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After your employees leave work at the end of the day, do you lose all control over what they say or do? While you won’t wish to intrude upon their activities or interests outside work, you can legitimately expect them not to engage in activity which may: Result in bad publicity to your organisation Cause…

It’s that time of year again, when we’re gearing up for Christmas and all that comes with it… presents, parties, shopping, drinking, and re-runs of Only Fools and Horses. These things are synonymous with the festive period. For employers, however, the festive period is also synonymous with productivity problems. There is no doubt that the demands…

Winter is here and it could be colder and snowier than normal. Advanced weather models are predicting months of heavy snowfall, with conditions expecting to mirror those of winter 2009 / 2010 which was so long and chilly it was dubbed “the Big Freeze”. Staff absences tend to raise dramatically during extreme weather as road…

The festive period is a time when many businesses see extra demand for their products and services, but it also sees staff absence levels and annual leave requests sky rocket. With a combination of sick days following Christmas parties and a large number of employees requesting time off, it can be difficult for employers to…

Office Christmas parties can be a fantastic morale boost for employees but employers need to be aware of potential risks, such as alcohol fuelled fights, discrimination and absenteeism. Employers have responsibility for their staff members at any work-related Christmas function. When employee behaviour strays into misconduct, particularly where alcohol is involved, they are often the…

Employers might be surprised to hear that employees facing allegations which could lead to the end of their career may be entitled to be represented by a qualified lawyer at a disciplinary hearing. The general rule that employees are not entitled to legal representation has recently been challenged in two recent cases. Therefore, organisations should…

In a recent survey of people who ‘work for themselves’, it was found that 1 in 10 were actually employees, even though these people were classed as self-employed. However, the biggest area of concern is the Construction industry where it is estimated that over 50% of self-employed workers are, in fact, employees. This could mean…