‘Tis the season of the witch, the hour of the ghoul, the appraisal of the terminally late employee! Of course, we mean it is Halloween…
Do you think that your business can be a challenge to manage? Well be seated dear reader, and let us take you through the most haunting, harrowing, hazardous HR horror stories that you will dare to read this All Hallows Eve…
Working Time Waits For No Man…
You should already be aware that failure to pay the National Minimum Wage could result in both an unlimited fine and the public humiliation of having your business named and shamed. However did you know that breaking the Working Time Regulations (WTR) 1998 could not only land you an unlimited fine, but also lead to up to two years imprisonment?
Yes, employers must take reasonable steps to ensure that their employees do not work for more than 48 hours on average per week. Further to this, a ruling by the European Court of Justice means that travel time for employees without a fixed place of work must now count towards working time.
Employees can opt out of the WTR, but this must be a valid agreement in order to comply. Dare you take that risk?
The Bigger They Are…
Even the biggest behemoths of business can be guilty of a lapse in employment law judgement. In 2012 the UK Border Agency (UKBA) arrested more than 30 workers at a Tesco warehouse in London after finding that they were working for more hours than their visas allowed.
The UKBA did not revoke Tesco’s license as it cooperated fully throughout the investigation; however they still fined the retailer £115,000 for visa breaches concerning 23 of the 30 employees.
Is that a punishment your business could take, dear reader?
The Greatest Evil of All…
There is still no evil in the world as great as the malice of man. Workplace bullying is the darkest of all dark arts, and it can curse your business to an eternity of poor performance if not banished immediately.
Alicja Derwich lost her job at Biggin Hill Airport after launching a bullying campaign against a fellow employee. Sophie King took a promotion and made the wise decision to sever social media ties with her colleagues. Derwich’s foul behaviour began shortly thereafter, and culminated with her changing King’s computer screensaver to an image of a witch.
Any action that a vile specimen takes to violate another’s dignity in any way is harassment. Bullying in the workplace can lead directly to poor morale, a loss of respect for the management, resignations, and perhaps even a tribunal deciding on unlimited compensation for the victim.
As an employer is liable for the actions of their employees during the course of their employment, it is in your best interests to recognise harassment when it happens and to exorcise it from your workplace as quickly as possible…
Think carefully, dear reader, about your own precarious position before dismissing these tales as irrelevant. Perhaps you have an auto-enrolment nightmare waiting to happen, or maybe even a disciplinary disaster unfurling right now?
