HR has to balance fair and lawful people management with the needs of the business for which it works. Several of our research reports in this issue reflect this tension.

Considerations of morale, recruitment and retention that push for levels of pay that are felt to be fair are coming second place to the economic pressures experienced by employers. Our latest analysis of pay rises finds that many are failing to keep pace with the rising cost of living.

This pattern is reflected at even the highest levels of the public sector, such as judges, military chiefs and NHS trust executives, finds our round-up of pay review body reports. Their recommendations were accepted by the government, which will award increases well below the retail prices index.

Two case studies in this issue shed light on how HR is finding ways of resolving its conflicting priorities. At Co-operative Financial Services, HR is working in close partnership with business managers to produce a series of performance-related metrics, several of which involve key HR measures, such as absence and staff retention. The metrics represent different facets of employee engagement, the health of which underpins organisational effectiveness.

At office furniture manufacturer Orangebox, HR has decided to intervene in what is generally seen as a business-led issue: line managers’ responsibility for absence management. In just seven months, the impact of HR’s involvement has been considerable.

Also in this issue:

• recruiting and retaining volunteers;
• an in-depth guide to the practical implications of the repeal of the statutory dispute resolution procedures; and
• reports of recent legal cases.

Neil Rankin,
Section Editor,
Employment Review

Recruiting and retaining volunteers

Volunteering is on the increase, yet many charities and other organisations still struggle to find and keep the unpaid staff they rely on to carry out their valuable work. We look at the ways of recruiting and retaining voluntary workers, and the sources of help and advice on offer.

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Employing volunteers

Guidance note

The abolition of the statutory dispute resolution procedures

This article looks at the practical implications for employers of the repeal of the statutory dispute resolution procedures.

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News

Government consults on flexible working

The government has launched a consultation on ways of helping businesses deal with flexible working requests, following its announcement that the right to request flexible working will be extended to parents of children aged 16 and under.

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Casenotes

Collective redundancies: Haine and another v Day

The Court of Appeal holds that a protective award made after the employer company went into liquidation in respect of its failure to consult before making collective redundancies was a provable, and therefore potentially recoverable, debt.

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Statutory dispute resolution procedures: Selvarajan v Wilmot and others

The Court of Appeal holds that a failure to comply with the general requirements of the statutory dispute resolution procedure cannot be equated with a failure to complete the procedure. Thus, an unreasonable delay between dismissal and an appeal hearing did not render the dismissal automatically unfair, because the statutory dismissal and disciplinary procedure had been completed.

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Statutory dispute resolution procedures: Procek v Oakford Farms Ltd

The EAT holds that a letter stating that a complaint was informal and not intended to invoke the statutory grievance procedure was a valid grievance under step one of the procedure.

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Model policies and documents

Policy on employees breastfeeding/expressing milk

Use this document to communicate the organisation’s policy regarding facilities for employees who are new mothers. [full XpertHR subscription required]

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Letter offering suitable alternative work to a breastfeeding employee

Use this document to offer alternative employment to an employee who, for health and safety reasons, cannot continue to perform her normal job while she is breastfeeding. [full XpertHR subscription required]

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Amended documents on holiday and maternity/adoption leave

XpertHR provides amended model documents on holiday entitlement during maternity and adoption leave. These take account of changes to the law applying to employees with an expected week of childbirth on or after 5 October 2008 and those with a child expected to be placed with them for adoption on or after this date. [full XpertHR subscription required]

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Legal timetable

Forthcoming law

Statutory rates

Quick reference

This week on the XpertHR/IRS blog

The prospects for graduate recruitment during the coming academic year are discussed in several recent postings. Why it doesn’t pay to be a graduate in 2008 highlights research that reveals a growing number of graduates are being recruited to low-level jobs.

Three linked postings pave the way for our survey of graduate recruitment. The first examines the numbers of new graduates since 1994, while the second looks at the most effective candidate-attraction techniques as revealed by recruiters over the past nine years. The third instalment covers graduate starting salaries from 1992 onwards.

The impact of the worsening economic downturn on pay levels continues to attract our attention:

• muted pay growth is good for some;
• can retail pay hold up?; and
• what will pay settlements look like in 2009?

Our law team are keeping up to date, too, with recent posts on:

• colour-blind applicant’s sex discrimination claim proceeds;
• this month’s most popular FAQs; and
• fake sick notes are being sold on the internet.

Taking part in our IRS surveys provides a fast, free and easy way to benchmark your HR policies and practices against competitors and other employers. In return, you’ll receive a complimentary copy of the relevant survey’s findings. We are currently researching:

• graduate recruitment;
• HR roles and responsibilities;
• the impact of age discrimination legislation on recruitment and retention;
• 2008 pay awards; and
• private sector pay prospects for 2008/09.

Today's tip: using the XpertHR quick reference section

Want to check the time limit for responding to a discrimination questionnaire, the qualifying periods for employment rights or the most recent tribunal figures? The XpertHR quick reference section pulls together in one place these and many other key employment law facts.

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