THE TIMES - SATURDAY 1 JANUARY 2005

BLIND WORKER KEPT IDLE FOR 2 YEARS

A blind computer specialist won her discrimination battle against a multinational advertising agency that gave her "nothing to do for two years".

Sue Williams was given her dream job as a worldwide IT developer by the J Walter Thompson Group (JWT). But the firm was "ill-prepared for her arrival" and gave her no suitable work throughout her employment. The Court of Appeal ruled that Ms Williams, a Cambridge postgraduate from Wadhurst, East Sussex, had been discriminated against and constructively dismissed. She won the right to substantial compensation under the Disability Discrimination Act.

Lord Justice Mummery described Ms Williams, 30, as a remarkable woman and said that JWT was "ill-equipped to manage a blind employee". He said that there was "no escaping the fact that nothing much happened", with Ms Williams being denied adequate software or appropriate work. None of the tasks she was allocated were challenging for a person of her intellect and industry, and she was effectively "given nothing to do for two years".

The judge said that the company had good intentions, but offered no training on disability discrimination. Ms Williams was recruited in June 1999 after her CV was passed on by Sir Martin Sorrell, the chief executive of JWT's parent company, WPP Group. She needed specialist screen-reading equipment and speech synthesising software, none of which was provided. After resigning in October 2001, Ms Williams told her bosses that "the whole exercise has become a fruitless and despairing one" and that she "had found the whole thing a complete nightmare".

An employment tribunal ruled that she had been constructively dismissed from her job and that this amounted to unlawful discrimination on the ground of her disability. The total cost of the case to JWT could run to six figures. In its defence JWT said that it was inhibited by unforeseen software difficulties and the high cost of training and equipping her.            

Ms Williams made contact with Sir Martin through the Industrial Supporters' Club at Cambridge and JWT made a job offer for the £25,000-a-year post. She reported for work on 1 September 1999, but the judge said, "No plan of action had been prepared to enable her to do her job".

HOW HR2all CAN HELP...

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) applies to all employers. Under DDA Part II - Employment Provisions, there are two ways in which an employer might unlawfully discriminate against a disabled employee or job applicant:

• By treating him or her less favourably (without justification) than other employees or job applicants because of his or her disability; and
• By not making reasonable adjustments (without justification).

As seen in this case, the lack of care in making reasonable adjustments for an employee resulted in the company being dragged through a costly employment tribunal – costly in terms of finances and reputation.

Don't follow in their footsteps; see Beprostaff@HR2all for further information on discrimination.

METRO - THURSDAY 3 FEBRUARY 2005

'BUBBA' JIBE SERGEANT WINS £200,000 PAYOUT

A soldier who was nicknamed Bubba after a retarded black character in the film Forrest Gump won almost £200,000 in compensation.

Staff Sgt David Howard, 39, was also branded 'a fat hairy bear' and teased about his sex life by his superiors. In a mock-up job form, 'Bubba Howard' was described as 'British ??????' and his white wife, Heather, as 'Ma'am' – a derogatory word used by Americans in the Deep South.

Sgt Howard found the form in a senior officer's drawer while serving with the Nato rapid reaction force in Germany. He was discharged last June and now suffers from depression and agoraphobia.

John Hunter, the chairman of the Newcastle tribunal, ruled that Sgt Howard had suffered 'crude and blatant' racial abuse which had not been properly dealt with by 'very high ranking and eminent' Army officers to whom he had complained. The ministry conceded that Sgt Howard had been the victim of harassment and discrimination. The award took into account loss of earnings, injury to feelings and psychiatric damage the claimant had suffered.

METRO - TUESDAY 15 FEBRUARY 2005

LIFEGUARD: I WAS BULLIED OUT OF WORK BY 'THE DON'

A lifeguard was hounded out of her job by bullying colleagues because she was too young and pretty.

Louise Stanley, 25, was humiliated and mocked by a group of workmates led by a woman known as 'the Don'. During a four-year hate campaign, the gang threw her trainers in the swimming pool, put salt in her sandwiches and branded her 'spotty' and 'fat'.

Even though she did not smoke, the Don and her cronies also framed her for stealing cigarettes in an attempt to get her sacked, she claimed. When Miss Stanley complained to her bosses, she was told she was being paranoid and that her tormentors were 'jealous of her youth and looks'.

She quit her job after the stress led to her suffering severe depression and panic attacks, losing large clumps of hair and shedding 13kg (2st) in weight. Miss Stanley was awarded £2,300 damages after winning her claim for constructive dismissal.

HOW HR2all CAN HELP...

The above two cases show how poorly dealt with grievances can result in costly compensation. The 'managing staff' section of bepro Staff @ HR2all can help you prevent this from happening at an early stage, paving the way for you to correctly deal with each stage of a grievance.

HRZONE - TUESDAY 15 FEBRUARY 2005

BOSSES TO BLAME FOR SOARING ABSENCE

British Airways, Tesco and the Royal Mail have all hit the headlines over their management of absence levels. But despite these renewed efforts, latest figures reveal that UK absence has reached a record high. A recent report by healthcare consultants IHC reveals that 40 million days are lost to absence each year and that UK productivity is lagging behind the US and some parts of Europe as a result.

Employers are constantly searching for affordable and effective solutions to the problem but few find successful answers. The two most common mistakes made when trying to tackle the absence problem are:

• Absence programmes fail to gather enough 'meaningful' information about workplace truants, such as the real reason for employees' non-attendance; and
• Too much emphasis is placed on targeting the truant rather than rewarding the consistent attendees within a company.

Most organisations have an effective means of tracking the number of sick days taken by an employee but only rarely do they actually record the illness and the possible reasons for it. It is vital that employers communicate more effectively with their staff to ensure that all available information is recorded. This way, deep-rooted and fundamental problems that could have a long-term detrimental impact on the business can be detected at an early stage.

Tracking the reasons for illness can help management to understand why people are taking time off. Very few organisations record good attendance or even recognise those employees who take few or no sick days during the year. Employers should focus their efforts on rewarding those that are already doing a good job.

Recruiting and training new staff is an extremely costly and time-consuming exercise and it may be months before the new starter operates as well as the incumbent. Businesses must also realise that retaining good employees is vital to the overall success of their organisation. Therefore it is well worth deploying energy and resources into ensuring that they remain happy, motivated and loyal.

The golden rule is that if absenteeism is to be reduced, organisations must promote attendance among the majority rather than concentrating on the non-attendance of the minority.

HOW HR2all CAN HELP...

Running an ill health session within 'managing staff' of Beprostaff@HR2all will help you deal with absenteeism. To set out the rules applicable to days missed by your employees due to illness, run the sickness and absenteeism policy session found under 'creating an employee handbook' in the 'employing staff' section.

In addition, our 'mystaff' section will allow you to keep a record of the time taken off by each of your employees. 

METRO - THURSDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2005

1,500 AXED OVER UNSAFE OFFICES

Hundreds of people are sacked every year for refusing to work in unsafe offices and factories. The law is failing to protect people who raise health and safety concerns.

Around 1,500 workers have lost their jobs since 1999 even though they had a legal right to refuse to do dangerous tasks. Casual and migrant workers are most at risk, said Union backed Hazards magazine, which conducted the research.

HOW HR2all CAN HELP...

As an employer you have a duty of care to keep your employees safe. Beprostaff@HR2all's 'health and safety' section is dedicated to help you do just that. We will show you where to start, help you carry out and record various risk assessments, advise you on how to report accidents, illnesses and incidents, aid you in creating your very own health and safety policy, and much more.

HRZONE - TUESDAY 1 FEBRUARY 2005

GETTING THE MOST OUT OF APPRAISALS

Does your organisation have one of those annual ‘occasions' that few look forward to: the annual appraisal or performance review? How do you look forward to it? I wonder how people talk about it before and after?

Whichever side of the desk you are looking from, the chances are that your view is not entirely positive! Why is this?

Some of the typical problems perceived are:

• It is an annual process;
• Nothing has happened with the outcome of the last one;
• There is no on-going feedback or review of progress;
• Things can change in between, may it be the manager or the job;
• The process is not taken seriously from the top;
• The organisational culture views the whole process as a chore to be endured;
• Insufficient preparation;
• The ‘recency' effect where only the previous 6-8 weeks are reviewed;
• Too much focus on the negatives or problems of the year;
• It is too subjective and too much is based on opinion;
• It is too time consuming and interferes with day-to-day work; and
• Appraisals are just part of the salary negotiation.

HOW HR2all CAN HELP...

Everyone involved has to take their share of responsibility for making things work. Appraisals or reviews can work – and be of benefit to the organisation, the managers and the teams, provided they are thought of as something which is positive and constructive. Make time to do them properly – otherwise they will be a waste of time for all involved!

Beprostaff@HR2all's 'managing staff' section will enable you to create an appraisal form for your employees, and give you advice on how to conduct an appraisal.

METRO - WEDNESDAY 16 FEBRUARY 2005

HAIR GEL WORKER FACES SACK

An airport worker faces being sacked for using too much hair gel.

John Graham was suspended from his job with ground handling firm Swissport at Stansted Airport in Essex after his boss decided his bouffant breached the dress code of his contract.

Now a disciplinary panel will take up to a week to decide if the 20 year old was guilty of gross misconduct. His Union, GMB, said: "His contract states staff must not sport excessive gel in their hair. But he's just a young lad following fashions – it's madness".

HOW HR2all CAN HELP...

When dismissing an employee it is imperative that you follow the disciplinary procedures correctly. Beprostaff@HR2all's 'managing staff' section will ensure that you have all the required documents to successfully carry out this step-by-step process.