Member Blog

Duvet Days… An Urban Myth

Managing short-term sickness absence is tricky and needs to be handled with care, consideration and tact. However, employers are absolutely entitled to raise factual concerns with employees about their poor attendance if the frequency and/or pattern of absences is affecting the employer’s business or its employees.

The Law

Traditionally, employees can self-certify their sickness absence for the first seven days but must provide a doctor’s note thereafter to ensure the absence is authorised and their entitlement to Statutory Sick Pay is preserved. Statutory Sick Pay is payable from the fourth day’s absence: the first three days being unpaid. There is no absolute right for employees to paid time off work to attend medical appointments which should be arranged (wherever possible) to suit the needs of the business (i.e. at the beginning or end of the day).

The Problem

Problems arise when employees are found to be taking a high number of short term (self-certified) absences from work and/or a pattern has arisen as to when those absences fall. More often than not, the employer will not be able to dispute that the employee is genuinely unwell (firm evidence should be obtained before such allegations are made) and so disciplinary action is inappropriate. The trick for employers therefore is to make the employee aware that their attendance is being monitored and/or that a pattern has been identified and that an improvement is required.

The Solution

This should be done by way of an informal meeting with the employee. Show them the dates they have been absent (together with the reasons they have given) over the last 6 – 12 months. Highlight how high their absence is as compared to the business’ average. Explain how you have noticed (for example) how they are usually absent on a Monday or after a home match. Take time to check if there are any problems that the employee wishes to share with you that might explain their high absence. Explain the knock on effect that their absence has to the business and reinforce that turning up to work is a key part of the employment relationship, together with reliability. If appropriate, agree attendance targets for the next quarter (for example – no more than three days self-certified absence in the next three months) and diarise a review meeting.

Always follow this informal meeting up in writing with a summary of what was discussed and agreed. This letter should highlight that an improvement is required otherwise more formal action may be necessary.

The Future

Ultimately written warnings can be given for poor attendance but as being ill is not a disciplinary matter, the process must be handled with care and importantly reasonably. Businesses should feel empowered to deal with such situations proactively and in a way that promotes a positive work place and conscientious work ethic.

The World Wide Web has greatly transformed over the last few years and it has revolutionised the way people do business. Digital marketing has become a force that cannot be denied and revenues from online advertising, particularly mobile ads, have increased considerably. This article will present some of the most interesting digital trends for business advertising in 2012 and beyond.

Magnetic Content

This trend has been present since last year, but it will definitely take the spotlight in 2012 and 2013. Magnetic content is meant to replace traditional methods of advertising online. Its goal is to engage customers beyond traditional advertising and therefore encourage loyalty and increased brand awereness. The purpose of magnetic content is to blur the lines between advertising and content, both online and offline such as using live events, short films, reality games and exciting, worthwhile material that promotes products and services. These various messages can be shared and spread via social networking and directly through consumers’ mobile devices via e.g.QR Codes. Numerous big companies have started using this advertising strategy, including Ford and Macy’s, and they are already starting to see the benefits of magnetic content. Ads may be not be a thing of the past just yet but as marketers increasingly focus on creating valuable and relevant interactive content, which has the ability to draw in customers, traditional advertising could well be treated with less interest as previously.

Video Leads

Online video advertising has been on the rise for some time now, and it will continue to do so in the future. eMarketer estimates that, by 2015, approximately $7.11 billion will be spent on this type of online advertising. For 2012, it is expected that online video advertising will bring marketers the highest revenue, taking into account all types of online marketing. However, video advertising does have its downsides. Most advertising agencies have stated that there are obstacles such as high prices, limited reach, and lack of targeting, which must be overcome. Despite this, the future of video advertising in 2012 looks bright. Amongst the factors that will contribute to the future success of video advertising we can find: pricing models, such as cost-per-view, the use of interactive ads, magnetic content, and personalized videos.

The Era of smartphones

Since the number of smartphones and tablets users has drastically increased over the last years, marketers have started focusing their advertising campaigns on this industry. Consumers have showed more interest in online shopping using their mobile devices and connecting with products via technologies like qrcodes using their phones. Because of this, revenues from mobile payments have been on the rise and it is expected that this trend will continue. One of the most important reasons for the success of mobile advertising is that it enables customers to make purchases from the comfort of their own homes. Mobile ecommerce also offer customers the flexibility to make purchases directly for example by scanning an product page with their device.

These were some of the more interesting digital trends of 2012 and probably for many more years to come. If you are looking for new ways to advertise your company and most crucially engage consumers then you will probably benefit from using any of the techniques presented above.

Whilst QR codes are popping up almost everywhere, many businesses are looking to capitalise on the success of the 2-D barcode but because little is known about quality QR marketing strategies, some of those businesses are making some huge – and sometimes costly – mistakes.

Because of this, we’ve put together a few step-by-step tips to help you utilise QR Codes to their full potential.

STEP 1. Clarifying Your Objectives

There is no use working on a QR marketing campaign if you don’t know exactly what the Code should do for your customer or exactly why you want to go down the QR marketing route. Many businesses have begun to use this technology simply to show that they are familiar with the latest cutting-edge technology – but then they do not deliver quality content to their consumers. Therefore, you need to understand the purpose behind your QR code marketing campaign before you begin. Consider your consumers’ mind-set: do they want to save money? Save time? Gain exclusive access/content/opportunities?

STEP 2. Make it Purposeful for the Consumer

Firstly, are you intending to do a “one-off” campaign, that is, you will only share one piece of information or message with the consumer – then you only require a static QR Code. If you are looking to share different content at different times during the day/week/month then you need a dynamic QR Code. The choice is simple, go with a Code you can control as you can provide targeted messages at various times which means there is a reason to scan your Code.  

3. Mobile-Friendly Content

Next, if you’ve launched a QR marketing campaign but you have little exciting information for your consumers, or you’re just planning to link them to your generic website, there is little point in you even starting the campaign. Most sites look terrible on a mobile browser and so it’s important that you link to a mobile-optimised website so that when it loads, the consumer doesn’t immediately get exasperated. You also need to make the process of scanning the code potentially exciting enough to get the consumer to scan it – so perhaps offer an exclusive gift if the consumer scans the code, or a money-saving coupon.

4.Branding: include a Call to Action on every message

If you use a dedicated QR Code software then you will be able to place an Action Logo at the top of every message consumers see when they scan the Code. This Action Logo could be your company logo, advert or other Call to Actions. When consumers tap the logo they are taken to a URL of your choice, such as your website or an order form

5. Make Sure Your Code is Right for Your Customer

Since QR codes are still comparatively new for most people, consider adding an explanation where you use one. There is no need to provide a lot of detail, but rather than placing the QR Code on your marketing material and hope they get it, you may want to explain in writing something like “Scan this for information about regular offers/free prize draws/new recipes” etc. So, work out your target market, think about why someone would want to scan and make the code user-friendly.  6. ROI: Track Your Campaign

If you don’t know how many people are scanning your codes, which campaigns or sources are receiving the most unique scans, how long they are spending on the link and where in the world they are, it will be difficult for you to understand exactly how effective your marketing campaign has been. Subscribe to a solid system where you can schedule content in advance but also be able to tag campaigns to compare how well different Codes did in different campaigns but also in different media.

Above all, don’t forget to update the content that your QR Codes links to. Leaving it static could mean lots of wasted advertising opportunities. Be creative with your content and with the Code itself and you and your business could soon be reaping the rewards of QR Code marketing.

What are you selling?

To Whom? With What Message? Through What Media?

Market

“The Customer is KING”. No matter what size your prospect is, it is really important to do your research. The more information you have about your market, your prospect’s business, the better prepared you will be and you will demonstrate an interest in their business. Also look for the best type of customers for your business – don’t sell to everyone. Your customer list is vital for success.

” What makes your offering different? “

• Profile your customers be they existing or lapsed. It is likely that 80% of your income will come from 20% of your customers. Find out who these are and get a database that matches this.
• Your customer list is really important to get right – they are your lifeblood so it is important to nurture and develop this list.
• Ensure you know your own product/service extremely well – especially the advantages and benefits that will be relevant to your prospect.
• What is your USP (Unique Sales Proposition)? Ascertain as far as you can the main or unique perceived benefit that your product or service would give to your prospect – what makes your offering different?
• Why it is that your existing customers buy from you?

Understand what other competitors are able to and likely to offer; and which ones are being considered if any.

Message

Once you understand who you are talking to – and once you have segmented and profiled the database, which could be several different groups – you need to think about what messages will be most relevant.

You need to think how each particular segment will react to your offer. The objective is to get them to buy your new product or service – NEW being the operative word. If something is not new or different; why should anyone want to buy it – providing of course you have ascertained that it is relevant to them.

Any message needs to switch on the emotions in a person. It needs to appeal to their desires and get them to do something.

A.I.D.A – Attention Interest Desire Action

So when targeting one of your selected segments, rather than have a headline which says:

“This “product/service” will give you the edge you have been looking for”

Say instead for example:

“7 important reasons why your competitors will be sorry that you bought “this product/service”.

You can test your message with small campaigns that leverage the internet with different headlines. You can then monitor and measure results using a system so your communication can be working day and night.

It’s time to Break the Mould and be seen to be different. People like to buy the unusual not the ordinary.

Media

All very well to have your market and your message – but how are you going to get it out there?

Traditionally companies blanket the media options using, to name but a few, newspapers, radio, email, leaflets and direct mail and where they can afford it, TV. Not a bad thing to do but the targeting can be too broad.

You need to talk to only a sample of those watching and reading this media so a lot of your budget is being wasted on people who either don’t want your offering or clearly don’t need it. So you need to break down a) where your market is; the Geographics b) who your market is; the Demographics and c) the Psycographics; what your market is interested in – and then choose the media to fit the message more tightly.

The planned requirement for consequential improvements to dwellings when undertaking extensions and conservatories has been axed. The Government has scrapped plans for what was dubbed a ‘conservatory tax’ which would have required homeowners to make additional (potentially expensive) energy efficiency measures for home improvements, forcing them to pay for extra insulation or sign up to the Government’s “Green Deal”, which provides loans to install energy-saving insulation that must be paid back with interest.

There is little surprise the proposals have been scrapped. For someone replacing their windows which will improve energy efficiency, it is difficult to understand why they would then have to pay to have further energy efficiency measures implemented when the windows would already be improving efficiency. Of course, this means some people would decide not to make these home improvements at all, which would impact the construction industry as well.

Another key point of the consultation is the overall CO² maximum design targets have decreased from what was expected for 2013. The Government’s suggestion for dwellings is now a reduction of the 2010 CO² target by 8%.

Considerations need to be given to the economic impact changes to building regulations have.

Fear sometimes drives business decisions you wouldn’t normally make. Fear of the unknown can lead us to ignore market trends and opportunities, not good for the future of the business!

So it is the case with Social Media for many.

A fear of the natural inclination people have to network, to be social, aided by the speed and connectivity the web offers. Suddenly putting the advantage of the in the hands of the customer. A lack of understanding around the psychology of Social Media has businesses confused to the point of inaction.

It’s still early days for Social Media and many of the platforms are still developing, but the threat this time isn’t just from competitors. It’s from the customers themselves. They now have the ability to influence your business and the way you operate, if you don’t react positively they may well take control.

A recent example has Hull City Council caught on the back foot.

Dissatisfied with the council’s slow and out of date Council House Exchange website, tenants have taken matters into their own hands. Using Facebook council tenants have created the Councilexchange Hull profile*, enabling more than 1500 tenants to arrange their own house swaps.

Although they still have to go back to the official website to complete their transaction one of the tenants told Hull Daily Mail:

“I bid for houses every fortnight and use the council exchange website but don’t get anywhere.

“It’s easier on Facebook because it is instant and you can message people straight away.”

Whilst Hull City Council are happy for tenants to arrange their own exchanges they have obviously been caught wanting in terms of service to their customer, the tenant.

They now have a fantastic opportunity to capitalise on this initiative, learn where they can improve their service and come out on top.

Hull City Council could even look at ways of leveraging Facebook themselves saving time and money, fear of the unknown will probably stop them though.

Are you looking for opportunities to improve your business using Social Media? Or is fear of the unknown giving your customers, and possibly competition, the upper hand?

*The sharp-eyed amongst you may have noticed that tenants have created a Facebook Profile, when they should have in fact created a Facebook Page or Group. A common mistake, made by many businesses too.

Homeowners who have been eagerly awaiting an announcement about the Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) since the scheme was launched for Commercial heat users in November 2011 will have to exercise more patience following announcements by DECC on 26th March.

Broadly speaking, the Renewable Heat Incentive is a government scheme that pays those installing renewable heat sources, such as heat pumps, biomass boilers or solar thermal panels for the heat they generate. RHI payments are guaranteed for 20 years.

In previous announcements DECC had indicated that the Domestic RHI would be rolled out in October 2012 to coincide with the Green Deal, however Climate Change Minister Greg Barker MP announced yesterday that consultation on the proposals won’t take place until September 2012 with anticipated delivery of a support for homeowners from Summer 2013. It is unlikely that we will see details of the proposals until early Autumn.

There was some good news though. The Renewable Heat Premium Payment scheme, which helps homeowners with the upfront costs of installing a system, has received an additional £25 million. Registration for RHPP support was originally meant to close on 31st March but will now be extended, pre-applications can be submitted on the Energy Savings Trust website from 2nd April.

The level of support differs depending on the Technology:

Ground Source Heat Pump – £1250 grant (for homes without mains gas heating) Biomass boiler – £950 grant (for homes without mains gas heating) Air source heat pump – £850 grant (for homes without mains gas heating); Solar thermal hot water panels – £300 grant (available to all households regardless of the type of heating system used)

Even without RHI support the benefits of heat technologies are numerous, especially for homeowners who currently use oil or gas for heating. They will help to reduce fuel bills, reduce carbon emissions and provide security against rising fuel costs.

An amendment to Permitted Development Rights (PDR’s) means that as of 6th April 2012 planning permission is no longer required to install Solar PV panels on non-domestic buildings.

Ground mounted systems up to 9m2 will also be able to proceed without planning permission.

As with all permitted development rights the following must be met for Roof Mounted and Ground Mounted systems.

Roof Mounted

The array must not protrude more than 200mm from the surface that it is on i.e. roof slope or wall. If it is a flat roof the solar array must be less than 1m in height above the highest part of the flat roof excluding any chimneys.

The Solar PV must be more than 1m away from the external edge of roof or the joint of the wall that it is on.

If situated on article 1(5) Land (National Park, area of outstanding Natural Beauty, a conservation area etc.) the solar array cannot be mounted on a roof slope or a wall fronting a highway.

Planning permission WILL BE required is the Solar PV is on an existing building, on a building with the cartilage of a listed building or upon a site designated a scheduled ancient monument.

Conditions

The Solar PV equipment must, so far as is practicable, be sited so as to minimise the effect on the external appearance of the building.

The Solar PV equipment must, so far as is practicable, be sited so as to minimise its effect on the amenity of the area and Solar equipment no longer needed for micro-generation must be removed as soon as is practicable.

Ground Mounted

Only solar with a maximum solar surface area of 9m2 can be installed.

Only one ground mounted solar system can be present within the curtilage of any one building.

The solar must not exceed 4m in height.

The Solar must not be installed within 5m of the boundary curtilage.

Planning permission is required if the solar is within the curtilage of a listed building or on a site designated as a scheduled ancient monument.

Conditions

The ground mounted solar must, so far as is practicable, be sited so as to minimise its effect on the amenity of the area and

Ground mounted solar which is no longer needed for micro generation must be removed as soon as is reasonably practicable.

It has never been so important than presently to instigate detailed mechanical and electrical design of services in buildings at an early stage in a project.

Traditionally, M & E design would be undertaken by the main contractor’s appointed consultant or sub-contractor and could be based around a loose performance specification. Now, with the need to assess a building’s energy demand to satisfy current building regulations and the requirement to reduce CO2 emissions, it is a prudent client that agrees to undertake detailed M & E design during the early stages of a project.

The upfront design of building services will enable a specialist energy assessment to be carried out, simulating a building’s energy use and its impact on the environment, which in turn will assist the designer to provide a cost effective solution which satisfies legislation at design stage and negates the need for costly changes during the construction phase.

Careful planning and design of services will ultimately result in a completed building which not only conforms to Building Regulations but also provides the end user with a comfortable and environmentally friendly building, designed for purpose and without the unexpected costs associated with Greenwash*.

*Greenwash: An insincere addition of renewable energy systems to a building as an afterthought without an appropriate feasibility study or careful design process, potentially costly, inefficient and unsuitable for purpose.

I’m a little shamefaced to say that I was a bit of a latecomer to Twitter. For someone who makes a living by being on top of technology, media trends and communication … I really was a bit slow off the blocks.

I knew about Twitter, of course, but had only ever looked at it in passing – and hastily dismissed it as a pointless stream of inconsiquential babble from a group of over self-publicists and narcissits. Who, after all, is interested in the 140 character meanderings of c-list popstars and self-help gurus?

Ouch! Looking back at that statement I hang my head; I am shamed.

I thouht I knew better, categorising myself as an “expert” in social media goings-on – and consigned Twitter to background noise without proper thought or consideration. I am converted and I humble myself at the alter of the almighty Tweet.

Not that I was all wrong, of course (I rarely am as my partner and children will be quick to confirm). There’s a hell of a lot of inconsiquential babble from far too many c-list personalities. But this is the … well, choose your own metaphor as I hesitate to use “scum on the surface” … they may be perfectly nce people in their day jobs – and I don’t have to read their outpourings. But, underneath the, flotsam (nice word, especially when separated from its customary partner) there is a rich vein of usefulness to be tapped into.

Twitter, in fact, rules!

I’m going to digress: a quick definition, just for interest’s sake.

• Flotsam: debris/wreckage found floating on the surface after a shipwreck.
• Jetsam: materials/objects thrown from a ship before or during a shipwreck.

In my mind, this makes Flotsam the swirly rubbish you need to cut through: Jetsam is the valuable stuff, stuff that your floundering mariner considers of worth enough to try to save.

Twitter is a medium that requires you to be a careful scavenger – ignore the Flotsam and salvage the Jetsam.

I first started realising that Twitter had real value when I heard about “PLNs”; Personal Learning Networks. Anything with the word “learning” in tends to prick my interest, so I followed up on these references and found that PLNs referred to the practice of following a group of people in your chosen industry/field in order to learn from what they were tweeting about. I tried it, I loved it. Overnight I found I was getting a steady flow of information and insights that were useful and stimulating for me.

And then I started sharing what I was learning, and adding a few bits of my own until I realised one day that Twitter had become a tool I couldn’t do without. I slowly realised why (this was my “revelatory” moment), Twitter was effective, real-time conversation – and it really benefitted me on a personal and professional level.

The other day I heard, or read, can’t remember where unfortunately, (sorry, information overload is a definite problem and some information slips out without me noticing) the best explanation for why Twitter worked: think of Google as a library – you go there to access archived information, digest it and move on. Think of LinkedIn as it was designed – an online version of offline networking. You go there to hook up with people, share a few opinions on relevant matters and then move on.

Now, think of Twitter as a 19th Century coffe house. This coffee house is filled with professional, intellectuals and artists. There’s a constant flow of traffic in and out of the doors and conversations going in every drection. There’s a table by the window filled with half a dozen people who work in the same trade as you, they’re busy spinning ideas at one another – swapping stories of the latest developments in the industry. They offer you a seat and you join the flow of words and ideas, adding your own where they contribute.

That’s Twitter. Real-time, fast-flowing, easy to sift and categorise (just move tables) and madly exhilarating. Yes, occasionally the air-headed lute and viola star’s conversations from the next table float into your consciousness – but it’s your fault for listening, you can always tune them out!

Twitter is my social media Jetsam – very nearly lost in the sea of information but gladly salvaged. Go on, try a bit of beachcombing of your own.

The author would like to seriously apologise for the overhwelming amount of mixed and jumbled metaphors in this post – but, in truth, is unable too.

Zero Carbon

The DCLG’s Building Regulations consultation covering England only, runs until 27th April 2012 and builds on previous consultations with the aim of moving closer to zero carbon – whilst increasing compliance with regulations and reducing red tape.

Whilst there are clear benefits the proposed changes would decrease the regulatory burden by nearly £64m per year. On the other side, Part L changes will impose costs of £103m for new homes and £101m for non domestic buildings.

Part L: Energy Conservation

Part L looks at reducing carbon and creating the right position for zero carbon for domestic buildings by 2016. It is possible the regulations may firstly focus on the building fabric with proposals for zero carbon performance requirements of 39 kWh/m2/yr for apartment blocks and mid terrace houses with 46 kWh/m2/yr for semi detached and end of terrace. A higher specification may be needed for detached. Consequential improvements, both domestic and non domestic will become law in 2014.

The next stage for non domestic buildings, although further away, will require a 20% boost in building performance. The definition of ‘technically, functionally and economically feasible’ is static at 10% of the principle works costs. The Green Deal is seen as the principle way to upgrade current buildings with the use of over design allowing a margin for error and the creation of publicly available specification with a QA scheme is proposed to improve quality.

The consultation is thorough and has proposals which should be welcomed for the industry.

Comments on the proposals can be made by 27th April 2012:www.communities.gov.uk

The Zero Carbon Hub website:www.zerocarbonhub.org

Find information on The Green Deal atwww.decc.gov.uk

As most employment lawyers will testify, April and October are extremely busy months when it comes to Employment Law Reform. Hopefully you will find the timeline below of use for this year, although in practice this area of law can change literally by the week.

February 2012

We have already had the annual review for various statutory caps, which as usual came into force on 1st February.

The weekly cap for the purposes of redundancy pay has been increased to £430 (from £400) per week. This means that the maximum statutory redundancy entitlement has now increased to £12,900.

The statutory cap for the compensatory award in unfair dismissal claims has also been increased to £72,300 (from £68,400).

March 2012

The new Parental Leave Directive, which increased the right to parental leave to 18 weeks, was due to take effect on March 8th. However, the Government have requested that this be postponed, so this is now likely to take effect in 2013.

April 2012

1) The draft regulations changing the qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims from 1 to 2 years have been published. These will come into force on 6th April. In a nutshell, any employee whose employment commences on or after 6th April 2012 will have to accrue 2 years continuous service before they are eligible to bring a claim for unfair dismissal. Any employee who was employed prior to that date will still only require 1 year’s service.

These regulations will have no effect on discrimination claims, which do not require any period of continuous service.

From a practical perspective if you operate a small business and you are considering recruitment of staff, it may make sense to defer the start date until 6th April if your business can cope in the mean time.

2) Statutory Maternity Pay will increase to £135.45 per week. Statutory Sick Pay will increase to £85.85 per week.

3) Various amendments to Employment Tribunal Procedure will be introduced. These will include an increased number of cases being heard by a Single Judge, maximum costs awards against a losing party increasing to £20,000 (this is currently £10,000) and deposits being increased from £500 to £1000.

October 2012

1) The new workplace pension provisions will be introduced for larger employers. Auto enrolment will be phased in dependant on the size of the employer. The rules are quite involved and there is ultimately no substitute for taking advice upon your own position. However, hopefully the attached link will provide some useful background information.

2) The current rates for minimum wage may be re-visited, although this is likely to be dependent on the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission, whose report is likely to be published in April.

Other possible developments

1. Consultation on a rapid resolution scheme for simple/low value claims.
2. Regulation to simplify the requirements for compromise agreements.
3. Mandatory conciliation via ACAS on all Tribunal claims.

WATCH THIS SPACE…