Can regulations render your staff unqualified?

What if legal changes suddenly leave your staff unqualified for their role? There are many industries and roles that require employees to have a certain minimum level of qualification, particularly when it comes to safety-centric positions. Generally speaking, these statutory qualifications will have been in place for quite some time, so employers simply recruit for candidates that meet the requirements – but circumstances can change... Unfortunately, there are unavoidable changes that can cause problems, namely where new regulations are introduced. This can sometimes mean that the qualification benchmark has been raised, leaving existing employees without the new required level of qualification. Take child care as an example... A great way to illustrate this is using the child care industry as an example, where there have been recent changes to minimum qualifications that staff must possess in order to work in early years services. From December 31^st 2016, all staff working directly with children must hold a minimum of QQI Level 5 Major Award in Early Childhood Care and Education*, with room leaders holding a minimum QQI Level 6 Major Award in Early Childhood Care and Education*. This represents a departure from previous minimum requirements, leaving employers with a dilemma: if some of your staff no longer hold the appropriate qualification to perform their role, what should you do? Proactive steps It’s fair to say that new regulations aren’t introduced overnight, so you should have had significant advance notice of any changes in regard to minimum qualification levels. Therefore, it makes sense to be proactive from the announcement of any proposed changes, ensuring, that as a minimum you:

• Identify when the regulations are to be implemented.
• Identify if any employees have not yet achieved the proposed minimum qualification level.
• Identify what courses an employee needs to complete to achieve the necessary qualification.
• Notify any affected employee of the developments and provide them with details of the required courses
• Specifically inform any affected employee that they must achieve the qualification prior to the new rules coming into force – and notify the employee in writing that if they haven’t achieved the qualification by the deadline, you may have no option but to terminate the employment relationship.

It’s also a good idea to check on any progress - or lack of - in employees reaching the required qualification level. Always be reasonable! If the employee hasn’t achieved the qualification in time, you might not have any option but to dismiss them due to their incapability to do their job going forward. However, you should always take into account the surrounding circumstances before deciding on dismissal. For example, if the employee is likely to achieve the necessary qualification within a short period after the deadline, then you’d probably be best advised to simply place the employee on unpaid leave until the qualification has been attained, rather than going down the dismissal route. If the employee won’t achieve the qualifications in the near future (or ever!), then you should consider alternative roles in the company that they may be capable of doing. If no such options are available, then dismissal really may be your only course of action left to take. You should always seek advice before deciding on the correct course of action, so please contact the 24 Hour Peninsula Advice Service on 01 855 50 50 if you need any help. *or approved equivalent