If your business is planning ahead for the summer months, when it comes to staffing and HR matters here are four things that can help you set up for success.
- Getting it right when fulfilling a short-term staffing need
- Recruiting for longer term? Why this year is different
- Making the most of existing employees? Watch out for working time
1. Getting it right when fulfilling a short-term staffing need
If you need to take on temporary additional staff to cover a busy summer period, you will want to do it in a way that meets your business’s needs. Depending on your situation you might wish to think about using:
- Fixed term contracts with normal working hours – this can work well if you only need extra help for a short period of time, e.g. during the school summer holidays, and know how many hours you will usually want the employee to work.
- Zero hours fixed term contract – if the amount of work you have available will vary and you may not always be in a position to give an employee work, a zero hours contract may be an appropriate option. It could give you the flexibility your business is looking for to cover a temporary upturn in work.
Did you know that if you employ someone on a fixed term basis, that contract coming to an end will in law be considered a dismissal? This does not need to be as daunting to deal with as it may sound, but it can sometimes catch businesses out. If you have an employee who is on a fixed term contract, please get in touch for advice in good time before the contract is intended to end.
2. Recruiting for longer term? Why this year is different
If you are recruiting an employee on a permanent basis, or for a longer fixed term / temporary period, it is important to be aware that the law on unfair dismissal is changing. The qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal is reducing from 2 years to 6 months for dismissals that take effect on or after 1st January 2027.
For businesses this will be a significant change, it will mean that its more important than ever to get ‘the right person for the job’ going forward as once they have sufficient service to qualify for ordinary unfair dismissal, which will happen much sooner, it can in many cases be more time consuming and difficult to dismiss, for example if performance or conduct issues arise.
Bear in mind that employees with six months’ service when the change comes into force will immediately benefit from the new protection, so recruitment decisions made over the summer can impact your business into the future in a way that they would not have in previous years. Furthermore, as employees can sometimes gain ordinary unfair dismissal protection sooner than you may think due to the way this and the calculation of continuity of service operates, it will remain vital to seek advice on the facts of your situation before acting if you are considering taking steps such as dismissing an employee. As there will be no change to current existing ‘day one’ protections when it comes to matters such as discrimination and automatic unfair dismissal (e.g. dismissal because an employee is a whistleblower), managers will need to remain alert to such issues irrespective of an employee’s length of service.
3. Making the most of existing employees? Watch out for working time
If you are looking to cover a busy period, you may turn to existing employees to do it. Whilst this can have its advantages, it is important to act appropriately for both your business and your people. Here are three things that can sometimes catch employers out:
- ‘Working Time’ – remember, the weekly working hours limit for most adult workers is an average 48 hour week, this includes overtime. It is usually calculated over a 17-week reference period. Most adult workers can ‘opt out’ of this protection either for a fixed period or indefinitely by voluntarily signing what is called an opt-out agreement, this enables them to work more hours although it does not affect their rights when it comes to rest and breaks. If you would like an opt-out agreement for use in your business, please get in touch.
- Overtime – keep in mind that not all employees may be able to work overtime (or not on particular occasions) and that there may be good reasons for this, such as childcare issues or ill health. If you are concerned that an employee is unable to do overtime, please contact us to discuss the situation before acting.
- Increased workloads – if employees are taking on more work bear in mind that workloads should be kept at a manageable level and it will be important for managers to appropriately monitor the situation.