NEW One hour webinar: ‘Powerful Performance Objective

Setting for Overnight Results!’ 9th September 2014 – Just £99 plus VAT

Paul’s Blog: Is Your Training Actually Filling The Gap?

that they have been ‘sent’ to

it along with everyone else,

with no real regard of

whether they individually

need it or not. If the training

covers too broad a subject

there will be aspects of it that

some in the room will be very

comfortable already with.

We therefore need to tailor

exactly what each person

needs but this can often be a

task in itself as people often

Newsletter & Employment Law Update

August 2014

‘don’t know what they don’t

know’.

Lightbulb has therefore put

together a free Managers

pre-training ‘MOT’ 20

question activity that will help

determine what the

individual is good at, what

they need and their blind

spots. The manager’s

manager and a direct report

can also complete it from

their perspective. Enjoy!

One question we are often

asked for by clients is “Can

you do leadership training”

or “something about being

better managers?”. It’s a

difficult question as it is a

very broad one that covers

thousands of books and

you risk throwing everything

but the kitchen sink at it!

One of the criticisms of

many training sessions is

that some attendees think

LIGHTBULBHR.CO.UK AUG 2014

Have you seen us

‘in action’ yet?

If you or another decision

maker has yet to attend one of

our free ‘taster’ workshops then

do get in touch.

We run them regularly, mainly in

Central London and the Thames

Valley and each session is two

hours long.

Our current workshops are:

• Managing Performance

365: A Better Approach

• Recruitment Interviewing

‘3.0’ That Gets You To The

Truth!

Powerful, alternative

techniques/tools for improved

results.

Beware HR Admin Errors!

consultant (HRC), who had

no authority to make

decisions about pay, but

had been authorised to

communicate the outcome.

The HRC informed the

employees by letter that the

appeal panel had regraded

them to Grade 5 ( this was a

mistake, she should have

written Grade 4!).

The EAT said that the letter

was written by someone

who was authorised to tell

them what had been

decided and therefore

could well stand as valid

even though it was an error

so the case has been

remitted to a fresh Tribunal.

The EAT’s decision in

Hershaw and Others v

Sheffield City Council

serves as a warning to

be careful when

dealing with grievances

in three respects: being

clear about the actual

outcome, the method

of communicating the

decision and being sure

about the status of the

person conveying the

information.

A group of employees

lodged a grievance

after their pay had

been varied following a

grading/pay review.

The grievance was

investigated by a HR

LIGHTBULBHR.CO.UK AUG 2014

Disability

discrimination

Giving Standard References

Employers should include disclaimers when providing standard

references, particularly where there are concerns as to the

individual’s performance or disciplinary record. Standard

references can be misleading and hence negligent, giving

rise to potential claims against the employer.

Where full references are provided, careful regard should be

had to the competing obligations to the employee and the recipient of the reference.

A Tribunal took the view

that a six-week delay

between an employer’s

breach and resigning

was too long for the

resignation to be in

response to the breach.

The EAT held that the

test of constructive

dismissal was one of

conduct, not time. An

important element is

whether the employee

is at work or sick during

the period. If still at work

it could be concluded

that they were

honouring the contract,

which is inconsistent

with a constructive

dismissal. However, if

on sick leave it was not

so easy to infer this.

Constructive Dismissal & Delays

In Coleman v Attridge (2008),

Ms Coleman had brought a

successful claim alleging that

she had suffered

discrimination. She was not

disabled, but her son, for

whom she was primary carer,

was accepted to be disabled

for the purpose of the claims.

in Hainsworth v Ministry of

Defence the employee

suggested that reasonable

adjustments should have

been made. The court

disagreed saying that the

Coleman case concerned

direct disability discrimination

and harassment, which

require protection against

"associative discrimination".

The circumstances of the

Hainsworth concerned

reasonable adjustments

which are not protected.

LIGHTBULBHR.CO.UK AUG 2014

This update is provided by Lightbulb HR for general information only and should not

be applied to specific circumstances without advice.

1) Use shorter

paragraphs. Ideally

they should be four lines

maximum so that

people can skim read.

2) Use shorter

sentences; ideally they

should be one to one-

and-a-half lines long. If

they’re longer you’re

probably joining two

shorter sentences with

‘and’, ‘but’ or ‘so’.

3) Use interesting titles.

Eg Your current title is

“Our Proposal” (your

subject) and you’re

writing to someone who

wants to free-up staff

time (their agenda),

insert “how” before and

their agenda after. So

“Our proposal”

becomes “How our

proposal will free-up

your staff’s time”

Writing Style Tips For Readability! ‘LIGHTBULB MOMENTS’

LIGHTBULBHR.CO.UK AUG 2014

Selling Your Vision } Explain why it’s needed – ‘The problem that needs fixing is…. And the negative impacts it’s

having on you are….’

} The future vision – ‘Given that, where we want to be is ….’

} Immediate actions – ‘So, the things we must stop doing are … and those we must start

doing are…’

LIGHTBULBHR.CO.UK AUG 2014

Our ‘Practical and Punchy’ Workshops

Short bursts of learning, techniques and inspiration to maximise time ‘away from the desk’. Includes free post workshop support. In-company coaching/workshops – 1 to 100 people+ from £150

• Management/leadership/personal effectiveness • Recruitment & selection inc ‘Recruitment Interviewing 3.0’ • Practical employment law • ‘TOTAL RECALL’ – 4 weeks of memory jogger emails! • Have your own trainers? New ‘DIY’ options from £399 • Need a refresher? ‘Encore’ 90 minute training £399

Engaging and memorable, there are no clichés here - just great content you won’t find in the text-books! We also offer executive and performance coaching services.

Managing

Performance ‘365’ Ditch traditional appraisal -

A 365 days-a-year approach

• Minimal paperwork everyone will buy-in to

• Using different objective setting techniques for the results you want

• A new set of skills & tools for managers

• Helps manage in just minutes every day

• A menu approach – take only what you need.

‘No Regrets’ Recruiting Tools

• How to select the best – not the prepped! • Recruitment Interviewing 3.0 – a new approach

Regular HR Support – What you need; only when you need it

Bronze, Silver and Gold packages from £99 a month

Packages include on-site support – no long contract tie-ins!

Gold package includes ‘practical & punchy’ training.

Ad-Hoc HR Support – One-offs or projects

-Employment law/employee relations/mediation

-Recruitment support and psychometric testing

-Employee engagement and satisfaction surveys

-Outplacement

This update is provided by Paul Marsh at Lightbulb HR for general information only

and should not be applied to specific circumstances without advice. paul@lightbulbhr.co.uk

07903 233214/020 3633 2149