health and safety Archives

 As I am sure you are all aware, April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month! While keeping distractions from behind the wheel should be a year-long pursuit, this month has been set aside to help us really realize why distracted driving is a problem.

And let me just say from the get go, this problem is not just a personal matter - it's also affecting a workplace near you.

Motor vehicle accidents are the number one cause of fatal workplace accidents. And the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) considers employers who require workers to text while driving to be in violation of the General Duty Clause.  

Whether the employee is driving a company vehicle or their own for work purposes, employers do have a responsibility to try to stop distracted driving.

The recent firing of Rutgers University basketball coach Mike Rice, but only after a video surfaced of him physically hitting players and hurling repeated homophobic epithets at them, is a virtual primer of what NOT to do from an employment law perspective. Among other things, the university's lack of transparency in handling the incident and its alleged treatment of the former employee who blew the whistle also especially stand out.

In a series of posts this week, the XpertHR team will share lessons to learn from the scandal while also examining where the university fell short. We begin with the coach's bullying behavior.

Supervisor Bullying

The Rutgers scandal highlights the detrimental and domino effect bullying can have if employers fail to address incidents in a timely and effective manner. 

Friends, Romans, Countrymen,

Lend me your ears...

Today (Friday, March 15th) is the Ides of March, remembered in infamy as the day Julius Caesar was assassinated. This assassination came shortly after Caesar generously accepted the position of Dictator Perpetuo (Dictator for Life), a charming little title that eventually got him stabbed over 20 times.

Well, the Ides of March have come yet again, and a couple of valuable employment lessons have come with it. 

Lesson 1: Create Leaders, Not Dictators

Before becoming Dictator Perpetuo, Caesar had been an elected leader - and not a single person killed him. It was only when the power went to his head that knives went into his back.

In the employment world, having good leadership is vitally important. Good leaders create productive, happy workers - and these are just the type of people that you want to employ.

Dictatoresque supervisors and managers will likely not result in murder plots, but modern-day Caesars can cause a lot of heartache in the workplace.

Bad leaders equate to high job turnover, unsatisfactory job performance, and possibly even litigation.

HR can help ensure there are good leaders in the workplace in several ways. They can:

• Hire/promote/choose good leaders;
• Conduct supervisor training on topics such as leadership skills and valuing employees;
• Address employee complaints regarding supervisors in an efficient, consistent, and fair manner; and
• Have open communication with employees, and encourage the same communication between managers and employees, so that the employee feels like part of a team, not part of a master/servant relationship.

Lesson 2: Always Listen to the Soothsayer

According to Plutarch, and later immortalized in Shakespeare's play, Caesar was told that he would be harmed no later than the Ides of March. When he made it to that day, he told the seer who had forewarned him, "The Ides of March have come." To which the seer replied, "Aye, Caesar, but not gone." Caesar, however, did not take the warning seriously, and you know how that worked out for him.

Similarly, many acts of violence in the workplace will not come out of the blue, but will be foreshadowed by a wide variety of events. It is the signs that are not taken seriously that lead to the most disastrous results.

HR professionals can find the foretelling of violence in many different manners, and they should handle each accordingly.

For example, HR might hear comments and complaints by other employees. If an employee expresses fear or concern about another employee, it should never be ignored. Employees who work with each other every day are best equipped to recognize when something is wrong. Even if they are unsure why they feel the way they do, it is important to go with the gut in these situations.

No, that does not mean fire someone because their colleague hinted that maybe, possibly he or she might one day do something kind of mean. Yes, that does mean pay attention to the worker in question, maybe kindly and non-threateningly talk to him or her, and try to see if there really is a reason for concern.

Other signs of potential violence could be seen in the way the employee is behaving:

• Signs of aggression: HR, supervisors, and managers should be able to recognize signs of aggression, depression, or other behavioral issues that could lead to a hostile act. Pay attention to bullying and other anger management concerns, and do not treat them lightly.  
• Signs of Abuse: An employee's behavior might not lead you to believe that he or she is going to become violent, but if it leads you to believe that the worker is being abused, do not ignore this. Many acts of workplace violence are caused by someone coming in to the workplace in order to hurt a specific employee: e.g., an estranged boyfriend coming in and shooting his ex-girlfriend, and maybe a couple of her colleagues who try to stop him, in a place and time he knows is accessible.

Have a happy March 15th, but remember: beware the Ides of March.... even in the workplace.

In Part One of this series, the HR Fly listened in on the beginning of a workers' compensation preliminary hearing, as the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) started the hearing, set the parameters and questioned the employment attorney as to the employer's self-insurance against workers' compensation claims.

In Part Two, the HR Fly gets to listen in as the ALJ reviews the evidence presented by the parties and issues some rulings.  Things are about to get interesting.  Eat your heart out, Jeff Goldblum!

HR Fly: Put your ear to the wall and listen for the buzz...

As an HR professional, you know how important it is to have an open dialogue with employees, supervisors and attorneys in your legal department. What you don't know, however, is what types of conversations your employees have when you're not present. 

In this series, HR Fly on the Wall hopes to present you with a perspective to which you don't typically have access. In Part 1 of our first installment, the HR Fly is on the wall in a library conference room in a small town somewhere in the U.S.A., where a workers' compensation preliminary hearing is about to begin. Would you like to listen in? 

HR Fly: Buzz on through to the other side...

More than a month has passed since the horrific massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. Ordinary teachers and precious young children who were going about their day like any other were gunned down in the worst elementary school shooting this country has ever seen.  The appalling events in Newtown highlight difficult questions for the country and for all employers and HR professionals. 

Obama: "Our Journey Is Not Complete"

Since that awful day in December, lawmakers on the federal, state and local level have called for stricter gun control measures, tighter background checks and mental health reforms. In his second Inaugural Address, President Barack Obama told Americans that "Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for and cherished and always safe from harm."

However, the violence continues.  One day after the President made his speech we witnessed another campus shooting at Lone Star College in Houston, Texas. These shootings come on the heels of 2012 workplace shootings in Minneapolis, New York City, Fresno, California and other violent incidents.

How Can HR Help Keep Employees Safe From Harm?

What can we as employers do to keep our employees safe from harm?

As an employer and an HR professional, such tragedies pose critical questions that must be confronted:

• What kinds of help can we provide to employees who are suffering from mental health issues and debilitating conditions? How can we be more sensitive to employees who are suffering from depression and other mental health disorders and truly provide them with the resources and support that they need?

• What steps can we take to prevent such senseless acts of workplace violence?

• What kinds of policies should we have in place regarding weapons in the workplace?

• What measures can we put in place to protect ourselves and our employees? How can we strengthen gun control laws to provide a safer society in which we are not afraid to go to work, to school or to the movies? In fact, a handful of states, including Florida and Oklahoma, have laws that actually prevent employers from taking away an employee's gun provided it is locked away in their parked vehicle. Further, a federal appeals court in Chicago recently struck down an Illinois law prohibiting the carrying of guns in public places. See Moore v. Madigan,  2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 25264 (7th Cir. 2012). Has the time come to address these laws and revisit them on a wider platform in light of recent events?

What's Your View

What's your perspective on the issues raised here? How have the horrific events at Newtown resonated in your own workplace?  What are the most effective ways that you have found to ensure the safety and security of employees in your workplace?  Please get in touch via the comments box below.

Now Sam McGee was from Tennessee, where the cotton blooms and blows.
Why he left his home in the South to roam 'round the Pole, God only knows.

If you've never read Robert W. Service's "The Cremation of Sam McGee", here's a little background: it's the story of two men digging for gold in the Arctic. Sam McGee, a proper Southerner, was not happy with this arrangement as he was not use/ did not like/ did not know how to deal with the cold.

When the winter weather hits, businesses have workers who must venture outside, drivers who must venture out on the icy roads, and employees who might rather take a sick day than leave their warm homes to go out in the snow (even if it is only to walk four feet to a heated car and drive to a, hopefully, heated office.)

Because of the varying nature of job functions, as well as the different temperaments of employees, there are many things employees should take into account when the winter weather strikes.

As examples:

• Drivers: Did you know that, according to the National Weather Service, about 70% of winter weather injuries come from vehicular accidents?
• Outdoors Staff: If you have workers who must be outside for long increments in order to successfully perform their jobs, they might be at risk for weather-related illnesses, frost bite, or slips, trips, and falls resulting from the icy terrain.
• Just Plain ol' Sam McGee's: Some workers are just not going to like the cold and others, specifically us misplaced Southerners, are not going to know (and are going to be afraid to learn) how to drive in the snow and ice, which makes even the short commute to work a scary, death-defying feat that we may or may not be willing to take.

Back in the poem, Sam McGee let the winter weather get the best of him, and, before he froze, he made the narrator of the story promise that he would cremate Sam instead of just dropping his body.

Employers also have an obligation to their workers. Almost all businesses are regulated by OSHA (or an at least equally tough state version) and the General Duty Clause, which requires you to provide a workplace free from recognized safety and health hazards - which could include some wintery conditions.

Now a promise made is a debt unpaid, and the trail has its own stern code.
In the days to come, though my lips were dumb, in my heart how I cursed that load.

Lugging around dead, frozen bodies can be difficult. Ask the narrator of this poem. He had promised to cremate his friend, and got stuck with the body until he could find a place to start a fire.

And when workers get sick, get injured, or die, the burden on the employer is only increased.

Now, you might have to worry about:

• Workers' compensation claims;
• Reporting/recording the event for OSHA;
• Investigating the accident to find causes to make sure it doesn't happen again;
• Increased healthcare costs; and
• Finding someone to take over the workload until a replacement can be found and then finding the replacement.

Those last two could hurt you even if the accident or illness happened while the employee was not on the job.

Instead of worrying about all these scenarios, there are lots of things you can do before winter hurts your workplace:

• Properly prepare any trucks or company-supplied vehicles for the snow and ice, and teach employees, such as sales staff, who drive their own cars for work, what needs to be done to safeguard their own means of transportation.
• Give training in driving in the snow or ice - require it for paid drivers, make it optional for employees who drive to work.
• If jobs can be done remotely, consider offering telecommuting options when winter storms hit.
• Train outside workers in how to insulate themselves from the weather and in recognizing the signs of frostbite.
• Make sure you have proper personal protective equipment for your outside workers.
• Take advantage of OSHA's winter resource center. 
• See what XpertHR has to say on the topic.

[Spoiler Alert:] To end on a happy note, it turns out Sam McGee might not have died after all - depending on your interpretation of the poem. All he needed was a little help. When the narrator returned after having cremated Sam, this is what happened:

And there sat Sam, looking cool and calm, in the heart of the furnace roar;
And he wore a smile you could see a mile, and he said: "Please close that door.
It's fine in here, but I greatly fear you'll let in the cold and storm--
Since I left Plumtree, down in Tennessee, it's the first time I've been warm."

Take these tips, and hopefully your winter will end on a happy note!

Ah, the holiday season: 'tis the most wonderful season, for some: for others, though, not so much.

Yes, this article is about depression. And if you have read any of my other blogs (if you haven't, please feel free to go back and do so), then you might not want to call me the bringer of good cheer: last month I wrote about employee theft during the holiday shopping season, the month before about bullying.

I like to think of myself as your designated problem-solver. I'm pointing out problems so you can solve them before they ruin your holiday festivities.

This month's problem: depression, loneliness and possibly even suicide could affect some of your employees this winter.

Seasonal Affective Disorder

One thing to note from the beginning, while increased depression and suicide rates might seem to be correlated to the holiday season, some studies say there is no link. Instead, it is winter itself, and not the holiday joy of everyone around them, that makes some people feel, well, depressed.  

In fact, the Center for Disease Control has conducted studies that show suicide actually is highest in the spring, though it cannot tell you why. However, a possible suggestion for this phenomenon could still go back to seasonal affective disorder, which is the name given to winter-linked depression. 

When spring arrives, individuals with seasonal affective disorder tend to return to their old, happy selves. But many of those with year-long depression are stuck with the burden of their condition.

But why would winter get people down to begin with? There are several reasons that this might occur:

• Days are shorter and darker (light or the lack thereof is linked to energy levels, fatigue, hunger, mood, and many other aspects affecting depression);
• It's colder and drearier (depending on where you live), which can result in cabin fever;
• The lack of sunlight can cause drops in serotonin levels;
• The change in seasons can affect your circadian rhythm, i.e., your sleep cycle.

Help!

If depression increases in the winter, and suicide increases at the end of winter, now might just be the time for you the employer to step in and do something about it.

How?

• Have an Employee Assistance Program? Advertise it! Send out email reminders about the program and explain how it can help. Hang up a poster or memo on the bulletin board. (You might want to mention any confidentiality components of the program as well).
• Educate. Make a point to send employees information on depression (especially seasonal affective disorder) and suicide. Teach them the signs, causes, and statistics so that they know they are not alone. Tell them how they can get help (maybe through that EAP discussed above).
• Beat stress. Though this is something that can, and should, be done all year long, come up with some extra ways to decrease stress during this season. Maybe have a winter party, stop holding 8 o'clock meetings, or refrain from giving one person the workload of four people (or discuss these options with managers and supervisors). 
• Show encouragement and appreciation for a job well done.

In Conclusion...

Happy, healthy (whether mentally or physically) employees make happy, healthy workplaces (and workplaces with lower healthcare costs and higher productivity).

You might not be able to solve winter depression for every employee, but you can help some of them - which should make your winter days that much more sunny!

Even Lady GaGa has weighed in on it, so you know it must be an important issue. And it is hard to not see the YouTube videos of kids with their index cards, even when you don't follow YouTube trends. If you somehow missed it from one of those ways, though, you probably saw something about it on your favorite crime stopper TV show.

What am I talking about?

Bullying.

It's everywhere, and the workplace is not an exception.

When I think of workplace bullying, I remember an episode of Will and Grace where Will Truman's high school bully started working in the same law firm as Will and quickly began making Will "Woman" do his work for him. In turn, Will began faking sick and staying home from work just to avoid the issue until Jack made him stand up for his rights.

As is the case in all half-hour sitcoms, there was a humorous, tidy ending to the whole problem.

If only our real workplace bullying concerns could be wrapped up just as easily.

What Is Workplace Bullying?

Workplace bullying occurs when an employee, often times (but not always) a boss, uses his or her power, whether that power is gained through a higher position in the workplace or through actual strength, to intimidate another employee.

It can be done through making vindictive or condescending comments, embarrassing or humiliating the other employee or employees in front of their peers, or any other unethical mean that makes the employee feel reasonably uncomfortable in the work setting.

Is Workplace Bullying Really a Problem?

According to the Workplace Bullying Institute, 35% of the US workforce say they have been bullied, and that equates to over 50 million workers.

Still, though, there are no current laws that ban workplace bullying, unless the bullying is the result of the victim's membership to a protected class.

In other words, it is not illegal to bully someone just because you do not like them.

While many states are considering a Healthy Workplace Bill that would address these issues, right now it is up to you as the employer to stop this harmful trend.

There are many reasons you should want to do this as well, even outside of basic humanitarian reasons:

• Stop violence. Stopping this harmful behavior before it reaches potentially devastating levels is the best approach.
• Create a positive work environment. Employees who feel safe, and even valued, at work are employees who are going to do their best for their employer. Not only this, but there will be fewer absences of scared employees not willing to face their daily tormenters.
• Weed out the bad seeds. Bullying tendencies in and of themselves should be avoided at all costs, but an employee who is a bully might also tend to have other unsavory characteristics that you want to keep out of your workplace. Getting rid of the mean employee or offering training to help eliminate the bad traits can clear your workplace of more than just bullying.
• Reduce liability. Even though bullying is not illegal, it can lead to other claims that could create liability for the employer, such as harassment or hostile work environments.

Stopping Workplace Bullying

October is National Bully Prevention Month, and this week (October 14 through October 20) is Freedom from Workplace Bullying week. To help recognize this week, take a moment and examine what your workplace is doing to help stop bullying.

There are many things that you as the employer can do to stop bullying in your workplace and one is to support the Healthy Workplace Bill if there is one being considered in your state. In addition, look at your current safeguards. Do you have any or all of the following?

• An anti-bullying policy?
• Training for all levels in topics such as tolerance, ethics and correct workplace behaviors?
• A reporting method that is both well publicized and offers anonymity?
• A discipline procedure that is both effective and consistently used?

These are just a few of the ways you can stop bullying from terrorizing your workplace.

If you want to learn more about this important topic, XpertHR can help.

The European Depression Association (EDA) has carried out a survey of more than 7,000 people in Europe on the subject of depression. According to the EDA's survey, one employee in 10 in Europe has missed work because of depression, "with an average of 36 days lost per episode of depression", which equates to "more than 21,000 working days lost". 

Interestingly, the survey, which is titled the "Impact of Depression at work in Europe Audit", found that Great Britain had the highest rate of diagnosis of depression among respondents at 26%. Italy had the lowest rate at 12%. Along with Germany, Great Britain's workers were also more likely to take sick leave, and took off on average the highest number of days when suffering a bout of depression (41 days). 

The President of the EDA, Dr Vincenzo Costigliola, said, "The results of the survey show that much needs to be done in raising awareness and supporting employees and employers in recognising and managing depression in the workplace." 

See a short summary of the EDA's survey. The full results of the survey will be published in 2013.

See also the XpertHR good practice guide on stress management (subscription required).

XpertHR’s good practice guide to stress management has just been published. It focuses on what employers can do to deter stress and, where employees experience stress, rehabilitate them, including by promoting psychological wellbeing.

I’m pleased to say that the author of the guide is Ivan Robertson, an internationally recognised expert in the areas of stress, wellbeing and employee engagement. Ivan is co-founder of Robertson Cooper (external website), having set up the business with Cary Cooper in 1999. Robertson Cooper helps organisations to realise the benefits of engaging leaders and having resilient teams and energised employees, while building internal capability to ensure sustainable improvements.

The importance of stress management has been recognised for some time, but last year, stress became the primary cause of long-term sickness absence for manual and non-manual workers.

• The most common measure taken to combat workplace stress is offering flexible working options. This is followed by initiatives to manage stress-related absences. Public sector employers are significantly more likely to take such measures on stress.
• One in four employers has provided stress management training within the past 12 months.
• Just over one in three have used the HSE management standards for work-related stress.

These are among the key findings of the latest XpertHR Benchmarking survey on stress management. The survey is based on responses from 205 organisations with a combined workforce of 509,976 employees.

Subscribers to XpertHR benchmarking can drill down into the complete findings of this survey, and create their own bespoke reports.

XpertHR was on the road this week, catching up with the latest HR issues and debates at the CIPD annual conference and exhibition, in Manchester. There were well over 50 different workshops, panel sessions and case studies at the event including a keynote address from Sir Terry Leahy, former CEO of Tesco. The primary responsibility of leaders is to seek the truth about their organisations so they can set the right goals and inspire people towards positive change was Leahy's core message for delegates.

The range of case studies included nearly every practical HR challenge facing HR practitioners who have responsibility for implementing people management strategy within their organisations. The themes ranged from the hardy perennials that form the bread and butter of HR - "practical guidance on how to carry out disciplinary investigations" - to the more cutting-edge and topical - such as "HR harnessing the power of social media" and "Organisation design lessons from the Olympic and Paralympic games".

This morning I had the privilege of chairing a breakfast briefing in County Hall London (where I took the picture above) to launch research that shows using workplace champions can improve the health and wellbeing of employees. 'All Work and No Play' is a report on the 'Workplace Activator' pilot funded by the government and run by Central London YMCA. The research was done by the University of Westminster. Among the speakers today was Dame Carol Black, national director of health and work. 

The year-long pilot tested the impact of specially individuals who encouraged employees to adopt healthier lifestyles while their employers, SMEs in London, to support this, for example by offering flexible working, subsidised gym memebership or access to healthier foods.

Swine flu is not currently classed as a pandemic, but, along with seasonal flu, it is an issue again this winter. XpertHR answers employers' questions on their responsibilities if employees are affected by swine flu.

Latest research from XpertHR finds that two in three organisations do not have a behaviour policy in place for the work Christmas party.

A group of factory workers who have to clock off and have deductions made from their pay every time they go to the toilet are taking their employer to an employment tribunal, according to the Daily Mail website.

Mental health charity Mind (external website) has produced a guide for employers on protecting the mental health of their workforce. Taking care of business: employers' guide to mentally healthy workplaces (PDF format, 300K) is available to download from the Mind website.

Presenteeism - when employees come into work despite feeling unwell - would appear to be rife among UK workers, according to a recent study from the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists (CSP) highlighted by the BBC. The survey suggests that stress is a key risk area.

Employers’ procedures on annual leave have been put to the test over the last few months. First we had the European Court of Justice decisions of Stringer and Pereda, which dealt with the interplay between sickness and annual leave. Then the snow arrived. Again and again. With schools on the cusp of the summer holidays, HR professionals will once again need to get their heads round annual leave matters, as employees make competing and last-minute holiday requests.

The Indianapolis Star website has reported that an American employee who has a severe allergy to paprika spent $10,000 on an assistance dog trained to alert her to its presence, only to find on her first day back at work that an asthmatic colleague was allergic to the dog.

Workers at a Copenhagen Carlsberg warehouse returned to work yesterday after striking over their right to drink beer on the job.

Workers were previously allowed to drink the produce while working, but Carlsberg has changed its policy, limiting the warehouse staff to one bottle of free beer a day, to be consumed while on their lunch break. The Associated Press reports that the brewery's drivers are still entitled to their three bottles a day.

An interesting story in the Independent this week highlights the negative reporting in the British media of health and safety issues. The article, by the Chief Executive of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health Rob Strange, singles out Richard Littlejohn and the Daily Mail as purveyors of myths and misrepresentations about health and safety law (possibly the source for parts of David Cameron's speech (on the BBC website) on the subject last December).

The trial of the first company to be charged under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 has begun, reports the BBC website.

Employers, particularly those that have had to make redundancies as a result of the recession, need to be aware of the signs of work-related stress in their staff. Redundancy survivors may have to work longer hours to cover the work previously carried out by redundant ex-colleagues, while at the same time facing the threat of redundancy themselves.

Some mothers may have attributed a lapse in memory or concentration to their pregnancy or new born baby. Australian researchers, however, have confirmed that a woman’s brain is not adversely affected by pregnancy or motherhood.

Guidance on preventing workplace harassment and violence (PDF format, 822K) has been published jointly by the CBI, the Partnership of Public Employers and the TUC.

The guidance is intended to raise awareness about how to protect employees from the risk of harassment and violence, both from colleagues and from third parties.

Do you need to know about employment law in France? The latest European employment law guide added to XpertHR looks at key elements of employment law in Frances as it applies to: recruitment and selection; pay and benefits; employee rights; contracts of employment; training and development; equal opportunities; industrial relations; health and safety; and termination of employment.

XpertHR regularly publishes information on industrial relations law and practice across Europe - providing expert analysis of developments at European level and in individual European countries. In addition, other guides to national employment law in European countries include: the Netherlands; Italy; Germany; Greece; Poland; and Ireland. For ease of reference, we’ve rounded our European information up on one European employment law and practice page.

Remember that we want to provide information on the countries that are relevant to you in your HR role - so let us know which countries you’d like to see guidance on in the future.

Cold out isn't it? But for employees working in an office, how cold is too cold?

A video produced by a union representing Disney employees in California has questioned Disney's approach to managing the risk of swine flu in its hotels and theme parks.

The video (on the Unite Here! website) highlights the issue of Disney employees attending work when they are sick with swine flu, in order to avoid losing out on pay.

With snow across much of country once again, your organisation may be affected, with employees perhaps unable to get to work because of transport problems. Take into account the need to be flexible and make sure line managers use their common sense when dealing with the issues that arise. Guidance and a model policy on severe weather conditions and their impact on the workplace are available on XpertHR:

• Severe weather and disruptions to public transport policy
• Dealing with employment issues caused by severe weather or disruptions to public transport - a guide [subscription required for both]

Four new frequently asked questions on swine flu in the workplace have been added to the XpertHR dedicated swine flu resources page.

We asked XpertHR subscribers to suggest any questions they would like answered on how to deal with the impact of swine flu on their organisation. We have added the suggested questions to the swine flu FAQs already published on the site.

Issues covered by the new questions include how an employer should deal with sickness certification when employees with swine flu symptoms are advised not to attend their GP, and the risk of employees coming to work when sick because of absence policies that trigger disciplinary action.

Around 50 new model policies and documents have been added to XpertHR in 2009. But what have been the most popular? The XpertHR employment intelligence blog provides a round-up.

In a move that somehow makes perfect sense, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has chosen Homer Simpson as the new face of its health and safety at work campaign (on the RoSPA website).

Hewlett Packard is facing an unusual problem after seven IT workers in a Liverpool office won over £6m each in their workplace EuroMillions syndicate. The workers are said to have immediately resigned en masse after the news was broken to them.

Werner Heubeck, whose exploits as managing director of Ulsterbus during the worst of the Troubles included personally boarding buses to remove suspect packages, has died at the age of 85. The Daily Telegraph has published an obituary of Heubeck on its website.

Yesterday, I went to the Public Service Partnership staff protection and wellbeing conference. Although the speakers were from the public and private sectors, some common themes emerged as to how businesses can improve staff protection and wellbeing.

The IRS essential HR update on surviving pandemic flu in the workplace takes place in London on 6 October 2009. We’ve put together a pandemic flu resource pack to help XpertHR subscribers attending the event get the most out of it.

Why is it that women care so much about their shoes? This mystery deserves rigorous investigation and may never be fathomed. We just do.

Proving this point, a TUC motion  condemning retailers who "force women workers to wear high heels" has sparked some feisty debate.

The motion, submitted by the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists, says:

"Congress calls on all employers who have dress codes that promote high heels to examine the hazards their women workers face and ensure that proper risk assessments are carried out, and that where these show the wearing of high heels is hazardous the high heels should be replaced with sensible and comfortable shoes."

It continues: "High heels may look glamorous on the Hollywood catwalks but are completely inappropriate for the day-to-day working environment."

An extraordinarily high number of staff suicides have occurred in recent months among staff at France Telecom, according to a Guardian report.

The reported numbers - more than 20 workers in the past 18 months (and six since mid-July) - are quite staggering. Some of the individuals specifically blamed workplace issues in suicide notes. One employee, who survived and is currently in hospital, stabbed himself during a management meeting after being told his job was to be cut.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families has published new guidance on the employment of children under the school leaving age.

The guidance covers areas including the restrictions on the hours children can work and the types of job they can be permitted to do.

Guidance on the employment of children (PDF format, 297K) can be downloaded from the DCSF website.

Interesting post from the Pannone law firm blog on a Tate Modern employee involved in an employment tribunal claim alleging - among other things - that her workplace is too cold.

See also:
Is there a maximum workplace temperature beyond which employees cannot be expected to work?
XpertHR quick reference > Temperatures > Recommended temperatures in the workplace

• Swine flu: Government predicts 12% peak absence rate in August/September 2009
• Warning for employers on swine flu litigation
• Swine flu drives threefold increase in UK sickness absence rates
• A 2009 swine flu pandemic could scupper UK economic recovery, says Ernst & Young

Swine flu and the workplace - it comes as no surprise that many of the most frequently accessed FAQs on XpertHR throughout July were on this subject (see Swine flu - guidance for employers for up-to-date information and guidance). Other popular questions cover breaks for new mothers to express milk and the special rules for employees made redundant while on adoption leave. Most employers are aware of the laws protecting employees made redundant while on maternity leave, but remember that they apply to employees of either sex on adoption leave too.

Employers are being warned of the risk of litigation resulting from employees contracting swine flu at work. The article on the Guardian website quotes employment lawyers highlighting potential personal injury claims and claims resulting from breaches of employers' health and safety duties.

This seems like a good opportunity to remind employers of the resources available on XpertHR to help manage the risks swine flu presents to their organisations...

Every day this week, we'll be adding new swine flu FAQs to XpertHR in response to employers' questions about the impact of swine flu on their organisations. The first three questions have been added to the XpertHR dedicated swine flu resources page.

Now you can catch up on the latest information from XpertHR on swine flu, and check links to key external resources for employers, quickly and easily. Just follow the link in the dedicated swine flu resources box on the XpertHR.co.uk homepage.

> Swine flu - guidance for employers.

To help employers keep up to date with the swine flu pandemic, we have gathered together the latest information on XpertHR on the subject, along with links to external resources for employers. These include links to the Health Protection Agency’s weekly epidemiological update and influenza report, to assist employers in predicting, and planning for, absence levels. My colleague Luke Smith will be checking that the information is up to date on a daily basis. Meanwhile Susie Munro, who looks after the XpertHR FAQs section, is compiling employers’ questions on the swine flu pandemic and its impact on the workplace, to create new additions to the FAQs section. If you have any unanswered questions, let her know.

Twenty-nine year old factory worker, Vincent Smith Jnr, fell to his death yesterday after slipping and falling into a vat of hot chocolate. Read more on the Telegraph website

It looks like the Met Office’s prediction (on its website) of a warmer summer than average is, at last, coming true. While most of us are happy to see the sun, the problem of trying to work in an overheated workplace should not be underestimated. Although employers are required to ensure that the temperature in all workplaces inside buildings is reasonable, no upper temperature limit is specified.

There has been a recent flurry of termination of employment relationships, as a result of disregard for employers’ dress codes put in place to promote health and safety.

Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings is the first company to be prosecuted under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, according to the BBC.

Also:
What is the basis for the prosecution of an organisation under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007?
Following a fatality, can directors and senior managers be prosecuted under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007?

Most employees can feel fairly secure in the knowledge that their home will not be vandalised as a consequence of their job. Not necessarily so for teachers.

Forget Mondays as the worst day of the week - a recent survey [on the Telegraph website] has found that 11.45am on a Tuesday is now officially the time at which your working woes are likely to peak.

Alcohol misuse is rife in Britain’s great orchestras, according to a report in The Guardian (on its website) on 28 February 2009. Bill Kerr, the orchestral organiser of the Musicians’ Union spoke at the Association of British Orchestras annual conference last week, about players performing while drunk.

Given the continuing spread of the norovirus across the UK and statistics showing an increase in the number of measles cases (on the BBC website), it's no surprise that XpertHR has had a number of recent queries from employers in relation to infectious diseases hitting the workplace.

NHS Stoke on Trent has launched the unlikely health initiative of issuing pedometers to 7,000 workers, in a bid to identify which staff are most at risk of falling ill because of their lifestyles.

The recent news that two Britons have managed to get themselves locked up after a drunken romp on a beach in Dubai highlights the potential dangers of alcohol to individuals. The risks that organisations face in dealing with substance misuse are somewhat different but can potentially be serious.

(Photo: Pete the Painter)

Warning: Don't read this if you are of a nervous disposition or you're having your lunch break. The BBC reports that more than one in four commuters tested by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine had faecal bacteria on their hands. Yuk.

The introduction of "multi-faith and reflection rooms" is among a raft of new health and wellbeing initiatives for Downing Street staff, according to the Cabinet Office's annual report.

As if employers don't have enough to contend with in terms of sickness absence, another issue has been highlighted recently: websites selling fake doctors' sick notes.

One of the most frequently asked questions throughout July highlights the changes to rights during maternity leave affecting those with an expected week of childbirth on or after 5 October 2008 - the issue of payment of a car allowance during additional maternity leave. Other questions consider a requirement to take outstanding holiday during garden leave and dismissing an unsatisfactory probationer during the probation period.

Some of the most frequently visited FAQs on XpertHR during June concern the calculation of statutory payments - redundancy pay and SMP - where the employee in question has had a recent change in hours. Questions on the length of time that an ex-employee’s personnel record should be kept, and a change of heart on the employer’s part after a job applicant has accepted a position also feature.

To coincide with the launch of its new online archive, The Times has published a list of 100 "cases that changed Britain", including some colourful employment decisions.

Two new model policies added recently to XpertHR [subscription required] provide timely guidance on employee wellbeing.

Many of the questions featured in our 10 most frequently visited FAQs during April relate to legislative changes that came into force on 6 April, including the amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 in relation to harassment and rights during maternity leave, and the new Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. Meanwhile, the statutory retirement procedures are still a source of confusion, with subscribers viewing FAQs on the number of requests that can be made in connection to a proposed retirement date, and whether or not an employer can seek to retire an employee at a later date where it has previously granted a request for him or her to continue working indefinitely beyond retirement age.

The US senate has approved legislation to prohibit employers from using genetic information to discriminate against individuals.

Many of the questions featured in our 10 most popular questions during February are new additions to the FAQ section of XpertHR – the majority published as the result of subscriber suggestions. So, if you have a question that you would like to see in the FAQ section of the site, don’t forget you can make use of the suggest a question button [subscription required]. Even if your suggestion isn’t suitable for publication as an FAQ, it might still provide useful ideas for guidance that could be published in other areas of the site, or prompt more detailed examination of a problematic subject.

The Health and Safety Executive has come out fighting this year in a bid to see off accusations that it is some sort of over-zealous killjoy body out to ban Christmas decorations and games of conkers.

First deputy chief executive Justin McCracken wrote to the London Evening Standard to take issue with mayor Ken Livingstone over what it judged to be some ill-judged comments about gas holders.

Did you spend the Christmas break fretting about what employment law cases are coming up in the next twelve months? Help is at hand, with my round up of ten significant decisions expected in 2008.

Once again, pregnancy and maternity featured in the month’s top 10 most frequently asked HR questions. Throughout December you asked questions on bonuses for employees on maternity leave, poorly performing pregnant probationers, fixed-term contracts due to terminate while the individual is on maternity leave and paid work during maternity leave. With regard to leavers, you wanted to know if it’s permissible to withhold the P45 of an employee who has been overpaid until the sum in question is repaid, and what action can be taken in relation to someone who fails to return company property.

With the office Christmas party season fast approaching, it’s time for HR to fulfil its traditional role of Scrooge with a reminder to staff about acceptable behaviour at work-related social events [subscription required].

Incoming president of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, Ray Hurst, used his speech at an awards ceremony last week to complain about the “offensive, untrue and derogatory” terms with which the media commonly refer to his profession.

With bird flu back in the news (on the BBC website), don’t forget that XpertHR’s policies and documents service provides employers with a model bird flu pandemic contingency plan [subscription required].

With the start of the workplace party season just weeks away, check out XpertHR's top 10 tips for a claim-free event.

Employers who ban their workers from putting up Christmas decorations in the workplace for "health and safety" reasons are going over the top, according to the Health and Safety Executive.

Now this may sound a little obvious, but scientists have apparently proved that if you want a long and happy life, you might want to avoid selecting rock star as your occupation of choice.

Two recent Court of Appeal decisions, reported on XpertHR this week [subscription required], demonstrate some of the difficulties facing employees who bring stress claims against their employers.

The number of deaths through accidents at work increased by more than 10% last year to 241, according to fatal injury statistics released today by the Health and Safety Executive and Health and Safety Commission.

A model policy on domestic violence [subscription required] has been added to XpertHR’s policies and documents service.

Bad news for health-conscious employers who want to encourage cycling as a viable alternative to the traditional car-based daily commute. It may cut your company’s carbon footprint, but apparently the risks of being mown down by less eco-conscious types are just too great.

The British Psychological Society always has something new to say about work-related stress at its annual conference. This year’s event, now under way in Glasgow is, of course, no exception.

Unsurprisingly, the XpertHR FAQs on the smoking ban in England have been the most frequently visited on the site this month – but what else have HR professionals been asking? Leaving aside smoking-ban related questions, we look at the top 10 most frequently asked HR questions during June.

For many employers today will be the last working day before the long-awaited smoking ban comes into force. From 6 am on Sunday 1 July, all public places in England – including workplaces – will become smoke free. When they turn up to work on Monday morning, employees used to smoking at work will no longer be able to do so, as the ‘smoking room’ becomes obsolete. In the last remaining days, employers need to ensure that all ashtrays are removed, and that the correct no-smoking signs are displayed. Fitting smoke alarms and providing assistance with giving up smoking should help send out the message that the ban is being taken seriously.

How many employees within your organisation are currently suffering from mental ill-health? ONS figures (PDF format, 1.19MB) show that in any one year, one in four British adults experience at least one mental disorder and one in six experiences this at any given time - so even if you are not aware of it, it is likely someone you work with is dealing with some form of mental ill-health.

As such, the cost of mental ill-health in the workplace to employers is significant. Mental ill-health is the second largest cause of time lost due to sickness absence (PDF format, 420KB) in the UK with an estimated cost of £9 billion every year. But can anything be done to reduce these costs and can organisations manage the process to ensure less sickness absence?

The smoking ban in England comes into force one month from today.

XpertHR has recently published practical guidance on how to comply with the smoke-free legislation [subscription required] to help employers prepare for the ban.

With just over a month to go before the ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces, including workplaces, comes into force in England, it's no surprise that smoking-related issues currently feature highly in the suggestions for new FAQs that the XpertHR team receives.

We've therefore just added the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions, including:

Can an employer permit customers or clients to smoke on its premises?

Can employers permit their employees to smoke on the pavement outside the workplace?

Can an employer continue to provide a smoking room for employees, so long as no smoke enters the surrounding rooms and corridors?

Must employers ensure that homeworkers don't smoke at home?

Are employers obliged to specify outside smoking areas on their premises?

Where an employer provides company cars, is it obliged to make the cars no-smoking areas?

Where employees receive a car allowance instead of a company car, must their employer ensure that they don't smoke in any car purchased with the allowance?

What requirements are there for no-smoking signs in buildings?

What requirements are there for no-smoking signs in vehicles?

Where an employer has had no smoking premises for some time, is it still obliged to comply with the smoke-free legislation signage requirements?

USA Today reports that support groups for workaholics are springing up all over the United States.

In cities such as Minneapolis and Denver, groups of residents gather regularly in church basements and hospital meeting rooms to talk about their addiction. They share stories about how their addiction has damaged their physical health, destroyed friendships and hurt spouses or children. All have different jobs, but there is one problem they share.

They are addicted to work.

Support groups for workaholics exist around the country, in nearly 20 states including California, Arizona and Wisconsin. The Workaholics Anonymous gatherings, whose aim is to bring members together to battle their compulsion to work, is a sign of how employees are finding it harder to maintain boundaries between work and life.

The article reports one New York member saying "I can't even fathom having a boyfriend. I couldn't do that. The only relationship I have is really with my BlackBerry."

Are there any such groups in the UK? Not that I would consider going along - I'm just too busy at work.

According to the BBC, office workers who want to lose weight should swap their desks for a treadmill.

Employees can now lose weight as they work, thanks to a vertical workstation attached to a treadmill that has been developed by the Mayo Clinic (a medical research centre).

Researchers found that sitting at a desk while typing will burn no more than 72 calories an hour. However, if a worker uses the treadmill workstation he or she could burn up to 191 calories an hour.

Surely this just a little too extreme? There are plenty of other ways to burn a few calories during the working day, for example use the stairs instead of the lift, go for a walk during lunch breaks or even do a bit of dancing while you wait for the photocopier to warm up!