Age Discrimination in Recruitment - DOHR: HR and Recruitment

Gifts for Employees

Posted on April 23, 2020 (June 24, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

In a recent survey carried out by a hamper company (so you need to be a little cynical about the findings as there is a vested interest here), they found that 1 in 6 British businesses have sent gifts to the homes of their employees, by way of thanking them for their hard work and…

Health and Safety claim?

Posted on April 16, 2020 (June 24, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

Every employment contract contains an implied term that the employer will take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of their employees. If an employer fails to take care of its employees’ safety during the pandemic, employees may be able to resign and claim constructive dismissal on the basis of a fundamental breach of that term.…

Convictions

Posted on April 13, 2020 (June 24, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

Can we refuse to employ someone based on their previous unspent convictions? While with certain exceptions, it is unlawful under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 to refuse to employ a "rehabilitated" person on the ground of a spent conviction, the same does not apply to unspent convictions so you are able to refuse to employ someone…

The New F-Word

Posted on April 2, 2020 (June 24, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

To Furlough or not to Furlough, that is the question. By Fiona Mendel Well it’s been the question I have been asked continuously over the last few weeks. Should we Furlough our staff? If so, which ones? How do I go about it? How do I get them back afterwards? We are all screaming the…

How to Deliver Bad News to Your Staff

Posted on March 20, 2020 (August 16, 2022) by Donna Obstfeld

There is no easy or nice way to tell somebody that they no longer have a job. However, you're in control of the situation and it's up to you to do things right. The way you make people feel says a huge amount about you and your business. People will forget about what you say,…

Home Working

Posted on March 16, 2020 (June 24, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

As a result of Coronavirus, the government has today said that as many people as possible should try to work from home, where possible and practical to do so. For some people that's business as normal, but for others they've never had the opportunity or ability to work from home. So how do you work…

Business Continuity Plan

Posted on March 8, 2020 (June 24, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

There are lots of reasons why a business will write their business continuity plan (BCP). Very often, it's triggered by a particular event, either something that's happened within the company or something which the business owner has heard about happening to family or friends. Business continuity plans are sometimes written to enable an organisation to…

Employment law changes for April 2020

Posted on February 28, 2020 (June 24, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

Development Overview Implementation Date Increase in holiday reference period from 12 weeks to 52 weeks The reference period used for determining a week's pay when calculating holiday pay for workers with irregular hours will increase from 12 weeks to 52 weeks. The changes are designed to allow greater flexibility for workers in choosing when to…

Liquidation

Posted on February 20, 2020 (February 15, 2022) by Donna Obstfeld

I Need to Liquidate my Company What will happen to my staff? With more and more businesses struggling to stay afloat in the current uncertain climate, this is not just a concern for small to medium sized businesses, evident from the recent collapse of tour operator Thomas Cook which hit headlines recently and headed into…

Coronavirus

Posted on February 10, 2020 (June 24, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

On 2nd February I wrote to all our clients to provide some basic advice on the management of the Coronavirus in their workplace. With the Department of health today describing the outbreak in the UK as a "serious and imminent threat" to public health, the overall risk to the population now classified as "moderate". Since…