Stress is the Highest cause of Employment Absences

The 2011 Absence Management Survey, produced by Simplyhealth and CIPD, has revealed that Stress is the number one cause of long term sickness. The report, based on an a on-line survey investigating absence days, cost and causes was released on the 5th of October.

The results of the on-line survey has shed light on the increasing pressure and stress that many employees experience at work. There is obviously a major period of uncertainty caused by the economic turndown and employees seem to suffer more and more from stress, which causes absence levels to increase.

The results showing stress as the most significant cause of long-term sickness for both manual and non-manual employees, and therefore should be dealt with very seriously. Employers seem to be aware of this as early findings from the 2011 XpertHR stress management survey have revealed that more than half of employers are taking steps to deal with workplace stress. Many employers have put this extra burden of dealing with stress and stress management on to their hr services departments or outsourcing responsibilities to hr outsourcing companies.

Various measures to manage stress issues include offering flexible working options, taking initiatives to reduce pressure and focusing on the team cohesion through team-building activities, and by creating an open-communication working environment, etc.

Changes in Employment Tribunal

The qualifying threshold for claiming unfair dismissal will move from one year’s employment to two and comes into effect from 6 April 2012.

Fees

Another change planned for 2013 concerns a fee employees will be charged for bringing claims to Tribunal. The costs will imply an initial fee of £250 for lodging a claim with an additional £1000 when the claim is actually about to be heard by the Tribunal.The Government anticipate that these measures will reduce employment tribunal claims by 2000 per year.

However, doubts can be expressed about the relevance of both proposals. The extension of the qualifying period for claiming unfair dismissal may indeed increase the number of discrimination claims which do not need a qualifying period.

The fee for bringing a claim to tribunal may discourage employees from raising claims but fees may be waived for the low paid or un-waged (if not found alternative employment, many will be un-waged!!)Besides, genuine claimants should not be deterred from paying if they believe they will win.

Retirement Age Abolished

The default retirement age (DRA) has been abolished completely since 1st October 2011 and employers are now prohibited from retiring employees in reliance on the default retirement age.
Previously employers could rely on the DRA to compulsorily retire workers once they reach the age of 65, which many argued was a form of discrimination.

Now people are free to work for as long as they want, which is assumed will be appreciated as the population ages. Employers must therefore follow a fair dismissal procedure in order to retire older workers, relying on one of the fair reasons for dismissal set out in section 98 of the Employment Right Act 1996.
It is worth noting that employers may continue to prescribe a compulsory retirement age on or after 1 October 2011 provided that they can justify it as a “proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim”.