What happens to employment rights with a ‘no deal’ Brexit?
In a recent technical update, the Government has stated that there will be no change to worker’s rights and protections in the event of a no deal Brexit.
The update confirmed that after March 29th 2019, regardless of whether a deal is reached between the UK and the EU, workers will continue to be covered by The EU Withdrawal Act 2018 which translates EU legislation into UK Law.
In the technical update (Workplace rights if there is no Brexit deal) published on the .Gov website, the Government stated that domestic legislation already exceeds the level of employment protection under EU law. Although there may be minor amendments to reflect the fact that the UK is no longer a member of the EU, there will be no policy changes.
Secretary for exiting the European Union Dominic Raab said: “The technical notice on workplace rights explains the steps we are taking to transfer all EU legislation into UK law in time for exit, so workers will continue to be entitled to the rights they have now, such as flexible working or parental leave. In many areas we already go much further than the EU.”
The government has noted that there might be some implications to workers’ rights in the event of employer insolvency. In particular, employees that work in an EU country for a UK-based employer might not always be protected under the national guarantee established in that country, which could affect their ability to bring a wage claim.
European works councils, bodies representing European employees in an organisation, might also be affected. UK regulations will be amended so that no new requests to set up a European works council can be made and provisions are put in place to allow existing councils to continue.
It said organisations with European works councils might need to review any agreements made if there are no reciprocal arrangements between the UK and EU.
Whilst this means no changes in the short term, there is of course no guarantee that a future Parliament might not enact changes to the current legislation.
If you want to work with a local recruitment agency with roots in the local community, a passion for people, a commitment to excellence, and you know where to find them, you can contact First Base.
Tricia Hay, Director
Leading and Managing Millennials
While we shouldn’t try to stereotype and entire generation, one thing is certain; Millennials (born 1982-2004) have different expectations of management than Generation X (ages 35-50). Their main expectation? Millennials want managers who understand and demonstrate leadership, and fundamentally that means managers who ‘get’ people. Leading and Managing Millennials effectively requires a different skillset.
“100% of employees are people, 100% of customers are people. If you don’t get people you don’t get business”
For anyone confused about the difference between management and leadership, top leaders when interviewed about management, tend to talk about skills and efficient business outcomes and when asked about leadership they talk about the people focused character and behaviours of a manager. Management and leadership of course go together and particularly when it comes to Millennials.
It tended to be a top down management style that created high performing Generation X teams and Millennials don’t take too well to top down hierarchical management styles. When researching potential new employers, Millennials quickly dismiss companies with a reputation for ‘old style’ management and they actively search for those with a reputation for looking after their people. This means they look for personal development, respect, coaching, collaboration and mentoring.
Personal development and training
Millennials are keen to invest in their careers and tend not to be interested in the ‘time served’ notion of career advancement. For Millennials career progression isn’t just about promotion, it’s about learning new things, doing interesting work and feeling that they are making a genuine contribution to something more than their day job.
Gone are the days of annual reviews for Millennials, they perform much better with regular feedback and guidance from their managers. They have inhabited a world where just in time information is available through multiple digital channels and excel when their managers are good at providing bite-sized coaching. This not only help improve their performance but increases their loyalty to the organisation. According to a 2017 survey by Delloitte, young staff who are mentored stay with an employer twice as long as staff who don’t have a manger who provides coaching. Millennials thrive on on-line training to supplement formal training sessions.
Millennials take control of their careers
Some employers might think of Millennials as fickle and less loyal than the previous generation. Remember that they grew up watching Generation X being made redundant from specialist jobs they had committed their whole lives to without having many or any transferable skills.
Millennials take control of their careers and will seek other roles with other companies if they feel stifled in their current position. They are not afraid to make a move that provides the stimulus and modern management culture they want. That’s why it is so important to do more than manage them in their current role. Help them to develop their skills in a way that will support their career ambitions and you also build a reservoir of enthused and talented people who will help to drive the organisation forward.
A bigger purpose
Millennials want to know that their work makes a difference. They want to know how they fit into the bigger picture and how they are connected to the overall mission and values of the company. Poor managers who fail to inspire will often resort to the ‘because I say so” reason to carry out a task. Leaders who get the best out of Millennials get them fired up by being open and explaining why the task matters.
Collaboration and teamwork
Millennials prefer to collaborate with colleagues and teams and are not in awe of their managers. They tend to think of ‘bosses’ as team captains rather than their owners, as peers not superiors. There to facilitate the performance of the team not to brow beat efficiency and productivity out of them.
Understanding how to get the best out of Millennials is good business. They have grown up in a different time, have different expectations of the world of work and want to be treated with respect. They can teach all of us a thing or two about how best to treat all people, from whichever generation.
By Tricia Hay and David Tovey
Developing Future Leaders
In 2018 we sat down to explore what more our team could do to support the young people of Gloucestershire and the local community. We have been involved in many of the more traditional initiatives to help young people into work over the years. This year we wanted to find a way that we could best help the next generation to make their mark within in their organisations, build their own careers and at the same time make a positive contribution to their community.
David reminded us that he had given his son a watch for his 21st birthday engraved with the words “It is leadership, not time, that changes things”. It was then that we knew our initiative would focus on developing leadership skills.
“You manage things; you lead people”- Grace Hopper
The best organisations we work with in the UK and Internationally, tend to be those that can attract the best talent. Our experience is that the best people are attracted to those employers with a reputation for looking after their people and that is why leadership is so very important.
Well led businesses attract great people who develop great products and deliver a great customer experience. In turn that provides a great return to shareholders and other stakeholders whilst making a great contribution to society. What’s not to like?
Developing future leaders
Most global brands and large corporate organisations recognised the need to develop future leaders a long time ago and they have leadership development programmes in place. Indeed, David has designed and run several across a number of sectors.
We decided that we would bring to smaller organisations, most likely with no formal leadership development programme in place, some of the key element of a future leaders programme usually only available to larger businesses.
The programme will develop future leaders by providing six free places to young people (18-24) with an intensive and high impact series of monthly masterclasses. The focus will be on developing personal leaderships skills, building confidence, inspiring teams and will include an introduction to developing business strategy. We’ll be sure to report back on progress during the programme.
Leadership is about people and it is about change. The next generation of leaders will need to focus on change that is sustainable whilst devising new ways to live and work that fit with the needs and interest of not only themselves but of their employers, their families, their communities and an ever more intricately interconnected world.
We look forward to playing our part in helping them.
If you would like to know more or register an interest on behalf of yourself or a member of your team, email tricia.hay@first-base.co.uk or contact us.
By Tricia Hay and David Tovey
Hospitality sector – desperate scramble to fill vacancies
The recent Manpower survey of over 2000 UK businesses reflects our own local experience that whilst jobs confidence is high, some sectors are ‘desperate’ to fill vacancies as Brexit becomes a reality.
The hospitality sector has been performing particularly well in terms of jobs (up 16% in 2017) – but there are definitely signs that some employers are in a desperate scramble to find the right people, with an increasing number citing post Brexit fears.
“Up to 24% of all hospitality staff come from the EU” – Manpower Survey
Employers fear a national shortfall of up to 750,000 people post Brexit and are pushing forward with recruitment to make up the shortfall as the number of EU workers arriving in the UK is already reported as falling.
Business rates have hit the sector hard and with the recent closure announcements by Prezzo, Byron and Jamie’s Italian, the survey highlights high levels of concern that Brexit will cut off a stream of workers from the EU that the sector is so highly dependent on.
With a potential shortage of staff looming, we are working closely with our clients in hospitality to make sure they have plans in place to avoid any negative effects on their business.
Trica Hay – MD First Base
A valuable business partner
I love working in the recruitment business. We all like positive feedback and during a recent review with the CEO of a client we have been working with since 2008, it was encouraging to be praised for providing a great service over the past 20 years.
As we shared memories of those years it made me proud to realise that the team at First Base had provided staff for over 80% of the functions within their organisation. It turned out we had provided permanent, temporary staff and maternity leave cover for functions including:
HR
Customer Service
Finance
IT
Admin
Marketing
PR
Secretarial / PA
Business Development
Sales
Security
Hospitality
Facilities Management
We worked out that First Base have recruited for 16 different departments, each with their own department head who we have got to know really well, getting to understand the way they operate their policies and culture.
Keeping in touch
Keeping in touch with our clients, whatever the size of their organisation, is key to us being able to respond effectively and swiftly. Having worked with this particular client for so long we know them and the staff that we have introduced really well.
Working together on career events, graduate recruitment and at awards events has helped us to really understand the business ad become what the CEO described as a ‘valuable business partner’.
Maintaining a good relationship and contact with temporary staff, for instance, means that when there has been an urgent requirement we can often respond immediately with individuals who have worked for our client before. This means that they fit in with the team right way and become productive from day one.
Other services
As well as keeping the client up to date with employment regulations, pay rates, industrial relations and HR issues, our relationship has meant that we have been able to help during growth times and in tougher time when sadly satellite operations had to be closed. In depth knowledge of the organisation and the individuals involved meant that we were able to put our consultants on site and help with the redundancy programme by finding jobs for those people leaving the organisation.
Let me know if we can help you with any of your recruitment challenges – I’d love to speak with you!
Tricia Hay – MD First Base.
Forget initiatives, live the philosophy
Does your business suffer from initiative fatigue?
I’m really fortunate. I get to work with some great people in great organisations. I frequently get to facilitate off site strategy meetings with senior managers at fabulous locations in the UK and internationally.
Strategic planning meetings are really important. They give the senior team time away from the business to focus on the future away from the pressures and detail of day to day issues. As we consultants are fond of saying, “it gives senior managers and business owners time to work on the business instead of in the business”.
It’s usually not long before the senior team is talking about the need to be a more customer or client focused business and being a great place to work. Senior managers are right to spend time on this – Customer Experience is fast becoming recognized as THE way to differentiate a business.
After ‘away days’ it’s usually not long before members of the senior team volunteer or are allocated responsibility for an ‘Employee Engagement’ or ‘CX’ project. Anticipation about what can be achieved is often high at board level, budgets are allocated and the top down communication about the initiative begins.
Initiatives, initiatives
It sometimes seems that as soon as a great concept is given a label it is in danger of being misunderstood, misinterpreted and then executed badly. It is then too often dismissed by those it was intended to ‘engage’ as just another management fad – destined to wither on the vine.
I can testify to the high number of positive nods and groans I hear when I ask audiences if they have ever suffered from initiative fatigue anytime during their careers!
As a change initiative starts to gain momentum, many organisations underestimate the challenges and complexities. Senior managers often want to see lots of activity and rapid progress. From team bonding sessions, project teams, ‘back to the floor’ projects for CEO’s to newsletters, social media strategies, employee and customers surveys – all kinds of activities are implemented. Sadly many of these activities are more likely to result in cynicism than aligning people with the aims of the business and gaining commitment, particularity with people have ‘heard it all before’.
No silver bullets
Lots of companies want to be recognized as organisations that deliver exceptional customer experience and identified as great places to work – but too many want to find short cuts to getting there. They look for silver bullets or boxes to tick. But there are no short cuts when you need to address the fundamental employer/employee relationship and link it to delivering a great customer experience. People have to be properly aligned with the business strategy and values in a focused, congruent and mutually supportive way.
It’s not engagement or CX ‘initiatives’ that are needed – what works is the embedding of an engagement and customer experience philosophy that is lived by everyone from the bottom to the top of the organisation.
Great places to work with engaged employees who deliver excellent customer experience:
Are clear what they mean by engagement
Are clear what they mean about customer experience
Have a senior management team fully committed to it
Ensure that everything they do supports the core purpose and values of the organisation
Are clear about how they measure engagement and CX
Acknowledge that where action is required no single intervention is likely to succeed
Keep lines of communication with senior managers open
Actively encourage collaboration at all levels
Continually recognise, reward, celebrate and reinforce what is being done well
Look for and measure the impact of engagement and CX on business results
Recognise that employee engagement isn’t a destination – it’s a journey.
Many organisations are just not up to the challenge. They want rapid results based on short term investment and when things get a bit tough another initiative goes on the back burner – yet again proving the cynics right. Every one goes back to business as usual – until the next away day and the next management initiative.
You have to believe in and live the philosophy if you want to avoid initiative fatigue.
David Tovey
David Tovey is author of ‘Principled Selling’ published by Kogan Page
and Non Executive Director of First Base.
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For the modern British worker, therefore, the ability to have some flexibility in their work hours and environment tops other important concerns, such as regular pay rises, career progression and company pension contributions. These things are, of course, important, but it just goes to show just how important flexible working is in today’s economy. (more…)
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Will Brexit Affect Access To Skills For UK Employers?
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