Category Archives: HR support

When Should You Bring In HR Assistance For Your Business?

Outdated or non existent employment contract and employee handbook

This is one of the main reasons I am contacted by small and medium sized businesses.  It is quite easy for existing documents to get out of date as the employment law changes frequently.  Despite the implementation of the Employment Rights Act 1996 that requires an employer to provide a new employee with employment terms and conditions (contract) within eight weeks of starting employment, many business still do not do so.  Failure to provide this document can lead to compensation equivalent to up to four weeks pay in an employment tribunal.  An employee handbook sets out the guidelines and rules that all employees have to adhere to and should be drafted in accordance with current employment law.  Outdated policies could lead to wrong actions being taken against an employee and a possible employment tribunal.

Lack of understanding with employment law

Since the 1990s there has been a steady stream of laws related to employment that have been implemented in the UK.  Employee issues such as disability, pregnancy, discrimination, health and safety and pay can be complex to deal with.  Many laws now contradict one another and it takes an employment law specialist to unpick the essentials for any given employee situation.  The cost of failing to understand current employment law could lead to an employment tribunal.

A disciplinary matter needs urgent attention  

From time to time a serious situation may occur in the workplace and it is important that, even if it is minor, that it is dealt with quickly.  Certainly in agross misconduct situation it is often essential to suspend  an employee or employees as soon as possible whilst a thorough investigation takes place.  Time is of the essence to ensure that any important evidence is not hidden or destroyed.  It is important to take urgent advice where you feel you are lacking experience of how to adequately handle these matters.

An employee is not performing well

So many businesses have under performing employees that they fail to deal with.  Unfortunately this can impact on profits and employee morale.  It is not nice for fellow employees to see a poorly performing colleague not being dealt with by management.  The matter should be dealt with in a structured legal framework  to try and get the employee back on track.  It can be time consuming to deal with but ultimately the employee can be fairly dismissed if a performance management process fails.

You have no time to deal with employee matters  

Dealing with employee issues can be very time consuming.  With a problematic employee you have to meet with them and keep a paper trail of what you have done to try and manage the situation.  Most business owners prefer to keep their focus on the business which is time consuming enough without have to deal with problematic employees which is where HR can help.

How to Choose Your HR Support and Advice

HR support doesn’t need to be in the form of an HR department.  Whilst that may suit large organisations which employ lots of staff, with a small company it is just not necessary because there is often no need and  it is considered too costly even to employ an HR Manager.  However, there will be situations that arise whereby even a small company will need HR support or employment law advice from time to time.  These days there are many providers of independent HR support and advice – large independent call centres, call centres linked to chambers of commerce, employment lawyers and independent HR consultants to consider.

Even the internet can be used to source HR advice, but employers must beware of failing to correctly understand the information they obtain and then acting inappropriately.  I recently heard about a business owner who wanted to dismiss a senior member of staff for poor performance.  The business owner had not spoken to the employee about this at all.  Instead he sought a template document off a business related website that informed the employee he was being invited to a meeting in order to be dismissed.   If the business owner had sent that letter then he could have ended up with a costly employment tribunal, however he did actually speak to an HR consultant before doing so and was given correct advice on how to proceed.

The choice of HR support will depend on what type of service a company is looking for.  A call centre HR service provider may be able to offer telephone HR advice but the chances are that different call centre operatives will pick up a call related to an ongoing situation, therefore, there will be advice from various advisors which may not always be good.  By choosing either an independent HR consultant or an employment lawyer a more personal service is provided and by speaking to the same person each time an HR issue arises a relationship is built up.  The advisor will get to know about the business and possibly the more problematic members of staff, therefore the advice will be more tailored.

The budget available for HR support could determine the type of HR support service required.  In general the larger HR advice providers may charge a large annual sum for retained HR support and lock companies into lengthy, inflexible contracts.  This is because they will have much higher overheads eg building and staff costs.  Likewise employment lawyers, traditionally have a high fee structure.  Perhaps the cheapest option could be an HR consultant who has lots of practical HR experience and good employment law knowledge.  If they are CIPD qualified this is a good indicator that they have met the rigorous standards of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and will provide a good standard of advice.

There may be bolt on services that an employer may require in addition to telephone and email HR advice.  For example there may be the requirement for HR documentation such as employment contracts, employee handbooks, job descriptions and scripts.  Large HR service providers may provide online access to template documentation that can be easily downloaded.  However it is important to ensure that back up advice is available on the use of such documents to ensure that they will be used appropriately and legally.  An independent HR consultant or an employment lawyer should be able to provide a similar service on an as required basis, but again the cost should be established.

Whilst a call centre can provide excellent HR advice on the phone and via email in the majority of cases they can not provide any on site HR support.  Sometimes employers may need the back up support of an HR professional on site to help them with a difficult employee situation eg to have coaching with a disciplinary hearing and note taking or to assist with recruitment.  Few employment lawyers provide this service, however, a flexible HR consultant would more than likely be able to assist.

So when considering sources of HR support and advice there are key points to consider.  The most important thing for companies to remember is to get HR assistance when they are unsure of how to proceed with an employment problem otherwise it could cost them dear in an employment tribunal.

If you need HR support and advice call Sandra Beale on 07762 771290.
www.sjbealehrconsult.co.uk