Policies & procedures | Page 44 (596 items)

The productivity and collaboration benefits of mobile working are clear, but HR will need to work with other workplace departments to ensure they aren't inhibited by "bring your own device" issues, a briefing heard yesterday.

HR professionals can be held personally liable for failing to implement procedures they may not have known existed, an employment lawyer has warned an HR Daily webinar.

HR professionals need to consider three levels of integration to ensure people strategies are aligned to clear business outcomes, says experienced HR executive, Frank Kennedy.

Employers that don't tick all the right boxes prior to dismissing someone are more likely to face an unfair dismissal, adverse action or other claim, says Hicksons partner Brad Swebeck.

HR Daily Premium presentation, he covers the factors to consider in relation to:

• the nature of your business;
• the circumstances of the proposed dismissal;
• policies, procedures and contractual issues;
• disciplinary, misconduct and performance-related dismissals;
• dismissal of injured workers;
• redundancies;
• remedies; and
• jurisdictional frameworks.

Running a pilot program to identify potential issues can help an organisation decide whether working from home arrangements should be made broadly available, says the manager of a team that now has two-thirds of its employees in home-based work, and much higher retention rates as a result.

A checklist of minimum safety and technical requirements for home-based work is essential to ensure the arrangements are trouble-free, and that employees understand their obligations and responsibilities.

Organisations that are considering making redundancies must plan carefully, "being mindful of their competing obligations", to minimise the potential impact on employees and the business, says employment lawyer Natalie Spark.

Employers can significantly reduce the risk of a psychological injury claim if they practise eight important steps, say Hicksons employment lawyers Brad Swebeck and Stewart Cameron.

Most HR policies fail to deal with modern bullying, discrimination and harassment challenges - including after-hours misconduct and misuse of social networks - says workplace lawyer Brad Swebeck.



In this presentation, he and fellow Hicksons Lawyers partner Stewart Cameron outline:

• How to detect, prevent and manage bullying, discrimination and harassment;
• New psychological injury risks posed by misuse of social networks/media;
• What to include in bullying and harassment policies;
• Your rights and responsibilities when managing employees' out-of-hours behaviour;
• Appropriate responses to employee complaints;
• Lessons to be learned from successful claims brought against employers;
• How to defend spurious claims;
• How to avoid claims arising from performance management; and
• HR managers' liability for psychological injury under the existing and new OHS national framework.

Employees with children have a right to request flexible working arrangements. Do you know how to manage and respond to them?



This presentation explains:

• Employers' Fair Work Act obligations, and how they interact with parental leave entitlements and anti-discrimination laws;
• The implications of failing to comply with the flexibility provisions, and how you can avoid them; and
• What to include in a flexible working arrangements policy, and how to communicate relevant procedures to employees.