A. The employee should make their employer aware of the fact that they are taking on another job as some contracts will include a clause that stipulates that the employee cannot take on any additional work or that they need to ask permission if they wish to do so. The employee should also make their employer aware if they are or will be working for more than 48 hours a week (calculated as an average over a 17 week period). This obligation should be outlined in the contract or handbook under the Working Time Directive or Working Hours sections. The employer must ensure that the employee is not going over the 48 hour limit when taking into account any extra work done for another employer. If the employee is exceeding this limit, they may need to sign an opt out form if they want to continue to work the longer hours and keep their second job. If you feel your employee's performance is suffering because they have 2 jobs, you should have a discussion with them to make them aware of your concerns and to explore how this might be resolved, including – if necessary – the action you will have to take if the problem continues. Obviously if you have control provisions in your contracts of employment and employment policies it is an easier situation to manage than if you don’t.

 

 

A. The policy you adopt here should be similar to the snow policy you probably adopted during the extreme weather earlier this year. Non attendance doesn’t have to be paid for. Most employers however will give a little latitude before not paying for absence in circumstances like this if it is genuinely unavoidable and the employee has done the best they can to get to work or work remotely. The next step is usually to agree the time can be taken out of unused holiday allowance or can be made up later.

 

 

A: No you are not bound by the doctor’s advice. As an employer you should use the advice on the fit note as a starting point for a discussion with your employee about their options for returning to work. In many cases it may not be practicable to make the suggested adjustments and so the employer and employee must agree the next review date or return to work date. The employer must continue to pay sick pay as per contractual terms and/or Statutory Sick Pay rules.

 

 

A: Employees should not be in a worse financial position by returning to work, as opposed to continuing to be absent due to illness. We recommend therefore that employees are paid their normal salary for time that they are working and paid in line with the company’s policy on payment during the time that they are still on sickness absence– this could be statutory or company sick pay.

 

 

A: The additional paternity leave legislation came into force on 6 April 2010, but the right to additional paternity leave applies only to parents of children with an expected week of birth beginning on or after 3 April 2011 (or in an adoption situation, where the notification of the match with a child is on or after 3 April 2011). Your employment policies will have to be updated to reflect the right to additional paternity leave. Retained clients will automatically receive such updates from their HR Advantage Consultant. This will happen once guidance from the Government becomes more specific and before the new provision comes into effect in real terms (i.e. so that those who find that they are expecting a baby to be born on or after 3rd April 2011 – which is not yet a possibility - know how to proceed). The policy will make clear that employees will be required to provide a signed declaration from themselves and also the mother/primary carer confirming the father’s information and a statement of intention to return to work. They will also be required, upon request, to provide a copy of the child’s birth certificate.