Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Heart of the matter

by Personnel Today 1 Apr 2001
by Personnel Today 1 Apr 2001

Relationship problems can lead to poor performance and trauma for the
affected worker. New legislation, backed by research, is poised to deal with
the disruption, by Linda Goldman and Joan Lewis

Statistics released by the National Institute (Trauma) Personal Indignity
Campaign (Nitpic) show that the incidence of absence from work on St
Valentine’s Day is increasing at the rate of 36.1 per cent per annum.

Figures show that there is a combination of lateness and absence at emotive
anniversaries and pagan festivalsgenerally.

Latecomers arrive at work offering a variety of excuses to cover the fact
that they have waited at home for the post to arrive. This effect may equate
directly to absence where an employee has a long distance to travel to work.

Those who do not receive a love token of any description may not attend work
for anything up to three days. Those who do not receive post of the desired
nature may perform poorly at work even when they are able to attend.

OH teams have been taking part in the government initiative to combat the
condition known as "Valentabsence" by completing anonymous
questionnaires to provide a factual matrix for dealing with the condition and a
sound base for the new Prevention of Work Distress (Exacerbation) Regulations
2001 (Powder) which, at the time of writing, are about to come into force.

Practical effects

If the expected results are forthcoming from the Valentabsence trial, then
it is likely that consultation will take place on extending the scheme to
include wedding anniversaries, birthdays, etc. The Government has indicated
that a Commissioner for Love Over Trauma (Clot) would be appointed to oversee
the new system of rights.

The OH department is concerned with the health-related absences that are the
reason for the creation of Powder. In dealing with these issues,
confidentiality remains paramount, since mere absence without leave is a
disciplinary issue, whereas absence for this particular condition may
characterise a single, short-term episode of illness (ichthyotic transient
cardiac haemorrhage – "itch").

The more serious, long-term effects involving three days’ absence or more
must be carefully investigated since, if the party who failed to send a
Valentine is a work colleague, the incident may have to be reported under the
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995
(Riddor), being of a work-related origin.

In rare instances, the condition can become chronic, giving rise to
circumstances in which dismissal on the grounds of ill health may be considered
by the HR department. Hitherto, OH personnel have been able to assist in the
health issues, subject to the overriding ethical demands.

Effect of the new regulations

The broken heart syndrome is the commonest cause of exacerbation of
stress-related illness, particularly in mid-February.

Powder comes into force at midnight on 31 March 2001 and clarifies the
issues which justify absence from work on St Valentine’s Day. It should be
noted that they have retrospective effect only for those who have suffered
previously.

Figures contained in the NITPIC 2000 Report available at www.heartbreak.uk

© Humour Resources.

Linda Goldman is a barrister at the civil chambers of Bernard Pearl,
Lincoln’s Inn. She is head of training and education for ACT Associates &
Virtual Personnel.  Joan Lewis is the
senior consultant and director of ACT Associates and Virtual Personnel

The main measures of Powder regulations

– All working persons must only receive Valentine cards at their place of
work (the transition period allows for suitable arrangements to be made in
workplaces where private correspondence is not otherwise permitted)

– Crown immunity to be removed so armed forces may receive Valentines in the
field

– Companies employing 20 or more workers to have qualified OH assistance for
those who have not received a Valentine 

– Resources to include provision of counselling and surrogate cards for
which the Government will provide funds. Flowers or gifts are optional and will
be at the expense of the individual company

– Waiting at home to receive a Valentine card will be a potentially fair
reason for dismissal

– Fines for managers or other senior office holders who have either failed
to send a Valentine or sent one by e-mail (subject to company policy on the
receipt of private e-mail)

Personnel Today
Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

previous post
Flexible benefits aid staff recruitment
next post
Anti-racial discrimination legislation in force today

You may also like

Barrister wins gender critical belief discrimination claim

27 Jul 2022

‘Patchy’ mental health services failing ethnic minority communities

11 Jul 2022

Global study highlights hypertension treatment failings

8 Jul 2022

NICE sets out new guideline on managing depression

8 Jul 2022

Half of employees struggle to switch off on...

8 Jul 2022

Five steps for organisations across the globe to...

8 Jun 2022

The Search for Talent: Six Major Employer Pitfalls

24 May 2022

Grants scheme set up to support women’s health...

16 May 2022

How music can help to ease anxiety at...

9 May 2022

OH will be key to navigating ‘second pandemic’...

14 Apr 2022
  • 6 reasons why work-based learning is better than traditional training PROMOTED | A recent Fortune/Deloitte survey found that 71% of CEOs are anticipating that this year’s biggest business disrupter...Read more
  • Strengthening Scotland’s public services through virtual recruiting PROMOTED | This website is Scotland's go-to place for job seekers looking to apply for roles in public services...Read more
  • What’s next for L&D? Enter Alchemist… PROMOTED | It’s time to turn off the tedious and get ready for interactive and immersive learning experiences...Read more
  • Simple mistakes are blighting the onboarding experience PROMOTED | The onboarding of new hires is a company’s best chance...Read more
  • Preventing Burnout: How can HR help key workers get the right help? PROMOTED | Workplace wellbeing may seem a distant memory...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+