Most business owners will have enough on their plate trying to manage existing staff, without having to worry about ex-employees.
Unfortunately, the rise of platforms like Glassdoor, Trustpilot and Google Reviews has given a mouthpiece to disgruntled former employees who feel they have an axe to grind. And the truth is that, rightly or wrongly, they can get away with saying an awful lot without much recourse.
Read more about avoiding reputational damage here,
Lunch is for wimps?
While the line from Wall Street “Lunch is for wimps” may encapsulate 1980s machoism and an extreme sense of work ethic, many people now would recognise that it doesn’t ring true.
Sure, it is a positive if your dedicated team willingly works through a lunchbreak occasionally to hit a deadline. Making a habit of it, though, will probably lead to more harm than good.
A break halfway through the day is important for so many reasons – for them and for you.
See some of the reasons why taking a lunch break is so important.
Out of office
You’ve met your deadline, handed over some urgent tasks, put your mug in the dishwasher… wait you still need to set your out of office! Out of office (OOO) messages split opinion. What’s your style?
Do you like a Dad-joke style quip, like a Simpsonesque: “Hi, I’m Troy McClure. You may remember me from such automated responses as ‘I’m on vacation’ and ‘I’m not here right now’. I’m currently out of the office until [date].”?
Or do you prefer a last-minute rush job littered with typos and the wrong date for your return?
How to set an effective out of office message.
National minimum wage for domestic live-in workers
A small loophole in the national minimum wage legislation will be closed on 1 April 2024.
Dating back to 1999, it allowed live-in workers who were treated as part of the family to be exempt from the national minimum wage. It was principally designed to facilitate au pairs – where accommodation and meals were provided in return for light housework and childcare.
Find out what has changed.
Would you promote someone who works from home?
A recent survey found that four out of ten employees feel they are less likely to get promoted or receive a pay rise if they do not spend enough time in the office.
While this in itself should not be a determining factor for pay rises and promotions, assuming they are operating within your rules, it may be that indirectly it has an influence.
Read more about this survey.
Soz UR sacked ☹
It may sound more like the behaviour of a teenager dumping their boyfriend or girlfriend, but believe it or not some companies have chosen to dismiss employees by text message.
As far back as 2003, only a few years after texts had become popular, a personal injury claims company dismissed 2,000 staff by text; while much more recently a holiday resort firm is alleged to have done the same.
Why you shouldn't dismiss employees by text.
HR Dept Perth & St.Andrews
15 High Street, Crieff, PH7 3HU
Tel: 07392310011 Email: gillian.reilly@hrdept.co.uk
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Website: www.hrdept.co.uk/perth-st-andrews
HR Dept Perth and St Andrews
Outsourced HR services, provided locally, helping to solve all your HR issues in a practical and pragmatic way. Importantly, our HR advice is backed by Tribunal Indemnity Insurance. The HR Dept will get to know you and your business and will ensure you are legally compliant, preventing people problems in your business.
