PositivePeople March 23, 2020 No Comments

Safe Work from Home Guidelines

(Free Template)

Our workplace has been designed to provide you with a safe and comfortable work environment. To ensure this extends to your home or other off-site office, you will need to review and comply with these guidelines.

These guidelines should be read in conjunction with our Health and Safety Policy, as your Health and Safety responsibilities extend to circumstances where you are working from home or at another off-site location.

Guidelines for Home Work Spaces

Please click on the link and review the ACC Guidelines for Computer Use
After ensuring that your home work space is compliant, complete the checklist below
We also require you to complete a hazards register for your home work space. This should list each hazard, outline the risk/potential harm and actions taken to eliminate, isolate or minimise the hazard
Please then sign the acknowledgement page and return a copy of these guidelines to your manager along with a copy of your home workplace hazards register

It is your responsibility to ensure that you thoroughly read the ACC Guidelines for Computer Use and implement necessary changes to your home work space. The checklist below is a guide; however, it is assumed when checking each item that you have read and understood the relevant section of the ACC Guidelines for Computer Use. Any changes that need to be made to your home work space to meet the attached guidelines are to be carried out at your expense unless agreed otherwise with your Manager.

Once the agreement has been signed, it will be assumed that the relevant safety precautions have been taken and will be maintained by you. Please maintain the hazards register, adding any new hazards as they are identified and putting measures in place to eliminate, isolate or minimise each hazard.

Home Work Space Checklist

Please check each item once you have read the relevant section of the ACC Guidelines for Computer Use and ensured that your home work space is compliant.

Key considerations for your home work space	Tick
Suitable chair with back support and at the correct height with footrest (if necessary)
Suitable keyboard in correct position
Suitable mouse in correct position
Suitable computer screen at correct height, distance, and position
Adequate lighting for work tasks
Adequate sized work surfaces
Safe and suitable storage for materials
Work space not situated near loud and/or repetitive noise
Adequate heating/cooling and ventilation
Surrounding electrical equipment including cables safely installed, secured and in working order
Suitable physical location of work space within the home – ideally a separate room or area with adequate separation from high-risk and/or high-traffic areas (e.g. kitchen)

Other considerations (please include in your hazards register):

Is there a working smoke detector?
Is a fire extinguisher readily available?
Is a basic first aid kit readily accessible?
Are exits from the work area clear and unobstructed?
Are there any tripping hazards?
Are all floor coverings safe and non-slip?
Are there appropriate handrails on any stairs?
Are any young children adequately supervised by another adult?

Employee Acknowledgement

I hereby acknowledge that I have read and understood these Safe Work from Home Guidelines and the ACC Guidelines for Computer Use. In addition, I have made the necessary adjustments to my home work space in compliance with the guidelines set out in these documents and have completed a hazards register for my home work space.

Employee Name ____________________________________________________________________________

Address ___________________________________________________________________________________

Signed____________________________________________________________________________________

Date______________________________________________________________________________________

PositivePeople November 15, 2018 No Comments

Bullying and Harassment Investigations

Bullying and Harassment Investigations:

The Do’s and Don’ts

Bullying and harassment complaints and investigations are always difficult to navigate. We have learned that every complaint requires considerable care and attention to ensure a fair and thorough process and appropriate outcome.

We’ve compiled some of the most important Do’s and Don’ts to keep in mind when commencing an investigation.

Do

Have a policy that provides definitions of bullying and harassment, outlines the processes for making a complaint and for investigating
Use an impartial investigator – if you do not have the appropriate person internally, use a third party
Respond quickly and complete the investigation as soon as possible. This can take significant time. If capacity is an issue, using a third party to conduct the investigation for you will help to make sure it is done correctly and in a timely manner
Consider the legal risks – the health and safety of employees comes first and bullying & harassment is covered by the Health & Safety at Work Act, so you must be mindful of your legal obligations. There is also a risk of a Personal Grievance being raised, breach of contract and/or good faith provisions, and claims of discrimination under the Human Rights Act
Balance the rights of the complainant and the respondent – you have a duty of good faith and confidentiality to both.
Offer support – provide links to support services and check in with the employee throughout regarding their wellbeing
Keep meticulous documentation. Most investigators now audio record meetings (after seeking permission) to save time on note taking and to ensure an accurate record. Alternatively, get the notes checked and signed at the end of the meeting
Communicate – you should keep all parties updated on the timeline and the process you’re following

Don’t

Have the investigator also be the decision maker – these must be two separate roles
Do nothing just because the complaint isn’t in writing
Leave the status quo in place while you investigate – you need to consider at the beginning if either the complainant or the respondent should relocate to a different workspace, team or shift for the duration of the investigation
Default to a full-scale investigation. Regardless of whether you receive a ‘formal’ or ‘informal’ complaint, you will need to assess the complaint and decide whether it requires a ‘formal’ or ‘informal’ investigation and communicate this to the complainant, including the rationale
Withhold information – providing the respondent with the relevant information is an important aspect of natural justice. They need to know the identity of both the complainant and witnesses. In some cases, withholding certain information may be justified – but only when it is not prejudicial to the respondent
Don’t use a mixture of written statements, phone calls and meetings – choose one method (ideally face-to-face) and use it for the respondent, complainant and all witnesses
Engage in ‘off the record’ conversations with witnesses
Consider any information in the investigation that is gleaned from “secret” witnesses unless they are prepared to share their identity
Draw inferences from demeanor – people react differently to stressful situations so it’s important to only analyse what they say and not body language or facial expressions

Positive People are licenced Private Investigators with the Ministry of Justice and experts in conducting independent third-party investigations for bullying and harassment complaints. Call us on 09 445 1077 or email info@positivepeople.co.nz

PositivePeople November 15, 2018 No Comments

Employer Responsibilities ‘After Hours’

What are my Employer Responsibilities for “After Hours” Employee Activities?

With the Christmas season upon us, celebrations underway and festive cheer being spread, now is a good time to be aware of your employer obligations, not only for workplace conduct, but for all the happenings that may occur outside of work hours….

Many of your staff will not only attend your official Christmas party, they will celebrate with customers, with suppliers and have “unofficial” celebrations amongst themselves. This stretches the potential for inappropriate conduct far wider than only being confined to the official two hours of Company celebrations.

Given we’ve been in and out of lockdown twice, that employees are valuing face-to-face interaction and HR are reporting employee fatigue in general, it would be good to be aware that employees may want to fully enter into the Christmas ‘spirit’. Managing this without dampening the chance to socialise will be important.

Here are some key things to be aware of:

Getting to and from the Company Christmas party

As a function promoted and paid for by your business you must ensure, as far as is reasonably practical, the health and safety of your team. This extends to the responsibility for making sure your team are safe getting to and from the event. The biggest danger is drink driving. Make sure you have set clear expectations and communicate in advance the need for safe travel. Its also a good idea to have someone monitoring staff as they leave and taxi chits on hand to use if you think someone is at risk.

Questionable acts during a Christmas function

Just like at work, at the Christmas party you still have the responsibility to ensure your team are safe from sexual harassment, bullying or discrimination. It makes sense to designate some of your team to take on a hosting role to ensure that bad behaviour doesn’t occur and educate them on what to do if they see or hear something that shouldn’t be happening. Music and Christmas cheer do result in more casual behaviour, so have a sound plan in place to keep your team safe.

Behaviour at unofficial celebrations or after the Christmas party

At this time of year “unofficial’ celebrations start as well – whether it’s team drinks after work, Secret Santa’s or carrying on after the Christmas party. Key with any of these is to be clear with your Managers about what is a work function and what isn’t. If an employee in a leadership position organises or promotes the event, if the Company pays for it or if it’s advertised using the Company name, then your business is likely to have health and safety responsibilities.

Celebrations with customers or suppliers

During an event with customers or suppliers your team members are still representing your Company, and as such there is a safety consideration and a need to adhere to your Code of Conduct. Educating your team on this will help to save any embarrassing complaints about their behaviour after the event…

Social Media

Social media has blurred the line for many people around what’s private, what’s public and what thoughts and feelings are OK to share. At any time of the year any public post which impacts negatively on your business or could be perceived as bullying or harassment of a team member should be investigated. It may be made outside of work time, but the impact will be felt during work hours, so you must address this and educate your team on the impacts of their actions. Having a clear policy on posting photos during Company events also helps.

People don’t want everything they do live streamed on Instagram!

In todays environment, where the health and safety of our teams is paramount it is no longer acceptable to say “If it’s 5pm, our employees aren’t our responsibility”.

Being knowledgeable about your responsibilities will help you minimise risk and keep your team safe – a win/win for all.

Positive People have over 25 years’ experience helping organisations understand and manage their HR obligations. Call us today on 09 445-1077

PositivePeople August 29, 2018 No Comments

Mental Health and the Workplace

Recently there has been a lot in the news regarding mental health. The passing of Greg Boyed prompted an outpouring of tributes by his journalist colleagues. One, by Rawdon Christie, called for managers to take more responsibility for the wellbeing of their employees.

There are some important reasons to make mental health a priority in the workplace:

In NZ one in five adults experience some form of common mental health issue in any year. Almost two in five adults have experienced a mental health issue over their lifetime.
Employee health affects the workplace and the workplace affects the health of employees. It is important for employers to understand the difference between pressure, which keeps us all going and makes us productive, and stress, which makes unmanageable demands that damage both employees and the business. There should also be an awareness that life outside of work affects the wellbeing of workers when they are at work.
Workplaces are legally required to take all practicable steps to ensure the health and safety of their employees. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, workplaces have a role to play in the prevention of harm to all people at work. This includes mental harm caused by work-related stress.
A healthy work environment increases productivity and reduces employee turnover, stress, and personal grievance claims
Workplaces feel the effects of poor mental health of employees through increased absenteeism and increased ‘presenteeism’ – when employees are at the workplace but not mentally engaged with work. It is estimated that on average, employees have nearly three times as many ‘presentee’ days as absentee days

Source: www.mentalhealth.org.nz

Your role as a manager

It’s crucial that managers are equipped to act or know where to turn if they have concerns about the mental health of an employee. There are a number of onsite and offsite courses from a variety of providers that teach the basics of ‘Mental Health First Aid’.

In addition to crises management, it’s also important to consider:

What support can and should you provide when an employee is struggling with their mental health?
How will you manage misconduct or disciplinary processes when there are mental health concerns?
How will you manage the return-to-work of an employee after time off due to a mental health issue?

Once you’re ready and prepared to support employees experiencing mental illness, then it’s time to consider how you can proactively promote mental health in the workplace. This might be as simple as organising a shared lunch, entering a team in a local sporting event, or organising a charitable donation for some of your team to deliver on behalf of your business. Check out five ways to wellbeing for employer resources, put together by the Mental Health Foundation.

Contact us to find out how we can partner with you to implement a mental health and wellbeing programme that suits the needs of your business and employees.