CHRISTMAS PARTY PITFALLS Christmas parties – festive fun or holiday horrors? According to Peninsula only 23% of employers favour festive fun saying they have trouble-free parties with no conflict, harassment or arguments. 78% on the other hand prefer not to throw a Christmas bash because of conflict and arguments between staff. Furthermore 89% of employers said that someone makes a harassment complaint after the Christmas party; and 64% of employers have dismissed someone because of how they behaved at the office Christmas ‘do’. Similarly recruitment firm Poolia Parker Bridge found in its survey a distinct lack of enthusiasm from the 200 plus directors it questioned about Christmas parties. More than a quarter of them wished they didn’t have to throw a party at all citing fear of ensuing litigation as the main reason. So how do you avoid the holiday horrors and ensure the festive fun? Treat your Christmas ‘do’ as you would any other work activity and carry out a risk assessment of your proposed event. Then work to minimise the risks to your business. Parties increase the risk of discriminatory behaviour, the potential for harassment claims, drunken injury claims, food poisoning, absenteeism, poor performance, damage to your company’s reputation and breakdowns in communication to name but a few. Don’t forget that as an employer if you are supplying alcohol or encouraging its consumption you are then responsible for employees’ actions while under the influence of it – and that responsibility extends to the point that the employee is sober, it doesn’t end at the end of the party. Consider the type of party you want to host; is it appropriate for all members of your workforce? Perhaps consider an alternative ‘festive reward scheme’ entirely. If you do have a party communicate with your staff prior to the event to ensure they are aware of where the boundaries of acceptable behaviour lie and the steps you will be taking should those boundaries be ignored. Remind them of your company policies relating to things like discrimination, health and safety, drugs and alcohol, bullying and harassment etc. Then, knowing that you have taken precautions to head off the holiday horrors enjoy (hopefully) the festive fun!

SLIPS AND TRIPS TARGETED BY HSE With slips and trips costing UK businesses £500 million a year it is hardly surprising that the HSE is currently running a media campaign to tackle the problem. Did you know that accidents from trips account for 16% of compensation claims and that over 90% of those injured as a result of a slip or trip are absent from work for at least a week? In seeking to avert slips and trips in your workplace look out for the following: Inadequate lighting Changing floor levels Untidy cabling Obstructions in walkways Spillages Inappropriate footwear This list of course is not exhaustive – employers and staff need to work together to implement effective safety systems that include carrying out regular risk assessments, training, setting improvement goals, controlling, monitoring and reviewing procedures.

SEMI-SKILLED AND MANUAL WORKERS MISSING OUT ON TRAINING BUDGETS According to a TUC report just out, only 60% of UK employers offered training to professional staff in the last year, and this figure fell to 45% for staff in manual jobs. The report “Training, who gets it?” found that semi-skilled and manual workers are also much less likely to be given the chance to discuss their training needs at work than their higher-skilled colleagues. The full report can be found: here

NAT WEST PAYS £5000 COMPENSATION TO DISABLED CUSTOMER A large step at the threshold of a West London branch of Nat West meant that Kevin Caulfield, an electric wheelchair user was forced to conduct business with his bank outside on the pavement. Mr Caulfield complained for four years about the service with no response from Nat West until he used the Disability Rights Commission’s (DRC) Conciliation Service to progress his complaint. In an out of court settlement negotiated by the DRC service Nat West offered Mr Caulfield the £5000 compensation for the "highly unusual situation over the last four years where [Nat West] have consistently failed to answer Mr Caulfield’s correspondence." Mr Caulfield and other disabled customers of the branch now have access to a portable ramp since Nat West’s application to build a permanent ramp was refused by the local council.

HSE AND TUC HOST FREE HEALTH, WORK AND WELL-BEING SEMINAR HSE and TUC are hosting a one-day seminar on what the new HSE strategy of “Health, work and well-being – Caring for our future” actually means and how it will work in practice. The day seeks to bring attendees up to date with developments and plans for getting better management of back pain and stress, new provision to support smaller firms and how primary care can help. The event is free and will be held on Monday 5 December at Congress House, London WC1. To register email your name, address and contact number to oh.strategy@hse.gsi.gov.uk – the closing date for registration is Friday 25 November. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

"FATTISM" TAKES CENTRE STAGE In a recent Personnel Today survey of over 2000 HR professionals, 93% of respondents said that they would recruit a ‘normal weight’ candidate over an obese one. 47% think obesity negatively affects employee output; 12% suggest that obese workers aren’t suitable for client-facing roles and 11% think employers can fairly dismiss people just because they’re obese. The results have sparked a row between Personnel Today and some of the HR professionals who themselves took part in the survey, the latter accusing the former of ‘tabloid tactics’ that have resulted in the HR profession becoming a ‘laughing stock’. Regardless of this ensuing battle however there is much to be said in favour of any survey that highlights discriminatory practices. Personnel Today believes that Fattism ‘is the last bastion of employee discrimination’ and the government is gearing up to tackle the problems of obesity in our society. Whilst both campaigns are to be applauded recent research suggests that fattism is merely one facet of a larger problem however and that it is perhaps ‘lookism’ – the culture of discrimination against those deemed overweight, unattractive or unconventional in appearance - that warrants greater attention.

PAYROLL GIVING GRANTS AVAILABLE TO SME'S SMEs are currently eligible for a grant of between £300 and £500 if they sign up to a payroll giving scheme before December 2006. The grant is part of the payroll giving grants programme funded by the Home Office with support from Business in the Community, and administered by the Institute of Fundraising. The one-off grant is one segment of a two-part programme, the other being a matched gift of up to £10 per month for the first six months from when an employee signs up. The programme is due to run until March 2007 but since its launch in January 05 it claims to have doubled the numbers of SMEs signing up to payroll giving. It is further intending to build on its success by introducing a new quality mark in January 2006. Bronze, silver and gold awards will be presented to those employers that achieve tiered employee participation target levels. It will allow participating companies to publicly demonstrate their commitment to good causes through the display of a recognised logo. Further details can be found at: www.payrollgivinggrants.org.uk

DID YOU KNOW... ...that assuming a retirement age of 65 it takes a pension fund of £250,000 to secure a pension income of £15,000 a year?

AND FINALLY...... found on Rowenta iron packaging: "Do not iron clothes on body."

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