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 […]

Can employers decline an annual leave requests? With most employees’ holiday balances resetting every January it can feel like all you’re doing is approving a mountain of leave requests.  But what happens if you aren’t able to approve a request – can you actually say no? The legal bit you need to know Under the […]

With the 29th March fast approaching, we haven’t talked too much about Brexit and what that means in terms of employment law.  That’s mostly because there are still many, many unanswered questions. What we do know is that EU nationals who do not have indefinite leave to remain but have been resident in the UK […]

Our obsession (yes, we know we’re obsessed) with note taking and documentation started within the first couple of weeks of starting Keeping HR Simple. Working with a brand-new client who had dismissed an employee for gross misconduct some months previously, they wanted to talk through the process they had followed leading up to and including […]

On World Mental Health Day in October we looked at the importance of having an open positive workplace where staff feel willing and able to discuss their own mental health and ask for help. We now want to look at the role Line Managers play in your business.  Leadership and management are key to promoting […]