We’re going on a bookkeeper hunt-I’ve been on the hunt for a new bookkeeper. First and foremost on the shopping list is someone who knows their numbers, but inevitably, something else comes first: Marketing. You see, it’s no good being the best bookkeeper since sliced bread if you can’t get yourself in front of any prospective clients, and my experience ... Read more
Warning in the water-I don’t know whether there’s something in the water in 2025, but we’ve had a lot of emails from people requesting the same thing: “Can you send me a template to give a verbal warning to an employee?” We always say no. Because, more often than not, warnings are being used incorrectly. Warnings have their ... Read more
Minimum wage mistake-Like it or not, from an employee rights perspective, 2025 is going to be a big year, and if you haven’t done anything to prepare for the changes coming your way, I’d strongly recommend it. Before you get there though, it’s worth highlighting that lots of employers aren’t even getting the basics right now, even ... Read more
Redundancy murder-I don’t know about you, but these early months are hibernation time in the Wahlen household, as we hide away from the wind and rain and catch up on some TV drama. And recently – between dog walks – I’ve been diving into Death in Paradise; the sun and beaches are always welcome visuals when ... Read more
Officially old-I’ve got an announcement: I’m officially old. This realisation has little to do with the page turning on another year, and everything to do with my internal thermostat. I’m officially old because I’m ALWAYS cold. Being increasingly sensitive to the temperature comes with its fair share of challenges – the simplest way to counteract the ... Read more
Bah humbug to best one yet-I know that in the doom and gloom of January, harking back to the festivity and frivolity of Christmas isn’t exactly a popular move. But I hope you’ll forgive me for doing exactly that today – there is a good reason! The Christmas Day just gone was the best one I’ve had for decades, despite ... Read more
Modern Maslow-I’ve been here, there, and everywhere these last few weeks, delivering employment law talks to the great and good. Which means a lot of miles on the road and plenty of hotel rooms, too. I’ve always found hotels fascinating. The fact that you can pay roughly the same and yet have an entirely different experience ... Read more
Goodbye friction, hello polar bears-I’ve recently ticked something very special off my bucket list – polar bears, in the wild, in Canada. Jaw-dropping. And rather cold. Sometimes ticking something off your list can be a bit underwhelming: you’ve built it up so much in your head that the reality doesn’t match the vision. This was absolutely not one of ... Read more
Employee Assistance Programmes?-I had a fantastic time at a recent conference, in no small part down to the emphasis on building the right team and looking after the staff that make our organisations great. (Long overdue, in my opinion!) If you were there, you’d know “Employee Assistance Programmes” (EAP) were mentioned quite a lot. What is an ... Read more
Critical info on sexual harassment-Two things are about to intertwine, and I’m fearing the worst: The new sexual harassment laws, which came into effect in October 2024 Christmas The festive season has long been a hotbed for sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour, so before silly season arrives, I thought it best just to drop you some information to help ... Read more
The (not so) secret way to procure my data-I’ve always loved buying things, from when I was a little girl, counting out the pennies for a paper bag of cola bottles, right through to now, when everything is available with the click of a button, or swipe of an iPhone. The internet really has reduced purchasing friction, and I’m regularly finding myself drawn ... Read more
Want to buy a moped?-I’ve been trying to sell my son’s moped for 18 months now. Why the delay? A combination of my lack of motivation, paired with a significant lack of understanding of the second-hand moped market. I started off by putting ads out at a sales price I considered eminently reasonable. The prospective buyers did not agree. ... Read more
Can I go on holiday?-It’s rapidly approaching that time of year again – the skeleton crew is in operation, staff disappear to make merry, and you lose half of December to run your business! Before we get into the silly season, let’s answer some of the key questions we get around holiday: How much holiday entitlement do my ... Read more
The thermostat never lies?-I’ve stayed in a lot of different hotels this year, from humble hostels to five-star specials. But regardless of the brand or quality, they’ve ALL had one thing in common: a woefully inaccurate thermostat in the bedroom. The one that really took the biscuit was the Hotel Adlon in Berlin – a beautiful hotel, but ... Read more
I don’t remember-As the saying goes, when it rains, it pours, and in the last month, we’ve had a particularly dense deluge of “employee incidents” to deal with: The employee who took clients out for a meal and then decided to head to a nightclub, only to be turned away at the door because there was cocaine ... Read more
Employment Rights Bill – what you need to do [don’t ignore]-It’s finally here: the widely trailed Employment Rights Bill, which most employers have been anticipating since Labour came into power at the beginning of July, has been unveiled in the House of Commons today. No doubt you’ve seen some of the details covered by the media – giving employees “day one rights” to protection from ... Read more
Committees are like teenagers (beware of the rant…)-If you’ve dealt with committees before, then this won’t be news to you, but I just felt the need to write this after dealing with several incidents recently made a whole lot worse by committees… A club manager we were helping being told not only NOT to pay for HR advice (standard) but also being ... Read more
The Wahlen Gauntlet-We’re recruiting again – there seem to be no end to staff issues at the moment, so we’re pretty much at capacity. And when it comes recruitment, I’m pretty ruthless – after all, I’ve got to be happy with the successful candidate giving out critical HR advice in our name, so they’ve got to know ... Read more
Uniquely portable magic-Stephen King coined the phrase, “Books are a uniquely portable magic”. I’m in total agreement – books are pretty much my joint favourite thing. The trouble is, the other thing at the top of the list is travelling, so I really do need my books to be extremely portable. Enter my Kindle, allowing me to ... Read more
Why isn’t this illegal?!-There’s a golf club that’s keen to use us for their HR support, but there’s just one snag: They’re with Citation. Having been with them for three years, they’ve decided they’re not getting the bespoke, personalised support they need, and see the value in working with someone that specialises in golf clubs. Anyway, they’d fulfilled ... Read more
