In offices and workplaces across the UK employees are thinking about Secret Santa gifts. It can be a great way to spread a little Christmas cheer and doesn’t have to be expensive, but it can be a source of conflict. Picture the scene, you have organised a Secret Santa, followed all of our advice below […]

Love them or loathe them, works Christmas parties are as much a part of our business life as emails, technology and #cakefriday. In recent years, we have seen a number of businesses opt for a Christmas lunch or a hamper type gift which are very neat ways of avoiding the whole party issue. If you […]

  Q – Why Keeping Recruitment Simple and why now? JD – Katherine and I have recruited for a number of years, not just within Keeping HR Simple for the last ten years but before the business was set up we recruited for staff, so over 20 years’ experience. We have recruited for years for […]

So, your employee went off on maternity leave and since then they have accrued their holiday entitlement throughout their maternity leave but haven’t taken any holiday by the time they return.   What happens to the accrued holiday? Here is a worked example: Your employee (who works full time) had a maternity leave date of […]

A subject that recently hit the headlines when the BBC Breakfast launched their menopause campaign, many will simply have no idea how dealing with the menopause at work can affect women. With symptoms of the menopause ranging from difficulty sleeping to headaches and hot flushes, it is no wonder that some women struggle at work. […]

Looking out for your team members should be an absolute priority. When so many small business owners, team leaders and department heads are now receiving statements of fitness to work stating ‘stress at work’ or ‘personal stress’, this leaves them at a complete loss in terms of what they can or can’t say and do. […]

A recently published report written by The Mental Health Foundation found that In 2013 there were 8.2 million cases of anxiety disorder! 1 in 6 people over the age of 16 had a common mental health problem in the week prior to being interviewed for the report. 4% of adults believe they have had a […]

Redundancy is without doubt one of the most difficult situations to deal with as a business owner.  For a small or medium sized business where you have relationships with your employees, the idea of having to lose one or more can be heartbreaking. Having said that, it can be tempting to look at redundancy as […]