic idea of what is beirq than the information your competitol prepared to give you.

Then there's the idea of market prem which might be new to truck operator could be useful in areas where driver s age is acute. The idea is that employee paid a supplement to match what they I be earning elsewhere.

Premiums are not part of basic pa do not count towards overtime calcula holiday pay or pensionable earnings, th ducing their cost compared with an inc to basic pay. Who knows how much thi± might save you? It's got to be £65 at least.

• Best Practice in HR Handbook, edito Rankin. E65 from Lexis Nexis. Phone: 6622000; eustomer.services@lexisnexis.4 www.lexisnexis.co.uk


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