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  HR e-ssentials from Graphite HRM

Welcome to our October '05 issue of HR e-ssentials, the monthly e-zine from Graphite HRM on developments in people management and labour law practice. We would like to extend a warm welcome to all our recent subscribers.

  Contents

Graphite Events

Cork Events
– Investigator Training 2nd – 3rd November
– Managing Dignity and Diversity in the Workplace – 15th November
– Train the Designated Contact Person – 16th November
– Performance Management: Goal Setting and Reviewing – 7th December
– Managing Discipline and Grievance – 8th December

Dublin Events
– Implications of Employment Law - 1st December
– Employment Law Seminar – Tuesday 13th December
– Train the Designated Contact Person – 19th January
- Managing Dignity and Diversity in the Workplace - 24th January
– Investigator Training - 25th-26th January

Forthcoming Legislation
– Employment Permits Bill 2005
– Parental Leave Bill 2005
– Adoptive Leave Bill 2005

Dignity at Work
– Steps to Manage Diversity (Anti-Racist Workplace Week 7th – 13th November)

Graphite Consultation queries
– September’s most commonly asked questions.

 
Upcoming Graphite Events


Investigator Training
2nd-3rd November, Cork
25th-26th January, Dublin

This two day workshop provides the skills and expertise to conduct investigations into complaints of harassment or bullying. It is targeted at HR professionals, managers, owners and members of investigation teams. Taking account of equality legislation and codes of practice, the workshop provides an overview of the legal implications of workplace bullying and harassment, and focuses on building the skills and expertise to conduct effective investigations into complaints.

This two day workshop will take place in the in the Maryborough Hotel, Cork on 2nd-3rd November and in the Berkeley Court Hotel, Ballsbridge, Dublin on 25th-26th January.

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Managing Dignity and Diversity in the Workplace
15th November – Cork
24th January - Dublin

This one-day workshop aims to provide delegates with a clear understanding of what is needed for effective policy, procedures and strategies to maintain dignity and respect and maximise the value of diversity in the workplace. In today’s workforce, managing both dignity and diversity are critical skills to ensure people of differing backgrounds, experience and self-identification work together to deliver performance.

This one-day workshop will take place in the in the Maryborough Hotel, Cork on 15th November and in the Berkeley Court Hotel, Ballsbridge, Dublin on 24th January.

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Train the Designated Contact Person
16th November – Cork
19th January - Dublin

This one day workshop provides delegates with the knowledge and expertise in how to handle queries and support individuals who feel they may have been harassed or bullied at work. It is specifically targeted at persons who are designated a “Contact Person” under their organisation’s dignity policy e.g. members of the HR team, supervisors, team leaders, managers, nominated staff. The workshop will provide the “Contact Person” with the confidence to conduct their role and support/ advise employees in an impartial manner.

This one day workshop will take place in the in the Maryborough Hotel, Cork on 16th November and in the Berkeley Court Hotel, Ballsbridge, Dublin on 19th January.

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Implications of Employment Law
1st December - Dublin

The Implications of Employment Law workshop has proved very popular with Graphite clients over the last number of years. Kept continually up to date with changes in practice, this 1 day workshop provides managers with a very comprehensive understanding of the day to day application of employment law.

By working through the central areas of the employment relationship, delegates understand pragmatic and best practice solutions to people management issues.

This one day workshop will take place in the Berkeley Court Hotel, Ballsbridge, Dublin on 1st December.

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Performance Management: Goal Setting and Reviewing
7th December - Cork

This one day workshop provides participants with the knowledge, skills and techniques to both establish clearly defined goals and to effectively review performance. This is a practical workshop during which managers will understand the success factors in managing performance, practice writing goals and emerge with goals set for their employee/s.

This one day workshop will take place in the in the Maryborough Hotel, Cork on 7th December.

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Managing Discipline and Grievance
8th December - Cork

This workshop provides managers, supervisors and HR personnel with a practical understanding of how to effectively implement discipline and grievance procedures. The workshop looks at the legislative requirements, reflects on lessons from case law, and focuses on the practical application of policies and procedures. It places an emphasis on understanding the procedural requirements, and explores the practical skills to manage performance and conduct meetings relating discipline and grievance.

This one day workshop will take place in the in the Maryborough Hotel, Cork on 8th December.

Please note that places are limited on all workshops so for further information or online bookings go to www.graphite hrm.com or email info@graphitehrm.com.

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 Forthcoming Legislation

Employment Permits Bill 2005

This Bill translates the current employment permits administrative procedures into legislation, including the work permits and working visa/work authorisation schemes. The Bill provides for the application, grant, renewal, refusal and revocation of employment permits. The Bill provides that employment permits are granted to the employee and that the permit will state certain rights and entitlements of the worker concerned. The Bill prohibits recruitment-related deductions from remuneration and the retention by the employer of the employee’s personal documents. The legislation will also empower the Minister to formulate parameters within which an active economic migration policy may be pursued.

Click here to access the full article in the Client Zone

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Adoptive Leave Bill 2005

The Adoptive Leave Bill 2005 has now been passed by the Dáil and Seanad and has gone to the President for signature. The Bill amends the Adoptive Leave Act 1995 to update adoptive leave entitlements based on the recommendations made by the Working Group on the Review and Improvement of the Maternity Protection Legislation. It incorporates the increases in adoptive leave entitlements brought in through Statutory Instrument in 2004 and provides for entitlements in areas such as the parent or child’s illness, similar to the 2004 maternity protection legislation.

Click here to access the full article in the Client Zone

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Parental Leave Bill 2005

The Bill amends the Parental Leave Act 1998 to implement a number of recommendations of the Working Group on the Review and Improvement of the Parental Leave Act 1998. The legislation has now progressed to the Dáil for its second stage and should come into force in the coming months.

Click here to access the full article in the Client Zone

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 Dignity At Work

Steps to Manage Diversity
(Anti-Racist Workplace Week 7th – 13th November)

When we provide for equal opportunities at work, we ensure that we give all groups and individuals equality in the workplace. When we consider managing diversity, we are focusing on the culture and environment in order to provide a supportive environment to all employees. Managing diversity means accepting and acknowledging that our workforce consists of different people with different requirements and different contributions.

Diversity is also about celebrating the individual differences and similarities that each person brings to the workplace. It is about providing a range of perspectives that contribute to solving problems and creativity. It is not solely about different nationalities or genders working together, but embraces a mixture of people in age, education, geographic origin, family status, type of work, cultures, religions, personal styles, and sexual orientations.

Below we identity some of the initiatives to consider in developing and promoting a diverse workplace:

  • Steps to attract minority groups
  • Accommodation for disabled employees
  • Introduction of family friendly initiatives
  • Forums for people with different backgrounds to share their experiences
  • Providing part-time working, term-time, flexible working hours
  • Celebrating the festivals/feasts of other cultures
  • Introduction of tele working/home working opportunities
  • Providing flexible benefits options
  • Allowing for extended unpaid leave for travel
  • Allowing staff to take career breaks
  • Translating your employee documents into other languages
  • Sharing information on different cultures and nationalities
  • Build awareness of other nationalities, their culture and the commonality between peoples.

To decide which of these initiatives is the right for you and your organisation you need to decide what sort of vision you have and make that your aim. Do you wish to establish a workplace which is merely legally compliant, or do you want to go beyond legal requirements and celebrate diversity, or do you want to ensure that your employee profile matches that of your diverse customer base?

Have you identified the barriers to this vision? Do they include aggression against minority groups, glass ceiling with low levels of success in promotion and development opportunities, under representation of minority groups at senior levels, institutional barriers in systems and procedures, or resistance to causing change to the workplace?

According to the Equality Authority “Equality and diversity training alongside employment equality policies are the basic building blocks for the creation of workplaces characterised by equality. Policies establish commitment and strategy. Training establishes capacity to give practical expression to commitment and to implement strategy“.

Anti-Racist Workplace Week 7th – 13th November is an excellent opportunity to review you vision and policies in this area. Graphite’s workshop on Managing Dignity and Diversity in the Workplace helps organisations to understand and develop strategies to support this. Places are still available for this one day workshop on 15th November ‘05 (Cork) and 24th January ‘06 (Dublin).

Click here to access the full article in the Client Zone

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 Graphite Consultation Service – September's most frequently  asked questions

Graphite HRM provides a consultation service for customers who opt for it as part of their annual licensing arrangement. As part of our regular monthly review in HR e-ssentials, we provide you with an insight into recent queries.

Q: One of my employees has requested paternity leave for the birth of his child. Am I legally obliged to provide paid paternity leave?

A: Paternity Leave is an additional benefit which some employers provide for employees, but there is no legal entitlement to such leave. Paternity leave is paid time off for fathers around the time of birth of their child. It is separate from parental leave, which gives a legal entitlement to limited unpaid time off for a parent to take care of their child under 5 years of age.

Many public sector bodies and other employers give fathers a limited number of paid day’s paternity leave; three to five days would be common. Each organisation’s policy stipulates the arrangements and conditions for their own organisation. If you plan to introduce paternity leave, a policy which would clarify the entitlements and be consistently applied across the organisation will be necessary. Whilst there has been discussion at national level concerning the provision of a legal entitlement to paternity leave, this is not currently in place.

Organisations providing paternity leave need to ensure they are providing some form of comparable benefit to female employees at the time of the birth of a child. This could be through remuneration (paying the difference between maternity allowance and basic wages) or additional days of leave.

To read about this topic see Chapter 11, Leave of Absence in Personnel Policies and Procedures – the Law in Perspective.

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Q: Under the forthcoming Information and Consultation legislation, are we required to put a consultation procedure in place with our staff?

A: The Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 has not yet been passed by the Dail. This Bill sets out the minimum requirements for the right to information and consultation of employees in undertakings employing more than 50 employees. The draft legislation outlines the circumstances under which an employer would be required to put the relevant communication and consultation processes in place. These are:

  • where there is a written request from a minimum of 10% of employees, or
  • a request from the Labour Court.

However we advise that employers initiate the process themselves at their own initiative in advance of being forced to by their employees or the Labour Court. Where an agreement is put in place prior to the relevant date of effect of the Act, any pre-existing agreements will still apply, provided they meet the basic requirements, such as, for example, that they have been negotiated and not imposed by the employer

To read more about this topic, please see our website. The Information and Consultation Bill will be covered as Pending Legislation in the next update of Personnel Policies and Procedures – the Law in Perspective.

 

Disclaimer - This is not a legal service, all suggestions will be based on HR best practice.
You should seek independent legal advice before making any decisions.

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*******Order a free 7-day evaluation copy of Personnel Policies and Procedures - The Law in Perspective our leading employment law manual by emailing sales@graphitehrm.com or phoning Elaine Peters on (01) 6627099********


 
 
Graphite Events

2nd-3rd November
Investigator
Training

 


15th November
Managing
Dignity and Diversity
in the Workplace





16th November
Train the Designated
Contact Person

 

 

1st December
Implications of
Employment Law

 

 

7th December
Performance
Management:
Goal Setting
and Reviewing

 


To make an enquiry,
or to book a place
on any of Graphite
HRM's workshops
click here
or email info
@graphitehrm.com
.


 

Free 7-day Evaluation
Order a free 7-day
evaluation copy of

Personnel Policies
and Procedures - The
Law in Perspective
our leading
employment law
manual by
emailing sales@
graphitehrm.com

or phoning
Elaine Peters on
(01) 6627099.

 

 

If you can't read all
the articles in our HTML
ezine, please email
hrinfo@graphitehrm.com
for the text version of
this months ezine

 

 

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Copyright © 2005 Graphite HRM Ltd. All Rights Reserved

Graphite HRM Ltd, Stephen's House, 7/8 Upper Mount Street, Dublin 2. Tel. 353-1-6627099
Email: hrinfo@graphitehrm.com

Legal Editors – Since May 2005, the Employment Law Unit of Ronan Daly Jermyn (RDJ), one of Ireland's leading law firms, have been providing legal editing for Personnel Policies and Procedures - The Law in Perspective. The Employment Law Unit of RDJ specialises in advising clients on all aspects of the employment relationship. For further advice on RDJ's services please visit the RDJ website at www.rdj.ie or contact Fergus Long, Partner, Employment Law Unit (021) 4802700 Email: fergus.long@rdj.ie

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Disclaimer - Graphite HRM Ltd has taken all reasonable care to ensure the accuracy of the information presented both in this electronic magazine and on our website. Graphite HRM Ltd does not make any warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information within or accessible through our website. Graphite HRM Ltd reserves the right at any time to revise, alter or delete the information provided on our electronic magazine and on our website. The material and information contained on this site is for general information only and does not constitute any form of offer for sale, advice or recommendation by Graphite HRM Ltd. You should seek independent legal advice before making any decisions. In no circumstances shall Graphite HRM Ltd be liable to you or any other third parties for any loss or damage arising directly or indirectly from your use of this site or the information on this site.