Author Archives: debbie

1. A Timely Employment Contract

   Wednesday, 30 January, 2019 4:43 pm Comments Off on A Timely Employment Contract

   You may know that you need to give your employees a written statement of their employment terms.  While it is not it’s technically the correct term, for ease of reference I will call this an employment contract.

   Anyone who works for you for a month or more is entitled to an employment contract. From April 2020, your employees will be entitled to this from day 1.   I recommend sending out the contract when you make a job offer.  Your business looks professional and organised. The kind of company a great applicant would want to work for.

   The truth is, many small businesses start by employing friends and family.  Money and time are tight.  The business grows.  There is always something more pressing to do.  Having an employment contract has never quite reached the top of the to-do list.

    

   

    

   Why bother with an employment contract?

   If you haven’t used them before, you might think “why bother?”  Here’s why:

   • It is your employees’ legal right.
   • It clearly sets out your expectations.
   • It can protect your business in a legal dispute.
   • It can give you permission to do things, such as make deductions.
   • If you don’t have one, it may cost you 2-4 weeks pay at an Employment Tribunal.

    

   What should be in an employment contract?

   There are certain things that you must put in an employment contract, such as:

   • the employer’s name
   • the employee’s name, job title or a description of work, start date and where they will be working
   • the continuous employment date
   • how much and how often an employee will get paid
   • hours of work
   • holiday entitlement
   • notice period
   • any collective agreements
   • pension
   • grievance and disciplinary information

   There are other things you might want to put in there too such as:

   • Any deductions you may want to make (eg training costs if they leave)
   • Restrictive covenants
   • Confidentiality clause
   • Intellectual property rights

    

   Thinking the Unthinkable

   When deciding what needs to be in a contract, think the unthinkable.  Imagine everything has gone wrong.  You are parting ways on bad terms.  You need to rely on your employment contract to protect you.  What would you want to be in there?

   When Jose Mourinho joined Man United, he was expected to bring guaranteed success.  He didn’t.  His employment contract meant that, according to BBC Sport, the decision to let him go cost Man United around £18M.

    

   These are important points to consider when drafting your employment contracts.  If it is time to tick this off your to-do list, please contact me.  Let’s get that ticked off of your to do list.

2. When illness makes your business sick

   Wednesday, 2 January, 2019 6:48 pm Comments Off on When illness makes your business sick

   New Year’s Eve.  A popular restaurant in London.  It should have been one of their busiest nights.  Instead, the place was half empty and they were turning customers away.  Why?  Because, as I was told by a very annoyed waitress, only 4 staff had turned up. The rest had called in sick.  Does this sound familiar?

   

    

   Causing financial pain to your business and resentment in your team is not acceptable.  For the sake of those who did work, you need to act.  We all know that at least some of those who called in sick over the Christmas period were not ill at all.  The trouble is, how do you tell who was really ill and who wasn’t?  The first place to start is with a return to work interview.

    

   Return to work interview

   Whenever someone is off sick, it is always advisable to hold a return to work interview.  This is good practice to see if they need any support at work.  It will also make them think twice about taking any unnecessary time off.

   Speak to them about exactly why they were off ill, what their symptoms were and whether they sought medical advice.   If you had a number of people call off sick or suspect some regular offenders or patterns, point out your concerns.   For instance, “on looking back on your records, I notice that you are often ill after a bank holiday.  Is there any reason for this?” or “I was very concerned that so many were off sick on New Year’s Eve.  I suspect that not everyone who was off, needed to be.  This put a huge strain on the colleagues that did come into work”.

   You may not be able to prove something this time but it will make them aware you are watching closely.  It should make them think twice next time.

    

   Disciplinary Action

   If you have evidence someone was not truly ill, you should consider taking disciplinary action.  Social media posts have been shown to me by many a bitter colleague who felt let down.  Always follow a fair procedure.

   If you do take disciplinary action, treat people consistently.  For instance, if you have evidence to discipline two absentees, they should receive the same sanction.

   If they were signed off work but you still have concerns, please contact me before taking any action.

   Some other ways to prevent unnecessary sick leave

   Always insist your employees call to say they are going to be off ill, not send a message.  It’s too easy and you have no idea where they are when they press send.

   If you have any particular areas of concern, say.  You may need to send a general message to all or target specific individuals.  Always confirm this in writing but be careful with your tone.  Be firm but reasonable.  Never call someone a liar unless you have strong evidence.  Some people genuinely were sick on New Year’s Eve.

   The Bradford Index is a useful way to identify any issues that need investigating.

    

   The Bradford Factor

   The Bradford factor is a mathematical way to judge sickness.  It recognises the impact of lots of small sickness periods on a business.

   Look at your absence records for 2018.  Using the following calculation, work out the Bradford Index scores for your employees:

   Multiply the number of occasions they took time off ill by itself, and then by the total number of days off sick.

    

   For example, let’s say you have 2 employees, Sam and Pat.  Sam had to take 10 days off following an operation last year.  Pat, for various reasons, took a total of 10 days off, over 5 different occasions.

   Name	Number of Occasions	Total Days off Sick	Bradford Index Sum	Score
   Sam	1	10	1 X 1 X 10	10
   Pat	5	10	5 X 5 X 10	250

   While I wouldn’t be worried about Sam’s sickness record, I certainly would want to find out more about Pat’s.  In fact, I would want to look more closely at any score that reached 100.

    

   Please contact me if you think this is a problem its time you tackled.

3. A new perspective on grievance

   Tuesday, 26 June, 2018 6:41 am Comments Off on A new perspective on grievance

   Usually I am dealing with a grievance from an employer’s point of view.  More recently I have been helping a friend with her grievance at work.

   She is going through a horrible experience.  She feels bullied. She has reported it to the right people. She has done so in writing.  The employer has spoken to her about it.  That appears to be it.  She is in the dark as to whether anything is being done.  She works at a school and I suspect they are hoping things will sort themselves out of the summer holidays.  They won’t.

   

   We’ve probably all made a complaint to a company somewhere along the line.  Maybe a hotel, a restaurant or some other customer service.  The most frustrating thing is thinking that no one is taking you seriously.  That it is exactly how it feels to my friend right now.

   If you ignore a grievance, it grows.  It takes on even greater importance and one of two things often happens:  either behaviour becomes more difficult or the employee chooses to leave.  Whose fault is that?

   Raising a grievance takes a lot of courage.  It’s far easier to suffer in silence.  How bad must a situation be to take it to this level?  Instead of thinking of them as a trouble maker, look into their complaints carefully. This may be the tip of the iceberg.  I have nothing but respect for anyone who raises a grievance.  You should too.

    

   If someone does raise a grievance, what do you need to do?

   • Have an informal chat first. Quite often that can be enough to solve the problem.
   • If they decide not to go ahead with a formal grievance, have them confirm this in writing to you.
   • If they wish to make a formal grievance, arrange a formal hearing.
   • They will have the right to be accompanied to the hearing and you should make sure it is heard by someone not previously involved.
   • Always listen carefully to what they have to say, no matter how trivial it seems to you, it is a huge issue to them.
   • Ask them what outcome they would like to see.
   • Take the time to investigate their complaints before coming back with your decision.
   • Keep them informed at every stage. Give them realistic expectations as to when you will come back to them.
   • Confirm the outcome in writing.

   TIP:  no one has to mention the word “grievance” for it to be treated as such.  An email saying that someone is unhappy with a situation deserves a conversation.  Ask them the question, “do you want this to be treated as a formal grievance?”

   If in doubt, think how you would feel if this was your friend or family member raising a grievance.  How would you expect them to be treated? For more information or support with this important issue, please contact me.

4. How to have a difficult conversation

   Saturday, 26 May, 2018 3:16 pm Comments Off on How to have a difficult conversation

   We all have things we would rather not do.  Things we put off till we have no choice.  For employers, that may mean having a difficult conversation.  Maybe you are dreading one now.  Maybe you need to tackle poor performance, redundancies or the situation I find the hardest – telling someone they have body odour.  Handle the situation sensitively and you may be soon be wondering why you didn’t do it sooner.

   

   How to prepare for a difficult conversations

   As with anything worthwhile, success is in the planning.

   Think through clearly what the issue is and where you are aiming to get to.  Plan what you are going to say.   If you are well prepared you will feel more confident and can choose how to say things most tactfully.

   Plan to use different types of questions.  Open questions encourage discussion. Probing questions help to find out the employee’s point of view.  Use closed questions to check facts.

    

   Who should have the conversation?

   If you are dealing with a personal issue or they have a sensitive complaint, think carefully who should handle this.  This is not the time for a “bull in a china shop” approach.  You need a good listener.

   If you are faced with a potential disciplinary, consider the ACAS Code of Practice.  Ideally the investigator, the disciplinary chair and the appeal chair should be different people.  Each stage should be considered by a manager at least as senior as the last.

   If they have raised a complaint about you, I’d recommend someone else hears it.  Your natural reaction may be defensive but you need to let them speak.  Could you ask a senior colleague instead?

    

   Setting the environment

   I will never forget sitting in the cafe of a business centre as, on the table next to me, an appraisal took place. It clearly wasn’t going well.  I found it painful.  Goodness knows how the employee felt.  Treating people with respect is so important.  Use a location that is private and free from interruptions.  If  you don’t have one, hire one.

   Avoid sitting opposite one another across a desk, it’s confrontational.  If possible, sit on a round table or across the corner of a desk.

   Have some tissues within close to hand.  Don’t put them on the table almost daring them to cry.  Have them within easy reach, just in case.

    

   The difficult conversation in action

   Start your difficult conversation with something like, “I need your help to find out what happened.  Do you have a few minutes to talk?”

   Be open-minded and prepared to listen.  Acknowledge problems and be honest with yourself.

   Active listening shows that you believe the employee has something worthwhile to say.   Repeat back to demonstrate you have listened and understood.

   There may be awkward silences.  Accept that this may happen.  They may be in shock.  Give them time to react.

   If an employee becomes emotional or angry, remain calm.  If needs be, take a short break.   Better that than say something that one party may later regret.

    

   If you are still putting off having that difficult conversation, I can help.  Please contact me.   The sooner you tackle the issue, the better.

    

5. Premier League HR Issues

   Saturday, 28 April, 2018 11:25 am Comments Off on Premier League HR Issues

   If you have HR issues, you are not alone. Take Arsenal Football Club.  For all their resources, their fanbase and their past success, they have their fair share of HR issues at the moment.

    

   

   How HR Issues develop

   Hindsight is a wonderful thing.  Looking back on Arsene Wenger’s career at Arsenal, it started off superbly.  He was a breath of fresh air.  He motivated good employees to become great again.  He brought in new working practices.  He brought a new style of management that others copied.

   He won awards in the form of trophies.  He recruited brilliantly and built the amazing invincibles team.  In more recent years his performance waned.   His clients (the fans) noticed.  They stopped turning up to matches.  Time and again, great employees left.  Earnings fell as performance slumped.

   Have you faced this situation?  Someone was once great at their job but now the realisation dawns – you simply have to do something about it?

    

    The HR Issues they currently face

   Arsene Wenger is now leaving the club.  He deserves a great send off from the Club.  I am sure he will get one. It is important not to burn your bridges with staff.  Your paths may easily cross another day.

   Arsenal’s HR Department will also be looking forward.  They need to recruit and attract a top candidate.  Once recruited, an employment contract will need to be drawn up.  It won’t stop there, it’s easy to see there will be further HR issues to follow once the new manager is appointed.

    

    HR issues of the future

   A new manager will bring new ideas.  New ideas mean change.  Not everyone will welcome that.  Some may decide they want to leave.  Some may have no choice.  What won’t change is the expectations the clients will put on the club.  From day one, there will be a demand for success.  Before Arsene Wenger, Bruce Rioch found it was not an easy place to succeed.

   When you break it down, the HR issues Arsenal face may not be so very different to your own.  If any of these HR issues sound familar to you, please contact me.

    

6. Exit Interviews and the value of hindsight

   Tuesday, 3 April, 2018 10:05 am Comments Off on Exit Interviews and the value of hindsight

   As an employer, you’ll want to keep your best talent for as long as possible.  Recruiting and training is expensive. Exit interviews may seem like locking the stable door after the horse has bolted.  In fact they can be the key to retaining great staff.

   

    

   Why do exit interviews?

   Exit interviews can highlight any issues.  If you don’t know why your employees are leaving, how can you do something about it?

   Exit interviews can reveal patterns and pick up trends. People may be leaving because of a management style, the work culture, ethics, staff morale, day-to-day concerns or company processes. Putting right an issue that comes up again and again can reduce staff turnover.

   They are also a great way to learn more about your company. Staff are usually more open as they no longer have to stay in your good books!

   Exit interviews help to tie up loose ends.  You’ll want to make sure that company property is returned and that they know of any restrictive covenants.  They’ll want to know about their final pay, holiday entitlement, P45 and company pension.

    

   How to do exit interviews

   Explain at the beginning of the meeting that their comments will be confidential.  You will only discuss them with management after they have left.

   If a person has a problem with their manager, they won’t want to discuss it with the manager concerned.  Use someone who can be neutral to conduct exit interviews.  Someone who can remain calm, fair and objective.

   The employee should be given the chance to get anything they want off their chest.  If you provide questions in advance you may get more in depth answers.

    

   What should you ask?

   One of the most common reasons for leaving a job is the behaviour or management style of their direct manager.  Always ask your employee about how they were managed and how this could have been improved.

   Ask if the promises made during the recruitment process were followed through. What did they like/dislike about their time working for your business?

   Ask about their positives and negatives.   What did they think about their salary, benefits and working conditions?  Other useful questions revolve around how the employee would change the job if they could. Ask about their new job – it’s always useful to know what your competitors are offering.

   If the employee has been a valuable employee, try to maintain contact.  Then if you have an opportunity in the future for them then you can get in touch.

    

   How many times have you said “if only I had known”?   Your next great employee could be out on interviews.  Time to act on what you have learnt and learn the lessons of your exit interviews.

    

   If you would like more information, please do contact us.

7. Dress code at work – do you need one?

   Monday, 26 February, 2018 6:14 pm Comments Off on Dress code at work – do you need one?

   Are dress codes in the workplace something we worry about in 2018?

   

   It depends on the workplace setting.  Some businesses such as accountants and solicitors still prefer smart dress. Health workers have to wear scrubs for hygiene reasons and many workers need to wear safety clothing.

   Is a dress code important?

   If there is a need for a dress code then a policy can help when getting the message out there.  It can also help to make sure standards are met.

   A uniform can give a great impression.  While jeans and T-shirts are just as practical, a branded uniform looks professional.  It can also give your employees a sense of belonging to the team and helps customers find your workers more easily.

   What are they wearing?

   Sometimes what employees wear to work can be distracting or fall below health and safety standards.  You might also have issues with hygiene standards.  A dress code helps make it easier to deal with these issues.

   How to introduce a dress code

   If you want to have a dress code – ask your staff what they think to avoid a dip in morale. Employees may feel that dress codes are less important or have strong views on the subject.  It’s important to get their buy-in if making changes.

   Think about whether it is fair and reasonable for both sexes, those with religious beliefs or disabilities.  Last year, after being sent home from her temp job for refusing to wear high heels, Nicola Thorp started a petition calling for a ban on forcing women to wear high heels.  It collected over 100,000 signatures.

   Having a dress code with Health and Safety in mind

   It is very important, of course, to let staff know what they need to wear for health and safety purposes in more risky workplaces such as factories, labs, industrial units etc.

   If it is important to your business, it’s a great idea to have a clear dress code outlining dos and don’ts when it comes to safety.  Employers must pay for personal protective equipment required (such as safety shoes and jackets).  Make clear if you will issue the clothing or expect them to claim the cost from you.

   Is enforcing a dress code worth the effort?

   Strict dress codes can affect morale. However, it is important to weigh up the need for a uniform or a dress code against allowing employees to wear what they are comfortable in. Employees can see a relaxed attitude to dress in the workplace as a perk of the job.  If you need any support with this tricky issue, please contact me.