Workforce planning Flashcards
Zero hour contract
A contract between employee and employer:
- the employer is not obligated to provide any minimum hours
- the worker is obligated to accept any work offered
The number of British people on 0-hour contracts
Approximately 1.03million are on zero-hour contracts in the UK
Disadvantages of zero hour contracts for Employees
- causes anxiety (there is uncertainty about when and for how long they will work & they dont know wether or not they’ll be able to pay their bills)
- It holds down wages (as it is usually bigger corporate firms that have zero hour contracts it restricts employees ability/power to demand higher wages)
- Creates exploitation of workers (Denied some employment rights and may be worried about complaining due to fear of losing hours).
Disadvantages of zero hour contracts for Businesses
- Business reputation may be harmed
Advantages of zero hour contracts for businesses
- Creates leaner, more profitable businesses as there is no obligation to denied some employment rights and offer hours.
- Helps to react to fluctuations in demand
Advantages of zero hour contracts for Employees
- Increases the numbers of jobs available.
- Flexibility suits some workers i.e. students
Disadvantages of remote learning
- lack of facilities
- may be more distractions at home
- employees may do less work without discipline
- lack of the social aspect
- commute can be seen as a time for reflection
- it blurs the lines between home / work
Flexi-time working
a working schedule which allows employees to choose when to start and end their workday, and/or how long to take their break for, within agreed limits set by management.
Advantages of flexitime to employees
- helps them to avoid traffic
- be able to drop of/pick up kids from school/childcare
- helps to achieve a better work-life balance
- easier to work around out of work occurrences
Disadvantages of flex-time working
- Communication may be disrupted
- Meetings may be more difficult to schedule
- employees may be unproductive during any unsupervised hours
- there may be tension if not all employees are allowed to work this way
- some variable costs may increase as a result of the premises being open for longer
Part-time employment
A contract with less than 35 hours worked per week
Positive impacts to businesses of part-time workin
- Helps the business to cover sickness and busier periods
- makes the business cost efficient as they dont have full time staff without the business demand.
- increased retention as more “family friendly”
Negative impacts to businesses of part-time workin
- Leads to more training, appraisals etc (there is a time/cost aspect to this)
- Communication could become more different.
Term time working
Where working hours mirror term-time days
Potential benefit of term time working to the business
- The employee will feel more motivated as they get to spend time with their child, increasing productivity (better work life balance).
- Reduced labour costs
- Increased flexibility for employees
Time off in lieu
Where the employee is required to work more during busy periods and can have time off during quieter periods, they are only paid the hours on their contract e.g. 9 – 5, meaning they wont get paid for overtime but will be paid when they arent working.
Potential benefit of time of in lieu to the business
- The business will have to employ less people as they can have the same amount of employees but have them working as and when they need them
- Reduced costs for the business as smaller workforce
- Employees may be better engaging with work
Job sharing
This is where a full-time job is split in between two employees that share the workload, usually split on a morning/afternoon bases or a day-to-day basis
Potential benefit of job sharing to the business
- Employees are able to the hours or days that suit them better and therefore the business can gain the staff it needs
- If one job sharer is sick they will still have a extra employee (job sharer) that is able to cover the employee that is sick
Compressed hours
this is where the number of hours worked in a week are compresssed into a shorter period of time, e.g. a 5 day working week is compressed into a 4 day working week
Potential benefit of compressed hours to the business
- Employers may reduce the variable costs as employees are in for less days
- Staff moral may improve as they have a extra ‘day off’
- Productivity may increase
Annualised hours
thiss is where a employee is required to working a certain amount of hours throughout the whole year, this has a degree of flexibility but usually a set number of hours are set per week, and the left over hours are worked inline with the employers needs in order to meet demand.
Potential benefit of annualised hours to the business
- Employers can use the workforce as and when they need too
- Employers don’t have to pay overtime costs, therefore reducing costs meaning the business is more competitive
Workforce planning
It is about deciding how many and what types of workers are required
QUANTITY & TYPE
Factors to consider when deciding upon the type of worker
- age
- skills
- experience
- qualifications
- physical fitness
- honesty
- literacy
why are older employees better
- may need less training
- more experience
- more guidance
Why are younger employees better
- New skills
- Modern ideas
- Motivated
How to reevaluate a workforce plan
- analyse current workforce i.e. how many? Are they the right type?
- asses future need i.e. will more, less or
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Factors to consider when creating/amending a workforce plan
Why is it important to get the right number & types of workers
- meet customer needs
- achieve business aims and objectives
efficient - avoid high levels of staff turnover
- to support pension planning (i.e. when older workers retire)
