World Menopause Day is on 18 October 2023, and with an increasing number of organisations implementing menopause policies, we thought we’d take a look at how menopause affects the workplace and what small businesses can do to manage this and support their employees....
Work experience is a great way for young people to gain an insight into the world of work and can play an important role in helping them to decide on the career path they wish to take. This blog aims to help you understand how you can manage a work experience...
At citrus HR, we support thousands of small businesses every month through their HR headaches, and often notice trends around the type of questions we’re asked; what we’ve spotted is there are Six common HR mistakes small businesses make. These mistakes fall under the...
Nowadays, it is more important than ever to be able to spot the signs of stress and burnout in the workplace and offer support to your employees and tackle them as an employer. Stress Awareness Month has been held every April, since 1992 to increase public awareness...
You may have noticed the 2022 World Cup has kicked off in Qatar, and whilst the controversial choice of Qatar as host is a useful reminder of anti-discrimination laws and the need to treat all employees fairly, major football tournaments bring their own HR issues to...
Regardless of the size of your business, recruiting the right people will be key to your business success. The problem is recruitment can be very time-consuming and expensive, and so it makes total sense that retaining existing staff is a no-brainer! What is employee...
With inflation at a 40-year high, utility bills and food prices are rising at an alarming rate. Most people are having to make tough financial decisions, and sadly more and more families are on the poverty line despite having a regular monthly salary. Whilst the cost...
When thinking about how to retain employees, it’s easy to see improved pay and conditions as the answer. However, this approach often has a limited shelf life, as employees quickly get used to receiving a new salary or benefit. It’s also not always affordable for...
With stigmas around mental health starting to evaporate over the past few years, more employees are opening up about it to their employers. While this is a major step forward in tackling mental health in the workplace, there is still a long way to go. If the last few...
The realisation that you may have made a bad hire is an unsettling one. Maybe the individual is turning out to be very different to how they came across in their interview. Or perhaps they professed to have more skills and experience than is proving to be the case. It...
We know that for employers, getting new hires to the point where they can start effectively contributing to the organisation takes up a lot of time and resources. However, having a clear onboarding process to follow will help new employees to become important and...
It’s always best to take a consistent approach when requesting references to help you avoid any claims of unlawful treatment. To request a reference for a prospective employee you should: Get written, detailed and signed consent from the prospective employee before...
When providing a reference for an employee, it’s important to: Get written and signed consent Be consistent in the types of information you give Avoid providing any information which could be disputed as unfair or incorrect Comply with data protection laws Mark all...
Recruiting the right people is rarely simple. Getting the right fit for the role, as well as your business, can be a really challenging and time-consuming prospect. The answer is to have a bullet-proof recruitment process. One that saves you time, and makes sure you...
Regularly losing staff is not only costly but also demoralising (for you, but also for the remaining team members). The worst-case scenario is that one leaver will trigger others to leave as well, and, as you can imagine, this doesn't feel good when you look at your...
Anxiety and depression is a tricky issue – one that leaves many employers not knowing exactly what to do. Even a large organisation such as the NHS struggles with it, as has been seen in recent news. Since 2010, the number of cases where employees in NHS trusts have...
As we welcome our new (temporary) office dog, brought in by two of our colleagues, we got to thinking about the positives and negatives around employment when you bring an animal into the equation. Other than the foot space that a dog takes up, an animal like...
We’ve all heard that it’s ‘Blue Monday’ today. Although I’m sure that will remind many of a certain New Order song, it’s actually a reference to one of the most depressing work days of the year. How does it feel? Not great apparently. So how do you motivate staff to...