A raft of employment legislation means employers must do more than
just follow the law.
Employers could be forgiven for believing there is a conspiracy of
employment lawyers, given the wave of recent changes to employment
legislation by the government.
This year there will be changes to maternity rights, new rights to
paid adoption and paternity leave, and rights for those with
childcare commitments to apply for flexible working
arrangements.
In addition, there will be new regulations against discrimination
on grounds of religion, belief and sexual orientation. This is
against a backdrop of other European-inspired legislation which
prohibits unfavourable treatment of part-time workers and those on
fixed-term contracts.
This puts an emphasis on employers to ensure diversity and
flexibility in the workplace. Those that go beyond the legal
requirements can expect to reap the benefits. This is an
opportunity, not merely an issue of compliance.
Unsurprisingly, there are many reports on the falling number of
women in IT and the problems of retention. If nothing else,
employers should be alert to the loss of investment they have
already made in their employees.
Employers should constantly revisit their working arrangements to
ensure there is no inadvertent discriminatory impact. Indirect
discrimination arises when there is a disproportionate impact on
one gender which cannot be objectively justified.
From 6 April, parents of children below the age of six, or those
with disabled children, have the right to apply to work flexibly.
Employers are under a duty to consider these requests seriously.
Flexible working is not an automatic right, but this will raise
issues as to what is reasonable accommodation.
Good employers should be considering how to deal with these
requests and how to promote flexible working. Welcoming the
legislative changes and seeking to improve upon them will assist in
recruiting and retaining quality staff.
A recent survey from the Department of Trade & Industry found
that flexible working hours are more important than money for
nearly one third of people looking for a new job. Talent will
clearly migrate to those businesses that are already attuned to an
appropriate work/life balance.
Increasingly novel approaches are being considered by companies to
achieve this end. For example, while needing to be dealt with
carefully to avoid the risk of positive discrimination, some
employers are considering rewarding recruiters who can place women
or ethnic minorities into a post.
Another example is where a type of work has become regarded as the
preserve of men or appears unappealing to women. Some employers
have introduced internal "secondments" to give their employees an
opportunity to try an alternative role or to ensure they have
sufficient experience on their CV to enable them to progress in the
organisation.
Increasingly, staff will expect good practice, not merely legal
compliance. Employers need to be aware of such practice as a
benchmark of what will be expected of the "reasonable"
employer.
Jonathan Exten-Wright is a partner in the
employment team at law firm DLA