‘Eight ways to understand your gender pay gap’ asks companies to identify potential areas for improvement, such as; whether women tend to enter the company in lower paid positions than men, whether there is a difference in performance scores within the organisation depending in relation to gender and whether individuals who are employed on a part-time basis are being supported to advance within the company. Alongside this, the GEO also published a ‘four-step guide’ to help companies develop an effective GPG action plan. The guide encourages employers to analyse and understand why they have a gap, working with staff to find out what they can be doing better and developing an action plan accordingly.
The guide also encourages businesses to give the action plan time to make an impact, so it will be interesting to see the trends year on year as GPG reporting continues to the 5-year review point in 2022.
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What priority does your business give to supporting work-related stress? 19 March 2019
According to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) over 11 million days are lost at work a year because of stress at work and in 2015/16 over 480,000 people in the UK reported that work-related stress was making them ill. This amounts to nearly 40% of all work-related illness.
Acas talks about the reluctance many employees have to talk about stress at work. Despite what statistics show there is still a stigma attached to stress and people still think they will be seen as weak if they admit they are struggling.
Mental health is no longer the taboo subject it once was and can affect anyone at any level of an organisation. It is therefore important that an employer takes steps to tackle the work-related causes of stress in its organisation and encourages staff to seek help at the earliest opportunity if they begin to experience stress.
Reducing work-related stress can be hugely beneficial to an employer, it can: • Make staff healthier and happier at work • Improve performance and make staff more productive • Reduce absence levels • Reduce workplace disputes • Make the organisation more attractive to job seekers.
The employer benefits are not the only reason to address work-related stress as an employer has a legal obligation to ensure the health, safety and welfare of its employees. As part of this, an employer must conduct risk assessments for work-related stress and take actions to prevent staff from experiencing a stress-related illness because of their work. If you have fewer than five employees you don’t have to write anything down, however it may be useful to do so in case circumstances change so you can review it later. If you have five or more employees, you are required by law to write the risk assessment down. It isn’t just the responsibility of the employer, there are many actions employees can take to reduce work-related stress, including: • Reaching out - simply sharing the stress by talking about it to someone • Support your health with exercise and nutrition – simple steps to increase energy and lift mood • Quality sleep – don’t skimp on sleep as the better rested you are, the better equipped you’ll be to tackle your job responsibilities and cope with workplace stress. The CIPP ran a quick poll at the beginning of the year asking what priority level your business, or the business you work for, gives to supporting work-related stress. Of the 453 responses we received there was a pretty even split over the answers given. 22% stated that their business gives no priority to supporting work-related stress and 25% said it gives low priority. With this accounting for almost half of respondents, employees certainly need to be taking action themselves. However, on a more positive note the highest number of respondents (27%) said that their business gives medium priority to supporting work-related stress and following close behind, 26% of businesses give high priority. It is
The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
Payroll: need to know
cipp.org.uk
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