JACS Employment Law Outreach Advisory Service
Proposal
Provide a proactive outreach advice service to help employers to comply with the Employment (Jersey) Law 2003 (the ‘Employment Law’) by providing the Jersey Advisory and Conciliation Service (JACS) with sufficient budget to employ an additional member of staff, on a one-year pilot scheme basis.
Background
There are indications that some businesses, particularly small businesses, would benefit from additional support to help them address their responsibilities under the Employment (Jersey) Law 2003 (the ‘Employment Law’).The intention is to provide assistance at an early stage in order to avoid employment disputes and remove the perceived barriers to continuing to employ existing staff and employing new staff.
The 2013 Review of the decisions of the Jersey Employment Tribunal[1] identified that “A number of cases in 2012 illustrate that some employers – mostly small, owner-managed businesses - are either unaware of, or prepared to disregard, these fundamental requirements. There were a number of examples of ‘on the spot’ dismissals or cases where there was no attempt to follow anything approaching a disciplinary procedure. Not all of these cases resulted in a finding of unfair dismissal, but clearly an employer who dismisses an employee in this way is running a serious risk of ending up in the Tribunal. This risk is all the greater if the employer has failed to pay the correct amount to an employee on termination – a situation which arose regularly in the 2012 cases. Perhaps more effort can be targeted at small employers so that they are aware of their legal obligations and the consequences of failing to meet them.”
In the 2012 Annual Report of the Jersey Employment Tribunal[2], the Chairman commented that “The Tribunal is not concerned by the lack of resources of an employer but it does expect an attempt to be made to follow a fair procedure in the process of terminating an employee’s employment. The Tribunal would urge employers to gather the information they need regarding a due process from JACS, CAB, lawyers or professional advisers before dismissing an employee. Many employers consider that the employment laws are weighted against them, they are not but the employers must take steps to adapt to the requirements of the law: as indeed many employees have already done so.”
The UK is dealing with similar issues. Research undertaken by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in March 2013 noted that “there is a clear need to provide a single information portal that guides employers to the relevant information to support employers who had no internal HR and considered regulation too complex to understand.”[3]
The Jersey Advisory and Conciliation Service (JACS) currently provides templates, model policies and procedures and has recently improved its website. Whilst these resources are valuable to those employers who seek them out and take advantage of JACS training courses, there have been increasing calls from employer representative groups for government to ensure that employment legislation is not a barrier to economic growth and employment, particularly for small businesses.
JACS role
The main emphasis of the JACS service is to help prevent employment related problems arising in the first place. Significant resource is already put into developing business support services to ensure that employers recognise the benefits that good employment relations can bring. JACS role includes the encouragement of employment policies and practices that contribute to improvements in performance, organisational effectiveness and quality of working life.
A telephone enquiry service deals with queries from individuals on almost all employment matters, including the rights, protections and obligations which employment law provides. A more extensive advisory assistance can be offered, for example, where an enquiry is too complex to deal with over the telephone, JACS might arrange a meeting at a mutually agreeable time and place.
JACS training courses are very popular – in 2012, 30 half-day public training courses were attended by 492 delegates and 21 private/bespoke training courses and seminars were delivered to more than 400 delegates.
JACS training, website and guidance notes provide good sources of advice and information and are useful to small or medium sized employers who find the model policies and procedures helpful.
Whilst a large number of employers, including small business appear to be using JACS services, there are some who will not contact JACS until a problem or a dispute arises. For other employers, it may not be possible to take time away from managing the business to attend training sessions, or more bespoke, one-to-one support may be required to deal with specific (rather than general) issues and questions.
JACS strives to make information and assistance accessible to everyone and constantly seeks to identify new ways in which JACS’ involvement might improve industrial relations. JACS budget has not previously permitted a dedicated outreach service to assist employers at their convenience in the workplace.
JACS service usage
In December 2012[4], 6,300 businesses in Jersey employed between 1 and 10 staff, which is 91 percent of the businesses in Jersey that employ one or more staff.
According to the JACS Annual Report for 2012, 24% of the businesses that contacted JACS had 1 to 10 employees, 25% of the businesses had 11 to 49 employees and 51% had 50 or more employees.
During 2012, an average of 186 clients contacted JACS each week. This means that JACS provided a contact service to almost 10,000 clients in 2012 with only 3.5 members of staff. The website recorded 31,000 visits in 2012, which allowed many individuals to obtain the information that they required without the need to contact JACS directly.
JACS has established a good reputation with both employers and employees. The proportion of employer/employee contacts increased from 45%/55% in 2011 to 48%/52% in 2012, an increase of 309 employers. 2012 therefore saw the greatest number of employers (4,685) using JACS services since the Employment Law was introduced. While some contacts were JACS-initiated following requests from employees in an attempt to resolve issues, the majority were employer-initiated requests for advice and guidance over a wide range of subjects, the most complex being those associated with terms and conditions negotiations and with restructuring and redundancy.
Outreach advisory service
JACS will be provided with additional States funding to employ a ‘Business Support Officer’ specifically to provide a targeted outreach advisory service to support employers. The service will typically be offered to employers that have ten or fewer employees, however the service will also be available to larger organisations that do not have dedicated HR support.
The officer will pro-actively contact employers to offer impartial, in-house advice and assistance, such as producing essential employment documentation, or reviewing and developing exiting documentation, e.g. employment contracts, pay slips, disciplinary and grievance procedures and other policies and procedures. Advice will be based on existing JACS templates and models.
The officer will be available to visit employers on-site at times that are convenient to the business and the officer’s employment contract will reflect the requirement for demand-lead working times. The officer will be supervised by the Director of JACS but will not undertake any of the other services that JACS provides (e.g. training and conciliation) and will provide a separate and dedicated employer service.
An outreach advice service fits well with JACS current role, aims and objectives and both the Director of JACS and the JACS Board are fully supportive of this proposal.
The service will be set up on a one-year pilot basis. A service level agreement with the Social Security Department sets out the further details, including the financial reporting requirements and performance measures to monitor the success of and demand for the service.
Service Level Agreement (SLA)
A service level agreement (SLA) exists between JACS and the Social Security Department relating to the provision of JACS services to employees, employers, trade unions and business associations in respect of employment relations advice and guidance and dispute resolution. JACS services are provided in accordance with the strategic aims and objectives of the States of Jersey; to support and sustain good employment relations in Jersey, and in accordance with the requirements of the Jersey Advisory and Conciliation (Jersey) Law 2003.
An additional SLA (included at Appendix 1) ensures that the proper elements and commitments are in place to provide this additional JACS service on a one-year pilot basis, whilst continuing to provide the existing JACS services. The SLA sets out the additional services to be provided by JACS which include;
Providing a targeted, pro-active outreach advisory service for small businesses (typically employers with 10 or fewer employees) with the intention of early intervention for the prevention of employment disputes
Offering advice and support in an independent, impartial and professional manner
- Providing advice and support relating to essential employment documentation, including contracts, pay slips, policies and procedures
- Providing practical guidance with the assistance of appropriate written materials, including advisory booklets, handbooks, templates and model agreements. JACS will not charge employers for these written materials
The SLAs make provision for service availability, standards and reporting, as well as financial reporting and controls that meet the requirements of the States of Jersey Financial Directions for the Purchasing of Goods and Services (FD 5.1) and for the Management of Grants (FD 5.5). Quarterly reporting of measurable performance information in relation to the proposed outreach advisory service will include;
- Demand – the number and size of employers that have requested/offered and been provided with the service
- Qualitative feedback from service users via a survey after the service has been provided.
Budget
The Social Security Department provided JACS with a States funded annual grant of £329,200 for the year 2013. The Minister has decided that an additional lump-sum, ring-fenced grant of £50,000 will be paid to JACS in 2013 to provide this additional advisory service for a one-year period.
The grant will be provided from the existing budget held by the Social Security Department for the Back to Work Programme. The intention of the new service is to help dispel myths around Employment Law red tape and, by doing so, remove the perceived barriers to continuing to employ existing staff and employing new staff.
The grant will be used to pay the salary for one officer as well as any necessary equipment and expenses to provide a fully mobile advisory service. JACS business plan and budget for the one-year pilot is set out at Appendix 2.
The pilot would begin as soon as possible and the demand for and success of the service would be reviewed at intervals of 3, 6 and 9 months. Subject to measuring the performance of the service, the Department would seek to secure longer-term funds.
Actions
Preparations for the introduction of the service in September 2013 are underway, including the documentation and equipment required to provide a fully mobile service. A job description for the new Business Support Officer has been prepared and approved by JACS and an offer of a secondment has been made to an existing JACS staff member who is currently the ‘Administration and Information Officer’.
JACS will employ a replacement Administration and Information Officer on a short fixed-term contract to cover the one-year pilot period and a short handover from the current post-holder. In the first instance, JACS will attempt to source a suitable candidate with the assistance of the Back to Work team.
Publicity of the new service will be achieved by the following methods;
- A flyer distributed with approximately 3,500 employer ‘C’ quarter contribution schedules in September.
- Notification on the JACS website
- A JACS email newsletter which is sent to around 900 contacts
- A media release from the Minister
- Invitations for the media to interview the Director of JACS.
APPENDIX 1 – SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT
- Agreement Overview
JACS is an independent, publicly funded non-government incorporated body, recognised as a charity by the Comptroller of Income Tax, with up to 7 Board Members. JACS was set up under the Jersey Advisory and Conciliation (Jersey) Law 2003.
This Agreement represents a Service Level Agreement (“SLA” or “Agreement”) between Jersey Advisory and Conciliation Service (JACS) and Social Security Department (SSD)
The service to be provided by JACS is an outreach advisory service to support small businesses to comply with the Employment Law for the improvement of employment relations and relating to the payment of a grant to JACS for the provision of that additional service on a one-year pilot scheme basis. The service and the grant in respect of that service would be a ring-fenced, but operating under the direction of JACS.
This Agreement remains valid until superseded by a revised agreement mutually endorsed by the stakeholders.
This Agreement outlines the parameters of all services covered as they are mutually understood by the primary stakeholders.
A separate Agreement between JACS and SSD (dated 1 August 2011 and last revised in April 2013) relates to the provision of JACS services to support and sustain good employment relations in Jersey generally, and relating to the payment of an annual grant to JACS for the provision of those services. That Agreement continues to apply in addition to this Agreement.
The purpose of this Agreement is to ensure that the proper elements and commitments are in place to provide an additional JACS service to small employers on a one-year pilot basis, whilst continuing to provide to the existing JACS service to employees, employers, trade unions and business associations in respect of employment relations advice and guidance and dispute resolution, in accordance with the requirements of the Jersey Advisory and Conciliation (Jersey) Law 2003 (‘JACS Law’).
The objectives of this Agreement are to:
- Provide clear reference to service ownership, accountability, roles and/or responsibilities.
- Present a clear, concise and measurable description of service provision to the customer.
- Match perceptions of expected service provision with actual service support and delivery.
- Support an efficient, economical and value for money service.
- Establish the rights and obligations of both parties in regard to the payment of the grant.
The following Service Provider(s) and Customer(s) will be used as the basis of the Agreement and represent the primary stakeholders associated with this SLA:
Service Provider(s): JACS (“Provider”)
Customer(s): SSD on behalf of employees, employers, trade unions and business associations (“Customer”) within Jersey
This Agreement is valid from the Effective Date outlined herein and is valid until further notice. This Agreement should be reviewed at a minimum once every three months, starting three months after the inception of the one-year pilot scheme; however, in lieu of a review during any period specified, the current Agreement will remain in effect.
The Director of JACS is responsible for facilitating regular reviews of this document. Contents of this document may be amended as required, provided mutual agreement is obtained from the primary stakeholders and communicated to all affected parties. The Director will incorporate all subsequent revisions and obtain mutual agreements / approvals as required.
The following detailed service parameters are the responsibility of the Service Provider in the ongoing support of this Agreement.
5.1 Service Scope
The following services are covered by this Agreement;
Offering advice and support in an independent, impartial and professional manner
- Providing advice and support relating to essential employment documentation, including contracts, pay slips, policies and procedures
- Providing practical guidance with the assistance of appropriate written materials, including advisory booklets, handbooks, templates and model agreements. JACS will not charge employers for these written materials
- Producing quarterly reports on activity
- Budgeting, financial recording and control and audit
- Supporting employers who are referred to the service by Back to Work
- Referring employers to the Back to Work Employer Engagement team where they have a potential recruitment need or opportunity to offer work experience placements
Where an enquiry is outside of the service scope of the outreach adviser, the adviser will:
- arrange for another Officer of JACS to make contact with the employer at a mutually agreeable time within JACS normal office hours, or
- suggest an appropriate JACS or other publication, or
- suggest an appropriate JACS conference, seminar, or workshop, or
- suggest other sources of help, such as trade unions, employers’ associations, the Social Security Department (including the ‘Back to Work’ teams) Jersey Business and the Citizens Advice Bureau.
The following are examples of services that are outside of the service scope;
Dealing with individual and collective disputes, including conciliation, mediation and arbitration
Disciplinary and grievance investigations
Redundancy, dismissal and restructuring decisions
Recruitment interviews and decisions
Completing tribunal forms
Customer responsibilities in support of this Agreement include:
- Payment of a one-off grant of £50,000 to the Service Provider, as agreed by the stakeholders, to be paid to JACS as a lump-sum on X August 2013 to provide the service for a 1 year period. Any continuation of the service after the one year pilot period would subject to review and dependent upon demand.
- Reasonable availability of customer representative(s) when resolving a service related incident or request, including in relation to any proposal of the Service Provider to change the scope of the service.
5.3 Service Provider Requirements
Service Provider responsibilities in support of this Agreement include:
- Delivering the services set out in paragraphs 5.1 and 6 for a one year pilot period.
- Providing JACS services in accordance with the States strategic objectives (supporting employers and employees to work together for the mutual benefit and economy of Jersey.)
- Consulting the Customer prior to introducing any changes to the scope of the service.
- Service and response time standards equivalent to JACS other services.
- Meeting the requirements related to budgeting, financial recording and control and annual audit as set out in 7 below.
- Reasonable availability of representative(s) to respond to any reasonable enquiry or request for information from SSD.
- Provision of a one-year plan and budget to the Finance Director of the SSD prior to release of the grant.
- Quarterly reporting of expenditure against budget and measurable performance information, as detailed in paragraph 6.3.
Assumptions related to in-scope services and/or components include:
- Changes to the service will be communicated and documented to all stakeholders.
As a minimum, the service will be available at the standard JACS service times; email and telephone support being available from 8:30am to 5:00pm, Monday to Friday. In addition, the service will be available flexibly at times of the day to suit client needs.
Enquires may be directed via JACS offices (Trinity House, West’s Centre, Bath Street, St. Helier, Jersey, JE2 4ST), however the outreach service will be a mobile service that is primarily provided at the employers premises or any other venue by arrangement.
In support of services outlined in this Agreement, the following will be treated in accordance with the service standards set out in the separate Agreement between JACS and SSD (dated 1 August 2011),
- Service Provider response to service related incidents and/or requests submitted by the Customer, or those whom the Customer represents.
- Complaints about the Service Provider.
6.3 Quarterly Reporting
The Service Provider will provide the Customer with reports on the following at quarterly intervals (i.e. 4 reports during the one-year pilot period);
- Quarterly reporting of expenditure against budget.
- Quarterly reporting of measurable performance information in respect of the following;
- Demand - number and size of employers that have requested/offered and been provided with the service
- The issues/nature of support and advice requested by service users (i.e. to indicate whether the services that are being offered are needed, or whether queries are being referred elsewhere, e.g. to JACS and other service providers)
- An indication of whether the service continues to be proactive, or if it becomes reactive
- Figures relating to findings of basic failures (e.g. contracts, pay slips, minimum wage records).
- Qualitative feedback from service users; a short survey, e.g. by email after the service has been provided. Did we help and how did we help?
7 Budgeting, financial recording and control and annual audit
- Separate records will be kept in respect of expenditure in relation to the grant for this service but details will be included in the relevant year’s financial and annual report.
- A separate Agreement between JACS and SSD (dated 1 August 2011) sets out the general budgeting, financial recording and control and annual audit requirements.
APPENDIX 2 – BUSINESS PLAN AND BUDGET FOR ONE-YEAR PILOT
The outreach advisory service will be provided by a new JACS Officer; a Business Support Officer (BSO), who will pro-actively contact eligible employers to establish whether they require assistance in producing necessary employment documentation, or reviewing and developing documentation that may already assist.
The BSO will work with employers on the employer’s premises at times of the day and days of week to suit the employer’s business. Typically, assistance will be given with drafting:
a) Employment contracts
b) Disciplinary and grievance procedures
c) Policies and procedures as required e.g. equal opportunities; capability (performance and ill-health); email and IT; maternity and paternity.
All documentation will be based on existing JACS Model Policies and Procedures. Where necessary, the BSO will provide contact details of those who can assist with other specific issues e.g. Health and Safety, Data Protection, Back to Work.
The BSO will not become involved in disciplinary or grievance investigations or redundancy/restructuring needs, for example, and neither will the BSO act as a conciliation officer while undertaking this role. Where appropriate, the employer will be advised to contact JACS advisors/conciliators to obtain appropriate assistance.
Activity and promotion of service:
- JACS will arrange briefing meetings for BSO with other service providers (e.g. Back to Work; Jersey Business; Trackers) so as to provide the BSO with sufficient knowledge to make effective referrals where necessary.
- Arrangements will be finalised with the Social Security Department (SSD) to include an A5 ‘flyer’ with the next quarterly social security contribution schedules to promote the service.
- JACS will contact the media (date to be agreed with SSD) with a view to arranging interviews to promote the service.
- JACS to develop an “employment package” for use by the BSO, containing model contracts, policies and procedures. Where employers have access to a computer, the BSO will provide that package to the employer on a USB stick. Copies of all documents so provided will be retained and indexed.
- Initial BSO contacts will be derived from JACS clients e.g. employers from whom JACS has received JET response forms; employers whose employees have visited JACS to complain of lack of contracts, etc (with the employee’s agreement).
- Weekly meetings will be scheduled between the Director/deputy and the BSO to receive feedback on activity/offer guidance where necessary.
Anticipated costs per annum of the one year pilot, employing one BLO:
| |
Annual costs: | £ |
| |
Salary | 36000 |
Employer PECRS | 4896 |
Employer Soc Sec | 2340 |
| |
Direct employee related sub-total | 43236 |
| |
Mileage allowance @ £0.40 ppm x 3000 | 1344 |
Secure access to Cloud Computing | 1200 |
Unlimited data/mobile calls | 480 |
| |
Equipment/material costs: | |
Laptop PC | 500 |
Microsoft package | 140 |
Printing/USB sticks estimate | 2000 |
Business cards | 100 |
Contingency | 1000 |
| |
Total | 50000 |
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