A contract of employment exists immediately an agreement is reached to pay somebody in return for them undertaking or carrying out of work. Even when made verbally the contract is binding. Under a normal recruitment process, we might expect the rate of pay to be negotiated, but if there is an advertised salary then it would be fair for a job applicant to assume this is what they will be paid if a job is verbally offered.

If a job offer is made in writing, we would expect pay and other benefits such as holiday allowance, bonus scheme and pension provision to be clarified in the offer letter. Full terms of employment must be put in writing within eight weeks of an employee starting work.

From 6th April however, this will change with the implementation of the first tranche of recommendations from the Government’s Good Work Plan.

One of the aims of the Good Work Plan is to redress the balance of risk between employers and employees. From the 6th April, all employees/workers must be provided with a written statement of their employment particulars on or before the employee’s first day of work. 

A job offer letter will usually lay out the most critical terms such as start date, place of work, working hours, remuneration and holiday entitlement. A well written and comprehensive offer letter can act as an employment contract. However, under the new legislation, we recommend that a separate contract document is issued that is consistent across the workforce. Compulsory clauses from 6th April will be:

• The hours and days of the week the worker/employee is required to work, whether they may be varied and how
• Entitlement to any paid leave
• Any other benefits not covered elsewhere
• Details of any probationary period
• Details of training provided by the employer

There are a number of other clauses that we recommend appear in the Employment Contract to form a robust document against which employees can be held to account. There should also be provision for the employee to sign the contract as acceptance of its terms.

Contracts should stipulate the terms that are specific to each employee. Rules and conditions that cover everyone should be referred to in the Staff Handbook. So, a driver may have a different contract from a cleaner in terms of pay and contracted hours, but they would both be subject to the same absence and sickness policies as laid out in the Staff Handbook.

Failing to issue written contracts and staff handbooks prevents you from specifying rules or conditions to which your employees must adhere whilst they work for you. In the event of a dispute or grievance you will have to revert to statutory law or case law to hold employees to account.

Contracts of Employment and Staff Handbooks need to be looked at and updated regularly so that you are not exposed to any risks from changes in Employment Law. Attending our regular Employment Law Updates will help you to keep the terms of your contracts and handbooks compliant with current legislation although we recommend a full professional review at least every three years.

If you would like us to review your employment contracts and staff handbooks, or if you need support with any other aspects of HR and Employment Law, please contact us on 01452 331331 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

There's a lot of talk about digital transformation at the moment. Visibly, the effects of our access to the Internet and digital technology are most noticeable with the closure of high street brands like Mothercare and Toys R Us. Behind the scenes, manufacturing and agriculture are embracing digital technology and robotics at an ever increasing rate. Indeed, when we talk about digital transformation in the workplace, thoughts probably jump to robots and artificial intelligence; automatons taking over the jobs that are, or were, traditionally done by humans.

But not so fast. Digital transformation is in fact all about people.

For employers, it’s about having a strategy to bring employees into the 21st Century by equipping them with the skills and knowledge to thrive in a digital age.

It’s a shame to see the demise of well-known high street names, some of which have been with us all our lives. However, we cannot deny that it has been a failure by the leaders of these organisations to move with the times, embrace technology and recognise its impact on consumer habits that has ultimately led to their collapse.

We should also recognise that technology for technology’s sake is not a solution. I’m sure I’m not alone in hearing stories of businesses spending thousands of pounds developing “an app that will revolutionise the industry”. Often however, little thought is given to how that app might affect employees or the processes they follow to do their jobs. When costing app development, remember to plan for implementation and to allow for employee training or for the recruitment of staff with specialist skills.

As we look at implementing digital transformation across an organisation, it might pay to categorise our employees so that we can apply the most appropriate strategy to them. We can identify three distinct groups:

• Digital Dependants: These are people born at or after the turn of the century and who have always known life with digital technology. For them technology is a must-have.
• Digital Natives: Are those who grew up alongside technology and have seen the changes happen. Being able to adopt and adapt to change is likely to come naturally for this group.
• Digital Migrants: Born without mainstream technology, this group have had to make a step-change from life without to life with.

There is nothing to say that any one group has an advantage over the others when it comes to digital transformation. What is important is that we recognise that the differences exist. We need to understand the composition of our own workforces so that we can take this into account when implementing any form of technological change. How our people are likely to react will influence the pace of change and the levels of training required.

For example, if you install a digitalised HR system to control processes like absence management, holidays and appraisals, you might need to ensure that everyone has the technological ability to access it as well as the necessary skills. You might also need to ensure that there is a contingency for when it becomes inaccessible; when there is a loss of Internet service for example.

The pace of technological innovation continues at a blistering rate, so we’re probably closer than you think to driverless cars and Saturday night takeaways delivered by drone. If you feel like there’s a storm brewing, you might benefit from some support with organisational and cultural change. We’d be delighted to help; in person of course. Call us on 01452 331331 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We’ve seen a significant rise in calls to the to the helpline recently from employers who have had an employee storm out the businesses, declaring that they quit. Understandably, employers are left confused about their position and what they should do.

In this circumstance, don’t ignore it. Follow up with some positive action. Recruitment and induction is an expensive business so you should make some effort to salvage the situation if the employee is worth retaining in the business.

If an employee storming out comes as a surprise, you might want to first take some time to consider why it’s a surprise. It’s probable that there has been a series of issues or incidents and the employee has reached a tipping point.

Ask yourself if there a channel of communication that is available to members of staff where they can speak openly and confidentially about problems and issues at work. This might be unfair or unreasonable treatment, workload or the style and behaviour of their manager. There might just be a personality clash. If you know about it, you’ll have the opportunity at least to take action and avoid a situation reaching the stage where employees feel that quitting is their only option.

Transferring someone from one department or team to another for example might be all that is required to relieve tension and solve the issue; meaning you get to retain a good worker and maintain morale.
If you’re beyond that point however and your member of staff has slammed the door on their way out, then you need to manage the situation rationally. Remain pragmatic and don’t react to the behaviour in a way that could worsen the situation for either party.

Give the employee a period of time to cool off. Wait to see if he or she returns to work for their next shift. If they do then their return to work interview is an opportunity to hold a conversation with them to determine if there are any underlying problems or mitigating circumstances. If these do exist, then offer support and sign post them to the appropriate procedure to raise complaints.

If the employee cannot justify their behaviour then you may have no choice but to take some form of disciplinary action to protect yourself from further incidents.

If an employee fails to show up for work without any form of contact, then it is a case of unauthorised absence and should be managed as such until they return to work (or not). Until you have a written resignation, you still have a duty of care and some responsibilities, not least those that come under HMRC and taxation rules.

Your first action maybe to call or write to them and check their wellbeing. Check to see if they live alone, who are their next of kin? There is a fine line between respecting someone’s human right to privacy verses a duty of care to check they are safe and well.

If you receive no response from the wellbeing contact, you’ll need to write to the employee and ask them to attend a meeting. We recommend delivering a letter by hand on the same day or by recorded delivery to arrive the next day. Or both. The initial meeting will be an investigation and an opportunity for your employee to present their side of the story and/or reasons for not showing into work.

Depending on the outcome of the investigation, including whether or not they attend, you’ll either agree a return to work and/or continue through a disciplinary process. The employee may still decide to tender their resignation of course but at least now it will be officially done and not in the heat of the moment.

You’re not obliged to pay an employee for the time that they do not work and if they storm out never to return then you won’t have to pay any notice either. Remember however that you’ll need to pay them for the time they have worked and there might be some holiday pay to calculate.

For help and support with any HR and Employment Law matters, especially the prickly ones, call us on 01452 331331 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Just as we were all getting used to the uncertainty caused by Brexit, we get thrown a curve-ball with the announcement of a general election. As if running a business wasn’t difficult enough!

With the main parties having announced their manifestos this week, we at least have some idea of how the country might be run. We don’t know who’s going to win of course so for the time being the uncertainty remains. Whilst we can’t plan, we can prepare. Nobody wants to make redundancies of course, but we must acknowledge that the risk of job losses often sits behind big political decisions. By ensuring we are comfortable with how redundancies should be handled, we can help to minimise the amount of disruption that they might cause.

We should remember that even in times of growth businesses often have to remodel and re-shape to accommodate or react to shifts in economic conditions. The need to making redundancies then isn’t always as a result of economic downturn. It might be to ditch unprofitable lines and add resources to better performing areas of the business.

If redundancies are on the cards, “last in, first out” isn’t an acceptable strategy, although it’s surprising how many people still think that it is. A transparent and equitable system that fairly scores employees’ abilities against the skills required to fulfil the available positions should be the go-to process that organisations adopt.

In all redundancy situations, the key point to remember is that it is positions that are made redundant and not people. Therefore, where a position is identified as being redundant and more than one person is currently employed who can fulfil it, operating a fair selection process is paramount in conjunction with the appropriate consultation period for the numbers being made redundant.

We recommend employees are scored against a ‘selection matrix’ that awards points for each requirement of the position including skills, qualifications, track record and experience. The scoring could include minus points for poor attendance and any disciplinary history. The lowest scores are those who are dismissed.

So if a company suffers a downturn in business and requires two less technicians, telephonists or roofers from a team of 10, then all 10 employees must be put “at risk”. A fair scoring system must then be applied to establish who the top employees are, based on their ability and aptitude. The bottom two scorers will lose their jobs.

Equally, employees that do similar roles at different offices or sites across the country may all need to be put at risk of redundancy if the need for one of those workers becomes unnecessary. So if the bookkeeping role of four offices could be managed by just two bookkeepers then all four would need to be put at risk and the best two selected following a fair selection process.

For clarity, unacceptable selection methods for redundancy include:

• Last in first out
• Drawing lots
• Selection based on the lowest cost
• Selection because someone is perceived as a difficult person.

To avoid going through the redundancy process, other options might be available to employers such as offering voluntary redundancy or reducing the hours of the whole team if everyone is in agreement.

Finally, make sure you can prove your scoring matrix is fair and does not favour or discriminate against any individual or group. A redundancy situation that can be construed as an excuse to exit a specific employee could lead to an unfair dismissal claim so it’s crucial that your process is flawless. Those who are absent on maternity leave may need special consideration and this may extend to parental and shared parental leave.

For further help and support with making redundancies contact us on 01452 331331 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

With snow suddenly arriving for some of us yesterday and persistent, torrential rain for most, it seems that we’re writing about coping with adverse weather events with more regularity these days. Many of us experienced major disruption as a result of yesterday’s downpour with roads flooding and schools closing. Even as the rain eases, we’re likely to feel the after-effects of swollen rivers and rainwater running off hills and fields.

Whilst some businesses might suffer directly from flooded premises, the effect of the weather for most organisations is likely to be the inability of their staff to physically come to work. This may be due to travel and transport problems or because childcare has become an issue following a school closure.

How significantly businesses are affected will of course depend upon the business type and the premises involved. Shops, restaurants, factories and warehouses, where employee presence is required to carry out physical duties will feel the greatest impact. For office type premises, the availability of the Internet means that there may be some options for affected employees such as working from home or arranging to work from an alternative site.

In strict terms, where a business is unable to open owing to adverse weather, but employees still make themselves available for work, then they should still be paid as they are fulfilling or attempting to fulfil their duties under their contract of employment. This may occur because the premises is inaccessible on account of flooding or snow or because the main keyholder is unable to get to work to open up.

Conversely, should your business remain open during adverse weather, but employees are unable or unwilling to get to work, then there is no obligation to pay them. Employees would either have to take the time off as holiday, if you allowed it, or as unpaid leave.

However, we should always consider employee relations and maintaining morale and goodwill within your workforce. Therefore, we always advise discretion and compromise; particularly for smaller businesses. We’re not suggesting that you allow employees to take advantage of your generosity, but where there is trust and empathy, there should be room for some flexibility.

Besides, an engaged workforce will probably feel responsible for their absence and either make up the time they have missed or find a way to get their allocated work done. As employers we can assist by planning for adverse weather events. We can use cloud-based services that allow people to work from anywhere, or have a background project that staff can apply time to when their normal work options are forced to pause.

We should also consider businesses for whom adverse weather may make it too dangerous for employees to be working; roof-workers or scaffolders in icy conditions for example. A “lay-off” clause might be an appropriate solution so that you’re not paying workers to twiddle their thumbs but again, some alternative work will keep your staff loyal and paid. Perhaps a stock-take or workspace tidy-up.

Your employees have a right to know what to do should adverse weather strike, so we strongly recommend that all employers have a robust and properly implemented Adverse Weather Policy in place. This is a cheap and effective solution that will leave everybody in an organisation clear about what to do, what to expect and what is expected of them.

The policy should clearly lay out how the organisation will act in cases of adverse weather and how it expects its employees to behave. It should lay out the options available to employees and should also include how employees' pay might be affected.

If you don’t already have an adverse weather policy or if yours needs updating, perhaps because of the opportunities that the Internet now provides, we can help you to put one in place. With climate change seemingly making the weather more unpredictable, the need for an appropriate policy is only likely to become greater.

Call or e-mail us to discuss options on 01452 331331 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

To protect workers, the law lays down certain terms that are an entitlement to all workers as a minimum. Such terms are classed as statutory and whilst they can be enhanced or improved upon by an employer, they cannot be made less beneficial or worse than the statutory minimum.

As suggested by their title, statutory terms of employment are set by “statute”. In other words, they are imposed, varied or regulated by an act of law that has been passed by Parliament.

An employer is entitled to improve upon or embellish a statutory term of employment as much as he or she wishes and might have good cause to do this. The most likely reasons might be to attract and retain the very best staff.

A good example of a statutory term that is often enhanced is holiday entitlement. The statutory minimum annual holiday for a full time worker in the UK is 28 days including bank holidays. An employer can choose to increase this entitlement to any number of days per year above this, but he cannot reduce this minimum entitlement or take holiday days away.

Statutory terms often have a qualifying period before they come into force, or change depending upon the length of service. There are around 30 statutory terms or rights. Some of the more pertinent ones are:

• The right to be paid at least the national minimum wage.
• The right to 28 days per year paid holiday. Pro-rata for part time staff
• The right to time off for trade union duties and activities although This time off does not necessarily have to be paid
• The right to maternity, paternity and/or adoption leave OR Paid maternity, paternity and/or adoption leave after a qualifying length of service
• The right to unpaid shared parental leave or paid shared parental leave after a qualifying period
• The right to sick pay following a qualifying period of employment and after qualifying period of sickness
• The right to ask for flexible working, although it may not necessarily be awarded
• The right not to be discriminated against
• The right to notice of dismissal. This is subject to one month’s service and varies thereafter depending on the length of service
• The right to claim redundancy pay if made redundant after two years’ service
• The right not to suffer detriment or dismissal for whistleblowing on a matter of public concern at the workplace

These terms should be considered as non-negotiable and are what you must accept as soon as you become an employer. Some will feature in your employment contracts whilst others will be better placed in your company handbook. We’ll happy review these documents for you. As usual, if you need support regarding any issues raised here, call us on 01452 331331 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Vicarious Liability exists in the workplace where an organisation becomes liable for the actions, deeds or words of one or more of its employees. This can be a significant issue. Under the Equalities Act, awards for discrimination against the protected characteristics are unlimited. Therefore, inappropriate or discriminatory behaviour by a single rogue employee could cause financial ruin for his or her employer.

An example of vicarious liability might be where an employee is victimised by her boss because she is female and, feeling her position is untenable, chooses to quit her job. Subsequently she raises a constructive dismissal claim. The claim would initially be made against the company which, as the employer, would be vicariously liable.

If however, it could be proved that the correct training had been provided by the company to the offending manager, and that otherwise throughout the organisation a non-discriminative culture existed, the business would have a strong argument that it was not at fault. If the employee who made the claim wins her case, then the liability would rest on the shoulders of the victimising boss, for whom it could result in a very costly outcome.

Be aware that it’s not enough to have polices simply in existence. In order to avoid any blame for wrongdoing falling on the organisation, employers must stand by their policies and ensure that all staff know about them and are adequately trained. The organisation should maintain evidence that they have taken reasonable steps to implement their policies in the workplace and amongst the workforce.

If a company can show that they have created a non-discriminative organisational culture that is “lived and breathed”, acts of discrimination can then be attributed to any offending employees. Any fines or awards would then also be attributed to the individual who would be liable to pay.

In other words, where businesses can prove that they have taken reasonable steps to implement policies that safeguard against discrimination, employees cannot hide behind the company and could find themselves exposed to prosecution for offences perpetrated in the workplace.

Cases do exist where line managers have been personally fined so this outcome is more likely than you might think. The key of course is to make sure you regularly train on Dignity at Work Training for all employees and this has been recorded; and that relevant policies are up to date and staff have signed to say they have read and understand them.

For any help and support with your equal opportunities policies or to enquire about our dignity at work training, as usual you can call us on 01452 331331 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

When we are asked by a client to intervene in an employee related issue, very often we find that the matter could have been avoided if the employee’s manager or supervisor was better at holding difficult conversations. We understand. Difficult conversations are often avoided because by their very nature, they are likely to involve conflict; and conflict is something that the vast majority of us at least, will try very hard to avoid.

Embarrassment can also be a reason why issues are avoided or ignored. We may be embarrassed about what we have to say, or be fearful that we may become embarrassed if the conversation takes a turn in a direction that we are not prepared for or don’t have the answers to.

In the workplace, the reasons for why a manager might need to have a difficult conversation with an employee could be to discipline or reprimand them. This could be, for poor work standards, bad time keeping, absence or a mistake that has affected the business. Equally there may be behavioural issues that need to be addressed; and sometimes a word about personal hygiene.

No-one really likes to give bad or unwelcome feedback. When faced with the task of doing so however, we might question what the consequences of not giving it will be. We’ll probably quickly realise that these will be far worse than the temporary discomfort of swallowing hard and just saying what needs to be said.

That’s not to say we shouldn’t consider the recipient’s feelings when having a difficult conversation with them. But by giving appropriate feedback at the right time, employees will know where they stand and issues can be resolved rather than festering and escalating into major problems that then require an intervention from HR Champions.

Here are some top tips for holding difficult conversations, but it’s a complicated subject that really deserves a full day’s workshop, which of course, we can run for you and your managers.

• Be prepared. Make sure you have as much information as you think you’ll need for your conversation and have a clear idea of the outcome that you are after. Try thinking of a mental flow-chart so you can keep the conversation on the track that you want.
• Get on with it. Preparation is good but don’t use it as an excuse for procrastination. Better to go in half-cocked than not to go in at all.
• Make an appointment. Don’t just call an ad-hoc meeting. Pre-arrange a time and date in a suitable, private environment. This will add some formality to the meeting and help to add gravity to your message.
• Don’t beat around the bush. Be direct and get to the point of your discussion but use open questions to draw out the recipients views. Eg. “We’re meeting today to discuss your sales figures. How do you think you are doing?”
• Keep emotions in check. Be aware that the subject of your conversation may make emotions run high. Keep you composure at all times and don’t get personal or raise issues that are not relevant to your discussion
• Find a solution together. Make sure that the outcome is agreed between you and that both parties “buy-into it”. This will avoid resentment and give you a stronger standpoint if the issue arises again.

Congratulations if you’re already comfortable holding difficult conversations, but if you need support or if you think you and your staff would benefit from some training then please call us on 01452 331331 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

As we enter the time of year when sniffs, sneezes and coughs become more prevalent, we’re likely to see an increase in staff absence due to illness. With advances made in technology over recent years, and in particular in mobile communications, there may be a temptation for employees to use the likes of text messaging, Whatsapp or Twitter to notify their boss of an absence. However, we still recommend that as an employer, you insist that employees telephone and speak to their line manager if they are not going to turn into work because of sickness or an emergency.

Employers are in fact entitled to be very specific about the time by which they must be informed, and who or what level of management must be told if an unplanned absence occurs.

Staff absence will impact different organisations to different extents. For some, one or two staff members’ unexpected absence may not affect productivity significantly and their duties might be temporarily shared around other employees for a few days or simply wait until they return to work.

Other businesses and industries don’t have that luxury. An engineering firm’s entire productivity may be halted if a key component can’t be produced because it relies on a specific machine operator’s skills. Or a day nursery may compromise its child to adult ratio if they are unable to replace an absent nursery nurse at short notice.

The company policy regarding absence notification should be published in the organisation’s staff handbook and be clear and unambiguous.

It should state the time by which the company should be informed of unscheduled absence, eg within 30 minutes of the commencement of the employee’s shift or even prior to the shift starting. It should also state who should be informed; the employee’s line manager, or an equivalent or superior if the line manager is unavailable.

We further recommend that the absence policy states how the employee should communicate their absence and this should be by telephone.

Mobile messaging negates the ability to hold a proper conversation. The employee’s wellbeing should be of concern for the employer, who has a duty of care. A telephone conversation allows for a proper understanding of the employee’s situation and could be an early alert to some other underlying medical condition.

If there is a possibility that the absence could be for an extended period of time, a one-to-one conversation creates an opportunity to agree channels of communication during this period.

And of course, there should be a discussion around workload, priorities and deadlines. If a customer is waiting for a job or an order to be completed that the employee has some responsibility for then this information needs to be shared so that the organisation can manage the workflow. The employee is contracted to deliver a job and whilst illness may temporarily prevent fulfilment of that contract, a duty remains.

You might even consider that your policy goes as far as explicitly excluding the use of e-mail, social media or mobile platforms to notify of absence so that there is no doubt.

If you are making changes to your staff handbook to incorporate a stringent absence notification policy, ensure that your employees are made aware of the changes and have access to a copy of the document. As usual, if you need any help with your contracts or handbooks or implementing policies and procedures in the workplace, we’re available on 01452 331331 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Once an employee has passed their probationary period, you can never really just sack them on the spot and have them escorted from the premises. Even for behaviour that we might consider to be gross misconduct, a proper dismissal process should be followed.

You could argue that any employee who has less than two years’ service hasn’t accrued any rights and can therefore be asked to leave without reason. However, if a situation has arisen that calls for a formal process to be followed, we strongly recommend that this takes place in order to eliminate any risk of wrongful dismissal.

Even for the most serious of misdemeanours, such as theft, fighting or sleeping at work, employers have to go through a formal disciplinary procedure or potentially face a claim for unfair dismissal at Tribunal.

If you feel that the offence is so serious the employee is a risk to the business and so shouldn’t be at work or on the premises, then a suspension is usually your best option whilst the disciplinary process is undertaken. Even then, suspension should be a last resort for the most serious of incidents, where their presence in the business may be a risk to the business or others; and remember, it will be on full pay.

Your disciplinary process should start with an investigation. Depending on the offence, the investigation may amount to simply interviewing solely the employee in question. You should interview other employees for evidence where appropriate and take statements that interviewees have the option to review and sign.

Your investigation might also potentially involve seeking statements and evidence from outside your organisation from sources such as your customers or the Police. Under GDPR, it’s likely to be very difficult to acquire CCTV footage unless it’s your own.

If the investigation warrants a move to disciplinary action (and we can assume that for a gross misconduct offence it will), then the offending employee should be invited to a disciplinary meeting. Give at least 48 hours’ notice prior to the meeting taking place and you must share any evidence you intend to refer to. You must also allow the employee representation at the disciplinary meeting which can be either a work colleague or an elected representative (not simply a member) of a trade union; even if you don’t have a trade union active at your workplace.

We also recommend that somebody different to the investigator undertakes the disciplinary meeting. Should they decide that summary dismissal is the appropriate course of action, then at that stage employment can be terminated and done so without any period of notice. Remember however that the employee is entitled to appeal any disciplinary decision that is made and it is best practice to have the appeal heard by a different and more senior manager to the one that heard the disciplinary meeting.

We are often asked to support clients through disciplinary processes and we can act on your behalf at any stage; investigation, disciplinary, including dismissal, and appeal. If you have a disciplinary case that you would like some support with then please call us on 01452 331331 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

If you have any uncertainty, seek advice as early in the process as possible. Most Tribunal cases fail because the early stage processes have not been carried out satisfactorily.