With workers’ rights high on the news agenda in the wake of the P&O scandal, and a number of employment law changes coming into force this April, many businesses are feeling under pressure to ensure they’re doing the right thing – by the law, and by their employees.
Yet having too narrow a focus when it comes to looking after employees could prove to be a costly mistake, according to Toma Pagojute, Chief HR Officer at workforce management solutions provider, Quinyx.
She believes that looking only at legal obligations, and at avoiding non-compliance fines, for example – matters that can be taken care of by automated tools – may result in businesses not putting enough resource into wider employee strategies that can make a significant difference to staff retention.
“Employer compliance is vital, of course, but managers should avoid getting caught up in legalities at the expense of other HR concerns. There’s a danger of employers thinking they’ve ticked the boxes from a legal perspective, and that’s the job done in terms of looking after staff.
“The reality is that being compliant is just the tip of the iceberg, and it doesn’t do a great deal for addressing employee wellbeing and making workers feel valued. Not paying attention to levels of job satisfaction can be very expensive, too – studies show that onboarding a new team member can cost more than 15,000.
“The good news is managers can use tools to ensure full compliance – systems are usually updated automatically when...
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