The theme for mental health awareness this year is body image -how we think and feel about our bodies. It might seem quite superficial linking body image to mental health but the thinking is that the better we feel about ourselves the better our wellbeing and mental health is. Social media has made it too […]

Do you think your team come into work to do a bad job? From our experience, this can sometimes happen although it is rarely the case. More often than not, people simply don’t know what is expected of them> Having an underperforming member of staff can be draining and can have a detrimental effect on […]

Many people will say that discrimination in recruitment still exists; it’s simply gone underground. It exists when the hiring manager reads a CV, works out from the dates given roughly how old the candidate is and decides they’re too old. It exists when the hiring manager sees “career break to have my family” on a […]

Since April 2015 it has been possible for new parents to share up to 50 weeks of leave following the birth of a child, which sounds great, doesn’t it? Think of the advantages; a more flexible approach to parenting in those first months and taking time off together or separately to care for a new […]

When considering suspension, it is important not to make any “knee jerk” reactions and demonstrate that the act of suspension and all alternatives to the suspension were given full and due consideration. Should you be in a position where you are thinking about suspending someone, clearly, an act of misconduct or an alleged grievance has […]

Maybe not exactly what you think as it turns out….. Here’s the skinny on parental leave Entitlement 18 weeks’ unpaid leave for an employee who has parental responsibility for a child up to the child’s 18th birthday (this entitlement is per child). This leave can be taken at a rate for up to 4 weeks […]

WOW….we really do like to tackle the tough issues and this is probably one of the toughest. Approaching someone’s personal hygiene or lack thereof is without a doubt one of the most uncomfortable employee/employer conversations. So where do you start? The first thing you can do as a preventative measure is to have a Dress […]

They have had a pretty bad press over recent years, but they are by no means a new way of engaging with staff. In fact, prior to the Working Time Regulations 1998, these contracts would have been known as casual contracts. The TUC have suggested that they would like to see a ban of zero […]

It hasn’t quite been a lifetime since I told Katherine and Jason that I was pregnant, but it feels like it! As we all know, pregnancy can feel like a never-ending treadmill, 9 months can feel like 9 years, although whilst I feel I look like an elephant, they (elephants that is!) have it much […]