The Workforce Flashcards
redundancy
employer needs to reduce workforce so a position no longer exists
dismissal
termination of contract of employment
unfair dismissal
without valid reason
employer fails to follow proper procedure
fair dismissal
with valid reason
proper procedure followed
whistleblowing
evidence/’reasonably believes’ malpractice is occuring
bring to attention no fear of retribution
when is on the spot dismissal fair
gross misconduct
gross negligence
gross misconduct
unacceptable/improper behaviour of a very serious kind
e.g employee physically assaulting customer
gross negligence
reckless disregard for safety of others
dismissal procedure
verbal warning
written warning
final written warning
dismissal
ACAS
advisory conciliation and arbitration service
offers impartial advice
mediator
what are the 3 other types of fair dismissal
repeated poor conduct i.e lateness
incapacity i.e ill
capability- inability to do work required
reasons for unfair dismissal
pregnancy,whistle blowing, trade union membership,discrimination
grievance
employee has concern, complaint or problem
employee tribunal
special type of court deals only with employment law
what is the procedure for a grievance
verbally raise issue
formally in writing
consider tribunal action
purpose of employment tribunal
prevents unfair practice
clear businesses of wrong doing
what are the impacts of employment tribunals
time to prepare
legal costs
compensation costs
reputation damage
appraisal
formal assessment of employees performance
whats involved in an appraisal
strengths
targets
training needs
promotion+payment
purposes of an appraisal
motivate staff
give focus
set a standard
record issues
managerial appraisal
manager examines+evaluates managers performance
Advantages of an appraisal
Expert input
Decisions about pay etc easier
Disadvantages of an appraisal
Don’t work close enough for proper evaluation
One point of view
Self assessment
Employees assess their own performance
Often Using tick sheet
Benefits of self assessment
Reflect on performance
Less intimidating
Why could self assessments not be effective
Bias towards self
Subjective
Why is a self assessment good before a managerial appraisal
Sets areas of focus
350 degree appraisal
Employee receives feedback from several people
Better for a large business
Peer assessment
Appraisal carried out by a work colleague
Advantage of a 360 degree appraisal
Broader picture of performance
Disadvantage of 360 appraisal
To many conflicting targets
Advantage of peer assessment
Clear idea of your contribution
Disadvantage of peer assessment
Depends on staff relationship
Could be overly positive/negative
3 reasons appraisals are ineffective
Inconsistent
Could be rushed
Lack of commitment from senior staff
3 ways an appraisal can be made more effective
Ensure manager commitment
Proper training on how to do it
Allow employees to comment on appraisal
Labour turnover
Number of employees who have left the business
Equation for labour turnover
No. Of employees leaving during year/av number employed that years X100
Absenteeism
Absent from work minor medical ailment
Upset stomach/headache
Can be authorised or un
Absenteeism equation
Total days absent in a month/ available working days in month X100
Equation for lateness
No. Of late arrivals/total no. Of schedule attendances C100
Workforce productivity
Output per employee over certain period of time
Workforce productivity equation
Output/av no. Of employees
How could labour turnover be decreased
Increase pay
Job rotation
How can absenteeism be reduced
Strike system
Offer longer holiday
How can lateness be decreased
Sign in system relating to pay
Disciplinary procedures
How could workforce productivity be improved
Offering rewards
Improving training
Benefits to employee of improving workforce performance
Job security
Higher pay
Benefits to the business or improved performance
Productivity
Reduce costs
Limitations of labour turnover, absenteeism etc figures
Hard to evaluate in isolation
Averages misleading
Relying on figures doesn’t identify the problem
Recruitment
Process of bringing new employees into business
Job description
Describes duties of worker
Person specification
Profile of type of person needed for the job
E.g skills+qualifications
Internal recruitment
Fill vacancy with someone inside business
External recruitment
Fill vacancy wi someone from outside business
Advantages of internal recruitment
Cheaper and quicker
People familiar how the business runs
Disadvantages of internal recruitment
No new ideas
Limits number of applicants
Advantages of external recruitment
New ideas
Larger pool of candidates
Disadvantages of external recruitment
Longer process More expensive (advertise+interview)
Things included in a job advert
Location
Salary details
Job description
Contact details
6 ways a business can advertise a vacancy
Local newspaper National newspaper Specialist magazine Own website Word of mouth Shop window
Advantage and disadvantage of local newspaper advertising
Low cost
Limited audience
Advantage and disadvantage of advertising in a national newspaper
More expensive
Ad on page with others, competing readers attention
Advantage and disadvantage advertising in specialists magazine
Readers likely to have experience
More costly
Advantage and disadvantage of advertising on own website
Attract people who already have interest in business
Not much exposure
Advantage and disadvantage of advertising through word of mouth
Free
Can’t control message
Advantage and disadvantage of advertising by shop window
Variety of people see
No impact on see for a few seconds
Why is an effective recruitment strategy important for a business
Saves time
Improve business performance get the right candidate
Letters of application
Aka cover letter
Document sent with cv/ application form
Provides additional information
What should a letter of application be
Short
Formal
Relevant
Why is a cover letter useful (letter of application)
Highlight key point relevant to cv
Recruiter knows what to look for when reading cv
Shows effort
Psychometric testing
Assesses capabilities (intelligence)
Aptitude (skills)
If your personality fits with the business
3 types of tests
Psychometric testing
Scenario tests
Written tests
Advantages of testing
See if fit with organisation
Responses lees like to impacted by nerves (written tests)
Disadvantages of testing
Give answers think employer is looking for rather than their own
What are interviews for
Find out to answers to particular question
See if cv’s match them
Why would interviews not be effective
30 min interview doesn’t predict long term performance
Small sample or behaviour
Extroverts do better
Work trial
Trial day where candidate comes into the office to meet the team
Why are work trials useful
See if they would be working in the business
Prevents hiring wrojtnpreomn
Why are work trials not always useful
Candidate will be trying to impress employer
Not reflect how they’d actually behave
Training
Process or increasing the knowledge and skills of the workforce to enable them to perform jobs effectively
Benefits of training
Productivity
Engaged employees
Equips staff with skills to do job
Reduces wastage
Induction training
Aimed at introducing new employees to a business and its procedure
On the job training
Employees receive training while remaining in the work place
Advantages of on the job training
Employees are actually productive
Learn whilst doing
Disadvantage of on the job training
Bad habits passed
Potential disruption to production
off the job training
taken away from place of work to be trained
advantages of off the job training
learn from specialists
wider range of skills
disadvantages of off the job training
expensive
cover shifts
apprenticeship
long term development programme
learn job skills through study and work
advantages of apprenticeships
earn income whilst learning
practical+theoretical (variety)
disadvantages of apprenticeships
low pay whilst learning
limit job opps- apprenticeships specific
holiday entitlement
min 28 days
to reward effort, prevent leaving
selection
process of deciding which applicant to accept for the jobs
cv
document applicant designs providing details
personal details
educational history
references
summary from previous employer about the suitability of an applicant
methods of selection
cv application form letter of application references testing interviews work trials
advantages of CV
more freedom for candidates
those with relevant cvs will send straight away
disadvantages of cv
hard direct compare formats different
outside help
application form
designed by employer sent to applicant
same info as a cv
advantages of application form
get all answers you want
directly compare
quick to look through
disadvantages of application form
doesn’t show creativity
applicants can’t add extra info
academic training
theoretical knowledge and skills
vocational training
hands on applied skills e.g hairdressing
training needs analysis
identifying gap between current training+training needs so can be given skills
factors to consider in a training needs analysis (TNA)
how much it’ll cost
who gets training
on/off job
what training includes
why are TNA’s important
highlights issues
prioritise training needs
improve customer experience
zero hour contracts
contract where employer not obliged to provide minimum no. of hours
worker not obliged to accept work
advantages of zero hour contracts
leaner business
increase employment
flexible
disadvantages of zero hour contracts
wages low-lack of upward pressure
anxiety for some workers- meet payments
remote working
employees work away from business premises
advantages of remote working
save time/money travelling
increase staff not space
less distractions
disadvantages of remote working
distracted
no social
might enjoy commute-reflect time
term time working
working hours mirror term time
benefits of term time working
easier for those with kids
time in lieu
work longer hours during busy period
paid time off in compensation
benefit of time in lieu
don’t pay workers overtime- higher cost
job sharing
share jobs on morning/afternoon basis day/day
benefit of job sharing
one job sharer absent least half jobs have been done
compressed hours
same total hours, shorter no. of days
annualized hours
total no. a year
flexibility about when they’re done
benefits of annualized hours
business use workforce when needed
benefits of compressed hours
increase productivity
flexi time
employees some choice over when they work their contracted hours
what do most flexi time schemes have
period when employees have to be there
‘core time’
advantages of flexi time
base hours around kids
avoid busy commuting times
more freedom
disadvantages of flexi time
difficult to schedule meetings
disrupt communication
tension if only some workers get it
part time work
employment with less than 35 hours per week
impacts of part time work
easy to match labour with demand
communication disrupted
managers more work-appraisals
workforce planning
deciding how many and what type of workers are
what factors have to be considered when deciding the type of worker
age skills qualifications experience physical fitness
why is it important to get the right number of workers as well as type
meet customer needs
achieve business aims and objectives
financially efficient
avoid high staff turnover
methods of recruitment
Internal
External
methods of training
on the job off the job induction academic vocational apprenticeship
