According to a recent UK-wide survey, 26% of employees feared their manager wouldn’t consider period pain a legitimate illness, and therefore not a good enough reason to be absent from work. As such, up to a quarter of those surveyed admitted to lying to their manager about their true reason for absence. How should employers approach period pain when cited by an employee as a reason for absence? Are the symptoms a good enough reason for employees to be absent from work? And should an…
Barely a day goes by without an unfair dismissal claim hitting the headlines. Many of these claims are down to employers failing to follow a full and fair procedure. So, read on for our six ways to avoid unfair dismissal claims. Follow your internal procedures It’s important that you as an employer, follow your organisation’s HR procedures, including any that could lead to an employee being dismissed. You should also be mindful that employees have access to an abundance of information on unfair dismissal claims…
Since the government encouraged employees to work from home where possible during the pandemic, many employers have adopted remote or hybrid working for good. But how do you ensure working from home remains productive as the novelty wears off? How can employers encourage the productivity of their remote workforce as time goes on? Here are the top recommendations from our HR experts. A stitch in time saves nine If you sort out a problem immediately, it may save extra work later. Considering the impact of…
The details of the Flexible Working Bill read 30 June 2021, by Labour MP Tulip Siddiq. Currently, employees must have worked for their employer for a minimum of 26 weeks to be eligible to make a flexible working request. Recently, Labour MP, Tulip Siddiq, read a Flexible Working Bill in the House of Commons, which would mean that all staff would be entitled to flexible working from day one of employment. She called for employers to offer flexible working arrangements in employment contracts and advertise…
Adopting remote means of communicating with employees through Microsoft Teams, Zoom and telephone conference calls has become commonplace since the beginning of lockdown. Having put in place the 'digital infrastructure' to ensure remote working is possible, can these businesses now use the same tools to hire offshore employees? And if yes, what impact, if any, would this have on the British labour market? 'Anywhere jobs' A report by the Tony Blair Institute claimed that approximately six million 'white-collar' jobs are at risk of being lost…
Please note, legislation has been updated in regards to holiday calculations since this article was written, effective for holiday years starting on or after 1 April 2024, so some of the content below may be out-of-date. If you're a Moorepay client, please contact us if you need guidance. Otherwise, please see this article on the changes for more information. Calculating holiday entitlement for workers with regular hours is relatively straight-forward. But what happens when you have employees who work different hours every day, week, or…
Employment tribunals require time, effort, often cost money, and can hurt your reputation as a business. Check out the top five reasons for tribunal and how you as a business can avoid common pitfalls. Hybrid working policies Hybrid working is the latest buzzword for organisations emerging from the pandemic, but what we don’t talk about is that it can unwittingly lead to discrimination and therefore, the risk of employment tribunal. It is argued that hybrid working policies risk creating a level of exclusion in teams.…
There have been many mixed reports on the baby boom - or baby bust - situation in the UK. Naturally, as Covid-19 has shaken up people's personal lives and careers since the start of 2020, the environment for growing a family has changed dramatically. At the start of the pandemic, the UK saw a sharp drop in pregnancy and birth rates. Unsurprisingly, economic instability, job losses, and health concerns made many people reconsider their plans to have a child. One survey in April 2020 found…
It’s a minefield out there. Legislation can change at the drop of a hat and if you dare to miss it, you could be slapped with a hefty fine. We’ve pulled together some must-know legislation topics for SMBs. Workplace pensions Whether you employ one or one hundred people, it is a legal requirement to auto-enrol your employees into a workplace pension scheme. To qualify employees must meet the below criteria: Aged between 22 and state pension age Earn above £10,000 per year It’s worth…
While trusting your gut might get you so far, ROI is probably a better measure to base your business decisions on. So how do you get an accurate gauge on it for brand new and sparkly payroll & HR software before you take the plunge? What is ROI? Given that you probably hear the word thrown around the boardroom every other day, we’ll keep it visual: Essentially the above will spit out the percentage of your investment that you earn back through direct/ indirect profits,…