• It appears you can have your cake AND eat it

    So this is a very quick video to tell you that today, finally, the Supreme Court have ruled on the case of Gary Smith versus Pimlico Plumbers and Charlie Mullins. Charlie Mullins famously said that his workers, the people that work for him, the plumbers, “couldn’t have their cake and eat it”. But it appears…

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  • 121 Review meetings

    These can be held as frequently as the manager and employee feel necessary, often weekly or bi-weekly. They can all be formal, or a mixture of formal (structured with forms and notes) and informal (verbal, no notes). At some points notes should be kept on file reflecting discussions, concerns, action plans, commitments and support required.…

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  • Probation Reviews

    The Employee should recieve regular feedback during their probation period. This can be done informally, but if there are any concerns, these should be documented with an action plan. At a minimum, the employee should recieve a formal written review after 3 months and again at about 5 1/2 months. Failing someone in their final…

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  • Probation Period

    This is a trial period at the start of someone’s employment. A 6 month probation period is ideal as it gives the employee time to learn the role and the employer time to assess performance and to provide feedback, making corrections to performance or attitude if required. If the new member of staff does not…

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  • Family Friendly Policies

    A full set of policies around maternity, paternity and adoption leave and pay need to be developed so that employees feel valued and their skills are not lost from the business, but so that they business is able to function effectively with short and long term absences as a result of the prospective and actual…

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  • Social Media

    Companies need to think about what they will and will not allow their staff to do in terms of social media. Do employees have access to company accounts and if so, what are the rules around the use of that account? If employees comment on ‘a day at the office’ what might the implications be…

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  • Bullying & Harassment In The Workplace

    Employers are obliged to protect staff from bullying and harassment. Generally, this is in terms of discrimination, but may include anything from their favourite football team, what a person wears, their hobbies or their mannerisms. Employers are obliged to ensure that the work environment is mentally safe for everyone and therefore free from bullying and…

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  • Discrimination

      Well written policies and procedures which are communicated and applied consistently are the key to ensuring that the risk  of discrimination is reduced as much as possible. Employees (as well as workers and job applicants) could bring claims for discrimination on the basis of Age, Gender, Race, Beliefs, Marital Status, Disability and Sexual Orientation.…

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  • Snow Days

      How to manage staff when the English weather turns is always a topic for discussion among employers. In this video (one from our #AskDOHR series) we give employers different elements which they need to consider when making decisions about their business and whether or not to pay staff who fail to come to work…

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  • Employee vs Worker

    As a result of some big legal cases last year, the status of workers is coming under the spotlight like never before. This will be a big area for change in 2017 as the Governement are focussing on understand and protecting Gig Workers.  

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