Your card has been declined.-Your card has been declined. I had a call on Saturday from my bank’s fraud department. They were concerned about some transactions on my account. Unfortunately, I couldn’t identify one of them and I couldn’t look it up at the time, as I was out with Comet. So the lady asked me to call back ... Read more
What a palaver that was-What a palaver that was! If you cast your mind back just a couple of weeks, you’ll remember the hoo-haa that preceded the General Data Protection Regulation coming into force. Every Tom, Dick and Henrietta was emailing their list, asking them to ‘opt back in’, and snake oil salespeople galore were making money from the ... Read more
Does GDPR mean e-mail marketing is dead?-Does GDPR mean e-mail marketing is dead? If you’ve been in business for a while, you’ll be familiar with the trends coming round and round again. And often in small business marketing, with marketers trying to sell new initiatives all the time, methods die and then rise from the ashes like a phoenix, only to be pronounced ... Read more
The acronym on everyone’s lips….-he acronym on everyone’s lips…. What’s the acronym you’ve heard most this year? For me, there’s only one answer: GDPR. The whole country’s been swept up into a widespread panic, with all and sundry concerned that they won’t be ‘compliant’. And as an employer you probably won’t be. GDPR for staff is VERY different to ... Read more
You won’t guess what my festive ritual is….-You won’t guess what my festive ritual is…. I went in for my annual health check this week. The “official” reason I go for a check each year is to ensure there aren’t any “hidden dangers”. Unofficially, I want to see impact my dissolute lifestyle is having on my body, and whether I need to forego ... Read more
Poisoning the Greenkeeper.-Poisoning the Greenkeeper. “A Greenkeeper has just accused his colleague of poisoning him. What shall we do now?” This is the absolute corker of a client question this year so far, by miles! And here’s the story… The Greenkeeper in question had decided that all of the drinks he had at the club tasted “funny”. ... Read more
Employment law is a pain in the a**!-There. I’ve said it. Am I allowed – as an employment law expert – to say that? Aren’t I supposed to pretend that this is all perfectly reasonable? I’ll be honest with you, there are some processes in employment law that make me want to bang my head against a brick wall. And I can ... Read more
Off on the road again!-Off on the road again! I am very proud to be sponsoring the prestigious GCMA Team of the Year award this year. And you know what? I get to do a fun road trip as well! Yesterday I went to the very sunny wilds of Wales to assess Pyle and Kenfig Golf Club, finalists in the ... Read more
Top complaint is bad body odour- This was mentioned at our recent training session, so I thought you would be interested in this article about how to deal with smelly bods! Bad body odour is the most disliked personal hygiene problem – 70% of employees say it’s their top bugbear. If you receive a complaint about someone’s BO, what’s the ... Read more
£1,500 part two-£1,500 part two Well it’s fair to say I got some interesting responses from Friday’s email. To jog your memory, I told the story of a club who had £1,500 go missing from the safe, with the last person to see it an employee who was cashing up. And the question was: what’s the right ... Read more
£1500 missing? What would YOU do?-£1500 missing? What would YOU do? I’ve got to be honest: I love a good whodunnit. And I’ve got one for all the Sherlock Holmes fans out there. Here’s the scenario: You run the bar at a golf club. One week, although the till shows takings are good, there’s actually £1500 less in the safe ... Read more
Fixed Term Fired-Fixed Term Fired Many employers, particularly those with projects, like to offer employees a fixed term contract because they think it will be easier to get rid of them. Their perception is that the contract will just come to an end and they won’t have to do the awkward bit of “giving notice”. It doesn’t ... Read more
NMW – how to avoid getting your name in the paper for all the wrong reasons!-NMW how to avoid getting your name in the paper for all the wrong reasons! Thanks to my accountant, Greg at Fizz Accounting, for this timely and helpful guide to a surprisingly tricky area. The National Minimum Wage has been a hot topic recently, with some big-name employers like Argos getting caught out for underpaying ... Read more
VW not so much for the “people” after all?-VW not so much for the “people” after all? I’m after a new car. My lease expires in January, and I’m in the process of using the end of quarter sales targets to get a brilliant deal. And yes, I want ‘brilliant’, not just ‘good’. Last weekend we went round 8 car showrooms, on the ... Read more
Summer holidays – Are they over yet?-Summer holidays – 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 ... Read more
Committees are like teenagers….-Committees are like teenagers…. 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 ... Read more
Throwing £360k away….-Throwing £360k away…. As adults we learn a few “truths” about life: There’s no such thing as a free lunch Too good to be true usually is Your pay always looks less impressive when it hits your bank account But there are also gender specific “truths” that “everyone knows” and that some people are foolish ... Read more
I’m in love…..-I’m in love….. I’ll admit it: I’m in love with Amazon all over again. It’s my default shop for buying stuff, any stuff, because they make it easy to buy and I know that I will get what I have ordered or can get my money back, without any hassle. Not to mention the fact ... Read more
Is ageism alive and kicking?-Is ageism alive and kicking? Research from the Department for Work and Pensions has shown that age discrimination is still a problem in Britain today. The Attitude to Age report showed that one third of those asked said that they had experienced ageism at least once in the last year. I have actually experienced this recently, when helping ... Read more
Pretty, but not switched on.-Pretty but not switched on. I was at a charity boxing match on Saturday night. Not my thing usually, but a friend was getting in the ring to raise money so I thought I’d support him. And I loved it! I have always been against blood sports, but I was shocked by how quickly I ... Read more
