What happened to those New Year resolutions?

According to research by BUPA, 66% of people admit to breaking their new year resolutions before January has even drawn to a close.  Call us skeptical, but it’s important to note here that the figure only represents those who were brave enough to admit it.  It would be easy to argue that whether it’s weight loss, a new exercise regime, …

Budget 2016 Round Up – What do employers need to know?

The Chancellor’s Budget today revealed a few surprises. However the key aspects for employers were the introduction of compulsory national insurance contributions (NICs) on termination payments over £30,000, and an increase in the threshold for personal tax contributions. The Chancellor claimed this was “a budget for working people” and announced that from April 2017, the tax threshold will rise to …

How to avoid costly legal action against your business

As an HR consultant, you often find yourself having in-depth conversations about how business owners can avoid legal action.  Of course, we offer services that go way beyond this.  We can help to boost your profits, create a happier and more productive workforce, and achieve your big strategic goals. Still though, steering clear of expensive and potentially reputation-damaging legal action …

Four strategies for reducing absenteeism

According to research by PwC, the annual cost of sickness absence has rocketed to £29 billion for UK organisations.  Simply put, your staff are calling in sick, and it’s having a severe impact on your bottom line.  If you want to mitigate the impact, it’s time to think about how you can nip the problem in the bud. Now of …

Your guide to minimising conflict in a family business

Being part of a family business can seem like a dream come true for many people.  The opportunity to work alongside your nearest and dearest to pursue your goals and create financial independence is something that can have huge appeal, so it’s no surprise that Harvard Business School has reported that family firms account for two thirds of businesses across …

Five critical actions for managing an employee grievance

If a member of your staff brought up a grievance, would you know how to handle it?  Regardless of how good your people practices may be, and how capable your managers are, you might find yourself in a situation whereby you need to follow a formal grievance procedure. This procedure should be included in your staff handbook, and it should …

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 …