You’ve found the perfect company fit, hurrah! And a sure-fire way to annoy your new golden employee is to input their data wrong, only for them to miss their first payday. You might laugh, but it’s been known to happen! Follow these five top tips on data for a smooth new starter transition. Get the right information It may seem pretty self-explanatory, but getting the right information from the get-go is crucial to a smooth start. Depending on how your payroll is set-up (managed or…
According to a recent UK-wide survey, 26% of employees feared their manager wouldn’t consider period pain a legitimate illness, and therefore not a good enough reason to be absent from work. As such, up to a quarter of those surveyed admitted to lying to their manager about their true reason for absence. How should employers approach period pain when cited by an employee as a reason for absence? Are the symptoms a good enough reason for employees to be absent from work? And should an…
A contractor was recently prosecuted after a Covid-19 spot check revealed multiple breaches in health and safety. How can employers protect themselves from a similar outcome? With Covid-19 taking priority for many health and safety professionals, it seems that the other aspects of safety may be being forgotten. In one instance, a construction contractor was fined after multiple health and safety issues were found during a proactive Covid spot check in Manchester. This included welfare, working at height, site security, electricity, and Covid-19. After issuing…
What is Black History Month Black History Month (BHM) is a time to recognise and celebrate the achievements of people with African or Caribbean heritage, and understand the enormous impact of black heritage and culture on the UK. Despite black ethnic groups making up 3.3% of the UK population, our current education system barely scratches the surface of black history. This month aims to shine a spotlight on the events that may have been kept in the dark, and take a look closer at the…
Getting to work on time is an employee’s responsibility. But when there’s a national crisis, like the current fuel shortages, what can employers do to support their employee’s during this interim period? Many employees use their own car to travel to work. And ordinarily, whether you’ll be able to fuel your car in order to make the journey, isn’t something that crosses your mind. However, petrol stations across the UK are the latest to be hit by HGV driver shortages. This has led to long queues outside…
New legislation outlines how flexible working could be a day-one right for employees. This could give an additional two million people in the UK greater flexibility over their working lives. Workers currently only have a right to request flexible working after 26 weeks of continuous employment. The proposed policy states that it aims to take "a world-class approach to flexible working" which could make it the default for future work contracts. As well as allowing employees to make flexible working requests from the start of…
I’m sure you’ll agree, the covid-19 vaccine roll out is a controversial topic, that’s led to many heated debates amongst family and friends. With the likes of Jennifer Aniston admitting to cutting off unvaccinated friends, there’s no doubt that many people hold strong views on the matter. However, it’s not just celebrities that are making their views on the vaccine known. Google, Facebook and Microsoft recently announced that their employees must be vaccinated against covid-19 before they return to work at their US offices. With…
After supporting businesses for 19 months, the Coronavirus Job Retention or Furlough Scheme finally ends on September 30th 2021. What do employers and payroll professionals need to do as the scheme comes to a close? Many payroll professionals have had to adapt to furlough calculations and processing since March 2020. Whether going back to normality is a relief for your payroll team, or a worry, we hope this article helps it go as smoothly as possible for you. How much you can claim in September…
A recent development in unfair dismissal between Ms Muna Abdi v Deltec International Courier Limited lead to Ms Abdi being awarded £25,000 Tribunal finds that ‘highly offensive and threatening’ racial slurs made in a WhatsApp group chat - which included members of senior management – amounted to unlawful harassment and a decision to move the complainant ‘inadequate’. Ms Abdi is a black woman of Somali origin, and she wears a hijab. She was employed as an Evening Operations Clerk reporting to Mr Simon Hocking. On…
Barely a day goes by without an unfair dismissal claim hitting the headlines. Many of these claims are down to employers failing to follow a full and fair procedure. So, read on for our six ways to avoid unfair dismissal claims. Follow your internal procedures It’s important that you as an employer, follow your organisation’s HR procedures, including any that could lead to an employee being dismissed. You should also be mindful that employees have access to an abundance of information on unfair dismissal claims…
