While Royal Mail’s attendance incentive scheme has proved popular with employers and employees, alike, some are warning that businesses risk facing costly compensation claims.
The Royal Mail scheme has reduced the number of staff “sickies” among many firms and rewarded employees with cars and holiday vouchers, but employment advisors Croner Consulting stress that businesses should consider implementing a similar rewards program for employees with disabilities who often have no choice but to take time off from work.
“The bottom line is that employees should not miss out on rewards because they chose to exercise their legal rights to time off,” said Laura Fleming, HR expert at Croner.
“Such a policy needs to be carefully written, and employers, especially those in smaller companies whose HR function may not be as sophisticated, need to make sure any policy is fair to all staff and should also consider taking professional advice if necessary.”
Small businesses, in particular, risk discrimination claims due to disability, sex and even religion.
Fleming said such a scheme should address how to account for the employees’ number of statutory rights to time off, such as maternity and paternity leave. It should also factor in jury service and time off for other public duties.
“Failure to implement a policy which considers the needs of all staff could result in the employer facing a claim at Tribunal,” she said. “With no cap to the damages that could be awarded for discrimination, the financial risk to business is high.”
