The golden rule of business is; keep your staff happy. Your staff are more responsible for the success of your business than you may think. They are the main task holders that ensure work is completed to the highest of standards, that customers are dealt with and ultimately are happy and that jobs are fulfilled and your business is reputable.
Upsetting employees is a fast way of making an unhappy environment. It isn’t just about keeping staff sweet, it is also about being mindful of the employment law regulations that are in place to protect you the employer and the people that work for you.
Being an employer is not the easiest for tasks, there are multiple different areas that need to be managed. Software allows companies to meet customer and client demand, allocate tasks, and fulfil working hours whilst remaining aware of the regulations and the perfect tool for managing employees.
Working hours is the biggest area where so many employers go against the regulations that are ultimately designed to ensure employees are treated fairly. There are restrictions on the number of hours that employees are allowed to work in one week and breaks and gaps between shifts are a necessity. There is also the need to fulfil each individual employees contract to ensure they are working their allocated number of hours. The amount of management this requires would be impossible without something like shift scheduling software.
There has been a great debate in the press recently about companies employing people on a ‘Zero hour’ contract. This means that employees are taken on with no set hours, they have no idea how much they will be working and when until they are given a time sheet at the beginning of a week. There is no job security, no ability to plan lives, and no reassurance that bills and expenses will be paid through wages as the amount being earned is so uncertain.
The zero hour contract dramatically undermines the outlines of the Employment Law Regulations as employees are NOT being treated fairly, do NOT receive the right benefits, have NO job security or peace of mind and are NOT considered to be actual employees. Employers are able to terminate the zero hour contracts at any time without notice period or having to offer redundancy pay. Employees will earn half of what a full time employee makes and will work a maximum of 21 hours.
In 2006, 134,000 workers were on this type of contract but it seems to be the latest phenomenon with employers seeing a real opportunity to save money without harming productivity. In 2012, a staggering 208,000 people were put on the zero hour contracts and sadly due to the difficulty of gaining employment, more people are willing to have this type of contract, as little money is still better than no money at all. Boots, Cineworld, Center Parcs, BUPA, the NHS and Buckingham Palace are all known to regularly use the zero hour contract. Investigations are underway into this issue and politicians and Employment Law enthusiasts have already expressed their dislike and distaste for this type of employment contract.