Are you an employer?

2023 bank holidays In addition to the 8 bank holidays that employees get each year, there was an extra one on 8 May in light of King Charles’ III Coronation. You didn’t need to grant employees the day off as paid leave unless it says so in your employee contracts. If nothing is stated, you […]

2023 bank holidays

In addition to the 8 bank holidays that employees get each year, there was an extra one on 8 May in light of King Charles’ III Coronation.

You didn’t need to grant employees the day off as paid leave unless it says so in your employee contracts. If nothing is stated, you must decide whether the additional bank holiday was:

•    Part of their statutory annual leave
•    One extra day of paid leave
•    One day of unpaid leave

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)

In April, the rate of Statutory Sick Pay increased from £99.35 to £109.40 per week.

Maternity Pay

In April, the rate of Maternity Allowance increased from £156.66 to £172.48 per week.

Further reading

Pay rises from April

Menopause and the workplace

A report published in July 2022 by The Women and Equalities Committee recommended changes to workplace law and practice to help women going through the menopause. 

The Government has accepted at least some of the recommendations either in full or in part. This shows the importance of treating menopause and its symptoms seriously, in order to reduce the risk of grievances from your employees.

Loneliness at work

In March 2023, Glassdoor published the findings from a new study. They surveyed 2,000 employees, and revealed the impact of poor workplace social life, and the importance of workplace friendships.

Key findings:

• 89% of employees believe a ‘sense of belonging is vital’ for workplace satisfaction
• 6 in 10 people with less than five years of work experience are lonely ‘all or most of the time’
• 51% connect socially with colleagues at least once a month
• 49% say a good social life has a ‘significant impact’ on their overall job satisfaction and mental health
• 28% of workers under 35 would stay in a job they didn’t like if the workplace social life was good
• 25% of employees of all ages want to socialise more with co-workers

In-person interaction with co-workers has reduced since the Covid 19 lockdowns, and the subsequent move to hybrid working/fully remote working.

But, without a healthy work social life, employees are more likely to be unproductive, disengaged, and vulnerable to stress, anxiety, or even burnout.

Some of your employees may prefer working quietly at home, while others will thrive in a busy office environment. You should maintain a sense of camaraderie, treat employees as individuals, and offer them flexibility where possible.

How Harrisons can help

For help with anything to do with employment law, please contact our friendly team in the Corporate law department.