Eleanor DeemJun 13, 2018Work and social events
The World Cup starts very shortly and is likely to have some impact on most businesses. A bit of planning and forethought will help you manage it with minimal disruption and even using it as an opportunity to boost employee morale and store up some goodwill for the...
Eleanor DeemMar 6, 2017Protecting your business
Even the smallest business can be vulnerable when key members of staff leave employment, so you may want to consider including restrictive covenants in your contracts of employment. Before you do, have a read of our top five FAQs about restrictive covenants, to make...
Eleanor DeemApr 4, 2016Probation & induction
There is a common misconception both among managers and employees that probationary periods are a legal concept. In fact probationary periods have no meaning in law at all. There is no legal requirement to use them, and passing a defined probationary period does not...
Eleanor DeemMar 29, 2016Recruitment
The National Living Wage (NLW) is the new statutory minimum wage rate that must be paid to workers aged 25 and over. It comes into force on 1 April and will be initially set at £7.20 per hour. For workers under the age of 25, the existing National Minimum Wage rates...
Eleanor DeemMar 28, 2016Recruitment
In a competitive job market, candidates for jobs in your business may well be tempted to gain an advantage over other applicants by embellishing their CV, or leaving off certain information which they feel may damage their chances. Most people naturally try to present...
Eleanor DeemMar 21, 2016Recruitment
Giving and requesting references for employees changing jobs is something that employers do all the time, however there is a lot of confusion about what can and can’t be said in a reference and some common misconceptions. These are our top four myths about references,...
Eleanor DeemMar 14, 2016Recruitment
It is very common for employers to ask prospective employees to complete a medical questionnaire as part of their pre-employment checks, but there are restrictions on what questions you can ask, when you can ask them and what you can do with the information. Here’s...
Eleanor DeemMar 7, 2016Recruitment
Under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, you need to verify that your employees have the right to work in the UK by checking specific documents. Here are some frequently asked questions about checking workers’ right to work in the UK to help you ensure...
Eleanor DeemMar 1, 2016Franchise News
We are thrilled to announce the launch of another new consultant today, Helen Christie, who is our first consultant in the Northern region. Helen is a Chartered Member of the CIPD and has gained her HR experience across a range of industries including manufacturing,...
Eleanor DeemFeb 29, 2016Recruitment
With almost any job you’re recruiting for, you’ll end up interviewing candidates. Interviews alone aren’t actually a fantastic way of identifying the best candidate, but there are ways you can improve how useful they are, by designing questions to give you the maximum...
Eleanor DeemFeb 22, 2016Recruitment
Agencies can be valuable when recruiting in your business, saving you time and effort sourcing candidates. But you need to use them effectively to ensure the process works and you’re getting good value for money. Here are our top five tips for making the most of your...
Eleanor DeemFeb 15, 2016Recruitment
When designing your advertisement you are trying to achieve neither too many unsuitable responses, nor too few with suitable qualifications. You want the right people to apply, and the wrong people not to. To do that you need to communicate effectively with potential...
Eleanor DeemFeb 8, 2016Recruitment
When you have a recruitment need in your business, the prospect of filling it with an internal candidate can be tempting. But there are some things to consider before doing so, and given how important it is to get the right people working for your business, it’s worth...
Eleanor DeemFeb 1, 2016Recruitment
If you’re considering recruiting into your business, the most important step to getting this right is deciding before you start what it is you actually need. Often you will be recruiting for a vacancy following departure of the previous incumbent, and the temptation...
Eleanor DeemJan 25, 2016Retirement planning
Assuming you can’t justify having a compulsory retirement age in your business, the absence of one could make succession planning more challenging for you. You can’t assume employees will retire at, say, 65, so can no longer be sure about when vacancies will arise and...
Eleanor DeemJan 18, 2016Retirement planning
Before the default retirement age was abolished, employers could either use retirement as an excuse to dismiss underperforming employees, or could avoid addressing performance concerns in older employees on the grounds that they would be retiring soon anyway. Now that...
Eleanor DeemJan 11, 2016Retirement planning
Although the default retirement age was repealed in 2011, and it became unfair dismissal and age discrimination to force an employee to retire because of their age, as with most types of discrimination, if there is an objective justification for retaining a compulsory...
Eleanor DeemJan 4, 2016Retirement planning
Before 2011, most employers had a default retirement age in their contracts. The assumption was that most employees would retire at the appropriate age. Sometimes they wanted to stay on, sometimes that would be on reduced hours or similar, but retirement at the set...
Eleanor DeemDec 28, 2015Learning & development
Although many small business owners have little in terms of funds available for training, and are keen to seek ideas for developing staff on a very low budget, some do have a bit more to invest and like to consider sponsoring employees through higher/further...
Eleanor DeemDec 21, 2015Learning & development
Good staff development can have enormous benefits for your small business, and a significant impact on your bottom line, but many business owners are worried about the cost of training, so don’t prioritise it as they should. If you’d like to invest in training for...
