HR User Group 16 Mar 2009 – Policy Update
Fiona Daffern
• Maternity
• Redeployment & termination
• Sickness and annual leave
• Teaching Fellows probation
• Changes to grievance and discipline
Maternity Policy
• For sponsored staff, where no provision is made by the
sponsor, maternity pay will be 100% funded centrally
• Contact research grants at the earliest opportunity to
maximise access to sponsor funds.
• Good practice when reorganising duties.
• Foster leave and surrogacy
• Accrual of bank holidays in addition to annual leave
Redeployment & Termination
• Recent claims where processes not followed
• Need to follow termination process, including notice,
even where additional funding is being sought
• Earlier access to the redeployment register
• New standard letters
• Assistance from JobCentre Plus available
ECJ Ruling ‘Stringer v HMRC’
• Accrual of statutory annual leave during periods of sick
leave (paid or unpaid)
• Carry over of all statutory annual leave where unable to
take due to sickness
• Cannot currently pay for untaken statutory annual leave,
unless at termination
• Question of taking annual leave during periods of sick
leave referred back to the UK courts
Teaching Fellows Induction and Probation
• Probation period will be 24 months.
• Must successfully complete either Module A or B of the
Post Graduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in
Higher Education (PGCLTHE)
• Exceptions for TF teaching less than 50 hours pa –
successfully complete the Introduction to Teaching in
HE course
• Disciplinary or capability policy (except underperformance)
applies after successful completion of 1st year
Grievance and Discipline – legal framework
• Employment Act 2008 repeals the Statutory Dispute
Regulations repealed w.e.f. 6 April 09
• Revised ACAS Code introduced plus accompanying
guidance on handling discipline and grievance situations in
the workplace. The Code does not apply to dismissals due
to redundancy or the non-renewal of fixed term contracts
on their expiry.
• Increased emphasis on alternative dispute resolution
mechanisms, including mediation, to encourage earlier
resolution
Grievance and Discipline - Tribunals
• Employment tribunals will have discretionary powers to
adjust awards by up to 25% if employers or employees
have failed unreasonably to comply with the Acas Code;
• There will be some technical changes to the law relating to
Acas’ provision of conciliation services during disputes;
• Tribunals will be allowed to award compensation for
financial loss in certain types of monetary claims.
Grievance and Discipline - transition
• If the trigger date is on or after 6 April 2009, the new
regime will apply.
• If the trigger date is on or before 5 April 2009, the old
regime will continue to apply.
• In the case of a disciplinary or dismissal issue, the date of
the trigger event will be the date when the employer has
started action against the employee.
• In the case of a grievance issue, the trigger date will be
the date of the action about which the employee
complains.
Grievance and Discipline – Appeals
• The grounds for appeal are not limited, but code/ guide
gives examples similar to our current policy i.e. penalty too
severe, new evidence etc. Can include a rehearing.
• Impact on who attends appeals