Our values shape us. Not only do they shape how we live our day to day lives but they are the bedrock of a business, shaping its culture and vision. That’s why it’s so important to get your values right for your small business. Why are values so important for a small...
Running a small business can be both demanding and rewarding. From the early days of being a brand-new start-up through to running a thriving well-established business, managing people will always be part and parcel of being a business owner. Whether you have a team...
Pro-rata holiday entitlement is an amount of holiday that’s in proportion to the holiday entitlement of a full-time employee. The proportion of holiday will depend on how much an employee works, relative to a full-time employee. For example, if they work half as much,...
Employee Appreciation Day (3rd March 2023) is the perfect opportunity to lead from the front and show your team that you care. The last 12 months were supposed to be our first year of complete freedom since the pandemic hit us hard, but instead we are battling a...
A new year is an exciting opportunity for a fresh start and to make plans for what you want your business to achieve in the year ahead. With the cost-of-living crisis taking hold, you may find your small business facing some extra challenges over the coming months -...
In situations where you’re investigating an employee for gross misconduct, you may find it appropriate to suspend them. Suspension can be a useful measure to take but, as with all people matters, there’s a process that you need to follow carefully. If you suspend one...
A notice period is an important condition of employment. A notice period is the time between an employee handing in their resignation and the date that they propose to leave. It also refers to the amount of time between you making an employee redundant and their last...
Wellbeing has really been under attack in recent years due to the coronavirus pandemic and the current cost of living crisis. This means that employees are looking for as much support from their employer as possible when it comes to addressing their work life balance...
For small businesses it’s really important to recruit the right people; not only will the right people excel in the role, but they will also be a great fit for your business and culture. The interview is a key stage of the recruitment process, giving you the best feel...
The summer and autumn terms are times when you might be asked to take on young people for work experience or have students help out in the holidays. Giving a young person work experience can be helpful for someone just starting out in their career, while providing...
You’ve probably heard a lot of talk around employee engagement, and new ways and reasons to tackle it in your small business. If you’re struggling with performance, or think you have risks around retention, keeping your people motivated and providing growth can help...
As many small businesses commit to hybrid working long-term post-pandemic in the UK, and other forms of remote working, electronic monitoring employees’ activities while working remotely has become an increasingly hot topic as employers try to keep track of tasks, and...
With 16 million people employed in small businesses across the UK, induction, and leaver admin are familiar HR tasks with many owners and managers. But having practical checklists may help to get your ducks in a row. Here at citrus HR, we love a good checklist and...
Are you feeling the pressures of the record high number of job vacancies, standing at 1,102,000 in the UK in the last 3 months? As we emerge from the uncertainties of the pandemic, and people grow in confidence to enter the job market, competition for skilled staff...
This Mental Health Awareness Week’s (10 - 16 May 2021) theme is nature and after a year of staring at screens in our spare rooms, we thought it apt to reconsider how we take breaks and how you can encourage your team to get outside on theirs. After over a year of...
Today (4th of February 2021) is Time to Talk Day, one of the biggest days on the mental health calendar, and a chance for all of us to be more open about mental health – to talk, listen and change lives. Coronavirus has made this day especially significant this year –...
Given the current environment, most of us have staff who have become remote workers. Giving feedback to staff working remotely can sometimes feel like it’s going to be more difficult when you can’t have discussions in person. In-person you can look into their eyes,...
Thursday 6th February is ‘Time to Talk’ day which is an awareness day championed by Time to Change who are a social movement group trying to change the way we all act and think about mental health. Their statistics suggest that 1 in 4 people are affected by mental...
When you have an employee off on long term sick leave, you may end up at some point having to decide whether you can continue to hold their job open. You’ll need to balance giving the individual enough time to recover from their illness or injury with the need to...
It’s an obvious statement that businesses do better when their employees are happy and healthy. However, it’s highly likely that at some point you’ll come across members of your staff who are experiencing mental health issues. When this happens, it’s essential that...
When an employee is dismissed or decides to resign from your business, it usually creates a list of things to consider. You may need to start the recruitment process to hire a replacement, or hold an exit interview. You’ll also need to consider any remaining holiday...
Recording and submitting expenses isn’t a task anyone enjoys much. And without a clear expense management process in place, all sorts of headaches can occur; an employee might wait all year to reclaim their expenses, or a dispute might arise over what can or can’t be...
Exit interviews are a brilliant way for employers to find out how they might better engage and retain staff. Employees leaving an organisation tend to speak a little more frankly about their experiences, which can sometimes uncover problem areas you might not have...
To dismiss an employee legally in the UK, you must ensure you have a valid reason for doing so. You must also take care to follow a fair procedure. No employer wants to find themselves needing to dismiss someone, and if it's your first time doing so, the process can...