The recent Germanwings air disaster has highlighted the issue of mental health in the workplace, and the need for employers to ensure that such matters are right at the top of their agenda. Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz is suspected of purposely crashing the plane in to the French Alps, killing all 150 people on board. If one thing is for certain …
Four top tips for managing sickness absence
It’s inevitable that from time to time, your members of staff will get sick. It’s to be expected, and it’s something that you can’t really avoid as you grow your business and your workforce. As an employer though, you need to be sure that you’re managing your sickness policies and procedures in the right way. Without a robust approach, you …
Zero hours contracts – exclusivity clauses banned
Zero hours contracts have been a hot topic for some time and you may recall the Government conducted a consultation exercise about them back in 2014. The main conclusion reached from that consultation was that exclusivity clauses in zero hour’s contracts needed to be addressed. The usual aim of a zero hours contract (also known as a casual or bank …
The REAL reasons why you should recruit
There comes a time in the working lives of many business owners when they think that recruitment is their only option. Orders are increasing, profit is looking extremely healthy, and they’re keen to expand and take things to the next level. Sound familiar? At this stage, it’s likely that your nearest and dearest are urging you to take the plunge …
Can you handle those difficult conversations?
Most employers and managers absolutely dread having to raise a difficult issue with an employee. No matter how confident and assured you are as a manager, if you have to speak to an employee about personal hygiene you will understandably want to run and hide. But ignoring or putting off tackling tricky issues will only make them worse. To be …
Enforced subject access requests are now illegal – find out more!
If you are currently using enforced subject access requests to gather information about candidates during your recruitment exercises, you are committing a criminal offence. The new law came into force on 10th March 2015, and it’s likely that many businesses will need to update their practices to ensure that they’re compliant. Previously, it was legally acceptable for employers to require …
Lessons to take away from the Secretary job advert disaster
Recruitment firm ICS faced a massive backlash recently after advertising a job role with a raunchy image of a woman bent over in a short skirt. The advert was posted on social media and included the caption ‘Secretary required in Mayfair. Stockings optional! £35K. Ready to assume the position?’ Unsurprisingly, the firm was inundated by messages from angry Twitter users. …
Are you doing your bit for youth employment?
A recent study by CIPD suggests that whilst organisations as a whole are improving when it comes to the opportunities that they offer young people, small and medium sized businesses are lagging behind. Almost 50% of companies now offer apprenticeships, and 80% employ at least one young person. SMEs though were much less likely to pull their weight in these …