This month: What employees look for in a perfect boss; Six million sue their employers; New national minimum wages rates in October.
The perfect boss
Research from the Learning and Skills Council shows that a commitment to training and professional development tops the list of employee wants. In contrast, employees are less engaged by bosses attempts to create a relaxed and social working environment.
The survey, which questioned over 2000 people, found that 61 per cent of employees “want to work for an employer who demonstrates a commitment to training”. Over half of respondents believe the perfect boss is “someone who believes in their employees’ futures by encouraging professional development”. This shows that employees aren’t just hungry for training, but hungry for a boss who genuinely sees value in employee development.
In addition, 60 percent of respondents highlighted the importance of a boss giving credit for great ideas, which underlines an employee’s need to feel respected and valued by bosses and peers.
Less wholehearted gestures are far less valued, according to the research; just 17 per cent of respondents were engaged by a boss who regularly organises subsidised social events, and only 19 per cent of employees were interested in bosses who let them leave early on a Friday.
These finding show that - on the whole - employees value bosses who are genuinely committed to their professional development. And whilst gestures such as social events and early Friday finishes may not go unappreciated, they do not act as a substitute for a committed, development focussed boss.
Training is clearly a big issue for employees, and employers would do well to remember that. But it’s also important to ensure that training is considered and implemented with the business’s interests in mind. As previously discussed, it’s important to consider the various expectations for training, from employees’ needs through to the ’strategic expectations’ of the business itself. We also discussed how pinning down the strategic needs of a business can be achieved through a training needs analysis.
By satisfying the training and development needs of both the employee and the business, the perfect boss can offer universal benefit for all.
In November (following our October Legislation Update special edition), we’ll explore e-learning; a tool which offers cost-effective benefits for all, from directors to assistants.
More info:
Fit the training to your needs
Find out more about skills and training
Six million sue their employers
Recent YouGov research indicates that 11.8 million UK employees have suffered from an illness or injury caused by their job in the past year. An astonishing 6 million have sued their employer as a result.
One-quarter of employees taken ill suffered from stress and anxiety, and another quarter from back problems. Importantly, such conditions are not typical to a particular industry sector or job role, indicating that a wide range of businesses are susceptible to illness or injury of these types.
54 per cent of the total 11.8 million sufferers - which equates to 6 million people - have subsequently sued their employers.
Such widespread litigation suggests employees are becoming more willing or able to sue their employers. This may be because suing is easier to do these days, but it may also be because employees are becoming increasingly aware of an employer’s responsibility to their employees. Looking at the figures, it seems apparent that the majority of sufferers believed their illness or injury was due to employers shirking their responsibilities. If that’s the case, it’s right that employers should pay the price.
This trend underlines the importance of risk management in the workplace. Risk assessments ensure employees’ health and well-being are safeguarded, thus reducing the potential for illness or injury from the outset. Fulfilling such obligations - and crucially, correctly documenting them - are important steps for prevention but also for proving legal responsibilities have been met.
Protection, in the form of liability insurance, also ensures your business can deal with costs and compensation claims arising from a legal dispute. If you employ people it is most likely that liability insurance is legal requirement.
More info:
New National Minimum Wages Rates, 1 October 2008
Revised national minimum wage rates come into force on 1 October 2008.
For pay reference periods* beginning on or after 1 October 2008, employers must pay eligible workers the following:
• £5.73 an hour to adult workers aged 22 and above
• £4.77 an hour to workers aged 18-21 - the development rate
• £3.53 an hour to workers aged below 18 who are no longer of compulsory school age
• £4.46 per day as the daily accommodation offset.
More info on the changes - New NMW Rates - October 2008
More info - Understanding National Minimum Wage Law
*What is the Pay Reference Period?
The pay reference period is the basis of calculating whether the national minimum wage is being paid to an employee.
The pay reference period is usually the interval at which an employee is paid, i.e. daily, weekly or monthly. For the purpose of calculating the national minimum wage, a pay reference period can be no longer than one month.
Pay allocated to a pay reference period includes:
- pay received during that period; and
- pay earned in that period, which is not received until the next period. This may include overtime, bonus or commission payments earned but not paid until the next period. If payments are delayed by more than one pay reference period, they cannot be referred back to the period it was earned, so should be counted in the period it is paid.
Employers do not have to pay the minimum wage for each hour worked - employees must be paid the minimum wage on average for the time worked in the pay reference period.
More Info - The Pay Reference Period
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