HR Heartbeat: Allocation of tips law now in place, Tesla visits staff on sick leave, and…

Welcome to HR Heartbeat, where we give you a rundown of the week’s top employment law stories. Stay on the pulse of current trends impacting your business, plus get up-to-the-minute commentaries on all things HR and legal.

Allocation of tips law now in place

A new tips law is now in place (as of Tuesday 1 October 2024), meaning all employers who deal with qualifying tips have a duty of care to fairly allocate them with staff. Employers who deal with qualifying tips must give their employees 100% of tips, service charges, gratuities, and have a Fair Allocation policy.

Employers who deal with non-qualifying tips are not subject to the fair allocation rule. But they must give workers a Tips Policy Exemption Statement.

Employers will be legally required to have a written policy which sets out how qualifying tips are dealt with and maintain a tipping record, unless they receive tips only on an occasional and exceptional basis.

Some organisations that are not required to have a written policy will need to provide a statement to all their workers confirming that the employer is not required to have a written tips policy for the place of business and the reasons why.

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Under a month until the new preventative duty to prevent sexual harassment

A new preventative duty for employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment comes into force on Saturday 26 October 2024.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published the final version of its sexual harassment guidance which is expected on the same date.

The new preventative duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment will apply to every employer, regardless of size or industry, so every organisation will need to take action to prepare for this.

The EHRC guidance confirms that employers will need to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment not only by their own workers, but also by third parties such as customers, clients, suppliers, self-employed contractors, service users, patients, delegates at a conference, audiences and members of the public.

There are eight suggested steps set out in the EHRC guidance that employers could take to prevent and deal with sexual harassment in the workplace, including:

1. Developing an effective anti-harassment policy
2. Engaging staff
3. Assessing and taking steps towards risk management in the workplace
4. Setting up reporting procedures
5. Providing training to all workers, managers and senior leaders on a regular basis
6. Dealing with complaints
7. Addressing harassment by third parties
8. Monitoring and evaluating actions

For more advice on this topic, as our instant advice tool, Brainbox: What are reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment?

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Is it ok to visit sick staff on leave?

Tesla have caused controversy this week by reportedly visiting sick employees unannounced at their homes.

Head of HR, Erik Demmler, said the company simply picked out 30 employees who had been on long term sick leave. He said the aim was to find out how sick staff members were and if they needed help.

While some employers might find it tempting, checking to see if your employees are sick unannounced isn’t advisable. Taking them at their word or arranging a call to speak with the employee to understand why they are off sick would be a better approach.

If you suspect your employee is faking an illness, you must have strong evidence. If you have evidence, then it can be treated as a conduct issue in line with your usual disciplinary procedure.

When an employee is off sick for more than 7 days, they will need a fit note from a healthcare professional. If an absence is less than 7 days, they can self-certify. For more expert support on this topic, ask Brainbox: Can I dismiss someone for long-term sickness absence?

For long-term support with managing sick leave and better visibility over your team’s sick leave, lateness, doctors notes, and more—check out BrightHR’s streamlined absence management software.

And that’s a wrap. Tune in next week for more headlines and make sure you stay ahead of major employment law changes!