Many employers don’t like to have formal meetings, i.e. in private, with closed doors, with staff who are not performing.

Instead, they feel that an “informal” comment at their desk or the coffee machine will be enough for the person to understand the feedback and act on it.

In an ideal world, that would be the case.  But years of experience shows me that it’s not.

And a recent incident highlights the point:

I was called in to “deal with” the PA to the MD.

And by “deal with”, I mean that – of course – he wanted to get rid of her.

[Read more…]

I was in Devon last week.  First stop Salcombe for a marketing seminar, and then client visits in Torquay.

It was my first few nights away since February, so hearing great things about one of the hotels in Salcombe, I decided to treat myself and book it, since that was where the seminar was.

And on paper, it ticked a lot of boxes.

Amazing location.

Good rating on Trip Advisor.

Lots of pretty pictures showing how beautiful it was.

Unfortunately this was a world away from the reality. [Read more…]

As you can imagine, we’ve been very busy during lockdown and furlough, so much so that we need to take on more staff.

We’ve got very high standards, as you might expect, and as a result, we’ve got a pretty stringent recruitment process in place.

Step one?

The Gap HR Quiz

When we’re advising our clients, we need our advisors to know the basics without having to think about it.

We need them to be HR literate, knowing the answers to certain questions without having to look them up.

Rather like the importance of addition in basic maths, where 2+2=4 is a vital foundational, this basic HR literacy is a non-negotiable foundation too, and the quiz tests them on it.

I figured it’d be fun to know exactly how well you’d do in our recruitment process – click the link below, take the test and find out how much you know about managing staff.

https://www.gaphr.co.uk/employment-law-quiz/

Let me know what you get!

We had our “staycation” last weekend.

With holidays cancelled and school and university looming, it was time for a bit of TLC, and instead of travelling anywhere, the kids and I decided we’d go out every night to a new restaurant.

And I’m glad we did, because we discovered a new gem as a result: Atomic Burger in Oxford.

The instant I walked in, I knew it was my sort of place – superhero décor and 80s pop videos on the TV – the latter in particular making me feel right at home, as the 80s was probably the last time I actually watched pop videos!

[Read more…]

As you probably know, you’ve got a duty of care to provide a safe work place.

But in usual circumstances, the commute to work is another matter – you’ve got no legal obligation to provide a safe commute; it’s up to the employee to discern what’s safe and what’s not.

However, in the current climate, you may need to make “reasonable adjustments” if your employees are in one of the extremely clinically vulnerable groups and they’re concerned about their safety.

The phrase “reasonable adjustments” can mean a whole load of different things, but what it doesn’t mean is allowing an employee not to drive to work in his company car because it doesn’t have air conditioning and it’s “too hot”!

You’ve probably guessed that I haven’t plucked that example out of thin air. [Read more…]