Should you snoop on your employees?

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that employers can justify reading  their workers’ online private messages. An engineer in Romania asked the judges to rule that his employer had breached his right to confidential correspondence, but it was ultimately decided that the individual had broken the terms of his employment by sending messages on company time. Interesting, …

Statutory rates of pay 2016

The statutory rates of maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental pay and sick pay normally increase each April in line with the consumer price index.  However, the Government has announced that there will be no increase in 2016 due to negative inflation. The rate of statutory maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental pay will, therefore, remain at £139.58 per week (or …

Top HR considerations for business owners in January

Now that the dust has settled on the new year, it’s time for many leaders to get back to business and start creating their 2016 success story.  You’ve hopefully been able to spend some time relaxing over the festive period, so you’re ready to face your new challenges with excitement. Whether you were planning to ease yourself in gently, or …

Three difficult questions you need to ask yourself before 2016

  By now, it’s highly likely that you’ll have asked yourself the big, important, and very obvious questions about how your business measured up during 2015.  You’ll know how much you increased your turnover, how many new staff you recruited, and what your goals are moving forward. Planning and reflection sessions can be hugely useful, but sometimes, it can be …

All the answers you need to your Christmas HR questions

While most people begin to look forward to a little rest and recuperation over the Christmas period, it’s around about now that managers and business owners start to think about the nitty gritty, practical issues that they’ll have to contend with to keep their workforce engaged, motivated and problem-free. It’s likely that you’ve got some questions about how you should …

It’s time to rethink your appraisals

  Recent research from PwC revealed that two thirds of larger companies are thinking about revamping their appraisals processes. The 2015 Performance Management Research found that businesses are becoming increasingly eager to ditch the once-a-year approach and instead concentrate on developing practices that create a continuous feedback culture. It’s often suggested that it’s time for appraisals to be scrapped in …

Are your HR practices in desperate need of an overhaul?

You probably started your own business because you’re passionate about bringing your product or service into the world, and providing a much-needed solution for your customers and clients. This people management malarkey though – it’s not necessarily what you signed up for.  Call it a necessary evil if you like, but the fact remains that if you want to grow …