Dress policy is racist by omission-Dress policy is racist by omission When a new client comes on board, we update their handbook and contracts, explaining and agreeing the contents with them. This process can lead to some interesting conversations, with such an example presenting itself this week. While going through one of the contracts, we discussed the dress policy – which is ... Read more
You should be Kean for this-You should be Kean for this Usually I steer clear of puns. They’re not my thing. But I couldn’t help it today. You see, in the last few months I’ve come across a lovely lady called Laura Kean, and her surname just lends itself so wonderfully towards positive puns that it almost felt wrong NOT to ... Read more
Calories, not bargains-Calories, not bargains We went to our local bonfire night on Saturday. It was a fine evening – not too cold, but cold enough that we wanted some warm nibbles afterward. The fireworks were in a field in Wallingford, a mere 100m from a nice, spacious Waitrose. So, once the final bang had passed, we headed ... Read more
Employee horror story-Employee horror story As it’s Halloween I thought I’d share a horror story with you, but then I realised that pretty much all of my emails are horror stories about things that employers try and get away with, and I wasn’t sure whether I had anything that could reach new levels of horror. And then ... Read more
Trained to ignore-Trained to ignore My car told me I had a flat tyre the other week. That’s how sophisticated they’ve become – before you’ve even felt anything, the computer explains loudly and clearly that you need to do something about your tyre. And they don’t just tell you once. They tell you again and again. But ... Read more
Committing A Criminal Offence-Auto-enrolment pensions are now a requirement for all staff. No excuses. Even in the smallest of companies, the employer AND the employee have to make a percentage contribution to the pension. And I’ve got to be honest – it makes sense. We all know how pensions have taken a battering over the last few years, ... Read more
Unsuitable-Unsuitable A client got in touch with us last week, and it wasn’t good news. It was from a lady who was off on maternity leave, and she’d discovered that while she was off, the company had created a new role and invited employees in the department to apply. But here’s the problem – they offered out ... Read more
When is she coming back?-When is she coming back? I had a question from a Club last week which left me entirely speechless: “My admin assistant is on maternity leave, has been for about 6 months I think, and is due back soon. How do I work out when she is due back?” The problem with the question is ... Read more
Welby weighs in-Welby weighs in I see Justin Welby has waded into the new cycle of zero hours bashing in the media. But I’m still just as confused as to why zero hours contracts are subject to the vilification they receive. I mean, sure, when Sports Direct was using them to “trap” a bank of tame workers, ... Read more
Heavyweight lightweight advice-Heavyweight lightweight advice Christopher went on his first D of E hike this . Getting him kitted out for it was a powerful reminder of how far hiking has come in the last 30 years. You see, I did Silver and Gold D of E, in Cyprus and the UK. I walked a lot of ... Read more
Not worth the paper?-Not worth the paper? We were setting up a new client last week, and while we were going through the handbook we got the section about company cars. The client was very pleased with themselves as they had a process to take a photocopy of all employees’ driving licences, both the card and the paper ... Read more
But you never said-But you never said 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, ... Read more
Blink, pub and tuba-Blink, pub and tuba Hiring. It’s not an easy thing is it? You’ve got to get your job advert out there, look at some CVs, choose some people to interview and work out whether they’re up to the job. And – not to forget – you’ve got to deal with your inbuilt sense of prejudice. ... Read more
My employee resigned, didn’t she?-My employee resigned, didn’t she? This case was frustrating because my client had really bent over backward to help, and it had backfired badly. The employee had resigned, and then said that as she was intending to move up north, and things hadn’t been finalised, could she stay on till the end of term (this ... Read more
The wind and the sun – a modern sales tale-The wind and the sun – a modern sales tale I was on my first cruise last week, island hopping in Greece. Needless to say, it was beautiful and the weather was even hotter than in the UK! As well as some proper R&R on the beach, we got out on a number of excursions, ... Read more
Gout, strimmers & PPE-I was speaking to a restaurant owner this week about a shift manager that wasn’t performing. There was a long list of things that this person: Wasn’t doing but should be doing… Was doing but shouldn’t… …plus general comments about him not being ‘proactive’. But the cherry on top? “He has not been doing his ... Read more
Not much happening in the hot weather-Not much happening in the hot weather Now that the holiday season is upon us, you might feel that your staff aren’t really working at their “full potential”. But take consolation that they are probably working more than this guy! A Spanish civil servant has been banned from holding public posts, after his bosses found ... Read more
Standard practice for you-Standard practice for you I’m currently working with one of our clients on a professional negligence disciplinary case. The employee going through the disciplinary process is a standalone bookkeeper in the company and he’s been there for over two years. And he’s been making mistakes. A lot of them. He’s been on holiday for the past two ... Read more
Grumpy and relaxed-Grumpy and relaxed Frances has finished her GCSEs now, so she’s hanging around the house. There’s only so much scrolling down her phone she can do though, so I decided to drag her out and do something nice. After chatting it through, we settled on a spa visit, so I jumped straight online to research ... Read more
Far more serious-Far more serious One of the things I realized in the midst of the GDPR furor was that most people were only taking action because there was a natural deadline – the 25th May. But as an employment law expert, it all seemed a bit ironic to me. You see, all of these people were moving ... Read more
