HYBRID WORKING GENUINE DEVELOPMENT OR LATEST FAD

This appears to be the new buzzword in HR circles, with all sorts of people offering advice on how to set it up. Now I have always held that being creative with work patterns makes perfect sense in many environments, and back in the 1980’s when working as a software developer for the civil service […]

New pay Rates for 2023.

National minimum wage The new rates for National minimum wage from April 2023 have been announced. The new rates are Age 23 and over               £10.42 per hour (previously £9.50) Age 21-22                          £10.18 per hour (previously £9.18) Age 18-20                          £7.49 per hour (previously £6.83) Age 16-17                          £5.28 per hour (previously £4.81) Apprentice rate                £5.28 per hour […]

The COVID Case-Rodgers v Leeds Laser Cutting Limited

The first case relating to dismissals and COVID 19 has reached the Court of Appeal where the claimant lost his case under section 100 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. The legislation protects employees from unfair dismissal if they refuse to return to work where they believe there is a “serious and imminent” to their […]

Mixed Messages

With the plethora of digital communication used by companies today, it is important that protocols are put in place as to the standards expected by users of them. With the use of internal messaging communication forums becoming more and more popular systems such as WhatsApp, Slack, Hub and the like allowing departments and teams to […]

Checking if your new recruit has the right to work in the UK

Are you aware of the changes to right to work checks? In the UK, before you take on a new employee it is a legal requirement to carry out straightforward work checks to prevent illegal working. There have been changes to the right to work checks from 1 October 2022, and employers need to be […]

Activities Outside Work

It’s always difficult when somebody does something outside work which is highly public which you know will be disapproved of by both your clients and fellow employees. However, it’s important to recognise the limitations of the relationship between you and an employee and what they do outside work provided it isn’t associated with work. However, […]

Leadership Treatment of Others

I’ve recently been reading a number of posts on LinkedIn and other social media sites about how great leadership is based on you treating people how you would like to be treated yourself. Whilst there is no doubt this can be a good way of dealing with stuff there are problems with this approach which […]

Train strikes – Communicate with employees

I’ve been watching the news about train strikes over the last few weeks and one thing occurs to me. Whilst everyone seems to be talking about pay rises I can’t help thinking that there is more to this than just money. The fact is that the employees don’t trust their management. The management say additional […]

If recruitment is hard, why not try retention?

With the recent news that the number of vacancies is now greater than the number of unemployed, You cant change the causes of a recruitment crisis. Maybe employee retention can ease the problem. Employees who feel valued at work are happier, perform better and are less likely to seek alternative employment elsewhere- crucial in this […]