HR Planner’s Post

For many businesses the end of the year and the start of the holiday season is a busy time. Managing your human capital during the holidays often brings extra stress and requires proactivity. These are some of the most common issues we see this time of year plaguing HR departments and people managers: ⏰ Managing Time-Off Requests 📖 Understanding Leave Policies 🔥 Preventing Burnout 🌍 Inclusive Holiday Messaging 🧠 Balancing Mental Health Needs 🔄 Flexible Work Schedules Sound like a familiar pain point? Our HR Consulting Services can help you address these challenges with proven strategies and the right paperwork. Together we can create a more harmonious and stress-free holiday season for your employees. Ask us how we can help 👉 https://bit.ly/3znChkx #holidayseason #humanresources #hrconsulting

Last week I read a fascinating article from HRnews, titled "You’re stressing me out the door". In the article it stated that 78% of workers would quit due to high stress. This shows how big of a problem stress can be in the workplace! To avoid getting stressed to the point that you consider quitting, I would recommend trying to communicate with management to see how the team could work better where everyone can feel calmer. Solutions can be found if the team is aware that they need to be tackled! https://lnkd.in/gFH5j_r5 #hr #workplace #hrprofessional

The latest CIPD report indicates that stress was the main contributor to staff absences as it hit a high this year! The last few years have proved to us that organisations that have a culture of well-being and care will see lower attrition and sick rates. The Investors in People Wellbeing framework addresses issues such as the working environment, work-life balance, healthy living, and good communication, all of which are key drivers for employee motivation. #workplacewellbeing #employeeengagement #mentalhealth #selfcare https://lnkd.in/eu7r3274

Great to have the opportunity to talk to employers about the management of mental health in the workplace at this event this morning at the The Royal Scots Club along with Matthew Ramsey CMIOSH,IFE from Armour Risk Consulting Ltd. and Dr Rebecca Williams. Takeaways for employers:- Do: 💡 Develop a Clear Absence Policy: Clearly outline the company's policies regarding sick leave, paid time off, unpaid leave, and other forms of absence. Ensure employees are aware of these policies. 💡 Communicate Expectations: Clearly communicate expectations regarding reporting absences, including the procedure for notifying line managers or HR and any required documentation. 💡 Implement Return-to-Work Interviews: Conduct return-to-work interviews to discuss the reasons for the absence, offer support, and identify any potential adjustments needed to prevent future absences. 💡 Provide Training to Managers: Train managers on absence management policies, how to handle absence-related discussions sensitively, and identify potential signs of abuse or fraudulent claims. 💡 Promote Employee Health and Well-being: Encourage a healthy work-life balance, promote a positive work environment, and offer wellness programs to support employees' physical and mental well-being. Don’t: 🚫 Ignore Absences: Avoid ignoring or overlooking employee absences, as this can lead to productivity issues and may create a culture of absenteeism. 🚫 Assume: Don't assume the reasons for an absence without proper communication and verification. Always have a conversation with the employee to understand the situation. 🚫 Penalize Legitimate Absences: Avoid penalizing employees for legitimate sick leave or approved time off. It's important to show understanding and empathy for genuine reasons. 🚫 Violate Employment Legislation: Ensure that absence management policies and practices comply with relevant employment legislation, including the Equality Act 2010 and other related legislation.   If you need any support with absence management or any HR-related topic, please contact the Albany HR team at: letstalk@albanyhr.com, or call 0131 364 4186.

Did you know that sickness levels are up 35% from pre-pandemic times? 📈 Over the last year, I've witnessed firsthand the challenges organisations face in handling this – from managers precious time being taken up supporting absence management to the financial implications of the organisation requiring staff coverage and with rising costs. So, what can people managers do to tackle this? Here are some key strategies: 1️⃣ Create an effective sickness policy. Tailor it to your organisation, considering factors like long-term absence management and the choice between SSP and occupational sick pay. 2️⃣ Invest in training your managers. Equip your managers with the skills for effective absence management, including return-to-work interviews, welfare meetings, and handling reasonable adjustments. 3️⃣ Explore flexible work arrangements, such as allowing employees to work from home when possible. 4️⃣ Take note of medications employees are taking and their potential impact on work. Health and safety within the workplace should be prioritised as it may not be safe for an employee to come back to work considering the reason/s for their absence. 5️⃣ Most importantly, happy employees are less likely to take time off. Create a positive workplace culture to reduce absenteeism. Navigating sickness levels is a challenge, but with proactive strategies, we can create healthier and more productive work environments. What strategies have worked for you? ❤️ Liked this post?  👀 Want to see more? Hit the + or 🔔 on my profile 🤝 Looking for HR support? I got you! Send me a DM. #HRconsultancy #humanresources #absenteeism

#AskReboxHR What do I do if my employee has holiday refused, but they take the time off anyway? It's called pre-planned unauthorised absence, and yes, you can do something about it! We've had many calls with frustrated managers and business owners who have an employee call in sick, yet there they are on Snapchat, Facebook and TikTok living their best lives at a concert, at the pub, or having a day trip to the seaside? And yes, many had their managers as friends on those platforms... 🤦♀️ The cheek! Why were they not honest in the first place? Can you trust them again? It leaves managers very sinical and some are even nervous about hiring people and being left understaffed after having negative experiences with employees. It’s a really annoying situation, and it’s one that managers and business owners need to handle correctly. First of all, we don't go in all guns blazing! It’s easy to misconstrue a situation and, as we all know, social media doesn’t always give us an accurate representation of what’s really going on. Take a deep breath and the first step is to conduct a proper investigation into the incident. Consider what type of sick leave your employee is on. If it’s long term, going out may be an active part of their recovery - in the case of depression, for example, it’s beneficial for an employee to be out with friends. If it’s just an odd day or two, consider that although they’re supposed to be ill, they’re not under house arrest. Things still need to be done, like collecting children from school or going to the shop. When we work with clients, we always look at the sickness levels and absence reporting on the Breathe system, this way we can quickly identify absence pattern and trends, it even has a burnout indicator so employee leave is taken at regular intervals. If you still think the action was unacceptable, begin your investigation, starting with a return-to-work interview. Ask your employee outright about your suspicions and give them the opportunity to explain themselves. It will be up to you to decide whether a disciplinary is your next move, but I would advise taking professional advice before acting. Don't forget the bank holidays are coming up, this always leads to absence increases, especially when the sun is out! If you need to get o top of absence issues in your business, contact Natalie or Faye on 01327 640070 or email hello@reboxhr.co.uk. #hr #employeeabsence #hrconsultant #business #absencemanagement

It’s no secret that anxiety and depression worsened among employees during the pandemic. What is surprising — considering what we know today about the power of a holistic approach to employee wellbeing — is that so many employers continue to lean heavily on traditional time off as the solution to employee stress and burnout. However, this isn't enough. ➡️ Learn more: https://bit.ly/3Cjwv2R #Gympass #Wellbeing #Stress #Burnout #NOM035 #NOM037 #LFT

Unhappy employees take almost two working weeks’ more sickness absence on average per year compared to their happy counterparts, according to a recent survey by Unum UK. Key findings suggest: 👎 Just 13% of unhappy staff think they are very productive at work — three times lower than their happy peers. 🕑 The average unhappy, unproductive worker loses nine hours of productive time per week — more than a typical day’s work. 🌈 80% of workers said that they are more productive when they are healthy and happy. source: https://hubs.ly/Q02bNm8J0

Anita agrees. When we're feeling tired, it can be easy to want to give up and quit. 🤯 That's why managing #burnout is so important for retention and employee happiness. 😊 Tune in to the latest #HR Unplugged for tips on how to combat burnout, get rid of PTO guilt and set a stellar example of wellness and self-care for your teams! Ep. 38 here! https://bit.ly/3ROJQcS

It's time to up your wellbeing game! We're at a 10 year high in respect of workdays lost to stress. And with the cost of living, as well as other ongoing money worries, very definitely adding to people's stress levels, it's surely time to step up and stop avoiding the elephant in the room. Because unless you're providing dedicated financial wellbeing support for your staff, no amount of "stress management" is going to help That doesn't mean you need to feel pressured to give salary increases. Instead, providing some basic financial education, supporting staff to be able to make better financial choices, and sharing practical ways to make their money last until (and beyond) payday each month can make all the difference. Otherwise, all you're doing is putting a sticky plaster over a broken bone and pushing the problem further along the line, because it ain't gonna go away of it's own accord! Speak to me today about bringing dedicated financial wellbeing into your workplace and let's take some proper action to address one of the core reasons that people are struggling right now. My inbox is open. #financialwellness #wellbeingatwork #hr #workplacewellness #moneyworries https://lnkd.in/eE8Tq_ik