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
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW 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
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW 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+

Employment lawHR practice

HR must do more to promote employment rights to staff

by Kat Baker 29 Oct 2009
by Kat Baker 29 Oct 2009

HR must stop being “squeamish” about promoting employment rights to their staff and ensure all employees have the necessary information, a think-tank has said.

The Fair Treatment at Work Report, published by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) on Tuesday, revealed that 22% of more than 4,010 workers surveyed still did not feel they knew their employment rights – including working hours, the national minimum wage, and holiday entitlements.

Nearly one-third of workers had experienced an employment rights problem in the last five years.

Stephen Overell, associate director of the Work Foundation, told Personnel Today that “HR had a job to do about informing workers about rights” and said if functions freely gave information about employment rights it could help to build trust in the profession.

He said: “Arguably, HR professionals are a bit squeamish about raising awareness around rights because they sense, not unreasonably, that the more people know, the more they are likely to use those rights.

“Overcoming this suspicion is an element of building trust in the HR profession. Ensuring people know their rights is a simple, straightforward bit of good that HR can do that is more practically useful than creating stacks of new policies and procedures covering every eventuality under the sun.”

He added it was important that HR functions supplied staff with information, in particular on bullying helplines, employee assistance programme (EAP) providers, and independent sources of advice.

Vanessa Robinson, head of HR practice development at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, said she did not believe HR was shying away from publicising employment rights.

But, she added: “Frequent reminders and refreshers are absolutely important, and HR should be facilitating those or working with line managers to do that.”

The use of group discussions on employment rights and sounding boards such as ‘ask HR an question’ would enable employees to feel they could raise any queries they might have, Robinson said.

Jo Stubbs, XpertHR employment law editor, added: “In our experience, many HR functions recognise that it’s in their best interests to ensure that information about employment rights is disseminated throughout their organisation.”

She said HR should ensure line managers have an understanding of the law so they can answer employment rights queries from their teams.

The report also found:



  • Parental rights and the 48-hour Working Time Regulations were the least well-known employment rights
  • Those with more than one job were 99% more likely to report bullying and harassment, while those with less than one year of service were up to 130% more likely.
  • 18% of those who report an employment rights problem leave their employer as a direct result.


The
XpertHR line manager briefing section provides written briefings on employment law for line managers, including guidance on parental leave rights and flexible working.

Avatar
Kat Baker

previous post
Disability needs of staff and customers neglected by employers
next post
Nationwide postal strikes continue as latest talks fail

You may also like

Lack of flexibility pushes half of women to...

16 May 2022

MP demands timeline on carer’s leave legislation

13 May 2022

Queen’s Speech: absence of employment bill leaves organisations...

10 May 2022

Queen’s Speech: Exclusivity contracts for low-paid workers to...

9 May 2022

MP seeks legal protections for employees undergoing fertility...

9 May 2022

Are we happy now? New research Sugar-coats working...

6 May 2022

Alan Sugar calls PwC Friday afternoons off a...

6 May 2022

PwC staff to benefit from extended summer hours...

5 May 2022

A dark day for workers’ rights – why...

29 Apr 2022

P&O Ferries told to return £11m furlough money...

28 Apr 2022
  • What it really means to be mentally fit PROMOTED | What is mental fitness...Read more
  • How music can help to ease anxiety at work PROMOTED | A lot has happened since March 2020, hasn’t it?...Read more
  • Why now is the time to plug the unhealthy gap PROMOTED | We’ve all heard the term ‘health is wealth’...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
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW 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+