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Personnel Management Support Services An Employment Tribunal in Kent recently awarded nearly £180,000 to a 21 year old employee after only one week’s service with her employer. It goes without saying that an award of that size could wreck a business that has taken years to build. Yet that organisation had seemingly taken no steps to protect itself. There was an absence of crucial documentation. There was no evidence that management took its employment law responsibilities seriously. There was no evidence of training in key personnel areas. There was a lack of basic personnel procedures. Thankfully most organisations will not be faced with potentially crippling awards. However, as of October 2004, employers now face a ‘fine’ in the Employment Tribunals if they have not issued contract statements. The ‘fine’ will be levied regardless of the merits of the employee’s case. And with more employees are willing to go to Employment Tribunal - after all it costs them nothing - the risks are increasing Acton Jennings provides
Personnel management can be a very costly area to get wrong. Protect yourself Documentation We can draft and supply an Equal Opportunities Policy for your organisation. In this critical area, it is essential that a company can demonstrate it is doing all that it can to prevent discrimination. Therefore, the document shall include your policy on recruitment and selection, interviewing procedures and sexual harassment. We can supply individual Company Handbooks to each employee. The Handbook typically deals with such areas as: Company Rules, Disciplinary/ Grievance Procedures, including the Company's Health & Safety Grievance Procedure, Holiday Entitlement/ Conditions, Absence Reporting etc. and a health & safety information section drawn from the health and Safety Policy. However, because this is your handbook, tailored to your organisation, its contents are determined bywhat happens in your Company. We can provide the Company with an electronic Personnel Procedures Manual. This manual provides up to date practical guidance on the legal obligations placed on your organisation. It details in non-legalistic language what rights you have as an employer and what rights employees could claim under employment legislation. We update all documents as required by changes in legislation or because of changes within your Company's arrangements. This includes providing contract statements as and when new employees join your Company. Simply provide us with the details and we do the work, so you can work at running your business. Advice & Support We can provide nominated employees with access to Acton Jennings advice, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week as often as is required, without cost. The service also covers the handling of correspondence on personnel matters. Acton Jennings is staffed by professionally qualified consultants, with considerable combined experience in carrying out work of a high quality. Tribunal Services Employees have more rights than ever before; they are better informed than ever before; they are more litigious than ever before. It costs employees nothing to go to tribunal. If they lose they are not liable for any costs incurred by their employers. No matter what your expenditure has been defending the case. In addition there are many legal firms willing to take on cases on a no win no fee basis, so the applicant’s own costs will be negligible. The maximum compensatory award in Employment Tribunal is well in excess of £50,000. It will be updated each year. There is no limit on the awards in cases of sex, race and disability discrimination and no qualifying service to bring these claims. Already we have pregnancy dismissal awards which are way in excess of personal injury awards for, say, asbestosis. Protect yourself. Acton Jennings provides full legal expenses indemnity service which covers you and your organisation for tribunal awards and costs, including witness costs. The appropriate level of cover can be discussed with your area manager.
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