Advocate - Issue 42

who we are & what we do...

advo is an award-winning advisory providing centralised management and advice with our own technology platforms for HR, Payroll, and Employee Benefit & wellbeing solutions.

Designed and priced with SME’s in mind, linked or standalone, our technology platforms and services are delivered and managed by our highly qualified and experienced advisors.

advo provides an outsourced payroll & HR service, with fully qualified consultants who protect & guide employers through employment law and HMRC regulations. We provide FCA regulated reviews, advice and recommendations across a suite of employee benefits including health, risk, well-being and lifestyle benefits.

advo-one, our unique online portal, underpins and connects all three services - providing access to employee and employer 24/7 from any device. advo-one includes benefits information, company documentation, perks & total reward statements, online payslips, absence management reporting and the ability for employees to book and track holiday.

advo-one is a great employee engagement tool whilst centralising employer data, saving time and increasing efficiency with employee administration.

t: 01622 769210

e: info@advogroup.co.uk

w: advogroup.co.uk

What’s in

What’s new at advo

Page 3.

advo webinars: What’s new??

Page 09.

Cover story: Tech & Employee engagement

Page 11.

An advo Trailblazer

Page 13.

Reacting to a changing world: Your IPMI

Page 17.

WHAT’S NEW AT ADVO

BIG MOVES AHEAD

ADVO GETS READY TO MOVE FROM ADVO HOUSE

We will shortly be moving our Head Office from advo House to Cobdown House. The move, although locally, has brought with it challenges over developing new infrastructure, such as new fast internet connection lines necessary for the management of our online platforms, but the move does give considerable flexibility and room for expansion over the years ahead.

We knew we had outgrown our current head office, advo House, just prior to the first lockdown, and despite an increasing shift to hybrid working, space remained at a premium and so Cobdown House delivered immediate solutions with its increased space. This has allowed all staff to have their own work area instead of moving, as so many companies have done, to ‘hot desking’ or something similar.

As advo owns both advo House and Cobdown House we have been able to carefully plan our move to ensure that there will be no disruption to the services delivered to our clients.

Nestled behind the Kent FA and the training pitches, Cobdown House, and its surrounding area offers considerable opportunity, we feel not just for us, but the local business community too. Just the rear part of the building offers more space than the current advo House.

Colin Boxall, advo’s Executive Director commented on the move “One of the deciding factors in choosing Cobdown was the move from a business park to a more rural location, something we feel fits well with our focus on health and wellbeing.”

The infrastructure at our ‘forever’ home starts to take shape at advo’s new Head Office, Cobdown House, as we prepare to say goodbye to advo House our long-time home.

advo House

Cobdown House

AMII PAYS TRIBUTE

SUE SMITH, ADVO’S HEAD OF PRIVATE CLIENTS RETIRES

“AMII, the Association of Medical Insurers and Intermediaries, the health and protection industry’s trade association, paid tribute to Sue Smith, advo’s Head of Private Clients, who retires at the end of August 2023.

AMII’s Press Release stated “Sue Smith, a founding member of amii and head of private clients at advo Group, will be retiring at the end of this month (July).

As one of the founding members of amii in 1998, Sue has continued to be involved with the association over many years, firstly as secretary, then as vice-chair and as a committee member, which helped make amii the association it is today.

The amii Executive Committee, our General Secretary and Chair, David Middleton, would like to thank Sue for her dedication and support for amii over the years. We wish her a retirement filled with joy, peace, and relaxation. Sue has given our industry so much over the years, and it’s now time for her to reap the rewards.

Congratulations Sue!

If any amii member would like to send Sue a personal message of goodwishes before she retires, you can contact her at advo Group prior to the end of the month.”

We include an article taken from Health & Protection Magazine, on page 13, which outlines Sue’s extensive contribution to today’s protection industry.

CHANGES AT THE TOP

NEW HEAD OF ADVO HR ANNOUNCED

ALISON GILL, HEAD OF ADVO HR

Alison Gill, formally the manager of the Client HR adviser team, has been promoted into a newly created post of Head of HR. The new role encompasses both client HR support and the delivery of advo’s internal HR. Alison has a wealth of knowledge and experience having worked at the highest levels at well-known organisations in addition to extensive experience supporting SMEs. Her time managing the Client HR team has led to an expansion of advo’s retained HR clients. Larry Bulmer, advo’s CEO commented “I am delighted that Alison has accepted this new challenge to join our senior management team, her expertise and considerable ability continues to be a real boon to our organisation.”

SUE SMITH, ADVO’S FORMER HEAD OF PRIVATE CLIENTS

CORPORATE ADVISER AWARD WINNERS

From L to R: Lucy Pearce, Commercial Director, Chris Lock, Account Manager, Lucy Irvine, Head of Employee Benefits & Ellie Sultana, Manager of Employee Benefits Account Manager Team.

A big high five for our Employee Benefits team for their recent success in being recognised, shortlisted, and winning the “Best Health & Wellbeing Solution” at this year’s prestigious Corporate Adviser Awards.

The black-tie awards ceremony was held at the London Marriott Grosvenor Square and attended by leading figures in the corporate advice industry with both providers and advice firms represented. Corporate Adviser magazine describes the aim of their awards is to “Celebrate those advisers and providers that have brought real innovations to the field of workplace financial services.”

The Health & Wellbeing category required demonstration of a firm’s health & wellbeing proposition and how it helps employers improve the health and wellbeing of their employees. Judges, who are leading industry figures, were looking for innovation and proven effectiveness.

The news of advo’s win comes soon after recent recognition with advo being singled out as finalists in six categories, confirming the breath of expertise and approach in advising and supporting clients at the upcoming Health & Protection Awards.

Chris Lock, an advo account manager, whose case study was instrumental in demonstrating

innovation through implementing a new to the UK fertility cover into a client’s wellbeing strategy, picked up the award on advo’s behalf. Chris commenting on his win said “Well, what can I say, I was genuinely speechless when they announced we had won, aside from a rather loud exclamation of joy when they did! I am absolutely thrilled and honoured to win this award, especially when I consider my predecessors and advo who worked and received similar award wins– some big shoes to fill! It was a wonderful learning experience working on the makeup and implementation of the fertility benefit for our client, and one of many I have been fortunate to learn from and experience. Thank you to everyone who has supported me, this award is as much for you as it is for advo and me.”

As mentioned by Chris, this year’s submission was based around a new fertility support solution put forward by Chris and implemented for one of his clients. This is a particular emotive topic and demonstrates how employers are striving to invest in the overall wellbeing of their employees and understanding the link between improved wellbeing and business performance.

Message advo to find out more about how we can help in supporting your employees through their Fertility journey.

I was genuinely speechless when they announced we had won CHRIS LOCK, ADVO ACCOUNT MANAGER ” “

MORE ADVO NEWS

A Summer ‘Thank you’

advo recently held its London Summer Social at London’s well-known Folly Bar & Restaurant. The event was designed to thank our clients based in the South and our Strategic Partners for their continued support, while allowing wider discussions with us and our partners around the broader services we can deliver.

A number of advo’s clients remain what we call ‘single service’, having just one of our three offerings, as opposed to Multi-Service where two or more of our Employee benefits, Payroll or HR services are taken.

Some Linked-In Favourites

advo people regularly post their own stories and updates on Linked-In. Here we include some of the Editor’s recent favourites and most liked posts from some of our Advonians.

NEWS & VIEWS

Advonian Chuckles

The most recent edition of our staff magazine, The Advonian, carried on the tradition of taking an irreverent look at advo, its managers and staff. The magazine’s 56th edition, as always, highlights those staff members that colleagues have nominated as going above and beyond to help and support their fellows and advo. The front cover image is Jenny Durling, our Account Support Manager, who received a copy of her ‘flattering’ caricature at a recent Bupa event. The magazine, apart from updating on any staff and advo news and gossip also includes special regular features, such as ‘Caring and Sharing’ highlighting acts of kindness, support and personal inspiring stories aimed to help other Advonians to tackle life’s challanges.

A Linked-In milestone achieved with reaching 2,000 followers. (Below) One of many advo short videos tackling employer issues

ADVO WEBINARS

Following the recent success of our webinars we are pleased to announce that we have more planned for the near future.

The next webinar is a deep dive into the world of Management and Leadership Coaching, including creating accountability within your teams and maximising your feedback opportunities and is one not to be missed. The webinar, hosted by advo strategic partner, Pippa Dennitts who tackles one of the biggest challenges facing today’s businesses.

Pipa explains “ In the current financial climate, many employers are looking for improvement and efficiency. Alongside this, many managers are not fully equipped to cope with the day-today pressures of managing modern, remote or hybrid teams, let alone support their teams on a journey of continuous improvement. Many are simply change-weary and have run out of steam. Our webinar seeks to give you tools to help tackle this.

Pippa adds “Why does this matter for employers?; A recent Gallup survey concluded that only 23% of employees worldwide are enthusiastic about their work and fully involved with their teams, leaving a staggering 77% who aren’t. The most important factor in levels of employee engagement? The manager, whose skills and attitude will drive 70 per cent of a team’s enthusiasm and involvement. Gallup also found that manager burnout is rising as the demands on their time and skills increase. It falls to team managers to steer changes in the workplace, and to make sure that employees are appropriately trained for the developing demands of their jobs.

I believe the solution is to adopt simple tools and frameworks around communication,

accountability and people development so you can ‘walk the walk’ of continuous improvement and support managers in adopting those tools. An iterative approach of ongoing small changes will enable celebration of every small progress leading to an upward spiral of change. Whilst potentially seemingly slow vs the ‘Big Bang’ approach of a massive change initiative, this incremental approach will likely have greater staying power as the ownership of these small changes lie with those making them.

The result being Managers own an approach to change which brings a sense of evolution over revolution meaning the change is more likely be energising rather than draining or fear instigating. Employers have a consistent set of approaches across teams enabling culture to develop more coherently.

The webinar is on Wednesday 20th September 2023, 12:30pm-13:15pm. Places are available, please email info@advogroup.co.uk and we will send you a link to register.

Future webinars will tackle issues facing cyber protection

• Commercial insurance including the importance of regularly reviewing and updating what you have. There will be a focus on the dangers of cyber security and the available seldom taken, but much needed protection.

• Tools to combat employee cost-of-living pressures. What employers can do to reduce the cost-of-living impact on their employees.

If there are any topics you would like advo to cover please reach out to your dedicated adviser or email us at info@advogroup.co.uk

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT ALLOWING SMES TO EQUAL

As technology advances at a staggering pace in our private lives, employees expect the same from their employers. PLCs have taken advantage of advances in technology for years but SMEs are frequently left behind.

Larger employers have the benefit of wider budgets to create bespoke solutions, while SMEs are left buying off-the shelf-products often designed with PLCs in mind.

Technology is essential for well-run organisations, but despite SMEs accounting for three fifths of the employment and around half of turnover in the UK private sector these employers invariably face discrimination and exclusion of access. Time, knowledge and budget coupled with often unsuitable offthe-shelf products each playing their part as barriers.

SMEs need to have a level playing field with PLCs to attract and retain talent. There is an expectation, even within smaller companies of not only equality of renumeration, but that their benefit package should mirror too, something SMEs can struggle with due to time, expertise and money pressures, something even more acute in a post pandemic world. One area where smaller employers are truly on the backfoot is the three people essentials.

The ‘people’ essentials for an employer are to reward, manage and pay their people. Reward them, through staff benefits, keeping them healthy and motivated while having access to wide-ranging HR support and pay them what they are due and on time.

Recognising this market gap, advo created portals specifically designed for SMEs.

advo’s ’one’ portal re-launched in 2021, in the midst of pandemic shutdowns, with further absence management enhancements added this year.

The advo-one portal is designed to increase efficiency and employee engagement. It manages all employee benefits, is an HMRC approved payroll/BACS system and an absence management platform. All together through a single log-in. advo’s ‘one’ creates simplicity. It’s quick and easy, saves time, looks good and gives clients control.

‘advo-one’ has three parts, each taken separately, together or a combination, depending on client’s needs:

• Rewarding people (employee-benefits expertly backed/sourced)

• Managing people (absence-management/ wider HR)

• Paying people (payroll/BACS/DD/autoenrolment–HMRC accredited)

In summary, employers benefit through:

Payroll, HR and Employee Benefits all managed in one place through one log-in.

• Access to complete payroll bureau services with online payslips & HMRC reporting

• Full staff absence management. With line manager control to view/authorise /log holiday/sickness.

• Store HR documentation on the site

• CIPD expert advice covering every aspect of employment law and staff support, training, coaching and recruitment.

• Employee benefit information across all staff benefits, tailored to each client.

• Make amendments to their employee records and changes to benefits.

Client’s portals use their own style, colours &

ENGAGEMENT EQUAL PLCS

logos so their ‘one’ looks like an extension of their own branding.

Employees have:

• 24/7 access to their own bespoke portal that shows what is relevant to them.

• View their Total-Reward-Statement

• View/download payslips

• View/book/track holiday

• View absence records

• View company HR documentation

• Access all their company employee benefits

• Self-select lifestyle benefits or full flexible benefits

• Make personal amendments

• Access everyday discounts through linking through to advo’s retail discount portal.

advo’s approach is to embrace technology, blend with traditional broker-services making client experience better, a philosophy to be different and invaluable. advo’s technology is ideal for engagement and is integrated into a managed programme of seminars/webinars, bespoke literature (brochures, booklets, leaflets and posters) and in addition, where appropriate, microsites.

As the communication hub, advo-one creates simplicity. It’s quick and easy, saves time, looks good and gives clients control. Gone is management complexity and prohibitive costs, and gone is the old problem of the technology ‘tail’ wagging the dog. advo-one now brings employee benefit management and engagement technology within the reach of every SME.

If you would like to know more about how advo-one cab suport your business and help improve employee engagement sinmply email info@advogroup.co.uk

TRIBUTES FOR A

AN INDUSTRY TRIBUTE TO SUE SMITH PUBLISHED IN HEALTH & PROTECTION MAGAZINE

With more than three decades in the health insurance industry, Sue Smith, head of private clients at advo, will be retiring at the end of this month – after a career that helped to pave the way for more women to progress in an industry that was largely male dominated.

Described as a ‘force of nature’ Smith (pictured) told Health & Protection about the surprise beginning to her career and some of the twists and turns during her long and fulfilling journey.

“The saying ‘Life is like a ‘box of chocolates’ is so true – you take a random chocolate not knowing what’s inside. For me my life turned on such an unknown choice, taking me places and creating opportunities never expected,” Smith told Health & Protection.

It all started in the 1970s when as a stay-athome mother, Smith decided to seek some insurance, after she saw an advertisement on TV for Bupa offering coverage for £6 per month.

What happened next, started her journey into the insurance profession.

“I didn’t buy a policy but was offered a job selling health insurance policies. Little did I know that I would be starting a new career at the age of 38 and would still be working in the same industry 30 years later,” she said.

Trailblazer

Asked what was the greatest highlight of her career, Smith pointed to work she had done with founding the Association of Medical Insurers and Intermediaries (AMII).

“Looking back the highlight of my career was being a founder member of AMII and the work we did advising and assisting the General Insurance Standards Council (GISC), and

latterly the Financial Services Authority (FSA),” she said.

“That resulted in health insurance being regulated as a lower risk product than initially proposed.

“It was a conversation that I had with a senior member of the shadow government at the time who advised setting up an association, that initiated the formation of AMII in 1998.

“I continued to work with the association, firstly as secretary, then as vice-chair and as a committee member for many years.

“Over this time, I believe I led by example and was a trailblazer opening minds in what was then a male-dominated industry. I believe my work with AMII and the wider industry helped open doors to the wider inclusive industry we have today,” she added.

Focusing on clients

In 2012, Smith’s firm Health Care Plus merged with advo, and she became the head of private clients looking after a profitable division and creating new business opportunities.

“Although past normal retirement age, my commitment for doing the right thing remains as strong as when I first started,” she said. But what are the aspects of her profession which she has most enjoyed?

“It is the daily contact with my clients that I will miss the most – helping a client who is in a really difficult situation through no fault of her own is what I really love about this business,” Smith said.

“Nothing else matters when you receive an initial email of this urgency. A successful conclusion gives me the most immense sense

‘TRAILBAZER’

of satisfaction and makes my job utterly worthwhile.

“My focus has always been to look after my clients to the best of my ability. Each client needs to think that they are your only client. “You need to take the time to listen to their requirements, carefully ask about their medical history and advise accordingly.

“All clients know that I am there to assist when they are unwell or are having a difficult time. Sourcing appropriate cover is only part of services delivered, often most work with clients is when needing to use their policy,” she added.

But it has not always been smooth sailing, particularly when dealing with something as important and stressful as medical conditions.

“Client misunderstandings of claims-protocols, muddled communications and people coping at terrible times compound any problems when claiming,” she said.

“When difficulties with claiming occur, much of my skill is simply opening lines of communications, clarifying facts between client, medical practitioner and insurer, or just metaphorical hand holding, before direct insurer intervention is needed.

“I pride myself on responding to clients emails or calls immediately and taking the appropriate, necessary action – taking issues to senior Insurer contacts until the problem has been resolved.

But as to what she will miss the least – there’s no contest. “What I will miss the least? sitting at a computer all day every day.”

Advice cannot be commoditised

Smith also spoke about how she sees the industry developing in the years ahead.

“Advising on individual health insurances cannot be rushed, or I believe, commoditised,” she continued.

“As our financial world becomes increasingly automated with increasing choices, best practice for advising individual health insurances I believe stubbornly resists this trend.

“It demands a personal approach, a thorough understanding of someone’s situation gleaned through personal contact; what was true at the beginning of my career remains just as true today.

SUE SMITH, ADVO’S RETIRING HEAD OF PRIVATE CLIENTS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14.

“My advice to new people joining the industry is to remember that each client is an individual with different requirements – listen to your clients and advise them to the best of your ability,” she added.

And its not necessary to know everything all the time. “It is only human not to know the answer to every question asked by a client – if in doubt, say so and call someone to clarify. As long as a client knows you are working in their best interests at all times all will be fine. “Go to sleep at night knowing that you have done your best.

“We need to remember we make a real difference to people’s lives. I remain proud of our caring industry which has the best interests of people at its heart.

“If you truly care about people, your clients, then you do not see being a health insurance adviser as a job or a career, but a vocation,” Smith advised.

Force of nature

Colin Boxall, executive director at Advo, gave Smith high praise, emphasising her impact on the industry and clients.

“I too worked on the AMII committee and saw first hand the passion and commitment Sue gave to our industry, so when the opportunity arose to work together, I jumped at the chance,” Boxall said. “Sue is a force of nature and will be greatly missed by Advo. Clients love her.

Each year there are numerous examples of Sue going above and beyond for a client, evidenced by her many industry award wins.

Her caring empathetic approach and drive to always do the right thing marks her out as one of our industry’s finest.

I think it is not an overstatement to say there are people alive today because of Sue’s interventions over the years ensuring her clients always received the maximum they deserved from their policies, thereby getting the best care,” Boxall concluded.

Sue has been recognised as the UK’s ‘best’ Intermediary on numerous occasions, first also a finalist in 2022 and again in 2023.

THE NEW GENERATION

Simon Friday, already well-known within Health & Protection industry, has taken from Sue as advo’s Head of Private clients. The expended team of six now manages both individual private clients and small SME businesses. Much of the team already have considerable insurance and account management experience having worked other parts of advo in different departments and portfolios.

Simon comments “My longer-term aim to be in a position where we can pick up all group leavers fully and offer our current Private Clients solutions on all things health and wellness within our expended offering, that will also include all individual and business risk insurance.

REACTING TO A CHANGING WORLD UPDATES TO INTERNATIONAL PMI

One of the positives to have come out of the Covid-19 pandemic is the shift in flexible working. The ability to work effectively, remotely, has reduced the need for all employees to be in one office with an increase in roles being offered to staff on a permanent basis working from home, with the likes of Twitter closing some of their offices altogether.

Whilst there are undoubtedly other considerations, particularly the discussion around side-by-side learning and development, company culture and the redundancy of office spaces; employers are casting their net wider when considering suitable recruits, as well allowing staff to stay on in their roles and relocate, as the world sees a rise in ‘telemigration’. The term, created by Richard Baldwin, professor of international economics in Geneva, describes the impact of globalisation and technological advances on businesses as having an improvement in the quality of employees, carbon footprint reduction and cost savings to businesses.

advo has seen an increase in both temporary and permanent foreign placements across our clients demographic, with a need to ensure they have access to the same level of employer support and benefits such as healthcare, regardless of their location. The latter is a vital benefit when residing in a country without access to the NHS or where local law requires employers to insure employees on a healthcare plan.

Access to mental health support is also a key requirement, especially considering employees who have relocated to foreign countries sometimes without the comfort of familiar faces from home. Cost and accessibility of high-quality medical care has historically posed barriers for employers considering International Private Medical Insurance (IPMI) as healthcare costs rise globally, raising

concerns over the longer-term affordability of the benefit. However, the landscape of IPMI is changing.

Recognising the change required, a new to market solution from Cigna Global, gives employees access to the same rich benefits available through traditional plans, however are incentivising members to claim via their directional care journey, allowing better claims management, resulting in reduced claims spend on the policy and more affordable premiums. Unlike UK healthcare plans, the IPMI model has traditionally allowed members to claim for a large portion of their benefits on a ‘pay and claim back’ basis. TThis can result in unnecessary appointments – which could have been otherwise avoided had the member obtained guidance, as well as some claims being declined due to not being eligible on the policy had the member gained preauthorisation from the insurer, as well as some claims being declined due to not being eligible on the policy – which could have been avoided had the member gained pre-authorisation from the insurer.

The claims journey of the Cigna Global Connect plan invites members to seek help virtually via a wide range of resources and support, and if unable to resolve the issue then guides the member to appropriate medical experts who can verify the benefit and pre-authorise the claim where required, easily and efficiently.

Members who go on to seek medical advice or treatment from Cigna’s open access network of providers can benefit from direct billing and lower out of pocket costs on any applicable benefit cost shares. This also has a positive impact on the company through more sustainable increases for at renewal, as claims costs have been controlled throughout the year, through negotiated rates between the insurer and provider.

advo’s Head of Employee Benefits, Lucy Irvine, takes a look at some of the changes occurring with international medical insurance policies in reaction to changing working practices around the world.

REACTING TO A CHANGING WORLD CHANGES TO INTERNATIONAL PMI

Continued from Page 18.

As recorded in their annual health survey, Cigna Global have seen a demand for their virtual Telehealth services increase by more than 700% when compared to pre-covid stats, demonstrating the need from employees for this type of claims experience.

As a broker, advo has involvement in our clients claims escalations and pricing negotiations at renewal, both of which are regularly affected by the aforementioned issues. The need for a more sustainable IPMI solution that is simple to navigate and easily accessible for members is more important than ever for employers to be able to give employees access to the benefits required. It is also vital that quality of care and choice is not compromised as result.

As well as Expats, IPMI is a desired benefit by many employers looking to offer richer benefits not typically found on UK PMI plans such as routine maternity care. Over the years we have carried out several reviews for clients who have decided not to proceed with the switch from UK to International plans due to difference in cost.

We are pleased to now be able to offer a more affordable sustainable solution and believe this is the start of things to come within the IPMI market

TRAVEL AND KEEPING YOURSELF

Whether for business or leisure travelling common occurrence for many and insurance to your employees is a great the potential impact to your business.

This topic is particularly relevant given the With Europe being a hotspot of UK travellers, conditions relating to climate change across an increasing risk for both travel disruption

However it’s not all doom and gloom! Here group travel policy in place can help employers are safe when travelling whilst protecting

Please note this is a high level overview and their own T&C’s.

• Evacuation - this provides cover for “evacuation” individuals home of domicile or nearest medical emergencies as well as other disasters or political conflict.

• Passport cover - provides cover in the losing or having their passport stolen

• Gadget and business equipment cover towards gadgets and business equipment

AND NATURAL DISASTERS YOURSELF AND YOUR MONEY SAFE

travelling abroad is a and providing group travel great way to minimise business.

the recent wildfires in Europe. travellers, the worsening weather across the continent is becoming disruption and medical emergencies.

Here are some key ways having a employers ensure their employees their business.

and each insurer will apply “evacuation” to the nearest safe country in the event of emergencies such as natural

the event of an individual cover - provides insurance equipment such as laptops etc..

should it be lost or stolen whilst travelling and helps employers manage the potential expense of paying out for lost or stolen equipment.

• Legal Expenses - a must if you have employees travelling. Laws and regulations differ dependent on location and in some cases even dependent on the local area.

• Medical expenses - generally a standard part of most cover yet the most important and frequently used area of medical insurance. Getting your employees back to good health whether they be travelling for personal or business reasons is key to ensuring a healthy workforce

• Delayed departure - Becoming increasingly important given increasing occurrences of return flight cancellations that lead to lengthy delays before flights back home become available. Not just as a means of compensation, but covering costs as most airlines have capped refund amounts on your additional expenses.

There are many more ways in which travel insurance can help cover your employees with options to add such as winter sports and hazardous activities. Travel cover is both a cost effective and valued benefit. Reach out today for quotes, travel is both inexpensive to set up, easy to administer and a very popular staff benefit often allowing wider coverage, plus we are here to help along the way.

HR: NEED TO KNOWS RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS

THE NEW CHANGES: WHERE DOES THIS LEAVE EMPLOYERS?

Restrictive covenants have become a hot topic, especially since the Government introduced measures at the backend of last year on reforming post-termination noncompete clauses in contracts of employment.

Since December 2022, changes now prohibit the use of non-compete clauses for low paid workers. This bans the use of such exclusivity restrictions on workers earning on or below the lower earnings limit and has benefited around 1.5 million workers who are now free to work two more jobs if desired.

RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS

THE NEWCHANGES: WHERE DOES THIS LEAVE EMPLOYERS?

Restrictive covenants, including, noncompete, non-solicit of employees, nonsolicit of clients, non-deal of clients and nonengagement of employees, are often included in employment contracts to prevent or restrict employees from working for others or having personal outside interests which conflict. The intention behind such provisions is usually to protect the employer’s legitimate business interests, such as confidential information, customer and supplier relationships and the stability of the workforce.

Workers with multiple jobs may have access to confidential information, such as volume discounts, trading practices and upcoming promotions, and might seek to use such information to their own advantage or from one employer to the detriment of another. They may be aware of an employer’s customers and actively solicit those customers for the benefit of the other employer or a competitor. Similarly, an employee can talk-up ‘work’ practices at one employer, enticing and encouraging workers to leave their current employer. Likewise, a competitor may directly seek to ‘poach’ workers by knowingly being able to offer more favourable terms through this ‘insider’ information. So, it goes without saying that understandably, employers would want to prevent such practices.

From 5 December 2022, under the exclusivity terms for workers legislation, employers can no longer enforce non-compete clauses against low-income workers. This effectively extends the ban on exclusivity which was already applied, since 2015, to workers on zero hours contracts. The new regulations make any contractual term unenforceable if it prohibits a low-income worker from working for or providing services to another employer, or only permits it with the current employer’s consent. This means the employer can no

longer seek an injunction or damages for breach of contract if such a worker is in breach.

Reasonableness and enforcement

When issuing a contract of employment, it is important to consider the different types of restrictive covenants, how long they should be enforced for, and other factors such as location and the job role. Good practice recommends restrictions of usually between 3 to 6 months in duration and it is recognised restrictive covenants should only be used for specific roles, i.e. more senior positions and/or technical roles, rather than a blanket approach for all positions, this ensures the use is justifiable and reasonable. For example, it would likely be unreasonable and therefore unenforceable to place a 20-mile restriction on an employee working for a competitor in central London as this would drastically limit their ability to work.

At advo, we also recommend, where appropriate, to name specific competitors within the restrictive covenant. It would be unreasonable to have an open-ended list of all similar companies here as this again could limit the ability for the employee to work, but if there are known direct competitors this may give legitimate grounds for such a restriction, and therefore be more likely to be enforceable if it was ever needed to be called upon.

Always consider what is reasonable in terms of the restriction and length when drafting such a clause.

For all new offers of employment, advo recommends when drafting a contract of employment any restrictive clauses are reviewed to ensure the contents remain suitable and fit for purpose. If you require assistance in drafting such a clause or would like more information please do get in touch.

To learn more about our HR services and the outsourced support we can offer our clients please do drop us an email at: advohr@ advogroup.co.uk

DEAR DEIRDRE, GIVING HR ADVICE ANONYMOUSLY

As solicited in our newsletters, clients can ask HR advice anonymously, something we call ‘Dear Deidre’ Here we discuss one particular issue that surrounds the use of WhatsApp groups for work purposes. During and since COVID WhatsApp has been increasingly used for group communications however businesses need to be aware of the potential downfalls.

Dear Deirdre,

I am the manager of a café with 10 employees. We have started to use WhatsApp as a way to communicate instantly with each other to discuss shift changes, sickness cover and to notify other shifts of any stock needs or anything that might affect the next shift. We’ve set up a group chat and often staff share funny stories or uplifting memes too. Everyone uses their own phone; they don’t seem to mind and it means we can let each other know instantly of any important info. It’s been really useful.

Recently though, a female member of the team was contacted directly by a male colleague who had obtained her personal number from the group chat to ask her out on a date. The female employee felt uncomfortable as she wouldn’t have chosen to give him her number and didn’t want to have a date with him. This has made us wonder if we need to have some sort of policy or rules in place for using WhatsApp? Anonymous

Our HR Team’s reply next….

DEAR DEIRDRE, GIVING HR ADVICE ANONYMOUSLY

makes someone feel intimidated or offended. Harassment is unlawful under the Equality Act 2010. In your case, the waitress could raise a grievance against the chef for harassment which is unpleasant for all involved.

Our HR Team’s reply…

Dear Anonymous,

WhatsApp is an internet-based messaging app that allows users to send messages, make video calls, voice messages, share images, documents, user locations, and other content. It’s easy to see why WhatsApp and other similar forms of instant messaging applications are a useful and effective form of communication and can help in the operation of business.

However, it does come with pitfalls as you have now seen, some potentially quite serious that as an employer you need to consider. Having a robust WhatsApp usage policy outlining your company approach is key.

When you are in a group on WhatsApp, all members have access to the mobile numbers contained in the group and there’s nothing to stop people from taking a number and messaging others directly. As experienced by your waitress, this can cause issues with harassment because phone numbers can be taken and used for other purposes.

And that’s not the only example. This method of communication can also cause issues with bullying by exclusion, whereby certain individuals are excluded from the group and therefore feel alienated or perhaps the messages could be of a bullying nature.

Bullying and harassment is behaviour that

WhatsApp potentially contains all sorts of information such as names, numbers, photos and various other contact information from many people. Therefore, it’s vital for employees to give consent for their number to be shared, across groups if applicable. It’s also important that you make it clear that participation in any work WhatsApp group is not mandatory and if employees decide to participate, they have the option of leaving any work-based group at any time.

It’s also best to make clear that groups that are work related can be muted outside of work hours and that employees have no obligation to reply if they aren’t at work. Employees could accuse the company of encroaching on their own personal time if they were to receive calls/messages out of their working hours on their own personal phones. It can also cause issues with a work life balance if employees constantly receive calls/messages out of hours and cause employees to be stressed.

It’s great that you recognise the need for an employee engagement forum and enjoy the benefits of sending funnies and memeshowever it’s also important to consider that boundaries can be crossed and there could be communications between colleagues that involve ‘banter’, jokes or comments or even sharing inappropriate images that are discriminatory in nature which may result in employees raising grievances, allegations or bullying and harassment or even seek to bring tribunal claims for discrimination or whistleblowing.

There have been numerous cases of such hitting the headlines when they reach tribunal stage. Perhaps setting up something outside of WhatsApp might be easier to manage. Either way having clear processes in place to define expected standards of behaviour is important.

Something else that’s tricky to manage is groups at any given time with new joiners and ex-employees.

If the group admin were to forget to remove a disgruntled or any ex-employee that now works for a rival, they will be able to view all sensitive data shared within the group. This could open the business up too many issues as it could contain sensitive commercial information or potential damaging gossip. It can also blur the lines between work-related messages and personal.

Another consideration is WhatsApp’s protection of data under GDPR. WhatsApp has been heavily criticised for its failure to protect its users from data privacy as it does not provide an adequate level of protection of personal data. In 2021, it was fined £193 million by Ireland’s data watchdog for breaching privacy regulations. At the time it was the largest fine ever to be imposed by the Irish Data Protection Commission and the second-highest under the new EU GDPR rules.

Additionally, the use of personal phones for work purposes has risks too. Confidential information being stored on personal phones (such as employee contact info and shift rotas in your case) presents a significant risk. In fact, the use of personal devices should only be used where the security of the data stored on the device can be absolutely guaranteed. This is difficult to achieve with personal mobile phones because employees are less likely to have any added protection on their phones.

In fact, because personal phones are used for accessing websites, uploading photos and social purposes there is an even greater risk of viruses or malware.

Following the implementation of the data protection act, all businesses must ensure that any data stored on employees’ phones is as secure as it would be if it was stored on the company server.

It is worth noting, the average compensation for breach of the Data Protection Act is between £1,000 and £42,900. However, the cost could be much higher in terms of confidential data therefore it is important that any policies are regularly reviewed and policed to ensure that you are covered for any potential data risks.

A consideration for you could be that if a personal mobile phone is lost or stolen, if not correctly protected, it may be used to access confidential company data.

So, overall, it is very important to implement a WhatsApp usage policy as soon as possible to provide information on the conduct of using such an app.

The policy should outline your stance regarding the use of WhatsApp, to explain the reason for use, how it will be managed and to set clear guidelines and standards in relation to the above and other considerations.

It is also worth thinking about it from the employee’s perspective, some people may feel uncomfortable with having work-related apps on their personal phones and could actually refuse to download these or even refuse to share their private numbers

Therefore, it would be a simpler idea to provide employees with work mobile phones which would reduce a lot of these kind of risks. But if this is not possible, then a robust personal mobile phone use policy would be the best alternative to reduce risk.

Here at advo, we can create any of the above policies, aligned to your business and provide advice on your current processes. Get in touch with our consultants today for further advice and support.

The main issue that regulators had with WhatsApp was the lack of information they provided to users about how their data was stored and processed. Regulators found that WhatsApp’s privacy policies were not clear enough.

Flu Vaccinations have been available as an Employee Benefit for a number of years, offered by companies to ensure their staff remain healthy and productive over the flu season.

Flu stats* published on gov.uk highlighted an earlier start to last years flu season and peak. Whilst most of us are currently considering where to go on our summer holidays or trying to find ways to keep cool at night, many of our clients are looking ahead and turning their focus to booking onsite flu vaccination clinics or ordering flu vouchers for their staff as they plan for the winter months.

Since the Covid-19* pandemic, demand for services such as flu vaccinations have increased with wellbeing at the forefront of everyone’s mind. As such, flu vaccine service providers are already accepting bookings for this winter so businesses can plan ahead.

Depending on the headcount of the company and their preference, advo can help arrange the two main ways in which service providers can assist to get staff vaccinated. This can include trained nurse(s) visiting your workplace to administer vaccinations on a half day (52 vaccines administered per nurse) or full day (104 vaccines

FLU IS YOUR BUSINESS

administered per nurse) basis. allow your staff to book the time the date is set.

Alternatively, advo can help companies distributed between the staff advo can assist with a solution established larger business. With early bird pricing also available, now is the time arrange flu vaccinations the winter months.

Considering the cost of disruption available to work due to flu, the offer flu vaccinations to your

* https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-flu-reports/surveillance-ofinfluenza-and-other-seasonal-respiratory-viruses-in-the-uk-winter-2022-to-2023

**The flu vaccination does not protect

VACCINES

BUSINESS FLU SEASON READY?

basis. Online booking tools are avalaible to time slot that is convenient to them once companies buy flu vouchers that can be staff with no minimal order required, meaning solution whether you’re a new start up or an available, paired with increased demand, vaccinations for your employees ahead of disruption to businesses should staff not be the real question is, can you afford not to employees?

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-flu-reports/surveillance-ofand-other-seasonal-respiratory-viruses-in-the-uk-winter-2022-to-2023 protect you from Covid-19.

PASSIONATE ABOUT PEOPLE

All the protection and advantages of having an in-house HR team. Find out how advo supports your business and people: advogroup.co.uk

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