PeopleTalk – June 2010

Welcome

Last month saw the 3rd birthday of DOHR! Can it really be 3 years since we set up the business? How time flies when you are having fun! The legislation has changed (quite a few times), the economy is having a huge impact on businesses of all sizes and employers continue to need good quality staff who add even greater value to their business. Right from the early days our aim was to provide client orientated HR services for SMEs in Hertfordshire and Northern London. We are delighted with our progress, the fact that we have survived the recession and are in a really strong position for future growth.

At DOHR we remain business focused, working in partnership with business owners to deliver a high quality HR support and consultancy service to meet the evolving needs of the growing businesses we support.

To help celebrate our birthday, we have relaunched our Blog. Please stop by regularly to take a look, add your comments or ask a question. The blog contains useful information about HR in the real world, the issues which employers are facing and some suggestions on how to deal with them. If you would like to add your thoughts and comments, even better.

Is your business protected?

When a business grows and takes on employees, there is a mountain of elements to bePeople Protecting business considered:

  • – Who to hire
  •  – When to hire
  •  – What to pay
  •  – How to ensure that employees are employed legally and that the business is not exposed to unacceptable risks

When a business owner decides to become an employer it is usually to enable them to take the business to the next level. It should be a positive, pain free experience; not one which new employers come to regret.

Contracts of employment, policies and procedures, recruitment and people management can all expose employers to expensive employment tribunals which could ultimately sink a successful business. Does that mean you don’t take on employees? No, it just means you get help tailored to your company, delivered in a way which suits your business objectives. At DOHR, we work with business owners both before they become employers and afterwards, to ensure that the recruitment of staff does not expose the business to unnecessary risk.

Introducing ….. Who’s Really Who?

DOHR providesHR advice to employers and we work with a number of carefully selected partners to deliver particular expertise to our clients.

As HR specialists we are always keen to ensure that our clients take the right decision when hiring new staff. The right decision is not just about can the person do the job and fit in with the team, it is also about whether they are who they say they are, whether they have the right to work in the UK and whether they are trustworthy.

A true tale ……. While working for one client, we were required to obtain 20 year background checks on all employees. One middle manager was causing us a particular concern because we could not confirm his identity, his past work history, his past work references or some of his experiences. Eventually, we managed to find a very helpful person at the MoD, who confirmed that the discharge reference I had differed significantly from the discharge reference they had on file – it had been tampered with.

The result was that I had to fire the manager as he was a fraud! I wish I had known about Who’s Really Who? back then, it would have saved us hours and hours in investigation and dead ends. Who’s Really Who? is a company which carries out pre employment screening to verify the integrity of your potential (or exisiting) employees.

To protect your business and your customers, contact Who’s Really Who? on 07711 692 555 or at [email protected] and don’t forget to mention DOHR.

 

In Short

Fit notes

Make sure you know what to do when an employee hands you a new fit note.

The right to request time off for training

Do you have to grant an employee time off to train?

Temps are entitled to benefits

The law has changed and your temporary staff may be entitled to receive pay and benefits in line with your permanent staff. Contact us to find out more.