HR Newsletter 12.01.10

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HR news items at - 12th January 2010

Topical Items

Well the festive season is over and the office trimmings look a bit depressing so, while we are in the mood, let’s look at a depressing topic – job security. This is a worry to many people at present so it requires positive thought and action. If the number of employees needs to be reduced during this new year, it is better surely that it be done without compulsory redundancies.

Action:  Almost certainly some people will leave during the year so do all you can to avoid replacing them. But rather than impose a recruitment ban that will cause resentment, get all members of the workgroup together to discuss how the whole workload can be handled by the people who are left. This may be by everyone taking on a bit more work, by reorganising work, or by identifying tasks that really can be ditched or simplified. Consider also, if redundancy were staring us in the face, what alternatives might be available. Could we not introduce some of them now while we have a bit more time?

If everyone, management to shop or office floor, engages with this exercise, our organisations will become more efficient and job security greatly improved.

References

A great deal of nonsense is talked about references. “You cannot give a bad one”, “They are not worth the paper they are written on” and “They are a waste of time” are three commonly expressed but totally false comments. They are indeed a waste of the writer’s time if they are given merely a glance by the recipient, they are useless if they do not give meaningful information, and as to not giving a bad one, this depends on what is meant by bad. A bad reference is one that is untrue, misleading or incomplete. One that states truthfully that the subject is a poor worker is in fact a good reference.

There is no general obligation to give a reference on a previous or current employee though some sectors such as finance do insist on them. Also, if a contract of employment stipulates that a reference will be provided when an employee leaves, or if it is customary to do so, then failure to provide one could result in a claim for breach of contract. However, even in the absence of any such obligation, your failure to provide a reference could jeopardise the employment prospects of an employee and of course would make it difficult for you to obtain references from other employers.

The important criterion to bear in mind when providing a reference is that it must not mislead the recipient either by what you put in or what you leave out. If you include adversely critical comments that you cannot substantiate, the subject could sue, and conversely, if you give a glowing report on a poor worker, his or her new employer could sue you for the damage consequently caused. You must therefore think carefully about the person who is the subject. Do you have enough information about him or her? If not, search the files and, as appropriate, consult other people who can give information and objective comments. Then consider first whether you are authorised to supply a reference. Some organisations insist that only, say, the HR Manager or Company Secretary issues references, albeit using information supplied by line managers. Second, consider whether the person requesting the reference appears to be an appropriate person and, if you have any doubt, contact a senior executive of his or her organisation.

When you come to write the reference, check all your facts. If you are not able to do so, then make that clear. You are entitled to express opinions about the employee but must make clear that they are just that. As an example of those points, “Mr Dogsbody had five days of sickness absence during the year. Unfortunately we no longer have his timekeeping record but recall him being a good timekeeper. In our opinion he was a reliable and hard-working member of his team.” Avoid any malicious or indeed humorous comments. “You will be lucky to have Mr Dogsbody work for you” may go down well at the Christmas party, but it has no place in a reference and in any case the reader will have stopped laughing after the tenth time he heard it some years ago. Finally read what you have written and check that the reference is balanced, that is to say it covers both the good and not-so-good aspects of the employee. If you feel for whatever reason that you do not wish to mention the poorer aspects of the individual, your only option is to refuse to give a reference and furthermore refuse to make any comment should you be pushed to do so. Were you to respond to a subsequent phone enquiry by saying “the less said about that man, the better”, you would have given a damning reference and, should you not be able to substantiate that comment, you could find yourself and your employer sued for defamation. Head the letter “Private and Confidential” in order to indicate to the recipient that it should be afforded limited circulation, though the statement carries little weight in law.

The right of the employee to see the reference at various stages is not absolutely clear, therefore the best advice is to show it to him or her before you send it, and state in the reference that you have done so. This gives the person opportunity to challenge anything that you have written and in particular to correct any factual errors. And of course it demonstrates your and the organisation’s honesty.

Often employers telephone for references because, they probably think, this will be much easier and quicker for both parties. There is nothing intrinsically wrong about this practice, but beware. A written reference will have been thought through whereas a telephoned request may be answered without careful consideration. The telephoned request is not, as may be suggested, more confidential than a written one since the person receiving the information will no doubt be writing it down, may record things that you did not actually say but the listener assumed, and may misread your tone of voice. Therefore tell the caller that you will phone back, call his or her main switchboard to determine that you are dealing with an employing organisation, and that he or she is a responsible executive, then write out your reference just as if you were going to post it. When you call back, read out exactly what you have put and make a careful note of any questions put to you together with your detailed reply.

By following these guidelines you will find that writing references need not take up much time, but will help greatly both the subject and the potential employer.

How to write a report

A good, well written report benefits both the reader and the writer. The reader is made aware easily of something that he or she needs to know while the writer is viewed as someone who is intelligent and well informed. Unfortunately these latter qualities can seem absent when staring at a blank sheet of paper or word-processor screen, especially when faced with a deadline for submission. However the task is not difficult if you know or can find the information required and then set about the job in a structured manner.

Your first action is to determine who will read your report and what exactly they want. If you are in any doubt about his, find out right away. Write the subject in large letters on a piece of card, and stand it on your desk or computer terminal and refer to it throughout the exercise to bring a clear focus to your thoughts and efforts. Then make a note of what you know and what you need to find out about the topic. This may depend upon whether you are reporting on something you know, such as how a complaint was dealt with or how you propose to deal with, say, a quality issue. Decide whether you need to do some research or work before putting pen to paper.

Avoid the temptation to start writing just because you have thought of something to say. A report needs structure if it is to be clear and meaningful, therefore take a notebook, write the topic at the top of the first blank page, then list the main areas that you feel you need to cover. Let us say, for example, that you have been asked to write a report about why, despite a new payroll system, employees’ tax deductions have frequently been wrong. The heading might be, say, “Tax problems”. Areas that you may need to comment on might be “Introduction of scheme, Trial run, Analysis of problems, Range of solutions, System supplier’s obligations, My selected solution, Cost of solution, Progress report on solution”. Put each of these sub-headings at the top of its own page. Then settle down, focus on each sub-heading, and record every item of thought that comes into your head. Write just one or two words per thought and do not attempt to compile a complete sentence or phrase. Keep thinking and keep writing. Do not consider or evaluate these points because that comes later. Just empty your mind of everything that you think may be relevant under the heading.

Now sit back and examine each page. Think about each point you have noted, consider whether it is indeed relevant and, if so, expand upon it, but again not by trying to form good sentences. Begin to group items that seem to belong together and finally number each group such that they proceed in a logical sequence of ideas. When that is done, highlight any items that require further research or work and get that done. When you have finished each page, consider whether some pages should be amalgamated because they really are aspects of the same issue, or conversely determine whether some are so weighty that they require splitting. You may feel it necessary to re-order the pages by, in the above example, putting “Supplier’s obligations” before rather than after “Range of solutions”. Throughout this whole exercise of brainstorming do not try to keep your notes neat; just get on with writing ideas down, cross them out, amend them, draw lines that connect them with other ideas and put up with the mess. It will after all reflect the jumble of information inside your brain that regularly you have to untangle in order to make sense of something.

You now have to convert your basic material into readable script, so start writing, though concentrating more on getting a good and logical flow of ideas than on producing grammatically correct English. If you are satisfied that your subheadings are appropriate and in the right order, then as you write each one, make sure that each point you make follows on logically and easily from the previous one. The danger here is that you think too much about grammar to the exclusion of a logical progression, but this is just a first draft so concentrate on getting the key words and phrases onto paper or screen and making sure that they flow well. When you have done this, check your notes to make sure that you have not omitted anything. Now it is time to turn your draft into something like its final version.

Use short words and short sentences. Avoid jargon unless you are absolutely sure that anyone who is likely to read the report uses it as part of their everyday speech. If you find yourself using the odd acronym, don’t – write the words in full. On the other hand if you use the same acronym several times in your report, explain it the first time, for example “When calculating PAYE (pay-as-you-earn income tax) we have to ….” Long words and complex sentences will confuse and certainly not impress readers. Some of Churchill’s speeches are memorable masterpieces of literature, but they consist largely of short words and sentences. Finally look to the spelling and layout of your report. If you have any doubts about either, try bribing a senior secretary to type it for you.

A good report makes life easier for its readers. And it can do no harm to your career prospects.

Questions and Answers

Garden leave

What is garden leave? How does it differ from pay-in-lieu?

Reply

A payment in lieu of notice is given when the employee is not required to serve his or her notice, but leaves right away or with shortened notice. Garden leave is an arrangement whereby the employee serves notice during which time salary and other benefits are paid, but he or she is told not to come to work. Although the employee is absent from the workplace, the contract of employment remains in force, therefore the employee is prevented from going to work for anyone else. This device is often used when employees give notice in order to work for a competitor. They are immediately removed from areas where useful knowledge may be gleaned but may not join the competitor until the end of the due notice period.

Written notice

Must notice be given in writing?

Reply

There is no requirement in law for notice to be given in writing but the contract of employment may demand it. As it is better for notice given by either party to be in writing so as to avoid any misunderstanding about intent or date of leaving, it is better for the contract to state that notice must be given in writing.

Puzzle

Last month you were left with this little problem:

I have two thin candles, each made carefully such that it burns for exactly one hour. I wish to time 45 minutes. How can I do it with these candles?

And the answer? – Light candle A at one end and at the same time light candle B at both ends. Candle B will burn out after 30 minutes, at which time there will be 30 minutes left of candle A. Light the other end of candle A which will burn out after a further 15 minutes. This will be 45 minutes after you began the exercise.

Now something for this month:

What is the longest word in the English language that contains only one vowel?
Even if you do not get the right answer, see which of your colleagues can get the longest word. And if you want to be sure of winning, wait until next month when we will give you the answer.

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The Learn Centre wishes to make clear that they are in business as providers of management training and consultancy services and not as lawyers and that therefore any legal issues should be referred to an appropriate lawyer.