Resources and tools that can help you save valuable time and focus on what matters.
It’s a fact; e-cigarettes are now increasingly popular across the UK, and they seem set to stay. But can you ban them? And what is the procedure of banning e-cigarettes in the workplace? Despite the health concerns that have been raised in recent months e-cigarettes...
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...
So we’ve all heard the news by now – Jeremy Clarkson has been involved in a ‘fracas’ with a producer at the BBC resulting in his suspension from work. OK, so he’s quite a big personality and the BBC is a fairly unique organisation, but what can a small business do...
International Women’s Day will soon be upon us, this Sunday in fact, but what progress have we seen in recent years for women in employment? The headline statistics There has been a lot made about the progress made for women in employment – the UK climbing four...
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...
It’s been an embarrassing week for the Church of England – following a letter from the house of bishops to all church members last week which stated that paying the living wage was a decent, Christian thing to do; it would seem that Archbishop Justin Welby and his...
There have been some fairly sensational stories in the news recently about staff getting fired for all sorts of strange reasons – however which of these really might constitute unfair dismissal claims? We’ve taken a look at some of the stranger stories that have...
Whilst many might just see Valentine’s Day as a card maker’s dream – no prizes for guessing where I stand – many see it as an opportunity to show the people they care about how they feel. Even if they’re a co-worker. But is this right? Should people be banned from...
The last weekend of January, the end of a dry January, the cold weather, perhaps even the Super bowl – it’s a perfect storm of ingredients that probably leads to today being ‘National Sickie Day’. A day when (a perhaps not so surprising) 69% of people surveyed by the...
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...
Do you know the right thing to do when weather stops your workforce from getting in? January is always a strange month for weather – just when you think the deepest, darkest part of the winter is over UK weathers throws you a curve ball. And it would appear that 2015...
Europe’s highest court has ruled that being obese can in fact “constitute a disability”. So now that obesity is a disability, how does this affect a small business? Here’s what the ruling said: “Obesity can constitute a ‘disability’ within the meaning of the...
Retirement just got a little bit further away for some of us. That's right the retirement age just increased so a lot of us will be affected. It’s a difficult time of life to find a job, especially if there’s a host of younger work talent that is rising through the...
Can you expect your employees to work anywhere? Even if you are moving offices? Well it doesn't seem that unreasonable at first thought, but maybe you could be asking too much of your employees. And yes, this is definitely different to asking them to work while they...
It’s a growing trend, as shown by ONS figures released today, even some people who have never smoked (only 0.14% mind you) have taken to e-cigarettes. Many current and ex-smokers have taken up the habit too, seeing it as a lower risk alternative to getting their...
Undeniably, an employee freezing their eggs is a significantly sensitive and personal decision for any of your female employees. But while it is a personal matter, it does an impact on you as an employer. There’s been a great deal of discussion across the internet...
Starting a bakery? It's fair to say a lot of the British public have at least, at some point, considered if after watching the Great British Bake Off. But when starting a bakery business it may come to a point where you can’t do it all yourself, and when this happens...
For small businesses, coping with staff holidays at this time of year can prove a real headache. Even one member of a small team away on a fortnight’s holiday can be challenging. But several members of the team all away in the same week can be critical for a small business.
Last month we heard the announcement of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) in the UK being increased from 1st October 2014 following recommendations made by the Low Pay Commission. The increases are bigger than usual so we would strongly advise checking your staff’s rates of pay to check what impact this will have on your ‘bottom line’.
Small business owners who outsource some of their more time-consuming tasks are able to get back to the core of their business, and might even boost their profits in the process.
Time to get ready – pensions auto-enrolment is coming soon. Medium-sized and then small businesses are about to encounter one of the biggest changes to employer pensions we’ve ever seen. Staging dates for businesses with 50 – 249 employees start tomorrow …
What would it mean to lose 10% of your workforce suddenly, without notice, for up to a month at a time. And know it could happen repeatedly? Staff absence through illness in any business is difficult to handle, but in small businesses it can be deadly.
One of the things that employers can do to reduce staff absence is to have some sort of stress and anxiety management policy …
This time last year I came back to work fresh from a Christmas break, determined to be ruthless about concentrating on the aspects of running my business that contributed towards success. The challenge came in identifying which were distractions and which still needed my close attention. I have always wanted to invest time in my (18) staff, but when I looked closely, I realized that a lot of the time I spent on staff management was actually wasted on dull administrative functions …