Elin Pinnell, Head of Employment Law
The last few weeks have seen the spotlight of public frustration glaring, more so than usual, into the eyeballs of some very unpopular employers. Or, rather, the business decisions they’ve taken.
The common theme of the Lindsey oil refinery story, the Mini cutbacks and bonuses-for-bankers was of course public outcry. This in itself became a story, perpetuated by the media’s regular reporting of knock-on incidents across the country. No one wants to hear that, in a recession, British jobs are being “lost” to foreign workers, or that loyal workers are being turfed out of their jobs without warning, or that our taxes are funding obscene bonuses.
The media is undoubtedly feasting on misfortune. And employers have borne the brunt of the few, fleeting references in the press to the employment laws which underpin their actions: UK businesses are entitled to choose to commission foreign workers (the Posted Workers Directive in fact encourages the free movement of workers throughout the EU). Agency workers, unfortunately, have far fewer rights than employees. And people are entitled to be paid bonuses if their contract provides for this.
So there’s another side to all of this; the employer’s side. They are being forced to make commercial decisions, relying on employment laws to best deal with staffing issues. The difficulty they face in making these decisions is that there is, and always has been, a huge tension between employers following the letter of the law and “doing the right thing”.
Take Mini as an example. Would we have reacted in quite the same way had the company gone through a comprehensive consultation with agency staff? The law doesn’t say that this has to be done, but would it have made the overall result a little more palatable? (After all, the feature of that story that sticks most in people’s minds is “one hour’s notice”.)
So, my message is: employers - look at the big picture. Don’t stop making tough business decisions, but think carefully and plan how you’re going to implement and communicate them. These days, not all publicity is necessarily good publicity.
For further information contact Elin Pinnell T: 029 2047 4487 E: e.pinnell@capitallaw.co.uk
