Month: May 2022

Are they over yet?

Are they over yet?

Being a full-time business owner and mum is great.  But it takes its toll in the summer.

I had a plan to write something about the whole ‘back to school’ period, but then I came across something written by a friend of mine, Sara Southey, which is beautifully put, so rather than write my own, I thought I’d just share it with you.

Enjoy….

Don’t get me wrong I love the summer holidays. Family time and seeing my kids chilled and happy without the school pressures is a blessing, mostly.

However, I run my business from home. I timetable my day so that I can always fit in my ‘me time’ around my work and the kids school hours.

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What Is Their Notice Period If They Don’t Have A Contract?

Notice Period If They Don’t Have A Contract

When it comes to employment law and notice periods, one of the most common questions we’re asked is ‘what is their notice period if they don’t have a contract?’.

Of course, any worker you hire has rights under employment law, and employers also have rights when it comes to people leaving the business.

If you’ve got any staff members who are working without a contract, and you haven’t discussed a notice period and don’t have anything in writing…

Then you should expect the employee to give at least 1 week’s notice.

They may work a longer notice period but legally, they don’t have to – unless you’ve agreed to a longer notice period.

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Do zero hours and casual workers need holiday pay?

Do zero hours workers need holiday pay? Yes! All employees earn holiday pay. It is also important to remember that part time employees cannot be discriminated against, which means that you cannot give them less holiday (pro rata) than full time workers. The reason for this is that the majority of zero hours or casual … Read more

Can I just fire zero hours and casual workers?

Can I just fire zero hours and casual workers? No! You can never “just fire” any employee. As an employer, you have a duty to make sure that you follow a fair and legal process when dealing with any employee. The easiest employees to dismiss are those under two years. If an employee has been … Read more

What is the notice period for a zero hours or casual worker?

What is the notice period for a zero hours or casual worker? As the employment term for a zero-hours or casual worker feels different to that of a full-time worker, most employers feel as though their notice period too should differ from that of a regular employee. Because zero hours or casual workers have the … Read more

What constitutes a zero hours or casual worker?

What constitutes a zero hours or casual worker? Unsurprisingly, just like with all other employees, there is a formal process you must follow whilst employing a zero hours or casual worker. They must have a contract when working for you, and if not – then they don’t count as a zero hours or casual worker. … Read more

Sickness absence with a silver lining

Sickness absence with a silver lining

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has just released its sickness figures for 2021. And they aren’t as bad as you might think.

In 2021 approximately 149.3 million working days were lost due to sickness or injury. Which sounds a lot but is the same as just 4.6 days per worker per year.

The most common reason for sickness absence was “Other” conditions, which accounted for 41.5 million lost days. This includes accidents, poisonings, infectious diseases, skin disorders, diabetes, and anything else not covered.  From April 2020, interviewers have advised to code any mention of Coronavirus as ‘Other’, when a supplementary question was asked.

Coronavirus absence accounted for 24% of all sickness absences.

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Optional auto enrolment?

Optional auto-enrolment?

I was talking to a club the other week that’d got themselves in a sticky situation, pension-wise.

An employee had left them back in February and had come back to them to let them know that his pensions was now “set up” and ready for them to make payments.

Got the foggiest?  No, we didn’t either.

Turns out that – last year – when the employee had finished his 3-month probation, the club had sent him a letter asking if he wanted to enrol in the NEST pension scheme or contribute to his own personal pension.

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Top 8 things that should be included in a settlement agreement to make it rock solid

things included in a settlement agreement

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’re reading this post, you’re probably thinking: What should be included in a settlement agreement?

It’s a good question, and it’s one we’re going to answer in good detail – but first, let’s start with the basics.

What is a settlement agreement?

A settlement agreement is where an employee gives up their right to sue an employer after they leave. Usually they are not leaving voluntarily. A settlement agreement includes the details of the payment the employee will receive when they leave, leaves their role, often as part of a redundancy.

After everything is agreed on the employee’s exit, they will not be able to bring a case to an employment tribunal for any reason, including discrimination.

It’s an important agreement for a lot of reasons, which is why it’s super important that you include everything in your settlement agreement to stop your employee suing you after they have left.

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Sickness absence – too much?!

Sickness absence – too much?!

In the past few months, we have been asked by 6 separate clients (different industries and locations) to help them deal with sickness absence.

Before that, we hadn’t had to do any GP reports for almost a year. What is going on out there??!!

The situation could be long-term sickness absences (are they ever coming back?), newly-diagnosed illnesses (what reasonable adjustments do we need to make), or many intermittent days off (are they just taking the mickey?).

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