Thursday 16 December 2010

Another legal minefield for First Century HR Officer.


As revealed earlier this week, previously ignored fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls have been found to contain the diary entries of Malachi Barnabas, a 1st Century HR Officer working in the Bethlehem area of Israel.

World Exclusive! The Secret Diary of a First Century HR Officer.

Today, HR Case Studies publishes the fourth extract from his diaries.
Heavens above! Who dreams this stuff up? As if it wasn't difficult enough already providing an HR service to a nation under Roman occupation! But now we've got some new legislation to deal with!

Next month sees the introduction of the Equality For Sufferers of Leprosy and Leprosy-Related Diseases Act. As usual it's all written in impenetrable legalese, presumably drawn up by those helpful guys in the Sanhedrin. Just cast your eyes over this:

An employer shalt not (verily it is said) discriminate against a man or woman who, though he (or she) hath previously been inflected with leprosy (or a leprosy-like infection) provided that the employee can produce an LC1 Certificate (Proof of Cleansing from leprosy (or a leprosy-like infection)

Neither shalt an employer (verily it is said) discriminate against a man or woman who, though he (or she) hath previously been inflected with leprosy (or a leprosy-like infection) can prove that he (or she) hath complied with the regulation of Leviticus Chapter 14 to shave off all his (or her) hair, beard (certain women are exempt from this - see subsection 3.2) and eyebrows, bathe in water, and stay outside the camp for seven days until given the thumbs-up by the Priest.

Neither shalt an employer (verily it is said) discriminate against a man or woman who, though he (or she) hath previously been inflected with leprosy (or a leprosy-like infection) can produce a PS2 (Proof of Sacrifice) Certificate detailing the sacrifice of (i) two male lambs, (ii) one ewe, (iii) three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour, and (iv) one measure of oil.

An employer shalt also make reasonable adjustments during the recruitment of employees who hath previously been inflected with leprosy (or leprosy-like infections); and such reasonable adjustments shalt also be extended to the training and development of employees.

And on it goes. So much detail you can hardly believe it. You should read the section on allowing reasonable time-off for previous sufferers of leprosy (or leprosy-like infections) to cleanse their house from mildew! It makes me itch just reading the stuff!

Doesn't exactly make it easy to employ people either does it? I feel particularly sorry for my mate Ephraim who has a business just next door to the leper colony. He's just put up an advert for a new position: a Handyman! Ha! You can imagine the fun he'll have at shortlisting stage.

What we really need is some form of regional doctor who can cure this sort of problem.

But that's not going to happen in my lifetime, is it?
Check out HR Case Studies tomorrow for a further instalment.

1 comment:

  1. Well dear diary, if he’s not coming home late he’s bringing home bed time reading! Looked like a load of gobbledygook to me. The world would be a better place if things were written plainly (now there’s an idea - should start a campaign)!!

    I don’t have anything against people who’ve had leprosy (well I try my best not to anyway). But really, I think they should be banned from any form of work – why should they have any better treatment than the rest of us?

    Next thing you know they’ll have Caesar hugging a ‘previous sufferer of leprosy (or leprosy-like infection)’ to make it all OK. Well it won’t work on me.

    M is far to toleratent. He’s gone soft on the world since he started this HR lark.

    Anyway, better turn in for the night.

    Not sure I’ll be able to get to sleep though – got a tune stuck in my head (don’t you just hate it when that happens) – ‘Leprosy, I’m not half the man I used to be……..’. Had it in my head since Yesterday. Odd tune, will never catch on!


    Rachael Barnabas

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