Client News 2008 Volume 12, Issue 7

PENNY IS RAINBOW’S TOP TEMP

Mrs Penny Haswell was awarded the annual ‘Top Temp’ award, as part of National Temporary Workers Week. Angela Wagstaff, Head of Human Resources at Richard Burbidge, where Penny is currently assigned, said: “We are delighted that Penny has won this award and completely agree with Rainbow’s choice, as she is fantastic! Penny has been professional, dedicated and flexible during her time with us, as both standby and holiday cover for our Reception team, so we feel the award is thoroughly deserved”.
 

THE IMPORTANCE OF CORRECT MANUAL HANDLING

More than a third of all injuries incurring an employee's absence of three days or more reported each year,  are caused by errors in Manual Handling. Manual handling injuries are the single most common cause of injury in the workplace, at a  cost to employers of more than £512 million a year in lost production and other costs. Effective solutions are often simple, cheap and lead to a multiplicity of benefits. Manual Handling training courses are highly recommended to all employers of production and warehouse staff and Rainbow Recruitment offers regular manual handling training courses to temporary and permanent job seekers. Training courses are currently held in Oswestry, Shropshire and Newtown, Powys. Our tutors are trained and qualified, certificates are issued to all attendees completing the half day course.  Any clients interested in discussing free Manual Handling training for their employees are invited to contact Shirley Chelmick – Recruitment Manager at Rainbow's Head Office in Welshpool on 01938 555 222.
 

DO I HAVE TO GIVE A REFERENCE?

Recruiters will be keen to check references of prospective staff. They will also be asked to provide references for those staff who leave their employment, yet the law on references isn’t simple and recruiters who get it wrong could end up facing an Employment Tribunal. Employers are not generally obliged to provide current or ex-employees with references. Obligations to provide references may be included in employees’ contracts, but this is rare. More common is finding them in compromise and other settlement agreements when employees leave.

Employers giving a reference must be aware of their duty of care to the recipient. If the reference is misleading and relied upon by a third party, the third party can bring a claim against the employer. Refusal to give references can also lead to victimization claims. In summary:

There is no general obligation to give references.
References must be true and accurate, fair and not misleading.
It is unfair to include complaints against employees if they have not been informed of such complaints.
If employees leave when disciplinary proceedings are unresolved, proceedings can only be referred to neutrally.
If an employer makes unfavourable comments about an employee, they must be supported with evidence that a reasonable investigation was undertaken.

SPIRIT OF THE AGE

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council has banned ‘brainstorming’ from use in meetings, in case it causes offence to epileptics and the mentally unstable. “We take diversity awareness very seriously” said a council spokesman, “staff have been asked to use the term ‘thought showers’ instead.
Students at Angela Ruskin University have been warned against throwing their mortar boards into the air at their graduation ceremony this year, in case the falling hats land on someone’s head. The traditional practice ‘not only causes damage to the hats, but can also cause injury’ says a statement on the university’s website.
The family Labrador snoozing next to the Aga is a familiar sight in farmhouse B & Bs across Britain. But it is to become a thing of the past thanks to a new regulations from Brussels. An EU directive banning animals from all food preparation areas became law in 2006, but it is only now being enforced. Thousands of B & B owners have threatened to close.