Issue104

The Wire – Issue 104 02.10.12

02/10/12

Making internal communications relevant to you
For your chance to win an ipad, tell us what you want to hear more about (and what you want to
see less of).

Lawbites brings you the facts around pregnancy and discrimination.
Treating a woman less favourably on the grounds of her pregnancy, or because she wants to take
or has taken maternity leave, amounts to sex discrimination

HR update: change process
The HRSC team will now manage the change process on behalf of line managers as part of its
continued improvement plans.

Bouverie Street stages 2nd Win4Youth cycle day
On 12 October, colleagues from Adecco Group’s London HQ will be raising money and miles for
Win4Youth.

Feedback or questions? Get in touch on internalcomms@adecco.co.uk 1


Regulars
Payroll information
Payday and deadlines for new starter paperwork

Coming soon
Dates for your diary

Long service list
Colleagues celebrating a 5, 10, 15 or 20+ year milestone



Making internal communications relevant to you

The internal communications* that we send to you wouldn’t mean much if nobody read
them. But how many of you do? And are we really bringing you the sort of stories that you
want to know about?

If we are, then great — let us know, and keep reading. If we’re not, this is your chance to tell
us what you’re really interested in.

If you want to see more or less of something, make sure we know about it. And if you have
your own ideas on how we could improve existing communications, or what new channels we
could add to make things more relevant to you, have your say.

So, what do you want to read about?

You can tell us by clicking on the below link, and answering a few simple questions (which
should take no more than 5-10 minutes).

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AGinternalcomms

As a big thank you to everyone who completes the survey, you’ll be entered into a prize draw
for the chance to win an ipad. And don’t worry, all responses will be completely anonymous
— your names will only be used for entry into the prize draw.

Thank you, and good luck.

.*The Wire, Hot Wire, and internal communications emails



Lawbites brings you the facts around pregnancy and
discrimination.

Treating a woman less favourably on the grounds of her pregnancy, or because she wants to take
or has taken maternity leave, amounts to sex discrimination (Equality Act 2010). There is no need
for a woman to compare herself to a male comparator to demonstrate how a man might have been
treated; rather, the test is to show that but for her pregnancy, she would not have been dismissed
or treated less favourably.

So, how is this relevant to our business?

Under the Equality Act, all agency associates, PAYE and umbrella workers are protected from sex
discrimination from the first day of their employment, and we must not unlawfully discriminate in
terms of how we treat them or how we provide our services. For example, it would be unlawful to
refuse to put a candidate forward for an assignment on the grounds that she is pregnant. Workers
are also protected from suffering a detriment or dismissal on the grounds of pregnancy or
maternity leave (Employment Rights Act 196 s99 and Maternity and Parental Leave etc.
Regulations 1999 reg.19)

Our relationship with Limited Company Contractors is business to business; therefore, there is no
contract of employment. Whilst it would be difficult for the Limited Company Contractor to bring a
claim against us, we must still ensure that there is fair treatment throughout our business.

In this edition of Lawbites, we take a look at the rights and entitlements of pregnant agency
associates, PAYE and umbrella workers; the types of treatment that amount to sex discrimination;
and how we can protect ourselves and our clients.

Health and safety rights

The Management of Health and Safety at work Regulations 1999 (“the 1999 Regulations”) require
employers to carry out a specific risk assessment for pregnant employees. Failure to do so could
amount to sex discrimination if there are any health and safety risks that arise during an
employee’s pregnancy; however, pregnant employees need to inform employees of their
pregnancy in order to receive the full benefit of this legal protection.

For the purposes of our business, the risk assessment is usually carried out by the client and not
Adecco, as the working conditions and matters of health and safety are within the control of the
client. Once we have been informed of the pregnancy, we need to obtain consent to inform the
client. If the agency associate, PAYE or umbrella worker refuses to grant us permission to inform
the client, please contact the Human Resources Department.

We must ensure that the risk assessment is carried out, as this should identify any aspects of the
working conditions that could affect the pregnant woman’s and her baby’s health and safety. The
agency associate, PAYE or umbrella worker is entitled to be informed of any significant risks that
have been identified. Adecco should collaborate with the client to remove any risks, or to prevent
any exposure to risks. If the risk remains, working hours or conditions should be altered. If that is
not possible, the pregnant worker has the right to suitable alternative work on similar terms or
conditions; or if no work exists, she is entitled to suspension on full pay. If this is the case, suitable
alternative assignments should be considered.

Paid time off for antenatal care

Adecco is required to allow pregnant associates reasonable paid time off for antenatal
appointments, which includes the time it takes to travel to the appointments. They have this right
from day one of an assignment. Adecco has the right to request a certificate which states that the
associate is pregnant, along with the appointment cards for antenatal appointments, except for the
first appointment. A General Practitioner (“GP”) and midwife may also recommend that the
associate attends classes such as relaxation classes, and can deem these to be part of their
antenatal care. In these circumstances, the associate will need to provide a letter from their GP or
midwife confirming this. Umbrella and PAYE workers need to have worked for twelve weeks in the
same assignment before the right to reasonable paid time off accrues.



We must ensure that the client is informed of antenatal appointments as soon as possible, and we
must bear in mind the pregnant worker’s rights and the fact that she may not have control over
appointments.

Less favourable treatment

Less favourable treatment can include a vast range of behaviour, including, but not limited to:

Refusing training or promotion
Making assumptions or comments
Making the job more difficult
Reducing workload
Refusing particular projects or clients

If an associate informs us that they feel their treatment is related to their pregnancy, the Human
Resources Department should be contacted to try to resolve the matter. For PAYE and umbrella
workers, the Legal Department should be contacted.

For agency employees, if a client gives us notice that an assignment should be terminated after we
have advised them of an employee’s pregnancy, we should ensure that they provide us with
written notice, including their fair reasons. This will assist in the event that the employee is of the
opinion that the assignment has been terminated due to her pregnancy.

The associate’s employment with Adecco Group will not be terminated. In these circumstances,
we should ensure that we make every attempt to source alternative assignments in order to avoid
claims for unfair dismissal and redundancy.

The right to return to work for associates

Once an associate has completed their Ordinary Maternity Leave (the first 26 weeks of Statutory
Maternity Leave “SML”), they have the right to return to the same job and the same terms and
conditions as if they had not been away. Associates who complete Additional Maternity Leave (an
additional 26 weeks of leave following SML), also have this right; however, Adecco will not be
bound to this if we can show that it is not reasonably practicable for the associate to return to her
original job. If this is the case, Adecco must offer the associate alternative work with the same
terms and conditions.

These obligations can prove difficult for Adecco as the availability of the same assignment is
dependent on whether the client makes that assignment available to Adecco upon the associate’s
return. If the role the associate carried out is still required and we are unable to place her in the
assignment she held prior to taking her maternity leave, or place her in an assignment with the
same terms and conditions, Adecco and the client could be open to a claim for sex discrimination.
So you should keep the associate in mind during their maternity leave, and ensure you have a
suitable alternative assignment to offer them on their return.

Prior to the commencement of an associate’s maternity leave, we should ask the employee
whether she would like to return to the same assignment once her maternity leave has finished. If
this is the case, we should discuss the possibility of this with the client and record the discussion. If
the client is unwilling or unable to keep a position open for their return to work, the Human
Resources Department should be contacted as there may be alternative solutions; for example,
suggesting that another worker could be supplied for the duration of the maternity leave.

Please remember that this is a complex and risky area, so if you are in any doubt about what to do
in a particular situation, please ask your HR contact before you act.

.



HR update: change process

Following on from the roll out of the new HR forms and processes, the HR Service Centre
team wanted to inform all line managers that they have made further improvements to how
changes are processed.

They have taken onboard the feedback that the approvals process for changes isn’t always clear,
and on that basis, the HRSC team will now manage the process on your behalf if your change
request requires RemCo (remuneration committee) approval.

What this means to you

Going forward, you will submit a completed change form with MD and Finance Approval to the
HRSC team, and they will submit it on your behalf. In order that the change request can be
reviewed at the monthly RemCo meetings, please make sure that the request is submitted to the
HRSC team before the meeting deadline of around the 28th of each month.

Should you require any further information or support, please contact the team on 0845 337 0464.



Bouverie Street stages 2nd Win4Youth cycle day
On 12 October, colleagues from Adecco Group’s
London Head Office in Bouverie Street will be taking
part in their 2nd annual Win4Youth cycle day, to raise
money and miles for the worthy cause.

Last year, the avid cyclists clocked up an impressive
600km over the space of nine hours; but this year, they’re
hoping to trump their own record by smashing 650km —
with all proceeds going to Win4Youth.

The athletic action will kick off at 08:00 sharp, and draw to
a sweaty close at 17:00, with as many participants
hopping on and off the bikes throughout the day as
possible, in time slots of between 15 and 30 minutes.

Despite an exhausting undertone, the day is as much about fun as it is about fundraising. No one
will be under any pressure to cycle at anything other than a leisurely pace, so if you’re going to be
at the Bouverie Street HQ on 12 October, it’s worth a trip to the basement to cheer your colleagues
on.



Long service list

Raise a toast to the dedicated colleagues celebrating a 5, 10, 15 or 20+ year anniversary in
the coming week. Thank you for your talent, commitment and loyalty. Enjoy your special
day.

Colleagues celebrating a 20-year anniversary:
Julie Bowen - London, Central Services

Emma Roche - Stevenage, Modis Solutions
Anne Sadler - Birmingham, Central Services

Suzanne Tait - Newcastle, Office Angels
David Wafer - Manchester, Spring Personnel

Colleagues celebrating a 5 year anniversary:
Fiona Donegan - Adecco Retail
Georgina Deilaki - London, Central Services
Danielle Edgar - London, Central Services
Melissa Shirley - Maidstone, Office Angels
Duncan Ward - London, Badenoch & Clark
Chetan Naidu, Watford, Modis Open Market



Payroll information

Pay day is Friday, 26 October.
The deadline for returning employee paperwork including signed contracts and P45s for the HR
admin team is 5pm on Monday, 8 October.

You can contact the team at 3010 The Crescent, Solihull Parkway, Birmingham Business Park,
Birmingham B37 7YE.

T. 0845 337 0464
F. 0844 844 7675
E. HR@adecco.co.uk

New starter pay dates

New starters joining before the 16th of the month will be paid on the 28th of the month in which
you begin work (subject to receiving all of the above paperwork).

Starters after the 16th of the month will be paid on the 28th of the following month.

Starters and leavers

Please inform HR of any new starters, leavers or changes in terms and conditions by completing
the online forms on MyHR.


Issue104

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