Five reasons every employer needs a social media policy

Our general position at face2faceHR is that small employers (or in fact any employer) should only have policies that it genuinely needs, and should not have thick handbooks full of policies that are not necessary and will never be read or used. But some things

“Protected conversations” with poor performers – will it help?

In a recent speech the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said employers should be allowed to have “frank discussions” with employees about performance problems without fear that the conversations will be used in a tribunal claim. It would be an extension to the “without prejudice”

7 ways to find out whether your HR consultant is giving you lazy advice

My personal credibility and the credibility of my profession as a whole are very important to me. But as with any profession, there are plenty of incompetent HR professionals out there and plenty who take advantage of clients’ lack of employment law knowledge. Is yours

Will tribunal system changes really save £16m?

At the Conservative Party Conference last week, Chancellor George Osborne announced changes to the Employment Tribunal System which he claims will save British business £16m annually. Are you convinced? Unfair dismissal service requirements to increase From April 2012 the length of service an employee must

Are you finding excuses to dismiss someone?

Many business owners would admit privately that they have one or two employees they would love to get rid of given the opportunity. A recent tribunal case in which the judge felt the decision to dismiss was unreasonably harsh and specifically observed that the business

Quick tips for writing effective interview questions

Interviews are far and away the most popular way of choosing the best candidate for a vacancy you have, but their effectiveness and reliability in terms of informing interviewers who will be best in the job can be patchy at best. By designing some really

How do I choose my suppliers?

As part of working out how best to market my own business I obviously need to work out how my target clients choose their HR provider; where they get their options from and how they choose which one is right for their business. As part

Performance management in small businesses, why bother?

This is the first in a series of articles looking at performance management in small businesses. Before examining how performance management in a small business might work, I thought it would first be worthwhile identifying why on earth a busy small business owner might want

Contracts of employment – why a good one is one of the best investments a small business can make

A well drafted contract will guide business owners in managing their staff effectively, avoid as far as possible problems arising in the employment relationship and deal with them quickly and effectively when they do. Contract of employment -the basics As a minimum legal requirement you

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