HR Blog

At first, a grievance can appear challenging to resolve. How do you conduct a grievance investigation correctly? What is considered best practice? Do you have a written grievance procedure? If so, this will make it much easier to get the principles of good grievance management right. Therefore, we’d recommend that all companies have a grievance … Read more

You have an employee who’s been taking a lot of time off recently. Personal issues, they say. You don’t want to pry but when they are at work, they seem quiet, uninterested, and distant.  You’re pretty sure it’s not the aftermath of a big night out. You’ve spotted those signs before… So, what’s going on? … Read more

People Management recently stated that more than one million fit notes relating to mental and behavioural disorders were issued by the NHS in the UK last year, with two in five (42 per cent) of those signing employees off work for a month or longer. Reasons behind the large number of fit notes could include … Read more

Workplace culture can make or break an employee’s experience of your organisation. When organisations get it right, their employees stay the course. But when they get it wrong, it can lead to headline news. Widely reported stories around the negative culture at large organisations like Uber and the Metropolitan Police have focused attention on the concept of workplace culture. … Read more

Whilst settlement agreements are not always the solution for every difficult workplace situation, when used appropriately, they can be mutually beneficial to both employer and employee.  However, there are a number of points to be aware of and to carefully think through before entering into discussions with an employee.  In our blog this week, will … Read more

The issue of employee stress has become increasingly prominent in recent years following the pandemic, Brexit, cost of living crisis and various other shifts making our lives more stressful than perhaps they once were. Stress is often a silent problem that can have a profound impact on an organisation and its employees. Being able to … Read more

Let’s be honest – interviewing isn’t as straight forward as it first seems! There are lots of things to balance… being a good representative for the organisation,  accurately reflecting the reality of the role, all whilst trying to determine if the person you have in front of you is the right person for the job. … Read more

So what is this all about? The new Worker Protection Act (Amendment of the Quality Act 2010), which comes into effect in October 2024, creates a duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees in the workplace. Under the Equality Act, an employer could defend a harassment claim if … Read more

Employee engagement is the extent to which employees feel valued and involved in their everyday work.   It is a good idea to measure employee engagement as it is an important indicator of the health of your business and a good way to spot areas for improvement. Levels of employee engagement Highly engaged employees – … Read more

Taking time off for both bereavement and other life hardships can be a particularly sensitive area of people management. No one person deals with challenges in the same way, which is why it can be tricky for organisations to create a singular policy to address all situations. Bereavement Leave This type of leave typically refers … Read more