Why legal cover from HR providers is bad for small businesses

Many providers of HR services to small businesses offer some kind of legal insurance or guarantee, usually along the lines of guaranteeing to pay your costs at a tribunal or to represent you themselves at no cost. Sounds great, right? Peace of mind? Or is

Employment law changes – what’s the deal?

There have been some announcements by the government recently about changes to some major elements of employment law, and I am regularly asked for clarification on what exactly might be involved. So here we go; a brief plain English summary of the proposals and some

5 easy steps to understanding the Bribery Act for small businesses

1. What exactly is- bribery’? Bribery is basically giving someone a financial or other advantage in order to encourage them to do something they shouldn’t. That would include trying to influence a decision-maker to give you a contract or similar. 2. When might my business

10 easy steps to understanding the Agency Workers Regulations for small businesses

1. Which staff do the Regulations cover? If you have staff who are employed by or through an agency working in your business under your supervision, they will be covered. Their contract is with the agency. Staff who were supplied by an agency initially but

Top 10 tips For dealing with problem absence

I frequently get asked about the best way to deal with sickness absence. Most of my clients are small businesses who prefer not to have very bureaucratic procedures to follow and have quite personal relationships with their staff, making formal or confrontational action difficult. With

Top ten employment law myths

With regular changes to legislation employers often get confused about what they can and can’t do. With that in mind, here are my Top Ten common myths about employment law. 1. It’s illegal to give a- bad’ reference As an employer your obligations are to

Dealing with snowy days

This week I’ve been getting lots of questions about how to deal with- snow days’ when staff do not come into work because of the weather, so I’m addressing some of them here. Do I need to pay employees who don’t come in because of

Christmas party pitfalls

According to a recent survey two thirds of employers do not have a policy in place setting out standards of acceptable employee behaviour at their Christmas party. Those employers responding to the survey who had experienced problems at their last Christmas party indicated that most