The team here at organic hr use a range of different instruments across the stages of the talent life-cycle, and find that the Talent Q Assessment System offers user-friendly, cost effective options.

We are pleased to confirm that this popular, complimentary seminar will be running again on 17 November from 9.30pm until 2.00pm, and we are currently taking bookings for places.  All participants will be eligible to use a free trial following the event, and for those already qualified in the use of an accredited personality questionnaire, this complimentary seminar can be used to upgrade the Level B Intermediate qualification to Level B Plus with the British Psychological Society.

If you are interested in registering for this event, please click here for our registration form.

• the main hourly rate for workers aged 21 and over will increase to £6.08 (up from £5.93)

• the 18-20 rate will increase to £4.98 (up from £4.92)

• the 16-17 rate for workers above school leaving age but under 18 will increase to £3.68 (up from £3.64)

• the apprentice rate, for apprentices under 19 or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship will increase to £2.60 (up from £2.50)

So for the majority of workers (aged 21 and over) the minimum wage will be just under £11,900 per annum for a full time employee on a 37.5 hour working week and just under £12,650 for a full time employee on a 40 hour working week.

NMW is one of the most important parts of employment law – we cannot stress enough how important it is to get this right.  If you have any questions at all about how the NMW changes might impact your business or the best way to communicate the changes to staff, please don’t hesitate to get in touch

So if large, well-resourced organisations can fall foul of, on the one hand, the increasing plethora of employment legislation, case law and codes of practice and on the other hand, employees who are becoming much more well-informed about their rights, better supported (no-win, no-fee lawyers) and sometimes desperate to hang on to employment in these difficult times – is there anything that businesses can do to avoid being taken to an employment tribunal by disaffected staff?

The trite answer is “Yes, just don’t recruit or employ anybody!”  However this advice is neither funny nor practicable.

So what else can be done?  Quite a lot is the reassuring response.

Most employers want to ‘do the right thing’ by their employees; they realise that looking after their workforce makes sound business (and ethical) sense.  Employees who know what is expected of them in the workplace, who are treated fairly and consistently and who feel they can discuss potential issues with management are less likely to become disgruntled and cause trouble, but more to the point, they are more likely to be better workers.  Therefore employers (and consequently employees too), will benefit considerably from having the basic elements for managing their ‘most valuable asset’ …

Get the fundamentals right

• Ensure that your contracts of employment or written statements of your main employment terms have been issued to all employees within two months of them starting work; ensure that this document meets the statutory requirements as a minimum and it is accurate and consistently honoured.
• Make sure all your policies and procedures are up-to-date; they should be regularly reviewed to take into account changes in the law (an example being the abolition of the default retirement age) and changes in the way your company works.
• And ensure you have all policies and procedures that are needed – a social media policy and procedure is becoming vital with the rapid increase of the use of Facebook, Twitter and the like, even when employees access these out of working hours.
• Develop a Staff Handbook, where all your company rules and regulations are set out – how to notify sickness absences, time-keeping requirements, health and safety topics, what gross misconduct ‘looks’ like.

Involve staff

• Try and avoid confrontation in the first place.  Communicate and consult with staff regularly, especially when thinking about developing or reviewing policies and procedures; getting employees’ input early on will mean the procedures are more likely to be understood, accepted and therefore followed – and managers who have to deal with issues are more likely to feel knowledgeable and confident when it comes to implementing the procedures.
• Train managers to understand their role and responsibility in managing their people in line with your policies and procedures – it protects the company.  Give them the confidence and ability to identify issues and deal with them in a timely, compliant and consistent manner – never for example, dismiss on the spot, however clear-cut a situation appears.

Document what you have done

• It is vitally important that you can recall actions and conversations accurately, often some time after the event.  A paper trail that is capable of demonstrating what happened, when and the situation in which it occurred, will be critical to defending your position if it is ever challenged.  So keep dated notes of telephone calls, meetings and discussion minutes and letters sent and received.
• Keep a record of the HR training given to all staff – including the information given out at induction about ‘how we do things round here’.

Do what you say

• So many tribunal claims are lost because companies fail to follow their own internal procedures and/or fail to act consistently and/or fail to act reasonably.  Make certain your managers do not act first and seek advice later – train and support them to deal with the human elements of their work.

Deal with issues

• Sometimes businesses say they have done all of the above, but there is an employee who appears determined to cause difficulties – or business changes have to be made.  This might mean disciplinaries, grievances, dismissals or redundancies.  What can be done to minimise the risk of being taken to a tribunal?  Well, the first thing is to acknowledge that ‘things are not right’.  So, do not bury your head in the sand and hope it will go away – it won’t!
• If you have been unfortunate enough to have been taken to an employment tribunal before, it will be taken as a given that you have amended the way you do things; if not, the tribunal will be extremely unsympathetic to any defence you may try to put forward.
• Be consistent, as well as fair, with the way you deal with similar issues.  Where organisations are larger, or work from different geographical sites, this is easier said than done – hence the need to ensure that effective company communications are in place.
• Always ‘count to ten’ before committing to any action – fully investigate the issues first.  Ideally this should be undertaken by someone different from the person who will be deciding about an employee’s future in the company.  Gain witness statements (if appropriate) which are dated and signed.
• Always seek the ‘other party’s’ version of events – there are two sides to every story.  Consider any mitigating circumstances and factor in to the decision made.
• Keep the employee informed at every stage of the process – in writing.  Give the employee a right to an appeal, heard by someone not previously involved if possible.  Allow them to be accompanied at each stage.
• Keep an open mind throughout the process, actively listen and demonstrate that this is being done.
• Do not express opinions, conjecture or a hasty decision in writing –this includes emails – stick to talking if you have to comment, as companies are obliged to provide all their evidence at a tribunal.

What do you think?

Any questions or feedback?  Please get in touch!

At organic hr we think about this kind of thing a lot – it’s important that HR earns its keep and considering the potential financial impact of employee issues is a key part of our work.  In March 2011, research from the CIPD showed that the average disciplinary case entails:

• 7.8 days of management time
• 10.2 days of HR staff time
• 2.2 days of Legal staff time

That’s around 20 days for a disciplinary.  At first glance this may seem a little high but complex cases, with the associated investigations, hearings, appeals and potentially employment tribunals, can in fact require far more input.

Let’s think about costs and value.

• If everyone involved (managers, HR staff and legal staff) were paid at the minimum wage (which they probably aren’t!!) on an 8 hour day then:  A disciplinary would cost around £950 in wages
• If everyone involved were paid at the national median rate (about £500 a week in 2010 according the ONS) then the cost would be around £2000 in wages – in real life, if senior personnel were involved, this figure would be far higher
• This is without factoring in the opportunity cost of managers being tied up handling employment issues

Managed efficiently and by experts, the disruption – the negative time and financial impact – can be reduced significantly.  Better yet, the preparation can be undertaken to help avoid disciplinary issues in the first place!  Either way, the ROI (Return On Investment) is clear and it is measurable.

At organic hr, we have a strong track record in all areas of employment relations and HR.  We have delivered strong HR ROI for all sorts of organisations across Calderdale, Huddersfield, Bradford, Wakefield, Yorkshire and beyond.

If you’d like to learn a little more about effective ways to handle disciplinaries or any other aspect of employee relations then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

This means a lot to us.  Even before the company was established, it was part of our vision for organic hr to ensure that the full range of our HR consultancy services was accessible to local charities, community organisations and social enterprises.  The entire team are from Calderdale and it is important to us to seek to contribute to our local community through our business.

We are pleased to say that we have been able to stay true to this vision and have developed strong, mutually beneficial relationships with several voluntary sector organisations.  We are genuinely thrilled with this award and we are looking forward to working with many more voluntary sector organisations to help them with key HR issues such as recruitment, restructuring, redundancy handling, performance management, disciplinaries and grievances.

Here’s the proof!!

On behalf of the CFA, who are working in partnership with the CIPD, we are inviting you as an experienced professional in Human Resources to take part in a review of the national occupational standards (NOS) in HR.

In partnership with the CIPD, the CFA [1] is about to review the HR standards so that they reflect the very latest policies, practices and procedures in the HR world.

To commence the work an online survey has been developed where you will be able to comment on the standards and provide feedback as to whether they accurately reflect the work that you do. This survey will give you the opportunity to input into the standards within your own industry and will contribute to raising best practice across the profession.

The survey will take around 20 minutes to complete. You can access the survey by clicking on the link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RZYLCPF
Many thanks on behalf of the CFA.

[1] CFA Business Skills @ Work is a government recognised standard setting organisation which is responsible for business skills across the UK.

In our experience, the best time to introduce good terms and conditions of employment and a set of policies or staff handbook is when staff relationships are good, the time when many organisations feel the most confident that they’re just not necessary, and using external expertise (like us!) is a real investment.  It needn’t be a big deal – the trick is good communication, and by ensuring that the polices or staff handbook are non-contractual, those areas that are likely to change the most can be with, guess what, more good communication.

We work with organisations of all shapes and sizes in areas around Yorkshire, from Brighouse to Bradford, Huddersfield to Hull and Doncaster to Dewsbury – based in Halifax we are ‘good to go’ with a train line and the M62 to hand.

So, pick up the phone and call us on 01422 399535 or drop us an email at team@organichr.co.uk and arrange a confidential (no cost!) chat to see how we might be able to help you achieve peace of mind with your employment matters.  We’ll buy the camomile tea!

According to a year-long study by the King’s Fund, in the past decade there has been a year-on-year increase in the number of days lost in the workplace from mental health, costing the economy upwards of £26.1 billion and the NHS £22.5 billion.  This is a subject that can no longer be ‘brushed under the carpet’ by employers.

“It is important to recognise that working with mental health is not an option for employers” says The Kade Consultancy’s Lead Psychologist, Elaine Douglas.  “With one in three people suffering from mental ill-health at some point in their lifetime, having the ability to recognise issues and provide support to employees is critical for both the individual and the organisation”

The event will take a fresh approach and rather than focusing on managing absences and organisational policy, the seminar will introduce a holistic model for managing mental health in the workplace and focus very much on ‘distress’ element of this.  Focusing on how to spot the signs early, methods of providing support and how reasonable adjustments can be made, attendees will gain a real insight into that crucial time between an individual being at work and being ‘off-sick’.

The Kade Consultancy are a team of Business Consultants who use psychology, counselling and training to support & develop the workforce of their clients, and are recognised specialists in the areas of employee motivation, performance and  absenteeism.  “We have chosen to partner with Organic HR as they work with organisations and managers on a day to day basis and have a useful perspective of the issues facing businesses in relation to mental health, whereas we provide expertise from an individual perspective.  This provides employers with the best of both worlds, and seminar attendees will be able to learn from a wealth of experience from our teams.”

The first of the seminars take place during June at the Elsie Whiteley Innovation Centre in Halifax town centre.  The two-hour events are just £15, including light refreshments and an opportunity to network.  Bookings can be made at www.organichr.co.uk or by contacting The Kade Consultancy on 01422 372222 or Organic HR on 01422 399535.

This seminar will introduce a holistic model to managing mental health from both the individual and organisational perspective.  Focussing specifically on the ‘distress’ element of the model, the seminar will review the skills required by managers and HR professionals when working with individuals who are suffering when at work, or when returning to work following an absence.  Spotting early signs, looking at support and adjustments and how to monitor an individual is also considered.

The seminar will take place at The Elsie Whiteley Innovation Centre in Halifax and is aimed at managers, HR professionals and employers.  The following dates are available:

Wednesday 8 June 5.00pm – 7.00pm

Tuesday 21 June 8.00am – 10.00am

Tuesday 28 June 5.00pm – 7.00pm

The cost of the seminar is £15.00 including VAT, payable at the seminar.  Light refreshments and an opportunity to network will be provided.

To attend one of these events, please register here and we look forward to meeting you there!

The seminars will provide information about mental health, how it can impact on employers and how we can recognise mental health issues.  It will also focus on how support can be sourced for both employees and organisations.

The seminars will take place at the Elsie Whiteley Innovation Centre in Halifax on the following dates:

Wednesday 8 June 5.00pm – 7.00pm

Tuesday 21 June 8.00am – 10.00am

Tuesday 28 June 5.00pm – 7.00pm

More information and booking details for the seminars will be released soon, and if you would like to receive this information directly by joining our mailing list, please complete the contact form with your details or call our office on 01422 399535.