En Voyage - Issue #8

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS
FOR EMPLOYERS
– HAVE YOU
MADE YOURS?
Business
BY ELAINE GRAY, PARTNER,
AND CARLY PARROTT, COUNSEL,
CAREY OLSEN.
Every year, we make our personal New Year's resolutions
but what about resolutions for your business?
The New Year is the perfect time to reflect on your
business and make plans for the coming year.
Here are some suggestions to get you thinking
about what should feature on your 2018 list:
DON’T LET YOUR BUSINESS BE THE NEXT HEADLINE:
The recent media frenzy around the Paradise
Papers was a good reminder of the importance
of data security. Data protection was one of the
biggest buzzwords of 2017 and it is about to
become even more real. The Data Protection
(Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2017 is due to be
implemented on 25 May so if you have not already
reviewed your data processes and contracts to
ensure GDPR compliance, add this to the top
of your list. Issues of consent, subject access
requests and data processing are going to be
hot topics in 2018 and with employee rights
expanding, you need to be ready. Get it wrong
and you will get more than just a headline – you
could also get a significant monetary fine.
CHRISTMAS: If you are reading this after a frenzied
festive season, have you received any complaints of
sexual harassment or other forms of inappropriate
employee behaviour? Is anyone being victimised
because they spurned the advances of their
manager? Are your policies on employee behaviour
at office social events up to date? Do your policies
deal with employee conduct at external events
where your employees attend as guests? We hate
being the Grinch but there are some really easy
processes and policies that you can put in place so
everyone understands what is and isn't acceptable,
and the consequences of stepping over the line.
CONTRACTS AND POLICIES: When was the last
time you reviewed your employment contracts and
staff handbooks? Are all your contracts up to date?
Do you have appropriate post-employment restraints
in your contracts for your senior employees? With
the introduction of parental rights, population
management changes and GDPR, make it a
resolution to check and update your employment
contracts and policies to ensure they are compliant.
REWARD AND RECOGNITION: When was the last
time you considered how you reward and recognise
your employees? Are your existing arrangements
appropriately motivational? Remember that some
of your employees may now have more mobility
under the population management regime.
Employee movements can also be affected by
long-term incentive plans. Moving the reward
goal posts in consultation with your employees
every once in a while can be positive for everyone,
so consider if this needs to be on your list.
TRAINING: What training opportunities do you offer
your employees? Have you asked them whether
there are any areas they wish to develop? Do you
have appropriate training/study fee agreements in
place with employees who you have supported
financially? Are you supportive of employee training
and development and does the business facilitate
this? Ultimately, a well trained workforce is better
for business and attention should be directed to
ensuring that your employees have the skills they
need. Training and upskilling of local staff will also
be borne in mind when the Population Authority
considers whether or not to approve you as an
employer for the purposes of employment permits.
CULTURE: How happy are your employees? When
was the last time you engaged with them about
how satisfied they were with their roles, what
improvements they might suggest for the business
or where they see themselves in the business in
the next year? Do you have an engaged workforce?
What is your employee turnover like? How are your
levels of productivity? We all know that a happy
workforce is good for the bottom line so a top
priority for any business should be employee morale.
2018 is going to be a year of change so make sure
you are ahead of the game – and don't just make
your resolutions, make sure you stick to them.
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