Select Committee Inquiry: Implementing Skills and Training policies
The Innovation, Universities and Skills Select Committee is currently reviewing how recommendations set out in the Leitch Report will affect the broader structures of further education (FE), higher education (HE) and lifelong learning.
The CIPD’s numerous surveys and research provide a solid benchmark with which to analyse both current and emerging trends in the skills agenda. Drawing upon this benchmark, the CIPD submitted a response to the Select Committee on 18 April 2008.
The response recognised the vital role both HE and FE have in making the United Kingdom more productive. However, it also emphasised that staff members need not only the skills but also the opportunity and the motivation to deploy them effectively.
The CIPD believes that developing the capability and capacity of effective people managers is therefore essential if we are to achieve the Leitch vision.
Parliamentary reception outlines CIPD stance on agency workers
The CIPD set out its stance on rights for agency workers in a joint debate with TUC general secretary Brendan Barber and Shadow Business and Enterprise Secretary Alan Duncan at a House of Commons reception on Wednesday, 5 March.
CIPD Employee Relations adviser Mike Emmott highlighted the research findings; 47% of respondents believe that the proposed European Agency Workers Directive would make hiring temps more bureaucratic and 61% think it would increase labour costs.
Emmott, emphasised CIPD support for the establishment of a commission to help reach agreement on the issue. He continued: “Our latest survey findings suggest that a qualifying period of at least six months is necessary to command the support of employers. However with a third of employers believing the agency workers will have a negative impact, the proposed independent commission will need to work hard to allay employer concerns."
Brendan Barber called for agency workers to be given equal rights from day one, which he said was the only way to ensure their fair treatment. He said the TUC was still considering whether to support the idea of a commission to help resolve the matter. “We don’t want to see further delay or any attempt to shelve this issue,” he commented.
The opposite position was taken by Alan Duncan, who argued strongly that giving equal rights to temps would harm the flexibility of the UK labour market, and would reduce overall employment levels. He said that many people choose to be agency workers because they value the flexibility it gives them to suit their lifestyle.
He opposed the idea of a commission to discuss an issue that should have been ‘kicked into the long grass’ and called on the Government to defend the UK’s position in Europe with more vigour.
Imelda Walsh meeting on flexible working
In January, CIPD members met BERR officials alongside Imelda Walsh, who chairs the government’s review into extending the existing statutory right to request flexible working to the parents of teenage children.
Ms Walsh said that she saw four realistic options for extending the right: to parents of children below the ages of 12, 14, 16 or 18, corresponding to key stages in education. Any such change could be made by regulation, without the need for primary legislation. Ms Walsh was also keen to hear how the existing legislation was working.
The CIPD team led by Mike Emmott and Freda Line made a number of comments, including:
• Some employers anticipate that extending the right will lead to further workforce tensions. There is little support for phasing in any extension
• Employers are happier to consider informal requests. Many believe amending legislation will be largely irrelevant since practice is already well ahead of legislation
•Managers can and should learn to adopt a different management styles over time, inlcluding how to communicate why particular requests cannot be met
• Employees need to be made more aware that there is no absolute right to flexible working
• The existing statutory right is taken up by relatively few men. Extending the right to all employees would encourage better take up by men.
CIPD has offered to supply examples of members’ experience of managing flexible working to help illustrate the report of the review, which is expected in the spring.
*In November 2007, the Prime Minister announced that the Government had decided to extend the right to request further - to parents of older children. At the same time he announced that Imelda Walsh, HR Director of J Sainsbury plc, would conduct a review of where the age cut-off for older children should be set.
BERR update on dispute resolution
CIPD employee relations adviser Mike Emmott attended a meeting at the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform where he received an update on the reform of the dispute resolution framework.
The Government has yet to publish its response to last year’s consultation on the Gibbons review on dispute resolution,* however it appears that there has been considerable activity to take forward the Gibbons agenda. In particular the proposal for a new “front end” approach to the Employment Tribunal claims process will probably be developed. This will expand on the existing Acas helpline, which has been unable to deal with the volume of requests it receives and will be given additional resources to strengthen its advice to employees and employers.
Advisers will naturally need to gear their advice to take account of each callers’ needs but the CIPD has urged that the starting point be to encourage employees to seek to resolve issues through dialogue with their employer; if this fails to resolve the issue, the next level of advice should be to refer the caller to a third party such as Acas and a tribunal claim should be seen as a last resort.”
*The current Employment Bill will scrap the Dispute Resolution Regulations and pave the way for earlier and more informal resolution of grievances. BERR is still finalizing the replacement package of measures, but has pledged not to scrap the present statutory rules until the new non-regulatory framework is ready.
CIPD advise BERR on new "virtual HR" resource
Between now and March, BERR will be running a direct mail campaign to highlight the Employing People pages on businesslink.gov to around 500,000 small businesses. The aim is for the site to be a “virtual HR” resource for businesses – including advice and a number of tools. The target audience for this campaign is smaller businesses, predominantly with 2-15 employees, mainly up to two years of trading and therefore likely to be employing people for the first time. Three sectors will be specifically targeted; business services, wholesale and retail and hotel and catering. A longer term campaign focusing on small and medium employers will be rolled out subsequently.
CIPD earlier urged the Government to build on the “shared HR” pilots for small firms, which were effective in giving small employers the confidence and support to handle employee relations and employment law. However it is evident that BERR are heavily committed to developing their on-line support and are now highly unlikely to be interested in additional funding for face-to-face advice. BERR’s continuing focus on small businesses shows recognition that those employing fewer than 50 people are unlikely to have direct access to professional HR support.
In developing the new “virtual HR” resource, BERR is looking for help from a range of stakeholders including the CIPD. CIPD members should be well placed to comment on how new materials are likely to be received and we await a direct approach from the BERR team responsible for developing the on-line service. We will let you know as things develop.
The CIPD meets Treasury minister to discuss employee assistance programmes
The CIPD has met with Kitty Ussher, HM Treasury Minister, this autumn to clarify the tax situation surrounding employee assistance programmes (EAPs). The CIPD and its members had long understood EAPs to be largely exempt from tax. However, it has transpired that a large public sector employer has been given a seven-year backdated tax bill worth £1.5 million by a local tax inspector for the use of EAPs. Ms Ussher has promised to look into the situation and reply.
The CIPD engages with new Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS)
Following the publication of the Government-commissioned Leitch Review on Skills and the Government's follow-up World Class Skills report, the CIPD has met with David Macvean, Director General of World Class Skills and Olympics, DIUS, to discuss the Government's skills agenda. The CIPD expressed some concern that the Government's skills agenda is too narrowly focused on qualifications and needs to incorporate other people management practices, such as job design and regular appraisals, if it is to succeed in meeting and developing the skill needs of individuals and employers.
A follow up meeting is scheduled for February 2008.
Last Updated 17 March 2008