Improving Employees Wellbeing at Work
Employee wellbeing is essential to ensure employees are happy in their job. It is the way employees’ duties, expectations, stress levels and working environments affect their overall health and happiness.
Employee wellbeing involves several categories of wellness, such as:
- Physical Health
- Emotional Health
- Psychological Well Being
- Social Relationships
- Financial Stability
To check how your employees feel with the wellbeing in the workplace, employers should send out a survey to find out information on how employees currently feel as well as what they think can be done to improve wellbeing.
Some ways in with employers can improve wellbeing is by:
- Social club: companies can set up socials clubs where money is deducted from employees pay check and this goes towards activities that the club run on a regular basis such as a bowling night, crazy golf etc.
- Walking meetings: if there are meetings ran, allow employees to pop in the headphones and walk and by the time the meeting is over there have got their steps in and some fresh air.
- Have an intranet: an intranet is a great place to have free resources or information for employees that can improve their wellbeing. On the intranet you can include information on services your company provides such as EAP, healthcare etc. You can include link to risk assessments on Type 2 Diabetes, lung cancer etc as well as apps for mindfulness such as Headspace or Moodlight.
- Giving back to employees: it is important for employees to be recognised for the wonderful work they do. Employees should consider some benefits for this work such as allowing employees to finish early one day.
Employees wellbeing initiatives are something that need to be done all year round in order to keep your employees wellbeing at a high.
For more information on wellbeing check the blog below:
The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill
The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022 (“the Bill”) aims to increase the participation of women in the workplace and the take-up of family-related leave and flexible working arrangements by all. The Directive aims to encourage a more equal sharing of family related leave between men and women.
Right to request flexible working
The General Scheme proposes the introduction of a right for employees with children up to the age of 12 (or 16 if the child has a disability or long-term illness), and employees with caring responsibilities, to request flexible working arrangements for a set period of time for caring purposes. The General Scheme goes further than the EU Work-life Balance Directive (the Directive) and will apply to children up to 12 years old (or 16 as outlined above). The EU Directive provides this right for parents with children up to 8 years old.
Under the current draft, the employee requesting flexible working arrangements needs to have six months’ service with the employer before they can make a request and must make the request at least six weeks before the arrangement is intended to start. Employers must consider the request and will have four weeks to respond. They can either grant, postpone or refuse the flexible working arrangement and will be required to provide reasons for any refusal or postponement. In certain cases, the time period to respond can be extended by a further eight weeks.
Requests can be postponed for six months where an employer is satisfied that the commencement of the arrangement would have a substantial adverse effect on the operation of the business because of:
- seasonal variations in the volume of work
- the unavailability of someone to carry out the employee’s duties
- the nature of their duties
- the number of other employees availing of flexible working arrangements
- any other relevant matter
Flexible working arrangements will need to be documented in an agreement.
At the end of the flexible working arrangement, the employee is entitled to return to their original working arrangements, hours or patterns (employees are also entitled to request an early return to their original working arrangements).
Leave for medical care purposes
The General Scheme proposes the introduction of five days’ unpaid leave, per year, per employee, where, for serious medical reasons, the employee is required to provide personal care or support to family members or loved ones such as a child, spouse, cohabitant, parent and sibling. This leave cannot be taken in periods of less than one day and the employer may request evidence of the employee’s relationship with the person needing medical care, the nature of the medical care required and medical certification of the serious medical issue. This right is in addition to existing entitlements under the Carer’s Leave Act 2001 and force majeure leave.
Extension of the period during which time can be taken out from work to breastfeed
The General Scheme proposes an extension of the period from 26 weeks to 104 weeks following the birth of a child during which employees have an entitlement to paid time off from work or a reduction of working hours for breastfeeding purposes.
The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill was signed into law on the 4th April 2023. More information on the Bill can be found here.
Lay offs: What you need to know
As unpredictability in the global economy continues, company layoffs remain in the news. While layoffs may be necessary and appropriate, in many cases they cause more damage than benefit. Some leaders taken actions to reduce risks to company performance, reputation and long-term viability. What can we learn from these actions?
1. Be clear in the reason for layoffs
When it comes to lay-offs, some are strategic and forward-looking with higher valuations and others are focused solely on cost cutting. Examples of strategic reasons for lay-off include exiting less profitable sectors, products or markets due to changing customer habits. Businesses who are transparent regarding the reasons for layoffs see an increase in investor, customer and employee trust and engagement.
2. Use layoffs as a last resort
Most organisations that conduct layoffs do not see improved profitability, especially those that are highly reliant on innovation and growth. Leaders often underestimate the negative impact of layoffs on productivity, employee engagement, retention and brand reputation.
Effective leaders know that they should pursue all possible alternatives before embarking on layoffs, including temporary furloughs, redesigning jobs and work models, moving some workers to contractor status and offering more flexible benefits to create cost and operational flexibility.
3. Act fairly
Layoffs historically have had a negative impact on women and underrepresented employees. Recent news stories show the effect of layoffs among employees on maternity and health leave, as well as those in vulnerable positions with visas.
Reasons cited as acceptable for determining who is laid off include factors such as employee performance, tenure, experience and skill set. Effective leaders know that evaluating performance, skills and other factors is difficult and time-consuming, and that maintaining ongoing performance evaluation and review processes can position companies well for both ongoing and unanticipated events.
4. Know the people being laid off
Great leaders spend the time and thought required to understand not only who they are laying off but also why and the potential impact. They conduct workforce planning exercises using data science to understand employee performance, skills, networks and collaboration patterns to safeguard against losing key talent and creating unintended consequences.
5. Take responsibility and show appreciation
Leaders must ensure they take responsibility for layoffs and show appreciation for those impacted. They demonstrate their empathy and compassion through all communications. They understand their audience, allow opportunity for employees to process the information and share their feelings, and provide support and resources.
While layoffs are difficult for all involved, effective leaders handle them with care to avoid unravelling company purpose, culture and performance.
New Legislation Enacted and Proposed Bills or Initiatives
Quarter 4 of 2022 brought many proposed bills, initiative and legislations into place. These are outlined below.
The Payment of Wages (Amendment) (Tips and Gratuities) Act 2022
New Legislation Enacted
On December 1, 2022, the Payment of Wages (Amendment) (Tips and Gratuities) Act 2022 (the Act) came into effect. The Act introduced new requirements for employers regarding the distribution of electronic tips and gratuities, including the requirement to provide relevant employees with a policy on electronic tips and gratuities within five days of commencing employment. The Act applies to a number of sectors including tourism, hospitality, beauty and hair services, gaming, bookmakers, and transport services such as those provided by taxi or minibus.
Government Publishes Revised Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022
Proposed Bill or Initiative
In November 2022, the Government announced the integration of the Right to Request Remote Working into the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022. The Bill is expected to be passed into law in the coming months.
As part of key changes proposed in the Bill, employees who have six months’ continuous service with their employer will have a legal right to request to work remotely. Employers will be required to either approve or deny the request within four weeks of receipt or eight weeks in certain circumstances. Employers are required to consider both parties’ needs and the guidance that will be set out in a Code of Practice.
Where an application is refused, an employer must inform the employee of the grounds for refusal in writing. Further, those with certain caring responsibilities will have a legal right to request flexible working arrangements. Additionally, the bill provides for paid domestic violence leave of up to five days’ paid leave in any period of 12 consecutive months.
Government Publishes Employment Permits Bill 2022
Proposed Bill or Initiative
In October 2022, the Government published the Employment Permits Bill 2022, which among other provisions proposes:
(i) The introduction of a new seasonal employment permit to cater for short term and recurrent employment situations in appropriate sectors;
(ii) Modernization of the labour market needs test requirement;
(iii) Additional conditions for the grant of an employment permit - such as training or accommodation support for migrant workers in some circumstances or making innovation or upskilling a condition of grant - where this may decrease future reliance on economic migration.
Gender Pay Gap Reporting – December Deadline
Upcoming Deadline for Legal Compliance
Employers with 250 or more employees on the June 2022 snapshot date were required to publish their gender pay gap reports over the course of December 2022, based on the June "snapshot" date they selected. In compiling their first report in-scope employers were required to publish information about the following:
• The mean and median gap in hourly pay between male and female employees
• The mean and median gap in hourly pay of part-time male and female employees
• The mean and median gap in hourly pay between male and female employees on temporary contracts
• The mean and median gap in bonus pay between male and female employees
• The percentage of male and female employees who received bonus pay;
• The percentage of male and female employees who received benefits in kind
• The percentage of male and female employees in each quartile pay band
Critically, such employers were also required to publish reasons for any differences and measures being taken (or proposed to be taken) to eliminate or reduce those differences.
While the reporting obligation initially only applied to organizations with 250 or more employees, this will reduce to 150 or more employees after two years, and 50 or more employee after three years.
Relevant Articles
Performance Improvement Plans: 3 top tips
Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) are an increasingly common tool utilised by employers to manage cases of poor work performance. A PIP is not a legal requirement and there is no legal definition of same. A PIP can be understood to be a documented plan which outlines the improvements in performance required from an individual employee and the timeline for achieving these improvements.
Below are three top tips for employers when placing employees on a PIP.
1. Clarity on objectives
The objective of a PIP process is to make the employee aware of the concerns you have regarding their performance and give them a set timeframe in which to improve. It is important that employees are fully aware of the process involved and clear on what they are expected to achieve according to the PIP. When implementing any type of PIP, the goals and targets set should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Bound).
2. Time to improve
A PIP of reasonable duration should ensure that the employer meets this requirement. This time may also allow the parties the opportunity to explore alternatives to formal disciplinary action such as transfer or demotion where it is apparent that the employee’s skillset is not appropriate to the role.
In deciding on the appropriate timeframe between performance reviews the business should consider the complexity of the role and if the employee will have had ample opportunity to meet the goals as per the PIP. It would also be advised that this timeframe should be agreed with the employee from the outset and that they consider it fair and reasonable based on their role.
3. Support and training
It is important to remember that PIPs only work where the appropriate surrounding structures are in place. These include a proper induction and *ongoing* training, clear role descriptions and clear documented targets/goals, managers who are willing to tackle underperformance and a means of objectively measuring performance. All supports provided should be documented by the employer.
Following the above steps will greatly assist an employer in showing that the performance management process conducted by the employer was procedurally fair and that any subsequent terminations on the basis of competency were justified in the circumstances. It is important to note PIPs are not a replacement for formal disciplinary action. Not all employees will show the necessary improvements following the PIP process, if this is the case, employers will need to initiate the Company disciplinary procedure. Employers must manage this process in line with the Company’s disciplinary policy, whilst adhering with S.I. No. 146/2000 - Code of Practice on Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures.
The Importance of Social Media Policies in the Workplace
A recent headline in the UK news linked to social media polices, revolved around Gary Lineker where his politicised tweet criticised the UK Government's new immigration policy. The tweet saw the BBC Match of the Day presenter removed from his presenting duties pending an investigation as to whether he had broken the BBC's *'Guidelines on Impartiality'* and *'Guidance on Individual Use of Social Media'*. The BBC subsequently reinstated Mr Lineker following the investigation. The difficult position the BBC found itself in is a timely reminder that employers should have effective social media policies in place to deal with such incidents.
What can we learn from BBC’s approach?
Reputational risk & disproportionate response
The BBC could not ignore the public backlash which followed Mr Lineker's removal and its impact on the organisation's wider reputation. It was widely felt that the decision to remove him was disproportionate to the purported breach of the BBC's policies.
Social media provides a place where public backlash can gain momentum and damage an organisation's reputation. This reputational damage could come from the employee or contractor's comments or, as we have seen in this instance, from the organisation's handling of subsequent disciplinary action.
Employers must have comprehensive policies to mitigate the risk that public remarks could adversely affect their reputation. Objective and fair investigation and disciplinary procedures must be in place where an employer feels an employee or contractor has breached these policies, and should a sanction be applied, it must be proportionate to the breach committed.
Solidarity boycott
Mr Lineker's colleagues announced a boycott of their duties in solidarity with Mr Lineker. This boycott forced the BBC to rethink its decision as it heavily impacted scheduled programming.
The BBC has since announced an independent review of its guidelines.
Key takeaways
The Gary Lineker story focuses on the difficulties that can arise for organisations in the social media age and shows us that the line between professional and private life is not always clear. It is a wake-up call for individuals to be wary of what they post online and for organisations to have clear social media policies in place so appropriate action can be taken where an individual does cross that line.
In summary, a social media policy should:
- Establish clear guidelines and standards on the accepted use of social media in the workplace.
- Contain clear information about disciplinary procedures for breaches and the potential consequences for such breaches.
- Warn individuals that employers may take disciplinary action with posts on their personal social media accounts where a connection can be drawn to their workplace.
Updates to Probationary Periods
The European Union (Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions) Regulations 2022 came into force in Ireland on 16 December 2022.
These regulations introduce significant changes to the law on contracts of employment and working conditions for employees, but the new rules in relation to probationary periods in contracts of employment are of particular importance.
New Rules on Probationary Periods
In the private sector, the probationary periods of employees should not exceed 6 months. ‘In the interest of the employee’, the maximum duration for a public servant's probationary period is now 12 months. There is no further guidance on what is envisioned as being in the interest of the employee.
An employee may avail of certain categories of protected leave during the probationary period (maternity, adoptive, carer’s, paternity, parental, parent’s or sick leave). If this arises, the probationary period shall be extended by the employer for the duration of the employee’s absence.
These Regulations also amend the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003 to require that probationary periods in fixed-term contracts be proportionate to their duration and nature. There must be no probationary period for contracts that are renewed or extended (for the same work).
If an employee was subject to a probationary period which exceeded 6 months on the date the Regulations came into force (16 December 2022), and if at least 6 months of probation has been completed by the employee, then the probationary period shall expire on the earlier of:
(i) the date the probationary period was due to expire
(ii) 01 February 2023.
We therefore recommend that employers review their current contracts of employment to check if any employees have contracts with probationary periods for longer than 6 months. This includes circumstances where any initial probationary period has been extended, as these periods should have expired on 1 February 2023 or earlier.
Probationary periods are a very useful tool for both employers and employees to trial the working relationship and ensure that the parties are a good fit and work well together. A well drafted contract will normally provide for a short notice period during the probationary period (customarily one week).
Employees will not usually have the benefit of the Unfair Dismissals Acts until they have achieved 12 months’ continuous service. Termination of an employee during the probationary period, and in accordance with the contract, can be a lower risk and efficient way to terminate an underperforming employee.
A probationary period does not, however, give an employer automatic authority to terminate employees and if allegations of misconduct, protected disclosures or discrimination, etc., occur legal advice should be sought.
Other 2023 Developments
There are multiple proposals for reform in the pipeline, which employers should keep an eye out for and review current practices and policies to ensure they comply with the upcoming changes. Further information on expected developments is below:
Flexible and remote work
Draft legislation is in place to allow eligible employees with children up to the age of 12 (or 16 if the child has a disability or long-term illness) and employees with caring responsibilities to request flexible working arrangements for a set period of time for caring purposes.
Employers will need to carefully consider and deal with these requests. While remote working will not be feasible for all employees, employers will still have to consider their own needs and the needs of their employees when considering a request. This looks like it won’t be in force until Summer 2023.
Steps towards a potential four-day working week are gaining momentum with some employers trialling the effectiveness of, or implementing, a four-day week for their organisations. While this may not be relevant to a lot of categories of staff, it is a trend employers should keep an eye on.
Family rights
Draft legislation is in place to allow a better work-life balance for parents and carers. The proposals include:
- five days' unpaid leave for medical care purposes
- an extension of the period during which time can be taken out from work to breastfeed
- the extension of maternity leave entitlements to transgender men
- 10 days' paid leave for victims of domestic violence
Employers should review existing processes with a view to preparing for and ultimately implementing these changes.
An additional proposal is to allow the bereaved parent of a child who has died to take bereavement leave. In relation to miscarriage, while paid maternity and paternity leave upon stillbirth or miscarriage is currently only available after the 24th week of pregnancy, there are proposals to make provision for paid leave before the 24th week. The proposals also provide for paid leave for the purposes of availing of reproductive healthcare such as in-vitro fertilisation.
Employment permits
Draft legislation is in place to streamline, improve and modernise the employment permit system. The proposals include a new type of employment permit for seasonal workers, allowing subcontractors to make use of the employment permit system, and additional eligibility conditions for certain employment permits to be specified.
Wage changes
Several pieces of legislation are being debated around minimum wages for interns and young people. A national "living" wage (the wage people need to take part in Irish society) is also to be introduced over a four-year period, to be in place by 2026, when it will replace the national minimum wage. The first step towards reaching the living wage is the 2023 increase to the national minimum wage. A number of large employers in Ireland have already announced increased wages for their employees in anticipation of the proposed living wage.
Other trends and policy areas to watch
Many employers may be considering embarking on redundancy or restructuring programmes during 2023. However, alongside the economic downturn and the continuing cost-of-living crisis, there is an ongoing skills shortage and battle to attract good people. It is therefore expected that there will be ongoing efforts to do the right thing and create the right culture through:
- menopause policies
- fertility policies
- focus on managing mental health
- embrace flexible and remote working including remote working from overseas locations
Celebrating Women in Tech with Eleanor Vaughey
At Bright we celebrate all our employees achievements and progress in the Tech industry everyday and with International Women's Day last week we wanted to shed a light on some of our amazing women at Bright but we didn't want to just do it for one day, as all our employees deserve to feel the spotlight every day of the week. So this week we are shining a light on Eleanor Vaughey who works in our Marketing department. Eleanor sat down with us to talk about who inspires her in her career and why diversity in the workplace is important.
Question: Is there anyone that inspires you in your career?
Eleanor: All of the bosses I’ve had throughout my career have been women. There are a lot of women in my life who are in leadership roles too – teachers, doctors, managers. I’m very fortunate to have a lot of inspirational women in my life.
Question: Why do you think diversity in the workplace is so important?
Eleanor: I think it’s important for different ideas and viewpoints. It enriches the workplace and provides opportunities for broader and deeper perspectives everything – from bigger picture strategies to quick weekly brainstorms.
Question: What is the most important piece of advice you have been given?
Eleanor: That we can do anything, once we have the resources and tools available to us. And if we don’t know how to do something, it’s just because we haven’t had the opportunity to discover and access those resources yet.
Question: On International Women’s Day, what is the most important message you want to send out to young women thinking about their careers?
Eleanor: Don’t be scared to try out a role because you think you’re not smart enough or capable. Nobody starts out as an expert, ever. Go all in and be brave. And if it doesn’t work out, at least you tried it out and are wiser from it, rather than never trying at all.
There's much to celebrate about women's achievements. Gains are made for women worldwide, but there's more to do. Collectively, we can all challenge gender stereotypes, call out discrimination & draw attention to bias. Let's #EmbraceEquity to create places & spaces where women thrive.
Celebrating Women in Tech with Neeraja Sankar
At Bright we celebrate all our employees achievements and progress in the Tech industry everyday, but with International Women's Day being upon us we wanted to shed a light on some of our amazing women by gathering a few of our Bright women and hearing what International Women's day means to them, who the inspiring women in their lives are, an important piece of advice they have been given and much more. We recently interviewed Neeraja Sankar who has given us her thoughts on IWD.
Question: Why do you think diversity in the workplace is so important?
Neeraja: Although this is a IWD piece, I think diversity, beyond gender diversity, can be incredibly beneficial for an organization. A diverse workforce means our people can bring to the table varied opinions, thoughts, and viewpoints because of their different backgrounds – the more varied our perspectives, the more innovative and agile we can be as a company. For a company like Bright that is constantly evolving, and thinking of better ways to meet our customers’ needs, this diversity in viewpoints is invaluable and in turn, leads to increased employee engagement and morale.
Question: What is your proudest achievement whilst working here?
Neeraja: Our HR team once shared a candidate was drawn to interviewing for Bright, specifically because our leadership team had a good gender balance (we’re working toward making this even more balanced!) – whilst this is not a direct achievement of mine, I felt incredibly proud that I am part of a leadership team that is aspirational for people.
Question: What advice would you give to the next generation of female leaders?
Neeraja: Believe in yourself and your potential but balance that with being humble and self-aware
Have a strong sense of purpose, and let it be the foundation for what kind of leader you want to be
As a leader, you often have to ask yourself “who can I work on this with?” - surround yourself with people who have similar principles to yours, and inspire confidence through your actions and vision
Seek out a mentor – having a mentor can do beneficial with building your confidence and opening doors to new opportunities
Question: What is the most important piece of advice you have been given?
Neeraja: This is not direct advice that was given to me but I learnt a lot when from a leader I worked with, who was excellent at bringing people along in her journey. As mentioned above, leadership a lot of the time is working with others, and this particular leader I worked with was always looking for opportunities to build and lift her team up. She was good at recognizing others’ strengths, and empowered and equipped them to contribute to their full potential. This worked wonders for her, her team and the organization she worked for. This principle of elevating people I work with and bringing them along in my personal journey as a leader underpins my approach to work and leadership.
There's much to celebrate about women's achievements. Gains are made for women worldwide, but there's more to do. Collectively, we can all challenge gender stereotypes, call out discrimination & draw attention to bias. Let's #EmbraceEquity to create places & spaces where women thrive.
