operations csr
environment that is risky at best, dangerous at worst. Imagine if you will the security guard
on patrol on his 6th day of working 12 hours, 14 hours if you include travelling to work. He is on nights this week, last week he was on days and his body clock struggles to cope with this ever changing pattern of work. Tired and careless he misses his step and falls down a flight of stairs and dies. Whether one blames the supplier for using such rosters, or the customer for creating the commercial pressures that demand them, is academic. The relatives of the dead security guard will blame both and will demand they share the dock, whichever legislation is used to prosecute.
The Working Time Regulations
In reality, any such prosecution may well fail if the contractor stays within the rules of the Working Time Regulations and the opt-out arrangement the UK has in place. A contractor and their customer will argue that the opt out, as currently drafted, allows employees to regularly work 72 hours in a week. However, the new legislation has not been tested and one must assume there are a number of
If a company places true importance on its CSR
message it needs to recognise the importance of its supply chain in supporting rather than diluting this message.
interested parties, including the trade unions, who would love to embarrass a few big corporates. They will argue, one assumes, that the
opt out of the Working Time Regulations was never designed to be used to enforce excessively long hours, it was surely intended as a means of retaining the flexibility to respond to peaks of demand. And the resulting publicity may well drive a horse and cart through a purportedly ethical company’s CSR policy. In reality, there are many benefits to be
derived from embracing more modern working practices, even in this challenging commercial environment. A better work/life balance helps
productivity within a contract team every bit as much as it does within in-house staff. It encourages staff to be more loyal, better motivated and more willing to go that extra mile. It allows contractors to invest more in training, in the knowledge that staff are less likely to be poached. In the security sector such investment in people pays immediate dividends, particularly in the marriage of manpower and technology, the only true way to drive costs out of the service. And where customer service is at a premium the contrast between old and new working practices is as chalk and cheese.
Widening the CSR brief
So for a number of reasons, the time is right to consider widening the way in which CSR is interpreted. It is dangerous to assume that CSR should only apply to one’s own workforce alone, there are now significant reputational risks attached to contractor staff too. It would be naive to suggest that changes to working practices will always be cost neutral, since reduced working hours tend to drive higher wage rates. It may be many companies will prefer to accept the potential risk rather than pay the cost of avoidance. However, if a company places true importance on its CSR message it needs to recognise the importance of its supply chain in supporting rather than diluting this message.
About the author
Stuart Lowden is managing director of Wison James Security Management, which provides security and logistics support services to the construction industry.
48 l Property Management Select l july/august 2010 l
www.pm-select.co.uk
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