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The Elephant in the Room: The Smelly Employee – Cigarettes
In my opinion, there is nothing worse than a colleague who comes into a meeting stinking of cigarettes! I remember a time when people used to smoke in offices, it was completely normal. Just like smoking on an aeroplane – smokers on the left, non-smokers on the right‼! Something my kids cannot believe was ever…
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Seeds
Plants in the office Plants / flowers in hospitals Playgrounds and fields at schools Open green spaces For years, we have known about the benefits of having natural living plants around us. The joy of seeing things grow and the satisfaction of eating what we have grown. Many employers will have plants in the office…
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Self-Care
In 2020, the government took the unusual stop of allowing employers to change their policy on annual leave so that employees could roll over annual leave they had been unable to take due to the pandemic. Some of our clients took advantage of this relaxation because their staff were needed at work as a result…
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Growth
It’s Valentine’s day on Sunday and this week we are talking love! STOP! DONT PANIC! I’m not talking about your ‘love life’. Honestly, I’m just not interested. I’m talking about your staff, your team, those people who work for you and help make your business what it is. The chances are they are having a…
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Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should!
Sometimes Business Owners and Line Managers need to think about what they do or say before they act. Not doing so, or acting without thinking through the consequences, can result in major headaches, expensive settlements or even an employment tribunal.
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Your Company Values Matter More Now, Than Ever Before
What are company values? It is relatively rare that small and medium sized businesses have clearly written and well communicated values. However, with an increasingly geographically spread workforce, company values, ‘the way things are done around here’, are more important than ever before. To quote Gino Wickman in his book Traction, Company values are ‘a…
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What is the biggest RISK to all employers?
The biggest risk to all employers is often the desire to ‘DO THE RIGHT THING’ Now, that may sound like a very strange statement because it is generally taken that all employers want to do the right thing. However, as an HR practice we are often left picking up the pieces when having done ‘the…
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Leave for breaking up?
Traditionally, each year, the first week of January is renowned for the highest number of divorce filings in the year. This is not a decision which people take lightly and coping with a breakup is far from easy. They say that moving house, marriage, divorce and death are the four greatest stresses anyone will go…
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Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
Under the Equality Act 2010, harassment is unwanted conduct which is related to one of the following protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. Under the legal definition, this unwanted conduct “has the purpose of effect of either violating an individual’s dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading,…
