Two colleagues talking In last week’s blog we explored the topic of long term sick and how to approach conversations with employees to ensure you get the right balance between management and support, click here to read, https://www.bdhr.co.uk/post/how-to-support-employees-on-long-term-sick-leave . What about when employees have the odd day here and there?  Read on for how to manage those employees who have lots of short term absence. Short term absence can be more disruptive than long term absence, at least when an employee is signed off for a long period you know the rough timescales and can plan accordingly. However, the odd day or couple of days here and there is more disruptive, whilst everyone is ill from time to time what about those employees who seem to need a few days off on a regular basis?  If you’re on top of your people MI and tracking absence, you will normally notice a pattern.  The absence can take be every few weeks or every couple of months, it may be on similar days, always a Monday for example.  There is also generally a theme around the type of absence, stomach issues, migraines or cold / flu symptoms. This type of absence is difficult in small teams and for small businesses because it cannot be planned for, it is known as on the day absence.  If the work still needs to be done, that means someone else has to pick it up on top of their workload. On the face of it the odd day here and there might not seem like a problem, however, the cost can soon add up and it is estimated that sickness absence costs business £100 billion per year in the UK.  With Government plans to pay SSP from day one (currently there is a 3 day waiting period), this cost is likely to rise. So, what can you? Firstly, employees should be phoning in sick, not texting or getting someone else to call (unless they are unable to call themselves).  They should speak to their line manager within 30 minutes of their start time, you need to understand what the sickness is, when they think they may return and if there are any urgent tasks which need picking up in their absence. When they return to work, carry out a return to work (RTW) interview.  This should be done as soon as they come back into the workplace, including remote working, even if it has only been one days absence.  You should be making sure they are well enough to return to work, asking about the symptoms, whether they sought medical advice, whether it is an ongoing issue and whether they have been prescribed any medication.  You should do this after EVERY single incident of absence. You may be reading this thinking that it seems like overkill, after all they were off with a headache!  This may be the fifth occasion of absence in a three month period and it may always be with a headache.  Having the information from these RTW interviews is vital as you can refer back to the notes.  First and foremost you need to check on the welfare of your employees.  If they are constantly off with headaches, you can ask whether they have been to the optician?  Do they need glasses?  Should they go to their GP and seek medical advice if they haven’t already?  You need to understand whether this is an ongoing issue which may be considered a disability and whether you need to put anything in place to support them. Your employees also have a responsibility to their health and to ensure that they are taking steps to manage their absence so they can attend work. What are they doing to make sure they are well enough to work?   These meetings are your opportunity to discuss any patterns you may have noticed.  For example, if they seem to be off on a Monday with headaches on a regular basis, what are they doing at weekends?  Are they out a lot and having late nights, causing them to feel less than energised on a Monday morning.  Now of course, it is likely that your employees will let their hair down on the weekend, this is their personal time off and they can do what they like.  However, they also have a contract of employment and as such a responsibility to make sure they show up for work on Monday morning and you need to be able to have that conversation.  If you have repeatedly followed up after the absences, you will have gathered the information to be able to sit down and discuss it.  This conversation needs to be factual, exploratory and non-emotional.  It is not about jumping to conclusions instead have a conversation about your concerns and a discussion so to how to resolve the issues moving forward. Most absence is genuine, and most employees only have the odd day off when they genuinely need it.  This is about giving you the tools to lessen the cost and impact to your business.  If you understand why your employee is off on a regular basis you may be able to take steps to mitigate it.  They may have an underlying condition which means they will need time off.  Could you allow them to work from home on these days?  Could you look at their working pattern to see if an adjustment can be made to support them.  Managing absence is about taking proactive steps to support your employees, manage workloads and manage the impact to your business and minimise the cost.  Keep track of absence and talk to your employees, these steps will also mean you have consistent approach in your business.  Need help contact me at bev@bdhr.co.uk .

Signed off work When you’re a small business owner managing any type of absence can be a challenge, you are having to juggle resources to cover employee workloads.  Of course planned absence can be managed in advance, annual leave, as an example, is known absence and you can mandate that only a certain number of employees can be off at any given time.  This allows you to plan for busy periods and ensure that you have cover across teams. Sickness absence however, is a different matter.  You have no way of knowing when an employee might be unwell, the work still needs to be done and this can result in higher workloads for the rest of the team or costly overtime.  We all get sick from time to time, yearly flu viruses doing the rounds, stomach bugs, and of course you don’t want employees to come to work spreading their germs to the rest of the team.  Short term sick is to be expected and if you have an employee who takes a lot of short-term absences, then make sure you manage that effectively and are having the appropriate conversations.  Long term sick however, can be more difficult to deal with.  So how should you approach an employee who is off on long terms sick?  This does depend on the circumstances, flexibility is key as opposed to a one size fits all.  There are some key things to bear in mind.  Firstly, long term sick is defined as a period of sickness absence of 4 weeks or more.  Normally if someone requires this length of time off work it will be because of a serious illness.  Perhaps they have had to have surgery and need to recover or have been diagnosed with an ongoing  illness.  This can be a physical illness such as cancer or mental illness, such as depression or anxiety.  Regardless of whether it is a physical or mental illness your approach to supporting your employee should be the same. Tribunals There have been a couple of cases at tribunal to note recently, where the claimant won an unfair dismissal claim.  The first was concerning a cleaner who worked for the NHS, although she had 400 days of absence in 4 years the tribunal found that she had been unfairly dismissed.  In a second case the tribunal ruled that an employee had been harassed by her employer when she was on long term sick. Now of course you are within your rights to contact an employee when they are on long term sick, they are still employed and of course you need to be able to understand how they are and how you can support a return to work.  In the case above the claimant had an operation and it was clear that there would be a recovery period, in this instance the best approach is to agree with your employee when you will contact them.  For example you will want to know that the operation went well and to that end you may agree that a family member will contact the line manger, following the operation to let you know how they are.  If they have been signed off, as was the case in the this instance for 4 weeks, then arrange to contact them towards the end of that period for an update.  This call will be exploratory to find out how they are, whether they are well enough to return to work and if they need any adjustments.  If they are signed off work for a further period, again agree when to contact them. In both cases cited above it was deemed that the claimants were considered disabled as the nature of the illness, had a substantial, long term, negative effect on the claimant’s life.  When this is the case, it is imperative you get a full understanding of the employees illness and what, if any, reasonable adjustments you can make. You will need to have structured conversations with the employee to understand the impact of the illness, what their doctor has advised and what the ongoing symptoms will be.  If necessary and if your employee agrees, ask to obtain a doctors report to understand more.  You can also engage the services of occupational health practitioner who can provide an independent report and recommendations.  Remember you don’t have to implement any adjustments, but you should always consider them. You should make sure you record and follow up in writing with your employee. If you have committed to making any adjustments, do so within a specified timeframe.  Make sure you monitor these adjustments and how well they are working.  When an employee has been off for a long period a phased return is advisable, this allows them to return part time and gradually increase their hours as they feel better.  Agree this approach and meet regularly to review and find out how they are feeling. What if they can’t return?  Sometimes an employee may not, despite your best efforts, be able to return to work.  If you have exhausted all avenues, you may dismiss on the grounds of capability.  This should be a last resort, and you should follow your capability procedure and have worked with your employee to try and facilitate a return to work.   Get advice from an HR professional, especially where your employee would be deemed disabled.  Make sure you do everything in your power to explore all options to support a return to work. Work with your employee to understand how they are feeling, agree how and when you will contact them, giving them enough time to recuperate. Remember there is no cap on awards given if it is found that an employee has been discriminated against.  Need more advice contact me at bev@bdhr.co.uk .

Leading a team You take that leap to start a business and before you know where you are you need to recruit.  Its an exciting time, except suddenly you have employees and that comes with a raft of legislation and responsibilities.  You are passionate about your business, its your baby and your livelihood, your brand new employees probably won’t feel as excited and committed about your business as you do and that’s ok.  However, you do need to manage them and make sure that they add value to your business and that you have a good working culture.  If you find yourself in a position of management with no experience, you can suddenly find yourself faced with several challenges, so what can you do? Training new staff. You’ve found the perfect recruit, and they’ve joined your business, so far so good.  Except now you need them to do the job you’re paying them to do.  It sounds easy, right?  And in theory it is, however, you need to be clear on what you expect them to do, so they can be clear on what you expect them to do. Step 1 – write a clear job description.  Now a lot of managers struggle to write job descriptions, it sounds easy but knowing in your head what you want them to do and then writing it down can be harder than it sounds.  In the first instance just write a list of tasks, it doesn’t have to be perfect to start off with and you can refine it as you go.  It also doesn’t need to be exhaustive, think about the core tasks and skills, it should be clear bullet points. Step 2 – Training them, you should know how to do the job and be able to write down each step.  Go through the steps by completing the task yourself to make sure you haven’t missed anything out.  That way when you’re training them, they will have a guide to help them and to refer back to.  The art of delegation. Many business owners struggle to delegate and there are several reasons for this.  Firstly, as a business owner you are used to doing everything yourself. Secondly, it can be hard to trust anyone else to do it, particularly if you’ve had things go wrong in the past.  Passing on responsibility especially if it involves decision making, can feel risky.  Having thing written down, see above, will help to be clear on levels of responsibility and accountability.  Make sure your employee knows what they can and can’t do, schedule regular catch’s up so you are aware of how they are getting on and what they are struggling with.  When they first start you may need to catch up for half an hour each morning, as they settle in you can move to weekly check in’s and then monthly. If you don’t learn to delegate, you will be paying someone and still doing the tasks yourself, you will risk burnout and likely hinder your business growth.  If everything goes to you, it will bottleneck and nothing will get done. Feedback! Many business owners avoid feedback, not the good kind -that’s easy. Many people struggle with conversations involving negative feedback, you may worry that the feedback will cause a bad atmosphere, or that they’ll leave.  Avoiding giving the feedback means that the issue will persist and how can they learn if you don’t give feedback.  Tackle feedback in a constructive way, give examples and let them know what they need to do instead.  You’ve probably heard of a shit sandwich, give two bits of feedback with the bad bit in between.  I am not a fan of this, people will only hear the bad feedback and any good comments will be lost.  It is much better to sit them down,  discuss the negative feedback and make a plan to fix it.  Give good feedback as it happens so they know when they are doing the right thing. Becoming a leader Quite often when people find themselves in a management position they struggle to move from a hands-on worker to a more strategic role.  In part this often why owners struggle to delegate, we all like to do what we know and what we feel comfortable with.  Moving outside our comfort zone can be scary.  Your employees will look to you for guidance and support, you will need to set clear expectations.  Often good management is about coaching employees, it is easy to give your team the answers however, if you can adopt a coaching style and encourage them to find the answers themselves, they will learn more.  This does take more time in the first instance, but you will reap the rewards later down the line. Here are some tips, when they come to you with a problem don’t just give them the answer, ask them what they think they should do.  If it’s what you would do, great, off they go.  If not ask them why they think that’s the answer, probe as to other solutions and gently lead them to the answer you want.  You might need to take this approach a few times and yes it is quicker just to tell them but they will never learn if you do. Difficult conversations. I have written a blog about this see here https://www.bdhr.co.uk/post/why-you-need-to-be-brave-and-have-difficult-conversations This is similar to feedback but is more focussed around dealing with conflict or performance issues.  You will need to approach this in a structured and formal way.  Feedback by comparison can be less formal.  You will have to have the conversation at some point and the earlier you do it the better and easier it will be.  Letting the little things slide can create a bad culture, one of perceived unfairness or lack of structure.  This will lead to bigger issues, so nip it in the bud. HR pro tip, when you are having formal conversations with employees make sure you follow up in written communication, by email or letter.  If you don’t write it down then to all intents and purposes it never happened, you may need to refer back if the behaviour doesn’t improve.  Keep a record! Structure your business for success. Working with many of my clients, I tend to see that what happens is, as the business grows, the structure doesn’t change.  Many business owners end up with all the employees reporting into to them.  If you don’t have many employees that might not be a big issue, however, it does mean that you will end up getting involved in the day-to-day employee issues.  If you are scaling your business, then you will need to be focussed on growth and getting involved in the minutiae of everyday issues will be distracting and take you away from what you should be doing.  I am not advocating having an elaborate structure but think about one layer between you and the majority of the team.  That way  you just get an overview of the issues or are only involved in the important decisions.  Having a formal structure in place will also provide opportunities for growth and development for your employees, this can support with retention and your growth plans. Growing a business and stepping up can be a challenge.  For support with this and to make sure you have the foundations in place contact me at bev@bdhr.co.uk , I have several cost effective packages which you can choose from to provide the support you need saving you time and setting you up for success.

Interview As a small business owner recruiting the “right” person can feel like a minefield.  In small teams getting it wrong can cause more problems than just recruiting in the first place.  One of my favourite quotes, famously attributed to Steve Jobs is “Its better to have a hole in the organization than an asshole”.  In other words having no one doing a job is better than having the wrong person doing the job.  We’ve all been there, you interview someone, think you have found the one and then they join and its all downhill from there. Prior to becoming an HR professional, I started my career in recruitment and my first role in an HR department was as a resourcing advisor.  I thought I was pretty good at recruitment, then fast forward a few years and I recruited a new member of my team and got it spectacularly wrong.  Resulting in me having to have a conversation, several weeks later and that person leaving.  The only saving grace was that they had been made redundant from their previous role and hadn’t left a job to join my team.  Still, it was a horrible experience and caused a lot of disruption in my team even in that short period of time.  So where did it wrong? Well to be honest I didn’t have a clear job description and I tried to create two different roles in one.  I wanted someone to pick up recruitment, which was busy but not busy enough to justify a full time role, plus the team didn’t want to do the recruitment and constantly complained about it.  I also wanted someone to look at Learning and Development, it wasn’t a big enough role for a seasoned L&D professional and I didn’t have the budget for one.  So, I ended up with this hybrid confusing role which wasn’t clear to anyone. The other issue was that the new recruit, turned up late, took a longer lunch hour and left early.  As I looked after multiple sites, I heard all this from unhappy team members and despite having a conversation the behaviour didn’t improve hence the swift exit.  I wasn’t clear on what skills set I was looking for, I was desperate to recruit and so I rushed the process.  A recipe for disaster, so how can you find the perfect recruit. The perfect recruit! Well firstly, to manage your expectations there is no such thing, having a clear job description is the first step. ✅Identify key responsibilities – focus on what they will actually be doing. ✅Differentiate between must-have vs nice to have skills – don’t throw everything at the job advertisement and don’t expect to find someone who ticks all the boxes. ✅Consider your company culture – will they fit into your team’s way of working? Also, consider hiring for potential and not just experience, if your company is growing you may want someone who can adapt and take on new challenges. Attract the right candidates. Smaller businesses will need to be more strategic than larger businesses when recruiting.  ✅Use targeted job boards – Indeed is a popular platform as is LinkedIn. ✅Leverage social media – can you use Facebook and Instagram? ✅Encourage employee referrals – your current team (hopefully), like working for you and may know great people they would be happy to recommend. Don’t try to compete with larger companies, think about the things you can offer to attract talent, as such short commute, flexible working, opportunities to develop, part of a small but growing team. Streamline the selection process. ✅Pre-screen CV’s effectively – many job boards allow you to include qualifying questions.  Look for experience not just qualifications unless they are absolutely essential to the job. ✅Use a structured interview process – this will ensure fairness and easy comparison. ✅Include a practical task – this will give you some insight into how they work. Some interviews may include psychometric testing which can also be useful.  I would also recommend thinking about who will interview, naturally the manager and I would also include someone who has done the job.  Also, remember interviews are a two way process, the candidate is also deciding whether they want to work for you. Create a positive candidate experience . The recruitment process is also an opportunity for you promote your business.  Candidates can give feedback online these days about your business, sites like Glassdoor have a section for candidates to rate the interview process, candidates may also leave comments on your social media pages. ✅ Be responsive – reply to candidates quickly or have an automated response if you are expecting a large number of applicants. ✅Give feedback – if someone has taken the time to come for an interview make sure you provide structured feedback as to why they were unsuccessful. Don’t make the process too long or overcomplicated. Lastly, don’t drag out the interview process.  Two stages, maybe three for more senior roles should be enough.  If a good candidate is actively looking you don’t want to risk losing them because you took too long to make an offer.  Plan dates for interviews, let candidates know what the process is, when they will hear back and dates for the next stage.  If things change keep the candidate up to date, leave them with a good impression of you and your business.  They may not be an employee right now but they may be in the future or they may end up being a customer. Final thoughts Make sure you have the specifics of any offer finalised before you start recruiting so you are clear on your renumeration package.  In addition there are compliance checks such as right to work in the UK and some roles require further probity checks which you need to include in your process.  Whilst you should have a timely recruitment process, getting the right person is the most important element, for them and you. Make sure you get the best recruit for your business, need help with any of the above contact me at bev@bdhr.co.uk to discuss how I can support you, go to www.bdhr.co.uk to get your free recruitment checklist.

HR can help with underperforming employees Performance issues can be a challenge for any business, however, in larger companies there are a team of people so an underperforming employee may go unnoticed.  In a small team the impact will be immediate, missed deadlines, unhappy customers and extra pressure on the rest of the team.  Underperformance can feel like a minefield to navigate, you can’t afford to ignore it, you may not want to lose them and you don’t want to damage morale.  The good news is with the right approach you can turn things around before it becomes a bigger issue, read on to find out how. Firstly, lets look at why it is important to get it right.  This recent story hit the headlines with an employee taking their employer to tribunal for unfair dismissal and winning a substantial award even when it appears there was good reason to dismiss.  An employee working as a social media content producer had only produced 2 pieces of work in 3 months and in addition had made numerous mistakes.  In contrast a colleague, over the same period, produced 73 posts.  The Company in question had noted concerns previously but had failed to address them.  A new manager had put performance improvement plans (PIP) in place, which the employee had failed on 3 occasions leading to dismissal. Although, a brief overview you may be thinking, the dismissal seems reasonable.  It was, the judge in the tribunal stated that there was no prospect of the claimant turning her performance around and that she was aware her job was on the line.  However, they still awarded £22,210.75 in compensation for unfair dismissal.  The reason, they failed to follow their own policy and issue formal warnings after the failure of the PIP’s. There can be several reasons why an employee could be underperforming.  In the case outlined above the employee had a number of personal issues to deal with and this is a common cause of performance issues, our personal lives just don’t stop affecting us when we get to work.  Other causes can be lack of clarity over what is expected, skills gaps and disengagement. So how should you address underperformance?  you need to have a conversation with your employee and find out what the root cause is and this needs to be done as soon as the issues start to become a reoccurring theme.  We all mistakes and of course if it is a one off, in what is generally a good performing employee, then it is likely there is nothing to worry about.   When the same pattern repeats itself and don’t it and hope it will get better by itself.  You will need to prepare for the conversation with the employee, this will be an informal conversation and whilst you may have consulted an HR professional for guidance, at this stage generally there is no need for HR to be involved.  Booked in a time to talk to your employee, book a space where you can have a confidential conversation and reassure them you want to help. A sk them if they are OK, discuss your concerns in a factual non-judgemental manner with examples and ask them how you can help. Once you have established what the issue is, you can then decide how to move forward. If the issue is a personal one then it may be you can put some adjustments in place to support.  These might include reduced hours or more flexible start and finish times, this is dependant on what the issue is.  If it is a lack of clarity so the employee doesn’t understand what it expected, this will require very clear instructions, deadlines and check in points to ensure the tasks are on track and accurate.  There may be skills gaps which will require training, mentoring, or on the job support.  Identify what the gap is and how it can be addressed.  Or your employee may be disengagement, you will need to identify why.   Do they feel undervalued, bored in the job, overwhelmed or some other reason.  Set a clear plan, you will need to be very specific about the improvement you expect to see and when.  If you have identified that adjustments or training are needed, outline when this will happen and what it is.  Make sure you put them in place. You must hold follow up meetings to check in with your employee and monitor progress.  It is a good idea to put PIP’s in place for 3 months, this allows enough time for improvements and for training to be implemented.  You can review and extend as needed or if there is no improvement proceed to formal action. PIP’s are often seen in a negative light and it is assumed that they are put in place in order to dismiss an employee.  Often if issues are left and not tackled, managers can feel frustrated and make assumptions about why an employee is underperforming.  Having a conversation is key to determining the cause and then deciding on the appropriate action.  If you have committed to supporting your employee with training or support, then do it.  Using a PIP should be viewed as a support tool, where both sides have clearly outlined their actions, their accountabilities, timelines and next steps.  Both parties need to work together to make it successful. Lastly, follow your policy!  If you have written down a process, follow it.  When to ask HR for help?  At the start, an HR professional can coach you through the process to ensure that the conversation you have with your employee is a constructive one, they can help you set the PIP to make sure it is fair and realistic.  Need help with an underperforming employee contact me at bev@bdhr.co.uk to book a call to discuss.

Contract of employment As a business owner there is a lot to think about, primarily growing the business and ensuring you have an income.  Maybe you started out as a solopreneur and then your business took off and you need to recruit or maybe you needed employees right from the get go.  Recruitment can be a challenge, costly, time consuming and finding the right candidate but that is for a different blog.  Lets assume you have found the right person for your team, what then? Well, all employees in the UK must have a contract of employment and there are a number of things you must include in that contract as follows: ·       The employers name. ·       The employees name, job title and a description of the work (you may have a separate job description), start date, pay and frequency of pay. ·       Hours and days of work, you should state any patterns of work if they vary and if Sunday working is expected. ·       Holiday entitlement and if this includes bank / public holidays. ·       Location of the work and any additional locations ·       The probation period ·       Whether you are expected to work at different locations ·       Duration of the contract ·       Any other contractual benefits ·       Obligatory training You should also include whether there is continuous service, if for example they have been employed in another role at your company. Other points to consider would be  notice period, there are statutory notice periods which will apply whether you include them or not. Any restrictive covenants you may wish to include depending on the job role, these are to protect your business if an employee leaves and goes to a competitor.  The right to make any deductions from salary, if for example an employee leaves owing money for training, equipment or overpayments. If you would want to place employees on ‘garden leave’ or pay in lieu of notice (PILON), you will also need to include that in the contract. In addition you will hopefully have either a handbook or policy which will outline, sick pay, holiday, flexible working, disciplinary etc. There are some things that you would not want to include in a contract including bonus, sick pay entitlement if you pay occupational sick pay, as anything you include in a contract cannot be taken away or altered without consultation. Not sure how to structure a contract and what to, and what not to include? Contact me at bev@BDHR.co.uk .

Government employment law updates Well, here we are already at the end of January and it has been a busy month for HR.  This new blog series reviews the month, and highlights interesting changes and tribunal rulings. Once again, the return to office (RTO) debate has hit the headlines with a Panorama episode exploring the issue.  A number of high profile employers have mandated that staff must return to the office on a full time basis, these include Boots, Amazon and JP Morgan to name a few.  However, this is at odds with employees who want to embrace flexible working and continue to work from home.  Some employees demanding this full time return have seen an increase in resignations as employees seek to work for employers offering flexibility. In addition with have been accusations of “corporate catfishing” where flexible roles are advertised but not implemented. The panorama episode focussed on several owners of business who cited reasons for working at the office and the belief that employees are more productive.  Face to face interaction has many positive elements to it, it builds more connection and relationships with colleagues.  It can also support with mental health issues, as loneliness as a business risk has been in the news.  If you are at the start of your career or new to a job, being around more experienced colleagues can support learning and onboarding.  Hybrid working has become the compromise for many employers and employees, with ultimately no-one being entirely happy.  Here at BDHR, I suggest talking to your employees, examining the motives for wanting people back in the office and then deciding the best policy.  Some employees want to be in the office, some don’t need to be and can work from home permanently, some like hybrid.  Some jobs simply cannot be done from home.  There isn’t a one size fits all and a discussion to understand what works for both parties will result in more productive and engaged employees. There have been some interesting tribunal decisions this month.  The employee awarded over £22k despite failing 3 informal performance plans and producing very little work.  The employee with over 400 days off sick in 4 years winning her unfair dismissal case, were just two cases hitting the news.  What did they both have in common?  Failure to follow their own policies.  Employers very often find they lose tribunals because of this point.  When you are dealing with employee issues follow your policy. AI continues to be a talking point with more Companies exploring how they can integrate AI into the workplace. From an HR perspective it was reported that 86% of employees believe the AI will provide fairer feedback than their managers (worryingly)!  The use of AI is also being explored in recruitment and decision making.  Whilst AI will undoubtably be implemented, it is essential that human oversight remains in these processes.  Companies will need to consider policies and compliance to ensure AI is effective and fair. The right to neonatal leave will be a day one right from April 6th 2025, the Government announced.  What does this mean, well for parents whose babies require hospitalisation after birth, they will now be entitled to 12 weeks full pay.  This is in addition to any other paid entitlement.  What should you do.  Update your policies now and make sure your payroll teams and managers are aware of the changes.  Further details will be announced nearer the time. There are some statutory pay increases to be aware of from April. National Living wage for over 21’s increases to £12.21 per hour. National Minimum Wage for 18-20 year olds increase to £10 per hour. Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) rises to £118.75 per week. Stricter redundancy rules are also coming into play with a 25% uplift in tribunal awards for employers who fail to comply with collective consultation rules when changing employee terms and conditions. With many changes to employment law on the horizon, employers need to make sure  they stay ahead of regulatory changes.  Need advice contact me at bev@BDHR.co.uk  for a chat and a HR review to ensure you stay compliant and understand the changes.

Two people talking We’ve all been there, you have a member of your team who just cannot seem to get to work on time, or always phones in sick on a Monday or makes the same mistake even though, you know, they know, what they are doing.  So what do you do?  Well in my experience of HR quite often nothing! Until you reach a tipping point, storm into the HR office, have a rant and demand to know what you can do about it. Your helpful HR professional will at that point, shine a light in your eyes and interrogate you as to what you’ve done to address this behaviour.  Ok so they probably won’t shine a light in your eyes but they will want to know what action has been taken.  Sometimes a conversation has taken place however, there hasn’t been any follow up and action set.  The behaviour might have improved for a period of time and then starts again. So what can you do?  Many managers shy away from having difficult conversations because they don’t know how to approach them or they worry about what they can and can’t say.  Your employees have (hopefully) got a contract of employment, this contract should clearly set out what your expectations are.   You should also have a set of comprehensive policies, having clear guidelines will ensure consistency when managing staff. In my experience, most situations could have been avoided if the manager had sat down with their team member and spoken to them the first few times a situation had occurred. For example, John is late for work its ‘only’ 10 minutes, he doesn’t say anything as he walks in and nor do you.  Suddenly, John is always 10 minutes late, still no acknowledgement and no effort to make the time up.  10 minutes doesn’t seem like a lot, but if its happening every day that’s nearly an hour, in addition everyone else is on time and they see John turning up late and, that nothing is being done about it.  This will start to cause underlying resentment and friction.  Now what if everyone is 10 minutes late, how much time and productivity have you lost? Imagine this scenario instead, John is late and he doesn’t say anything you’re a bit annoyed but you let it go, we’re all late sometimes.  Then John is late again, instead of ignoring it, you ask to speak to him.  You explain that you notice he has been late several times and you ask for an explanation, there isn’t one.  You ask how he plans to make the time up and you lay out your expectations that everyone should get to work 10 minutes before they are due to start, so that they are ready to work at the appointed time.  Then you follow it up with an email.  In most cases the behaviour stops, no-one wants to stay later at work and it is clear to them they cannot get away with it. The rest of your team will know the conversation has happened, which means you avoid dissatisfaction and similar behaviour from them. Having the conversation also means that you can find out if there are any issues you don’t know about.  For example, a personal situation which is causing the lateness and which you can help support. This model may help: Balance  – approach the conversation with a balanced mindset Reality  – State facts not emotions. Accountability  – Define responsibilities, who needs to do what. Voice  – Have a two way conversation and make sure you listen Execution – Make sure there are clear next steps. Try this next time you need to have a difficult conversation, be BRAVE and most situations can be resolved.  Need coaching around this contact me at bev@bdhr.co.uk for a free discussion as to how I can help.

Workplace culture everyone's in. Culture what does it mean?  Well if you ask AI it’s this “Workplace culture is the set of values, beliefs, and behaviors that define the work environment of an organization. It's what makes a business unique and impacts how employees interact with each other”.  In essence it is how you and your team behave in the workplace, those accepted behaviours and implied ways of working. To understand the culture of a business you have to understand what is happening beneath the behaviour you see.  When you read about culture there is much discussion around values, company goals being aligned to people’s goals and objectives, people feeling connected to their colleagues, the company and it’s mission.  Of course that is true and I am a strong advocate of employees understanding their purpose at work and how what they do on a day to day basis contributes to the overall success of the business.  Does this definition really explain culture though? Many businesses have values, they talk about them on their website and display them in the workplace but if you stop and ask employees, can they tell you what they are, much less how they live them at work?  Do they believe that senior management display and live these values?  Do they know what the company mission is and more importantly how they help the business achieve it? The values of many companies are pretty similar, with things like trust, integrity, we do what we say etc.  How many times have you had a conversation with someone, in a company somewhere and been told I’ll get back to you at this time and then they don’t? And what about trust as a value, trusting employees to get the job done and then in the next breath demanding a return to work because we don’t trust employees to do their job unless we can see them doing it.  Of course I am generalising and there are great people out there who do call you back and companies who embrace the flexibility of working from home.  The point is though that the values are often incongruent with what actually happens. Now I’m not saying don’t have values, just that if you do, they have to be embedded in your business.  They should be demonstrably lived from the top down, they should be defined by employees not management and they should be reflected in everything you do and from day one for new employees. Culture is a tricky thing and within an organisation there are often subcultures, in one team a manager is flexible about taking time for health appointments trusting their team to get the work done and in another team the manager wants them to make the time up, or take holiday, or be unpaid.  Senior management may enforce working in the office and then work from home themselves.  Send emails after work and expect a response whilst talking about work-life balance.  Some managers may actively manage performance and others don’t. Employees talk and so this inconsistency causes low morale, lack of trust and conflict, after all why should I have to follow the rules when so and so over there doesn’t and gets away with it. All these examples are of the culture which is lived, good practices may be written down but in reality not followed. It is about expectations and consistency across the business, across teams and everyone being treated the same.  If you run a small business often culture is built on those relationships, having clear boundaries and expectations is key because your team will see how you treat them versus a colleague and if its more favourable, this causes a sense of unfairness and disengagement. Having policies, clear communication and a consistent approach will ensure that you create a culture of trust, accountability, sense of purpose and fairness, all of which make for a happy working environment.  To invest in your culture and build a thriving workplace contact me at bev@bdhr.co.uk for a chat as to how I can help.

How can you support in the workplace? World Menopause Day theme was HRT There are roughly 4.4 million women over 50 in the workplace currently and this age group is the fastest growing demographic. The menopause typically affects women betwen the ages of 45-55 and 80% of these women are in work. However, perimenopause can start around 10 years earlier. For many years the menopause was something to feel ashamed of and in addition, with scant information available, women have suffered in silence. In recent years the narrative around menopause has changed, with high profile celebrities hitting the headlines talking about their experiences, symptoms, HRT and putting pressure on the Government and businesses to do more. Women can experience issues which may have a substantial and long term effect on mental and physical health, professionally this is having an impact on their careers with 10% resigning and 14% electing to go part time. Businesses are losing talented women at the peak of their careers. Whilst, the Government has stopped short of making the menopause a protected characteristic under the Equality Act, it believes that sex, disability and age, which are protected, will provide the basis of which an employee could claim discrimination based on suffering with menopausal symptoms. And, in 2023 the UK Government reduced the cost of HRT prescriptions so that there is only one fee per year, which has helped make HRT more affordable for those who need it.  For many HRT is vital in helping managing the symptoms of the menopause. 75% of women will experience symptons to varying degrees, with 1 of 4 of those with debilitating symptoms. So what can you do?  A lot of women will still feel uncomfortable to discuss their symptoms and businesses need to normalise these discussions in the workplace.  Managers should be confident to have discussions without judgement, avoid sterotypes and banter. Take the time to listen, for many women the menopause can be a time of anxiety and fear. There is no 'test' available to definitively diagnose the menopause, no set age as to when it will start and the symptoms are varied and different for everyone. There are over 30 recognised symptoms to date. With 45% of women sayng that the menopause is negatively affecting their worklife, for managers having a conversation is the first step to understanding the issues and then working with your team member to explore what adjustments will help. Questions such as, what are the top 3 or 4 symptoms? What impact are they having on work life? What support can be put in place at work? Are the first steps to opening up discussions. There are lots of resources available, including on the NHS, The Menopause Doctor, Menopause Matters and The British Menopause society.  It is also good practice to have a menopause policy in place, this indicates to employees that as a business you are supportive and help is available. With women saying they want a boss who is aware of the menopause and the symptoms, can you afford not to put support in place for the women in your business.  For help with a menopause policy and manager training, contact me at bev@BDHR.co.uk .

Strong HR foundations =engaged employees Running a business comes with many advantages, that’s why many of us choose to leave the corporate world and take the leap into going it alone.  However, it isn’t just about providing great products and services, if you have scaled up your business and need to employ staff to help you grow and provide skills or support that you don’t have, or no longer have time to do, this comes with a whole new list of things to think about.  Your business is doing well, which is great and now you are suddenly responsible for paying other people.  The fact is though that there is more to employing people than just making sure you can pay them.  As an employer you have a lot of responsibilities and you are now trusting other people with your customer service, sales, supplier management, finances, insert whatever task required.  And you also need to recruitment them. Building a team and workplace culture which drives success is the dream but for many business owners it can turn into a nightmare.  That great hire turns out to be nothing like the person you interviewed.  Your employees, turn up late, phone in sick constantly, or don’t do the job you hired them to do.  All these things have a knock-on effect on your business.  It will be costing you money if you have high turnover, high absence or if things aren’t getting done.  On top of that it will affect your brand if it causes issues with customer service, your ability to deliver your product or service and your ability to recruit.  We live in a world where people can review online whether that is about your product or what its like to work for your business. What can you do?  Well having strong HR foundations is key to overcoming and dealing with employee issues.  So, here’s what solid HR foundations look like and how they can benefit your business. Complying with employment law.  In the UK there are numerous employment laws which employers of all sizes must adhere to.  As an example, all employees must have an employment contract and this must include  job title, salary, when they get paid, location etc.  All business must have a disciplinary, grievance and Health and Safety policy.  Employment law can be a minefield and failing to understand or stay on top of changes can be costly. It is essential to have clear policies and procedures.  After all you want your employees to understand what is expected of them when they are at work and what will happen if these boundaries are crossed.  It is easy to think that people should just know how to behave at work after all we are all adults, the fact is though that things can and do go wrong.  Clear policies and procedures prevent misunderstandings and promote consistency and fairness. Having a good workplace culture.  As a business owner you (hopefully) want your team to enjoy coming to work and want to do their best.  Whilst they aren’t going to love your business like you do, if you have built an environment or trust, respect, fairness, consistency and purpose, employees will go the extra mile.  Conversely a toxic workplace, leads to disengaged employees, poor performance and high absence and attrition. Effective recruitment and onboarding.  Hiring the right person is critical to growth and success.  A bad hire can cause issues in a team, cost you money and time.  Make sure you are clear in your job description about what the job entails.  Have a robust interview process and remember skills can be taught whereas a bad attitude is unlikely to change.  Onboarding is key as you want your new hire to feel part of the team from the moment you make the offer, in addition they should have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Performance management and development.  Employees who have a supportive and engaged manager are more likely to stay with your business and perform better.  In addition, your employees should be really clear on what their job is.  Sounds obvious right?  However, there are many businesses who don’t provide their employees with job descriptions, don’t let them know how what they do contributes to the overall business goals, don’t give them clear guidance on their goals and objectives.  Make sure your managers are capable of managing their team.  Often people are promoted without any support around managing staff, training is key.  Is your people strategy aligned to your business goals?  Have you got those strong foundations in place to support your business?  Imagine if your team understood what was expected of them and came to work with a sense of purpose.  You can put all those HR foundations in place, contact me at bev@bdhr.co.uk to discuss how I can help you.

Fireworks in 2025: HR priorities for the new year. 2024 has been an interesting year for HR with the rise of AI, the ongoing battle of hybrid and remote working, the continuing need for strategies around employee wellbeing, skills-based hiring, continued focus on DE&I, automation and trials for 4 day weeks.  We also had a new Government who have made changes to employment law legislation. Let’s look at these trends in a bit more depth. AI has become a big talking point over the last 12 months and there has been an increase in its use.  For example, applicants are using AI to generate CV’s and job applications.  AI technology is being used in HR departments to filter job applicants, which increases efficiency and removes human bias.  However, AI is still in the learning stage and is not without its drawbacks.  For now, it is only as good as the information it has been given.  There are also question marks over the ethics of using AI and it has its own bias which needs to be overcome.  This is sure to be a growing trend as we move into 2025 and AI tools improve, it will undoubtably support HR teams but guidance and training will need to be robust to harness its potential. Hybrid and flexible working continued to be a talking point and whilst employees are keen to continue to work from home, employers are mandating a return to the office.  The traditional 9-5 is no longer in favour with flexibility increasingly desired, to balance the demands of home life with working.  Leadership styles have needed to evolve to accommodate disparate working styles with an emphasis on trust and outcome based performance over micro-management.  Employee output is more important than the amount of hours sat at a desk.  Although, there have been trials with a number of companies implementing a 4 day week and, although the trials were successful, it remains to be seen whether this will be more widely accepted by businesses.  Employee wellbeing has taken a central role and although originally designed to encourage employees to move and consider the effects on physical health it has evolved to include other areas.  Mental health issues have become a growing concern as businesses have seen an increase in employee absence due to stress, employee burnout becoming more prevalent and anxiety and depression on the rise. Mental health absence is the number one cause for absence.  Many employers have taken steps to support employees, training mental health first aiders and normalising the conversation around mental health.   Financial wellbeing has also been added to the agenda with the cost of living crisis and dealing with concerns about debt and pensions.  Organisations have recognised that supporting employees in this way improves employee engagement, retention, absence levels and productivity. Skills over qualifications has become key focusing on adaptability and problem solving, moving away from traditional questioning around previous experience and looking at attitude and willingness to develop.  Retaining top talent by investing in continuous learning has been essential for businesses. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has still been a focus with businesses understanding the need for transparency and fairness in all practices.  Authenticity and measurable outcomes are needed rather than symbolic gestures, moving away from standalone programs to be integrated into daily business operations. Top priorities for 2025 Financial wellbeing will continue to be a priority as the cost of living crisis and the impact to household finances continues.  Employers should consider the financial implications of a return to work.  Hybrid and remote working have reduced household expenditure for many and this should be factored in if businesses are mandating a return to the office.  Mental health will also continue to be concern and mental health days are likely to be implemented by businesses recognising the need to address high absence. AI is here to stay and employees will be worried about the impact this may have on their job roles.  Technology and automation is not a new concept in the workplace however, employers should recognise how AI can assist employees in the workplace and take the opportunity to involve and upskill their workforce as AI starts to play a bigger role in our day to day lives.  Redunancies and or restructuring is likely to increase in 2025.  Employers need to make sure they understand the impact on remaining employees, not just the unsettling effect that redundancies create but also burnout and disengagement if remaining employees are expected to increase their workloads.  Burnout, skills shortages and culture of disgruntlement needs to be monitored. Many of the new legislative changes will come into effect over the coming months, businesses should start preparing now to ensure compliance with new laws.  In addition there is likely to be increased obligations around gender pay gap reporting and equality action plans. Culture, employer brand and authenticity should be high on the agenda for business.  Employees are more demanding, expecting good and ethical practices from the company.  Employees want clear job accountabilities, career development and useful benefits.  Culture is more than free tea and a pool table in the breakout room. 2025 will be a busy time for HR professionals, if you need support get in touch for a chat about how I can help you and your businesses in 2025 with HR, limited retainer packages for ongoing support still available, need help with adhoc issues or need to implement an HR project or train managers get in touch at bev@bdhr.co.uk .