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Gemma Sofield Head of Four HR - [email protected]

Gemma, a CIPD qualified HR professional set up the award winning HR division within Four Recruitment in 2013 to source HR positions at all levels for SME’s and global businesses throughout the North West.

CHANGING LANDSCAPE

Welcome to Insider’s HR Guide, where we dispel some myths on the issues keeping HR directors up at night and share advice on how to keep employees engaged and motivated. With the so-called war on talent becoming more prevalent across all sectors, we look at advancements helping to drive change. Insider started by asking experts about the regulatory issues HR directors need to be aware of.

APPRENTICESHIP LEVYTo be introduced in April 2017, the levy will require all employers to pay 0.5 per cent of their payroll to the government to fund more and better quality apprenticeships. The levy, which will be taken monthly, will only affect employers with a payroll of more than £3m per year. Each employer will have a digital apprenticeship account where the money will be available for 18 months to fund apprentices. Any unused money will be transferred to a general fund, which can be accessed by other employers. Simon Whitehead, partner and employment solicitor at HRC Law in Manchester, says: “This means the cost of employment will increase for employers with a payroll of more than £3m per year. To ensure that a business achieves some return they will need to review their use of apprentices, ensuring that they are being used to full effect.” MODERN SLAVERY ACT

Companies turning over more than £36m, including UK subsidiaries of foreign business, are required to produce a Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement that outlines what steps have been taken to ensure modern slavery is not occurring in their supply chain or in any part of the business. They must say that no such steps have been taken. Failure to do so could mean the secretary of state obtaining an injunction forcing the organisation to produce a statement.

AUTO-ENROLMENTFOR PENSIONS“Auto-enrolment has been on the agenda for a long time and, where large employers have embraced it, smaller employers are now at the stage where they have to start looking at it,” says Peter Byrne, employment partner at Taylors Solicitors in Blackburn, adding that those with 30 employees or fewer need to be enrolled by 2017.

THE NATIONALMINIMUM WAGE AND NATIONAL LIVING WAGESubject to review, the main national minimum rate has been confirmed as £6.95 from October 2016, while the national living wage (NLW) will not change from £7.20 in October 2016. Both will be subject to change again in April 2017. “The consultation is looking at the correct rates working towards the government’s stated intention for it to rise to £9 by 2020,” Whitehead says. “The Low Pay Com-mission expects the NLW to increase to £7.60 in April 2017. The commision is also looking at compliance and enforcement.”

THE DIRECTOR OFLABOUR MARKETENFORCEMENT Passing through Parliament as part of the Immigration Bill, this legislation will create a director of labour market en-forcement and an offence of aggravat-ed breach of labour market legislation. The enforcement bodies will have the power to require a business, where there is reasonable belief that an offence has been committed, to take steps to prevent further offending.

What you need to know about people-related rules

ALSO IN THIS GUIDE:n Closing the gender pay gapn Agile learningn Interview with MediaCom’s chief operating officer Chris Broadbent

INTRODUCTION

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BE PREPARED FOR NEW GENDER PAY GAP RULES

‘Start now’ is the message to busi-nesses affected by new gender pay gap regulations taking effect in 2017. Organisations with more than 250 employees will be required to publish data revealing the average pay of their male and female members of staff in an attempt by the government to provide greater transparency.

Exact dates are yet to be confirmed, but the North West’s experts have urged businesses to begin collecting the information as early as possible to ensure they are not caught out.

“Employers need to be aware of this now, particularly if they outsource their payroll function – and in that case they need to talk to their provider about what information they can offer,” says Claire Hollins, an associate at Manchester law firm Weightmans. “They won’t have to publish until April 2017, but this can be quite a lot of information to gather and it shouldn’t be underestimated.”

Data required under the regulations will include the mean gender pay gap of all employees; the median gender pay gap; information about bonuses and the proportion of men and wom-en receiving them; and a breakdown of male and female employees in each pay quartile.

Final regulations are to be pub-lished this summer, with changes due to come into effect in October 2016 and the data to be reported each April, although organisations can do this earlier if they wish. It will take the form of an annual report published on the company’s website that needs to be available for three years. Tracey Guest, partner and head of employ-

ment at Manchester law firm Slater Heelis, welcomed the regulations, saying: “These are all hugely impor-tant steps into helping to close the gender pay gap.”

Keeping records of bonuses will be essential and employers who have a gender pay gap may want to start thinking about how they can close it, Hollins says – be it through bonuses or otherwise. Although the govern-ment has stipulated that only the fig-ures be published, businesses could consider adding a written commentary to explain any gaps. Hollins says this could take into account any employees on maternity or sick pay.

The regulations will impose a considerable workload on businesses. “It’s going to be a headache for those in the private sector, who will probably need to use consultants to evaluate their workforce and see whether the differences in roles justify gaps in the pay structure,” says Peter Byrne, em-ployment partner at Taylors Solicitors in Blackburn. “They need to start do-ing that now, but the biggest problem is that we know the outline of this but

From 2017, businesses of a certain size will be required to publish pay differences between their male and

female employees. Jenny Brookfield asks the region’s experts what they should be doing in advance

CLOSING THE GENDER PAY GAP CLOSING THE GENDER PAY GAP

Proud to sponsor the HR Guide

“ It will be a headache for those in the private sector, who may need consultants to evaluate their sta�.” Peter Byrne

“ Businesses won’t have to publish until April, but this can be quite a lot of information to gather.” Claire Hollins

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CLOSING THE GENDER PAY GAP CLOSING THE GENDER PAY GAP



we’re waiting for more detail. Every employer will want to do their best to say they don’t have a gender pay gap, because the reason behind this is a naming-and-shaming exercise.”

Byrne says organisations that have identified pay gaps will then need to put an action plan in place to close them, to avoid tarnishing their reputa-tion and hindering future recruitment. “There are certainly going to be gaps in pay that are difficult to explain,” he says. “Employers are going to have to sit and think long and hard about how they can justify not having pay scales for roles that people would slot into regardless of gender.”

No fines or punishments will be enforced on companies that don’t comply with the regulations, but Byrne points out that the deterrent to failing to publish the data is the suggestion of having something to hide. Simon Whitehead, partner and employment solicitor at HRC Law in Manchester, questions whether the legislation will be effective because of this.

“The government will run checks to ensure compliance and publish data and tables with the information by industry or type of business, and is considering publicly naming those employers that haven’t complied,” he says. “It is unlikely to achieve its aim of closing the gap, but it will provide information that could become sub-jected to public scrutiny and pressure to effect changes.”

Under the draft drawn up by the government, the rules apply to individual companies and not groups, although Susan McKenzie, an employ-ment solicitor at Brabners’ Liverpool office, suggests this may be altered in the future. “You may find you have a situation where there’s a group of companies that collectively have more than 250 employees but individually they’re below the threshold – or you may have one part of the group that has 250-plus, so has to publish, while the other parts don’t,” she says.

Weightmans’ Hollins predicts that some may attempt to restructure into smaller parts with fewer than 250

says, in case they have forgotten about any employees or hire people who take them over the threshold close to the deadline.

Car dealership Chorley Group is already preparing to report its gender pay gap figures. The family business has 225 employees and is planning a recruitment drive to add a further 15 staff members. Stacey Carter, HR director, says: “Because we’re approaching the 250 mark we’ll prob-ably need to do it next year, so we’re already thinking about running the figures through to analyse them and see if there are any steps we need to take.

“There’s quite a lot to do and it will be time-consuming, so our accounts and payroll teams are doing that at the moment. The majority of people on our executive board are female, so from our point of view it will probably be weighted the other way, but it will be interesting to compare ourselves with others in our industry, which is usually male-dominated.

“The legislation is a bit toothless in that there’s no mechanism to challenge the information and no en-forcement measures, so generally the idea behind it is an internal process where you would look at the figures and decide whether you were happy with them, although our industry will probably struggle when you’re looking at the hard facts.”

Brabners’ McKenzie predicts the regulations will eventually be extend-ed to include businesses of all sizes, and suggests smaller businesses may want to report their figures already. “From a PR point of view, if you are analysing this information it shows transparency to current staff, potential recruits and your stakeholders, which will help with employee retentionand help you become an employerof choice.”

“ It will be interesting to compare ourselves with others in our industry, which is male-dominated.” Stacey Carter

employees, making them ineligible. For those preparing to take part, she suggests gathering the necessary information now and deciding who will sign a written statement and when you will publish, as well as whether you will accompany the results witha narrative as explanation.

Businesses with a workforce just short of 250 staff may also need to think about publishing anyway, she

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APPETITE TO BE AGILE

To combat poachers, Phil Sofield,operations director at Four Recruitment, realised he had to offer staff some-thing more to retain them. The answer came in the shape of the company’s new office.

“It was completely new to me when the architect asked ‘how do you want the space to work?’” Sofield says. “He designed it so there were certain areas for certain things.”

The finance and HR specialist recruitment company moved into its 3,170 sq ft building at the Middlebrook development in Bolton in April. The company has signed a ten-year lease at Lower House Farm, which is six times larger than its previous head-quarters at Hamill House in Bolton.

Four Recruitment worked with Chorley-based SDA Architects and Manchester-based Northstar to create

a striking new reception area, large open-plan office space with areas for internal meetings, a new training room to enable the company to train and develop new consultants, new external meeting rooms, a boardroom, a staff chillout room equipped with games, pool table and televisions, a pamper area and a fully equipped kitchen.

The base also has an outdoor entertainment area with seating and barbecue, to host a variety of employee and client events.

In addition to a convenient location and communal amenities, technology is facilitating developments in agile working. “I don’t want to lose people because I am restricting them to a desk,” says Sofield. “Technology allows you to work from home.”

It could be considered a relatively

The adoption of agile working can motivate a workforce, boost productivity and

save your business money. Jenny Brookfield looks at the pros and cons

“ It’s important to support working families, enabling parents to balance a career with daily life.” Stephen Nuttall

AGILE WORKING AGILE LEARNING

Lower House Farm

Four’s chillout room

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recent concept by some, but Peter Byrne, employment partner at Taylors Solicitors in Blackburn, suggests the incoming generation of employees demand agile working.

“People who were born in the 1990s and early 2000s will have an expectation of being able to work remotely and flexibly,” he says. “There are two sides to this, however, be-cause lots of businesses simply can’t operate that way and we could end up with an ‘Uberfication’ of services, where most people are working on a freelance basis.”

Accountancy firm Deloitte announced in 2014 that it was introducing agile working for more than 12,000 em-ployees as part of a long-term goal to improve its female talent pipeline and have 25 per cent female partners by 2020. This included investments in technology as well as more adaptable workspaces and providing “an envi-ronment that supports open conversa-tions about agile working”.

“To maximise productivity, it is cru-cial to create a workplace environment that accommodates the needs of the modern professional,” says Stephen Nuttall, talent partner at Deloitte in the North West.

“In particular, it has become important to offer a culture to support working families, enabling parents to balance a successful career with their daily lives.

“At Deloitte, we have put this at the heart of our HR practices, introduc-ing our Time Out programme. This enables staff to take a month’s unpaid leave at a time that suits them and the business, and they are encouraged to share the benefits of the experience when they return.”

Along with the positives, agile working can be seen as having some drawbacks.

Sofield adds another angle, saying: “There’s a misconception that every-body wants agile working. But a lot of people like the routine of clocking on at a certain time every morning. They want to be able to walk out the door at 5pm and leave it there.”

“ Ensuring agile workers’ devices have sophisticated cyber security protection is crucial.” Martin Knapp

Then there’s what happens if tech-nology fails to deliver. Martin Knapp, managing director of Secure Informa-tion Assurance, a cyber security company based in Ribchester, Lanca-shire, suggests that allowing employees to work remotely brings security risks and says that procedures and meas-ures to protect the business’s network should be a priority.

“A high number of employees are likely to be working on devices or networks that are unsafe and that could potentially leave the data on the device vulnerable,” he says. “Cyber security threats such as hacking, ma-licious viruses and data theft are just some of the threats that devices being used by an employee face. These threats could have detrimental effects for the business, therefore ensuring the devices used have sophisticated protection is crucial.”

There may also be issues around senior managers not having face-to-face contact with staff every day, and for this reason recruiting the right people and instilling the right culture will be essential.

SALARY IS NO LONGER ENOUGH

An impressive salary is no longer enough for busi-nesses looking to attract and keep the best talent. Insider has the following tips for staff retention.

Create a “people first” culture. Reinforce a team ethos among workers and encourage collaboration between departments. Offer employees a clear development plan. Giving this at every level reassures employees that there are tangible results for their hard work. Flexible working arrangements. Giving employees the choice to have flexible start and finish times, or enabling them to work from home, builds trust. Leadership is the key. People at all levels need to be encouraged to show leadership. Mentor them and send them on courses to develop new skills. Communicate openly. To work towards a common goal, people need to be kept in the loop, so be open in all dealings with staff. Tailored incentives for the individual. Reward an employee for their individual achievements so they are aware their hard work is being noticed.Hire the right person. When looking to fill key positions, ensure the person you select fits into the culture of the organisation. Use the “on-boarding” period to get to know them in social settings.

AGILE WORKING AGILE LEARNING

Four Recruitment’s new office

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PEOPLE FIRSTMediaCom North describes itself as a content and connections agency. It plans and buys all forms of adver-tising media (digital and non-digital) nationally, internationally and region-ally for brands including Missguided, moneysupermarket.com, JD Sports, Dunlop, AO.com and Haven.

In January, Chris Broadbent became chief operating officer with a remit to oversee growth across the Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham offices. He began his career at theJ Walter Thompson advertising agency in Manchester, and has worked atMcCann, Carat and Feather Brooksbank.

Now based in Manchester, Broad-bent was previously chief business development officer at MediaCom Leeds. He’s been at MediaCom since 2011 when the group acquired Brilliant Media, the agency whose Manchester office he established in 2002.

“Back then, Mediacom had 80 people at the office in Manchester,” he says. Following the deal, “Mediacom has a new office here and as a result has a Leeds and Birmingham office too. What is now MediaCom North Group is a business with 250 people.”

I meet Broadbent at MediaCom North’s Manchester HQ on 1 Hardman Street, Spinningfields, where the media buying agency has 17,000 sq ft over five storeys. “People have noticed us,” he says, adding with a laugh that “we were always here, but people hadn’t always noticed us.”

Prior to moving in 18 months ago, MediaCom North was on Deansgate. The move was all part of the mantra to put people first. “If we’re in a pitch and we’re asked what sets us apart, it is people. We put great store on mak-ing this a nice place to work. There is always room for improvement but we try to make it a fantastic environment.”

The issue now is to diversify the workforce. “Historically, we’ve taken on graduates but last year we had a successful intake of apprentices and we’re looking to expand that this year.” Most of the apprentices are based in Manchester and take on a variety of roles. “The biggest department is ana-lytics, which we didn’t have five years ago. The industry’s changed hugely.”

We get talking about the evolution of advertising and how it fits into MediaCom’s ideology. “When I started there were so few channels, no Goog-le. The job was a commodity-based purchase for airtime or space and it was called media buying. The creative people led the process and the media people were down the corridor.

“You were a TV buyer, a press buyer, or in a compartmentalised structure. You were an expert in the TV channels you were buying, but you certainly didn’t know what effect it was having on the client’s business. It’s been totally revolutionised. It’s all about understanding all the connec-tions in a system. Content can be a search ad, video on mobile, not just an ad in a local paper.”

It’s important that people have access to this new world of data, of dashboards and of outcomes. For Broadbent, the next generation doesn’t necessarily need a degree. “We’re looking to do more work with schools and apprentices. We’re look-ing for people with the right attitude and the generation that understands the modern media landscape.”

Hitting the mark As chief operating officer, overseeing internal functions is part of the job. “This year we’re turning over £300m, the bulk of our turnover is still old-school media, television, press, and

Chris Broadbent, chief operating officer at MediaCom North, talks to Miri Thomas about media buying’s new mantra

INTERVIEW

“ We’re looking for people with the right attitude, who understand the

modern media landscape.”

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Keeping a cool head when talking about religion

Is an employer entitled to restrict religious discussions in the workplace? A recent case from the Employment Appeal Tribunalhas given the clearest answer to this yet.

This latest case involved a relatively seniormanager in the NHS, who was disciplined (but not dismissed) for crossing professionalboundaries when it came to promoting her Christian faith at work. The trigger point was an occasion when she prayed for a junior Muslim colleague in a supervision meeting with her.

The question was whether she had beendisciplined because of her Christian beliefs–which would have been unlawful discrimination – or because of the way she had behaved to a junior colleague, even though there was a religious context to it. This is not always an easy distinction to draw, but on this occasion the conclusion was that the employer’s actions fell on the right side of the line. It helped that they hadconducted a thorough investigation, the manager had already been warned about the need to maintain professional boundaries, and they were willing to give her a final chance.

More generally the lesson for employers is to maintain objectivity and avoid hasty responses. When emotions run high – particularly in the current political climate – it is important to remember that a balanceneeds to be struck between allowing consensual discussions between colleaguesand preventing undue pressure being put on more junior members of staff or vulnerable service users.

You can read more about these, and other developments we anticipate in 2016, in our employment blog at www.hrlawlive.co.uk and also sign up to one of our employment law updates or HR Hubs at www.mills-reeve.com/legalevents.

Sara BarrettPartner, Mills & Reeve LLP0161 234 [email protected]

Sara BarrettPartner

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outdoor. Large amounts of money are spent in an analogue way. But digital is becoming the dominant force and here a large part of our income is derived from digital assets.”

His growth plan includes doing more with existing clients. “No-one can afford to stand still, so the first plan is to help our clients grow. If what we do for them is working, then by default, we’ll increase their spend with us.”

Broadbent highlights Manches-ter-based Missguided as an example.MediaCom North has worked with Missguided since the end of 2012 developing and implementing celebrity advertising endorsements (Pamela Anderson, Pia Mia and Nicole Scherzinger), seasonal campaigns, and international launches in France, Australia and Ireland.

The main focus of MediaCom North’s work has been boosting sales and positioning the brand as the premier seller of bold, empowering and forward-thinking online fashion. Mediacom North has since grown the business across TV, print, out-of-home (OOH) advertising and video on demand (VOD). MediaCom North has supported Missguided in increasing online traffic and sales, boosting turnover from £15.3m in 2013 to just under £90m in 2015.

More international work is carried out for online household goods retailer AO.com, which has been a client since July 2013. MediaCom North has responsibility for the Bol-ton-based company’s media buying and planning strategy for the UK and continental Europe, where the brand recently expanded into Germany and the Netherlands. The main focus is reminding potential customers that they never know when an appliance will need replacing. MediaCom says its work for AO.com has contributed to a four-fold improvement in brand performance KPIs in sales and aware-ness across TV, radio, VOD and OOH advertising platforms.

The second part of Broadbent’s growth strategy is winning new clients. “Last year we did 66 pitches across three offices. We had a 63 per cent conversion rate, which generated £70m turnover for us.” But he’s not complacent: “In our sector, nothing is

forever. Clients hold a pitch and we have competitors, it’s a buoyant sector. As well as people in our sector, others are coming in. Google, Facebook, global consultancies such as Deloitte are moving into different spaces.Media owners are trying to eat our lunch.”

With “people first” as its mantra, it’s little wonder that MediaCom’s greatest challenge is ultimately people. “Get-ting the right people, keeping them, training them. If we really live and breathe ‘people first’ then we’ve gotto be the place people want to work.”

Broadbest doesn’t believe there’s a scarcity of talent in the North West. For him it’s more about making it “an environment that’s better than what someone else has”. He says: “People think media is about technology, it’s not, it’s about people. People buy products. It’s the people here that make the different.”

I ask whether he feels there’s a north/south divide in perception. “Anything London can do we can do with knobs on,” he says. “You could use the argument of lower overheads, you could say someone spending £X would be a more important client here. But our job is to be oneMediaCom. So we do move people around and encourage them to be mobile. I would rather someone move to our other offices than to a competitor.”

INTERVIEW

Celebrity status: Pamela Anderson’s latest campaign for Mediacom client Missguided

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