The average Brit spends a whopping 3 hours 31 minutes staring down at their little screen every single day. That’s why we’re taking our fancy features and rustling them up in ‘to-go’ format! ‘The features, we want to know more about the features!’ Alright, buckle up, because here they come. Self-approved leave We released leave in the Mobile App yonks ago, that’s so June 2020. Recently, desktop welcomed a new addition: self-approved leave. It’s like the big daddy of leave types, subtly snubbing all other…
Last year we shared 10 tips on how to help your employees with the cost of living. It proved very popular with our readers, so we decided to come up with some additional ways you can help your people. Why? Because employees who struggle or worry about their money are unable to work to their highest potential. The impact was apparent through 2022 and companies are reporting cases of lower productivity. According to recent studies, employees under stress exhibit 60% higher absenteeism as well as significantly…
No, we don’t mean step 1: pick up pen, step 2: pick up paper. We’ll walk you through best practice and structure for your absence policy that will support your business and your employees. So, for starters, what should your absence management policy contain as a minimum? The reporting procedure: this should include how and when to report sickness absence. Evidence: this section covers what’s required for self-certification. It also explains when medical evidence is required, as well as any requirements to undergo examinations. Trigger points: this section covers the number of absences which would cause…
With the new tax year fast approaching, the time to switch payroll providers is now! Our recent Annual Payroll Survey saw a whopping 23% increase of companies who had switched their payroll providers in the last 12 months. Unsure if you’re settling for less? Is there better out there? Why is now the perfect time for you to switch providers? Let’s find out. Reviewing your current provider ‘We’ve used our provider for a long time, they know our payroll and switching to someone else is…
We explain the important topic of whistleblowing. What is it? What's the procedure? How do employers handle whistleblowing reports from employees? And what about public interest disclosures or handling malicious allegations? Keep reading to find out. What is whistleblowing? The standard definition of whistleblowing is: “a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organisation that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent”. Another simple definition from the government website is: ‘You’re a whistleblower if you’re a worker…
For many employees, major sporting events such as the World Cup, Wimbledon or the Ashes are the highlight of their year and they're keen not to miss crucial matches. Inevitably, some of the events will take place during working hours so how should employers handle requests for time off? Read on to understand what you need to consider during major sporting events including productivity levels, communicating with employees and managing sickness absence. Home and hybrid workers Employees working at home are not exempt from any…
According to Mind, 1 in 6 employees are dealing with a mental health problem such as anxiety, depression or stress which can have a significant impact on employee wellbeing. In addition, the mental healthy charity found that 41% of those who experienced their mental health worsening during the pandemic put it down to money worries. Consequently, the combined effect of covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis is having a negative impact on people’s mental health. The reasons for absence The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reported…
A really important message, beautifully executed. I’ve watched the John Lewis Christmas advert five times and it still makes me teary. It also got me thinking: what does this mean for HR teams? Sadly, the requirement to take time out of work in order to adopt or foster a child is not particularly well-supported in employment law. This may leave employers and their HR teams feeling as if they’d like to do more. Let’s look into the adoption and foster care process, the current legislation,…
Once upon a time, in the year 2019, and merely a week since Boris Johnson’s landslide ‘Brexit Election’ victory, the state opening of parliament took place. Prominent in Her Majesty’s announcement of forthcoming legislation, a raft of measures affecting employment. Except… none of it materialised; not in 2020, 2021 or 2022. It all vanished, along with Boris Johnson himself. It would return ‘when parliamentary time allowed’. But it didn’t. And now we have a yet another new Prime Minster, Rishi Sunak, and it’s unclear whether…
I’m sure you’re well aware of the term ‘The Bradford Factor’. Created in the 1980’s by Bradford University School of Management, it’s become synonymous with employers who are keen to find a simple and expedient management solution to the disruption caused by employee absence. For the uninitiated, the Bradford Factor is based on the theory that short, frequent, unplanned absences are more disruptive to businesses than longer periods of absence. Using a mathematical formula, it takes the number and frequency of absences to produce a…
