Latest News

National Minimum Wage Rates 2024 (UK)

22/11/2023 – From April 2024 NMW rates will increased again, and the main rate will be expanded to 21 and 22 year olds – our article covers all of the increases and the increase in the accommodation offset.

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HR & Employment law update for employers

14/11/23 – In our latest briefing we look at what the Labour party, many believe are a government in waiting, will mean for the employment and employee relations landscape, with articles covering fair pay agreements, the abolition of the ‘2 year rule’ and a summary of their green paper on employment rights. We’ll also cover an often asked question from SME employers, whether to spend hard earned cash on enhancing employee benefits & we’ll wash up with a dismissal over a coffee and a sandwich – the importance of honesty in the employment relationship. 

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National Minimum Wage Rates 2024 (UK)

22/11/2023 – From April 2024 NMW rates will increased again, and the main rate will be expanded to 21 and 22 year olds – our article covers all of the increases and the increase in the accommodation offset.

Read More

HR & Employment law update for employers

14/11/23 – In our latest briefing we look at what the Labour party, many believe are a government in waiting, will mean for the employment and employee relations landscape, with articles covering fair pay agreements, the abolition of the ‘2 year rule’ and a summary of their green paper on employment rights. We’ll also cover an often asked question from SME employers, whether to spend hard earned cash on enhancing employee benefits & we’ll wash up with a dismissal over a coffee and a sandwich – the importance of honesty in the employment relationship. 

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Labour to scrap ‘2 year rule’ for unfair dismissal

19/10/2023 – Currently only employees have a right to bring an unfair dismissal claim, and then only once they have clocked up 2 continuous years of service. Under their New Deal for Working People, Labour have said that they will scrap the qualifying period altogether – what could this mean for employers?

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Could you be accidentally employing an illegal worker?

10/10/2023 – Current fines (max £15K for first offenders) will increase in 2024 to a maximum of £45K for the worst of first offenders and £60K for repeat offenders – and that is per illegal worker. Our sister site’s article covers the topic in more detail (link in this article)

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£64,000 award for menopause discrimination

15/09/2023 – An employment tribunal awarded £64K to a Direct Line employee who, it judged, had been the victim of discrimination on grounds of her disability, which arose from the menopause. The case highlighted the critical importance of obtaining and listening to professional HR advice when dealing with dismissals. We look at what the employer did wrong…..

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Care Home Dismissal of Manager Costs £100K

10/08/2023 – Over the weekend the Daily Telegraph reported on a recent tribunal case involving a £100K award against a care home. The case highlighted the critical importance of obtaining and listening to professional HR advice when dealing with dismissals. We look at what the employer did wrong…..

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Sexual harassment and McDonalds

20/07/23 – Sexual harassment in the workplace is generally committed by older more experienced men on younger female staff. Following the BBC’s investigation into McDonalds, we look at why the MCDonalds attempts to prevent sexual harassment may not have worked, and what employers can learn.

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Planning to make redundancies?

18/07/2023 – Redundancies must be carried out under a fair consultation procedure. myHRdept’s short article for employers looks at the key stages of the redundancy process.

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myHRdept Employment Law & HR Update June 2023

17/06/2023 – June 2023 employment law & HR video update from myHRdept is here, with case law updates including latest news on new employment legislation running through parliament and this month’s focus for you due diligence training, bullying…..

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Dealing with workplace bullying

06/06/23 – Workplace bullying poses a significant threat to employee well-being, organisational culture, and overall productivity. In this article, we will look at workplace bullying, its manifestations, impacts, and we’ll consider how to prevent it.

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What does AI mean for HR and L&D?

11/05/2023 – A great HR or L&D platform can engage your employees, save you time and money. Are you using the right systems for your business? Read on for Amy Mellor’s analysis of 5 key technology trends in 2023 for HR and L&D

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HR update from HR Ops Director Jessica Whelan

10/05/2023 – HR update from HR Ops Director Jessica Whelan – I thought I would take a minute to look at common recent HR issues being raised by our clients, and recently we’re seeing increasing enquiries around absence and redundancy management.

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myHRdept’s entrepreneurs

26/04/2023 – each month we’ll profile one of our fantastic entrepreneur contacts, this month its founder and owner of Chobham Adventure Farm Bean Chapman.

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myHRdept Employment Law & HR Update April 2023

17/04/2023 – April 2023 employment law & HR video update from myHRdept is here, with case law updates including vicarious liability and protected characteristics, appraisals and how to make them better, and myHRdept April training offer…..

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Vicarious liability (and how to avoid it)

11/04/2023 – How can employers protect themselves from vicarious liability claims? Our article covers practical steps for employers & support available, and urges employers to develop a vicarious liability strategy.

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What’s wrong with our appraisal?

07/04/2023 – With some exceptions, jobs in the modern economy are more agile now, and an annual cycle of setting and reviewing objectives is rarely seen as effective. myHRdept’s article looks at trends, takes a look at what could be assessed and considers essential complementary processes.

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Dismissing employee with protected characteristic

05/04/2023 – If it’s reasonable to conclude a protected characteristic isn’t linked to misconduct, employers may discount the PC for disciplinary purpose – here an employee with PCs was fairly dismissed following a meltdown at work – what can employers learn from this case?

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National Minimum Wage Rates 2023 (UK)

03/04/2023 – From 1st April 2023 NMW rates increased again, and the over 23 rate is now £10.42 per hour, a nearly 10% increase on the 2022 rate. Our article contains all the applicable rates from 2023 including the new accommodation offset rate & other statutory pay increases for SSP and family leave.

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myHRdept Employment Law & HR Update March 2023

09/03/2023 – March 2023 employment law & HR video update from myHRdept is here, covering case law (and what employers can learn), HR processes and of course the new national minimum wage and statutory rates coming into force in April.

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The importance of new employee ‘onboarding’

08/03/2023 – Poor onboarding contributes to early leavers – a good onboarding process should start from the moment the job offer is made. Our article looks at the issue of ‘onboarding’ and the support we can provide to employers seeking to improve their own onboarding processes.

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National Minimum Wage Rates 2023 (UK)

03/04/2023 – From 1st April 2023 NMW rates will increase again, and the over 23 rate will be £10.42 per hour, a nearly 10% increase on the 2022 rate. Our article contains all the applicable rates from 2023 including the new accommodation offset rate & other statutory pay increases for SSP and family leave.

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Dismissal procedurally unfair

07/03/2023 – Even if you have a potentially fair reason for dismissal, it’s important to ensure the process followed is robust and objective, a lesson demonstrated in Webb Vs London Underground. What went wrong, and what can other employers learn from LU’s mistakes?

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myHRdept’s entrepreneurs

07/02/2023 – Each month we’ll profile one of our fantastic entrepreneur clients, this month its Rob Howard of Accurise. Rob shares his thoughts on the highs and lows of his career, and gives some sage advice for would-be entrepreneurs.

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Is this the end of trade unions in the UK?

24/01/2023 – 2022 was a mammoth year for strike action compared to 2016, but not a patch on 1979, when 41 million days were lost to trade union strikes, but in the 1980s new anti-union laws contributed to a slide in trade union membership – are we seeing history repeat itself?

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Absence Management Masterclass

The myHRdept Absence Management Masterclass is for developing and experienced people managers who would like to improve their knowledge of managing absence and attendance in the workplace. Understand

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Discrimination and Harassment Training

Discrimination and Harassment training is for all employees and managers, covering the essential knowledge needed to help your employees understand, recognise and prevent discrimination and harassment in the

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People Management Training

The myHRdept People Management Training Certificate is for new and developing people managers, prioritising the fundamental knowledge and skills that will be needed when managing a team. LEGAL FOCUS:

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UK Employment law 2023

21/12/2023 – Our article looks back on 2022, reflecting on a turbulent year for the UK’s employment market. We take a look forward to changes we might expect next year for HR & employment law.

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National Minimum Wage Rates 2023 (UK)

19/12/22 – From 1st April 2023 NMW rates will increase again, and the over 23 rate will be £10.42 per hour, a nearly 10% increase on the 2022 rate. Our article contains all the applicable rates from 2023 including the new accommodation offset rate & other statutory pay increases for SSP and family leave.

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Bad behaviour at the staff party. Ho Ho Ho!

29/11/2022 – It may not seem like it, but it is the season to be jolly. The trouble is that for employers at least, the Christmas party comes with worries that someone, somewhere….and there’s always one….is going to cause a problem.

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Preparing for recession & redundancies

17/10/23 – What should organisations be doing to prepare for a recession & possible recession-related redundancies? Based on our 20-years of HR and payroll outsourcing, our article gives our top tips for leaders, and is an essential read for those who may have to plan for redundancies.

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Right to work checks from 1st October

23 Sep 2022 – From 1st October 2022 employers will need to make physical checks of right to work documents, and should keep copies of the checks made in order to make out their due diligence defence.

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HR development workshop 5th October 0930 – 1230

Our HR development workshop is intended for practicing HR professionals and other people managers whose roles have a substantial HR remit – the workshop will take place in Maidenhead on 5th Oct 2022 and we are inviting a limited number of external HR guests to attend.

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An Employer’s Guide to Millennials

15/08/2022 – Millennials will soon make up 75% of the workforce, and yet many older employers struggle to understand them. Our article, written by one of our own Millennials & Head of L&D Amy Mellor, gives an entirely new perspective & is an essential read for employers.

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Can employers enforce a compulsory retirement clause?

26/07/22 – Whether or not employers can really enforce a compulsory retirement clause is a question we’re often asked. We have helped draft retirement clauses for employers, even though the general situation in the UK (since the introduction of age discrimination laws) is that it is difficult to objectively justify a particular retirement age.

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Sexual harassment at work – it’s closer to home than I thought

05/05/2022 – Preventing sexual harassment at work – how can employers make sure that it isn’t happening in their own back yards?  The answer is to raise awareness of sexual harassment and in particular its most common manifestations. At the same time we should encourage employees to report incidents and train managers in how handle both low level and more serious sexual harassment allegations.

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Why can’t we do a ‘P&O’?

07/04/2022 – HR processes are a pain in the backside, ask any business owner, and that’s exactly what they’ll say, except they’d probably be a bit ruder. So why aren’t we all more like P&O ferries, happy to toss aside employment laws and HR processes?

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April 2022 employment law changes

03/04/2022 – April 2022 sees changes to UK employment laws with increases in minimum wage, statutory payments and the redundancy pay cap, in addition to the end of the IR35 ‘grace period’. We’re offering a free employment law compliance checklist, and a free 20 minute HR consultation for new customers.

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National Minimum Wage Rates 2023 (UK)

19/12/22 – From 1st April 2023 NMW rates will increase again, and the over 23 rate will be £10.42 per hour, a nearly 10% increase on the 2022 rate. Our article contains all the applicable rates from 2023 including the new accommodation offset rate & other statutory pay increases for SSP and family leave.

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P&O action not ‘fire and rehire’. It’s just ‘fire’

18/03/2022 – The early press (led by Downing Street’s statements) misbranded this as P&O using ‘fire and rehire’, but this was wrong, I saw no intention of rehiring in P&O’s 4 minute video announcement.  In sacking 800 employees with neither notice, nor consultation, the Company has broken pretty much every rule in the employment law book.

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Employee retention – how is it really done?

16/02/2022 – With a reported 1.3m vacancies in the UK, it’s certainly a candidate’s market, and employers are reporting high levels of turnover and significant wage inflation. But is it really possible to proactively retain employees in a jobs market like this one? myHRdept looks at the problem, and possible solutions.

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myHRdept is 20 years old today!

14/02/2022 – myHRdept has been providing outsourced HR services to SME organisations for 20 years. These days our team also supports the in-house HR teams of larger organisations, including some global businesses.

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‘Return to the office’ mandate from No 10

26/01/2022 – Many companies have already switched to hybrid working, and home working has become mainstream, rather than the preserve of the few, as was the case prior to the pandemic. Some industries and sectors will do well from this economic shift – the delivery sector, housing and construction and their respective suppliers, as people adapt homes and shopping patterns to suit their new working lives.

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Employment tribunal claims taking nearly a year to reach hearings

20/01/2022 – The average time for an employment tribunal claim to make its way from the initial form (ET1) to an actual hearing is, currently, 335 days. Add on to that the time it takes a claimant to actually submit the claim form (which can be up to 6 months from the incident in dispute) and that’s the best part of a year and a half.

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DPD drivers not workers or employees

07/01/2022 – Shortly before the Christmas break the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled that DPD driver franchisees were neither workers nor employees, and therefore not entitled to the rights bestowed upon either category.

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Fire and rehire – why all the bad press? 

21/12/2021 – ‘Fire and rehire’ has become a well-known phrase thanks to extensive media coverage. The practice, under which employers terminate the contracts of employees and then rehire them, usually on different terms, is so widespread that ACAS felt it necessary to publish an employer’s guide.

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2022 Statutory pay rates announced

16/12/2021 – The new statutory pay rates, applicable from 11th April 2022, are currently awaiting parliamentary approval (but are unlikely to change). Statutory national minimum and living wage increases have already been announced and were covered in our earlier article.

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Disability in employment, recent cases  

19/11/2021 – A disability is a long term physical or mental impairment which has a substantial impact on a person’s ability to do normal day to day things. This is (more or less) the definition contained within the Equality Act 2010, which enshrines discrimination law. Over the years case law has helped us to understand what is likely to constitute a disability, and what isn’t. ‘Long term

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National Minimum Wage Rates 2022 (UK)

28/10/2021 – From 1st April 2022 NMW rates will increase again, and the over 23 rate will be £9.50 per hour, up from £8.91 in 2021. Our article contains all the applicable rates from 2022 including the new accommodation offset rate.

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More rights for employees – carer’s leave

01/10/2021 – The new right, to up to a week’s unpaid carer’s leave, will apply to any employee seeking to care for a qualifying person, and will be introduced when parliamentary time allows. myHRdept will be working with clients to establish their preferred approach to the new statutory right.

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Furlough scheme ends today (30th September 2021)

30/09/2021 – What’s benefited 11.4m people, cost £70 billion, is responsible for tax and NI rises and ends today? Yes, the furlough scheme, which undoubtedly prevented hundreds of thousands, possibly millions of pandemic-related job losses. Yet 1 million remain (until tomorrow) on furlough leave and many sectors, particularly those related to the travel industry, are still struggling and will for a while yet.

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1m vacancies, 1.5m on furlough….

15/09/2021 – We have a perfect storm in the labour market & the return of inflation and high taxation – the very real potential to return the boom and bust economic conditions of decades past.

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9 out of 10 employees admitted to drinking alcohol while working from home.

03/09/2021 – HR publication Personnel Today reported that 9 out of 10 employees questioned admitted to drinking alcohol while working from home, and the OECD reported increased alcohol receipts across many countries including the UK. A UN report found that drugs use increased 400% between 2017 and 2020, leading many to conclude that the number of employees still under the influence of something after a night out, or indeed a night in, must be rising.

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Rishi’s ‘return to the office’ campaign thwarted by his own department

02/09/2021 – With the government unable to rely on its staff to lead a return to the workplace, it seems unlikely that private sector bosses will have much scope to follow Rishi’s desire to return to the office, other than on a voluntary basis for those staff who prefer not to work at home. In the meantime with almost all of myHRdept’s clients reporting their intention to stick with a 3:2 or a 2:3 model in order to avoid losing staff to more flexible employers, it seems that hybrid working is not just for now, it is forever.

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Menopause employment tribunal cases rising

18/08/2021 – Tribunal cases are great at pulling in the headlines, but considering 70% of working women will undergo menopause its something of a mystery why we’ve not been talking about it more widely. If the reports that 1 in 4 women experiencing symptoms are considering a change in employment, shouldn’t we be more engaged with the topic, and shouldn’t we be looking at ways to support women undergoing menopause to make sure they don’t leave? 

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Hybrid working & flexible working requests

11/08/2020 – It seems that new into our vocabulary is the ‘3:2 diet’ and the ‘2:3 diet’, which refer to days per week in the office and at home – A recent YouGov poll suggests that only a fifth of employers will seek to return workers full time to the office, and a plethora of household-named businesses have declared their own hybrid working arrangements …..

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Flexible apprenticeships – another white elephant?

09/08/2021 – The government, following an extensive consultation, intends to legislate to create flexible apprenticeship, under which we will see the creation of flexi-job apprenticeship agencies. Will this lead to a popular new form of apprenticeship contract, or will it be another white elephant? Time will tell whether the £7m scheme will prove to be a success.

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Minimum Wage Breaches – 191 firms named and shamed

07/08/2021 – 191 firms have been ‘named and shamed’ by the government’s Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) department for minimum wage breaches, although that might seem a little unfair to some whose breaches were technical omissions rather than deliberate acts of employee denial……

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England due to reopen on 19 July, while millions remain furloughed

06/07/2021. This month the state’s contribution to a furloughed workers wages drops to 70% to a cap of £2,187.50 for the month, with employers picking up 10% (up to £312.50) plus the NI and minimum pension contributions. In August and September the government contribution will be 60% to a cap of £1,875 for each month, with employers picking up 20% (or up to £625.) 30th September will be the final day of the scheme, and let’s hope we never have to see another one.

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Is flexible working set to become the default? 

26/06/2021. If enacted, changes changes to flexible working regulations are likely to allow employees to lodge a flexible working request on day 1 of their employment. There is some suggestion that the default position would be that flexible working should be permitted, with the onus moving away from the employee, who currently has to justify in their request why flexible working will work, onto the employer, who would have to show at the outset their objective reasons for why flexible working would not work.

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Employment tribunal cases reduce for Q1, & covid judgements roll in

First quarter statistics show a 13% decrease in single claims (9,100) versus 2020, however, the overall trend in the last few quarters is still up, probably due covid-related unemployment and changes to working conditions. The tribunal system is currently sat on 44,000 cases, an eleven year high. With the furlough scheme ending in September, we expect a further peak.

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23/03/2021 – IR35 – Off Payroll Working. New rules from April will extend IR35 to the private sector, meaning that all contractors who provide services to a client

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Covid Vaccination Policy

09/03/2021. Covid Vaccination Policy. In an earlier article (Link: can an employer force an employee to be vaccinated) we suggested that employers will be able to encourage employees

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04/03/2021 – Furlough scheme to continue until end September In yesterday’s budget the Chancellor announced the extension of the furlough scheme which will now continue in its current

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Furlough scheme extended

1st November – CJRS to be extended until December Yesterday the government announced that, in tandem with a new period of lockdown from Thursday 4th November, the old

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Back home you go….

22nd Sep 20: Return to homeworking imminent…. Boris Johnson is expected this afternoon to encourage employers to continue with home working arrangements in an effort to stem the

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Covid safe workplace

28/07/2020 Guidance for employers – Covid safe workplaces To bring workers back to work employers must ensure that the workplace is Covid safe. Employers must carry out a

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We haven’t really had time to write much in the way of insightful content this week because we’ve been so busy with redundancy programmes, but we thought we’d

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How to unfurlough staff

23rd April 2020 – How to unfurlough staff It may seem premature to think about unfurloughing staff, but some of our clients are already transforming – pubs, breweries

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Furlough template letters

25th March 2020 We have had multiple requests for furlough template letters and redundancy template letters since publishing our earlier articles on furloughing staff and other options to

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New Parental Bereavement Leave

Bereavement leave will be introduced in 2020, the government has now announced, but employers should establish a suitable policy in 2019. Our article covers the detail. As the

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And there’s more..

4th May 2007 With so many pressures and priorities on small businesses is it any wonder that the daunting, and lets face it, apparantly dull and unnecessary task

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Unauthorised breaks?

Since our publishing the article below the Court of Appeal has overturned the Employment Appeal Tribunal’s decision in this case, ruling that although the final warning given to

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is the government

10th January 2014 The possibility of extreme weather conditions disrupting business is often a concern at this time of year, but with floods across the UK and snow

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recruitment

21st January 2014 You may recall our October article outlining Government plans to cap auto enrolment pension charges, and the subsequent November story concerning the resulting industry debate. Now the story develops

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New hire gone wrong?

7th February 2014 With the best recruitment practices in the world, mistakes do happen inside and outside of the probation period. Do we persevere with an unsuitable person, run the

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Indian boss beaten to death

And you think you’ve got employee relations problems – CEO killed over working hours 17th June 2014 Fed up of whinging employees complaining about their wages? Think yourself

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Can you Adam and Eve it?

Can you Adam and Eve it!?…Victims of accent bias need legal protection 9th July 2014 This could well be the latest unrecognised discrimination: Geordies, Liverpudlians and Cockneys are

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Employment high

21st July 2014 The employment rate has hit a record high at 73.1 per cent in the three months to May, according to official figures. The Office for

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Half of Britons feel regret

25th July 2014 A recent study commissioned by the financial technology company Kalixa, revealed that half of Britons’ are so unhappy at work that they believe their career

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Daylight Savings

Better designed offices could boost both physical and mental health of workers. 11th August 2014 An early night after a hot bath, curling up with a good book

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Power of the pension

15th September 2014 More low-income workers are now putting enough away in savings for their retirement than in 2012 – a vindication of the government’s auto-enrolment plan to

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can employees be forced

24th October 2014 A recent case brought to Tribunal stems from an alleged simple act of omission. A Muslim employee claims she was not invited to the Company’s

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