(PR in) HR Pulse | HR News Round-up: 8th – 14th January 2024

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Majority of employers want disability pay gap reporting to be mandatory

A recent Employee Benefits poll has found that the majority (83%) of employers want mandatory disability pay gaps - 10% disagree with such mandates while 7% are undecided.

Currently, under the Equality Act 2010, there is no specific requirement for employers to report their disability pay gap, in comparison, the gender pay gap mandate requires employers to provide a report if they have more than 250 employees.

Additionally, the University of Hertfordshire research into disability pay gaps reveals that the average hourly pay gap between staff with no declared disability and those with declared disabilities was 9.07%. This means that individuals with declared disabilities received 90.93p for every £1 paid to staff without declared disabilities.

Professor Quintin McKellar, Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Hertfordshire, says he hopes this report will help identify pay gap issues and lead employers to address and reduce disability pay gaps.

Source: Employee Benefits.

More than half of executives identify as neurodivergent

New research from CYPHER Learning shows that more than a third (38%) of 16 to 24 year olds surveyed self-identified as neurodivergent. Nearly a quarter (21%) say their organisation's learning and development (L&D) programmes aren’t adequately adjusted for neurodivergent needs.

CYPHER’s research also found that more than half (55%) of business owners, nearly half (45%) of C-level executives and nearly a third (32%) of senior management self-identified as neurodivergent.

More than three-quarters (76%) of employees say they would stay in their current roles if training opportunities were prioritised.

Graham Glass, Founder and CEO of CYPHER Learning, says all employees need to be supported in a way that works for them and that one-size-fits-all L&D approaches can no longer be the standard. He adds that with the assistance of AI-powered learning platforms, organisations should be able to create personalised learning - catering to the developmental needs of their employees.

Glass says that personalised L&D support can create an inclusive culture of continuous reskilling, increasing overall productivity and competency through employee engagement and motivation.

Source: UNLEASH.

Does working from home lower sickness absence?

A new report from Ulster University Economic Policy Centre (UUEPC), based on Office of National Statistics’ (ONS) 2022 data, has found employees who work from home have lower reported rates of sickness absences.

Managers, directors and senior officials had the lowest rate at 1.6%, as nearly half (42%) were able to work from home. Conversely, service occupations such as carers, had the highest absence rate at 4.3% as only (15%) were able to work from home.

Dr Bernard Yew, Medical Director at PAM Group, says employees working from home have a significant advantage as when they’re sick they can avoid commuting and work flexible hours while getting better.

Alan Price, CEO at BrightHR, says that although working through sick days at home seems like a good idea, it can backfire - if an employee isn’t able to rest they may take longer to recover. He adds that working while sick can also lower the quality of the work produced.

UUEPC’s report also found that the UK’s sickness absence rate rose to 2.6% in 2022 (c186 million lost days) from 2.2% in  2021 and 1.9% in 2019 pre-pandemic (c47 million lost days). This is the highest level in 18 years - 2.7% in 2004.

Yew says that although managers are often able to recognise when an employee is struggling with health issues, they may not know how to address the issues - managers need better training on how to instigate conversations around employee health so that they can make reasonable adjustments.

Idris Arshad, People and Inclusion Partner at St Christopher’s Hospice, says organisations need better policies that outline wellbeing management to help prevent illness and understand what may be causing absences. 

Source: People Management.

And here are links to other really interesting news stories this week:

HR Review: Your boss is getting more sleep than you 

HR Review: Half of UK workers without flexibility plan to leave within a year 

People Management: Using personal phones at work can reduce stress, study suggests 

UNLEASH: 1 in 4 don’t trust their employer will implement AI responsibly