HR Knowhow
What can we learn from Bath University fair pay row
Bath University Vice Chancellor's pay is prompting protests over whether the university is 'Paying Fair', our local news outlets have reported widely in recent weeks about a row that has erupted in relation to the level of pay received by the Vice-chancellor of Bath...
Retaining your best assets after maternity leave
How often have you heard that people are your best asset? Yet when someone goes on maternity leave (or shared parental leave) many businesses seem to forget what they have invested and let them slip away rather than keeping them engaged in their business....
The Queen’s Speech- our take on the HR bits!
Well, it’s been a tumultuous few months since the general election. But we’ve recently seen the Queen’s speech, the outcome of the Taylor Review, and the retraction of Employment Tribunal fee’s last week outlined the main policies that the Conservatives intend to...
Employers paying less than the minimum wage- named and shamed
The Department for Business recently named and shamed a list of around 200 employers in the UK who had paid employees less than the minimum or living wage. This included 4 companies in Bristol, 3 of which were small, independently owned businesses who between them...
Gloucester businesses making the most of Apprenticeships.
It was great to read how well some Gloucester based businesses are doing in providing work experience opportunities to young people via Apprenticeships and the ‘Skills for Stroud’ team. According to Southwest business news, ‘overall 22 businesses, four schools and...
Emergency Plans- would your staff know what to do?
Earlier this month Gloucester based Company Avon metals suffered what could have been a devastating fire at their Gloucester headquarters. However the business was saved by not only expertise of the local fire and rescue service, but by the Company staff and their...
Is it legal to enforce a ‘stereotypical’ dress code?
Stories of employee’s being forced to wear high heels at work are all over the news this week . A female agency worker turned up at work on her first day as a temporary receptionist for PWC in London, only to be told that her footwear was unsuitable because her shoes...
How to recruit staff as a small business in Bath
Having recently worked with a local business in Bath, I was reminded of how difficult it can be for a small business to recruit talent in a fiercely competitive market. It proved to be a rollercoaster ride fraught with unexpected bumps and curve balls. This included...
Is an employee ‘moonlighting’ really bad for your business?
An interesting case caught my eye this week; a Year 6 female Teaching Assistant from County Durham was dismissed from her role for having a second job as an underwear model. The article reported that the lady was told parents would lose respect for the school if they...