Can I force my employees to get the Covid-19 vaccine?

Now that we have a vaccination programme up and running, it does appear as though an end is in (fairly distant) sight to all the disruption to businesses and to individuals. For those who are not in the most vulnerable categories, it seems likely to

What are my options if an employee is struggling with home schooling?

With schools closing again, many employees with school-aged children will be faced with having to supervise them with remote learning, presenting significant challenges when it comes to maintaining usual ability to work. But what are your options for supporting these employees, or dealing with the

How do my general Health and Safety obligations relate to Covid-19?

Health and safety is always important, of course. But for many small businesses working in standard low-risk office environments, it doesn’t take on a lot of prominence on a day-to-day basis. This can mean that many small business owners don’t really know precisely what their

Welcome to Rachel Weaven

We are delighted to welcome Rachel Weaven to face2faceHR. She’s going to be bringing our down-to-earth, realistic and tailored approach to HR to SMEs in Swindon and the surrounding area, with the benefit of extensive experience across a wide range of HR issues, including particular

How does Brexit affect recruitment of new EU workers?

The transition period for Brexit, and therefore free movement for EU citizens, has now ended. This means EU workers will now need specific permission to work in the UK like anyone else. Here are some common questions about how recruitment will be affected. I want

What does the end of Brexit transition mean for European workers I currently employ?

From 1 January 2021, the transition period for Brexit will come to an end, meaning no more free movement for citizens from the European Union, the European Economic Area and Switzerland. Those groups will now need specific permission to work here just like citizens of

Unauthorised holiday, what can you do?

While most employers (and certainly most of our small business clients) try to agree employee holiday requests where at all possible, inevitably there are times where it is simply not possible to grant requested annual leave dates. Obviously most responsible, committed employees would understand the

Employee emergencies – what about time off?

Employees have entitlements to various types of statutory leave from work, either paid or unpaid. As well as paid holiday they can have several different types of leave for family reasons, and can take time off for public duties, or in connection with a role

Employee gone AWOL? Here’s what to do…

It’s unusual, but occasionally you might find yourself in the situation of having to deal with an employee who has effectively gone AWOL, absent without official leave, in other words hasn’t turned up for work, or has left work, with no reason given and no

Time off for dependants – what you need to know

Most employers will have had employees who have needed to take time off in a family emergency or similar, whether it’s for childcare breakdown, illness or something else. But how much do you know about your employees’ statutory entitlement to time off for this type