outsourcedHR

31 03 2023

Wear a Hat Day – 31st March 23

Matthew Chilcott Blog, General #outsourcedhumanresources, #wearahatday, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's

Wear a Hat Day – 31st March 23 is set to be the biggest, boldest and HATTIEST yet. Grab your favourite hat and raise funds to bring us closer to a cure for brain tumours. Take part with your school, workplace or simply at home with family and friends either on Friday the 31st of March or on any day during the month.

We are a plain-speaking outsourced HR service who provide employers advice, support, company HR and who help businesses with the complexities and best practice in the world of Human Resources. Whether you’re a start-up, SME or bigger business we provide hr services, company hr and advice for employers and advice for employees for businesses from 1 – 250 employees, to enable successful business delivery, growth and change whilst Preventing People Problems. We help you find suitable people solutions whilst providing accredited legal expert Human Resources advice.

NATIONAL HAT DAY HISTORY

People of all ages show up in pirate hats and football helmets. Patrol officers, postal workers, restaurant servicers also wear their hats to various events. That date also commemorates the day in 1797 when the first top hat made its appearance in court.

Click here to Wear a Hat Day 2023 website

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30 03 2023

Top Five HR Tips

Matthew Chilcott Blog, General #outsourcedhumanresources, #top5hrtips, #toptips, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's

29 03 2023

UK government to adopt ‘light touch’ rules around AI

Matthew Chilcott Blog, General #artificialintelligence, #HRblog, #HRStevenage, #outsourcedhumanresources, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's

NEWS ARTICLE – UK government to adopt ‘light touch’ rules around AI :

The UK government says its plans for how it wants to regulate artificial intelligence technology – including the powerful “language model” called Chat-GPT – will “turbocharge” the growth of AI in the UK, while countering the potential risks of rapidly emerging computer intelligence to society. “We’re not denying the risks,” said Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary, Michelle Donelan. “That’s why we’ve got a proportionate framework in terms of this regulatory approach, one that can help the UK to seize the opportunities.” The government is not proposing new laws but is instead looking to existing regulators such as the Health and Safety Executive and the Competition and Markets Authority to apply key principles around safety, transparency, and accountability to emerging AI. “If we legislate now, it will be out of date,” said Ms Donelan. “We want a process that can be nimble, can be agile, can be responsible can prioritise safety can prioritise transparency, but can keep up with the pace of the change that’s happening in this sector.”

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “AI, Artificial Intelligence. Does it worry you? One point, I always think with Human Resources (HR) and operations in general is that you need that personal contact with all members of the team to be able to manage effectively for the business and employees. However, could AI replace some areas of it? Personally, I do not believe so, but may be in the future there may be areas that are allocated to AI but thankfully at the moment there is not. Especially with the prevention of using AI for recruitment but I do now see a number of AI companies that claim they can write you blogs for you, if required. Thankfully at Consensus HR, all our blogs and topics are chosen and written by us but we also have the support when needed by a marketing professional as our Chartered specialism is HR and Employment Law which is accredited by leading professional bodies, including the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board.

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Disability Discrimination: Reasonable Adjustments

29 03 2023

Finding and Keeping Talent

Matthew Chilcott Blog, General, Recruitment, Rewards & Benefits #outsourcedhumanresources, #talent, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Recruitment, Small Business, SME, SME's

Recruiting and developing employees can be time consuming for companies. In addition, businesses spend an average of £10,000 per employee. So – it’s important to make the most of your employees, helping the business and individuals alike.

Matthew from Consensus HR says “When we talk to businesses we are always highlighting the importance of looking after one of their main assets within business: their team.”

Organisations need to protect their ‘investment’ and retain valued employees.

Here are three tips for finding and retaining the right staff from Consensus HR:

Tip 1: Offer incentives to employees who refer friends

Cash or vouchers for employees who refer successful candidates can be a powerful incentive. Vouchers can be bought individually or via a reward scheme. Employees can use the vouchers for holidays, shopping or clothes with reputable suppliers.

Rewarding those who refer candidates can also take place at various intervals. For example, incentives can be offered when the applicant is recruited or after successful completion of their probationary period. Some employers choose to pay an additional sum should the successful applicant stay with the company for twelve months.

Consensus HR has successfully help client organisations to implement incentive schemes. One client has significantly reduced recruitment costs as a result.

Tip 2: Foster diversity

Allow your team to diversify within their roles and try working in different areas of the business. This could be achieved via internal transfers or promotions. Continual employee development helps retain the talent you have invested in.

“Allowing your team to diversify within the business and continually gain new skills ensures that they remain motivated and productive,” explains Matthew from Consensus HR. “Employees then remain an asset instead of becoming a ‘clone’ to the business and potentially unfulfilled in their role.”

Tip 3: Company benefits

What do you offer your employees in relation to other employers within the same sector? What could make you unique, attracting and retaining your personnel? How about:

Sending birthday cards to employees
Agreeing a discount scheme for employees with local retailers
Introducing a reward scheme for achieving objectives or exceeding expectations

It doesn’t have to be expensive and huge benefits can be gained.

Some of Consensus HR’s clients reward their teams as part of their quarterly performance review process. Team members can obtain financial rewards for achieving set objectives or KPI’s. These are paid through a voucher scheme that can be redeemed with a number of well-known retailers quarterly. Or – they can save the rewards until they wish to spend them. “We’ve seen people save their rewards and use them to purchase wedding rings, a holiday to Las Vegas and their Christmas shopping” explains Matthew.

To summarise…

Following these three tips will help your business to:

Increase sales
Reduce costs
Provide a culture in which people wish to work

“We must remember that this is only one area of retaining the right talent within the business. Another is management,” adds Matthew. “If people are not managed correctly then, even if these three tips are carried out, you still lose them – and their talent.”

Would you like to know more? The team at Consensus HR is happy to offer advice and examples of how to retain employees and become a preferred employer. Contact us for an informal discussion.

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YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

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28 03 2023

Finding the Right Freelancer

Matthew Chilcott Blog, General, Recruitment #freelancer, #outsourcedhumanresources, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's

Many businesses like to work with freelancers. It’s easy to see why; they offer the expertise, flexibility and cost effectiveness that businesses want – fast.

When outsourcing, it’s important to work with someone who understands you and your oragnisation. This includes your goals, your culture and any budget or timescale involved.

Harvard Business Review suggested that clarity and transparency are essential if outsourcing is to be successful. It underlines what is important to Consensus HR when meeting new clients.

“It’s all about communication,“ says Matthew of Consensus HR. “Businesses outsource their HR requirements to us so that they have immediate input and know that their requirements will be met quickly and expertly.

“From the very beginning, we need to know about goals, budget and timescale – and that’s just the beginning. Our expertise covers everything from recruitment, and Full HR Services to discipline and redundancy. Good HR practices can be used to increase sales and the overall turnover of the business.”

According to Harvard Business Review, five factors influence successful outsourcing:

Be transparent about your willingness to work with freelancers
Determine the level of contribution required
Define what essential skills and experience you are looking for – and the ‘nice to haves’
Allow all those will depend upon the freelancer to be involved with the selection process
Plan frequent reviews to make sure that the relationship delivers results

“A business owner must ensure that the freelancer they choose is the right fit for the business and that the level of management required is acknowledged’” adds Matthew. “At Consensus HR we get to know the business and become the company’s HR Dept. Many of our clients request us to visit them to implement performance management processes, to help with recruitment and when dealing with organisational structure changes.

“We work closely with our clients to find the best way to implement the many HR tools available and ensure they are seen as a proactive rather than reactive businesses.”

To find out more, contact Matthew for an informal discussion.

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YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

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27 03 2023

HSE launches ‘Asbestos and You’ campaign

Matthew Chilcott General, Health & Safety #asbestos, #outsourcedhumanresources, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's

HSE has launched a new campaign to remind people working in construction trades to manage the risks associated with asbestos.

Despite it being banned in the building industry since 1999, figures show that 5,000 people a year still die from asbestos-related diseases. It didn’t disappear when it was banned in the UK and we know that asbestos remains in millions of homes and buildings.

Those carrying out repairs or refurbishment work are at a higher risk of disturbing asbestos, especially when working in houses. Builders, carpenters, electricians, joiners, plasterers, plumbers and roofers are just some of the trades being urged to take the risks of asbestos seriously.

The campaign particularly wants to reach those who started their careers from the year 2000, after the use of asbestos was banned, so they know the risk still remains.

Visit the Asbestos and You website for more information about the campaign and how you can support it. You can also:

Download our new ‘quick guide for trades’
View our Asbestos essentials guidance
Read HSE’s asbestos campaign press release
Sign up for asbestos campaign updates by subscribing to our ebulletin

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YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

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27 03 2023

Sexual harassment at work: three types of claim

Matthew Chilcott Blog, Employment Law, General #outsourcedhumanresources, #sexual harassment, #sexualharassment, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's

What exactly is a sexual harassment claim in the UK? And, given that claims can be made by men or women, job applicants, employees, apprentices and those working under personal service contracts, how can employers avoid one?

Types of sexual harassment at work

There are three types of sexual harassment at work:

1. Unwanted conduct of a sexual nature

Has the purpose or effect of violating someone’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.

Historically, pictures of naked women in the workplace would be a good example, but the modern day equivalent is sexually explicit jokes by email.

Also, inappropriate touching or comments on a female employee’s chest as previously mentioned in our. blog and resulting in an award of £19,000.00, persistent requests for dates and sexual innuendos have all been found to be sexual harassment.

2. Sex-related harassment,

Is where there is unwanted conduct related to the person’s gender, which – again – has the purpose or effect of violating their dignity or creating an unpleasant environment.

For example, cases have decided that gossip about the paternity of an unborn child can be harassment on grounds of sex, as could hostile comments about childcare arrangements when a female employee has to constantly leave work early to care for her young children.

Even something such as putting materials up on a high shelf where none of the (naturally shorter) female staff can reach them could be viewed as harassment.

3. Rejection.

The third type of sexual harassment is if an employee rejects sexual advances or submits to them, and is then treated less favourably by the harasser.

“All of the above situations are extremely serious and employers must make sure that they manage the people and processes involved professionally, legally and sensitively,” says Matthew Pinto-Chilcott of Consensus HR. “in particular, appropriate disciplinary and grievance procedures should be in place.”

To discuss your own company’s responsibilities in a potential sexual harassment situation, contact Matthew via [email protected] or call 01438 476750 to speak to a member of the team

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YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

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23 03 2023

Protect your workers from violence and aggression

Matthew Chilcott Blog, General, Health & Safety #bullying, #Health&Safety, #outsourcedhumanresources, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's

Violence and aggression at work can have a serious impact on your workers physical and mental health.

HSE has refreshed its guidance on violence at work to help you protect your workers. It has been updated to:

simplify the navigation to help you easily find the information you need
remove outdated content and replace it with up-to-date practical guidance
remind you that HSE’s definition of violence includes aggression, such as verbal abuse or threats – this can be face to face, online or over the phone

The guidance will help you assess the risks, put the right controls in place to protect workers and report incidents and learn from them.

We have specific guidance on how to support your workers after a violent incident. There are also examples drawn from typical situations.

We have separate advice for workers, which explains how they can help employers prevent violent incidents at work.

Health & Safety Executive guidance – Click here

Consensus HR – Our comments:

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “Violence and aggression in the workplace and world in general seems to be on the increase with the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) saying that in 2019-2020 there were 688,000 reported incidents of violence at work. As part of our Employee Handbook and the HR Policies and Procedures we ensure a detailed section if written that provides clear and practical guidelines to businesses and their team on how to manage correctly, to best practice and the law. Nobody comes to work to experience bullying, violence or aggression and should this occur companies and their teams should ensure that s comprehensive process of action and recording is put in place for all member of the team. The HSE gives some excellent examples of this in the information shown in the HSE article above.”

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23 03 2023

Zero-hours contract staff to receive predictable working rights

Matthew Chilcott Blog, Employment Law, General, Rewards & Benefits #outsourcedhumanresources, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's

A Government backed private member’s bill will award employees, agency staff and casual workers on short or zero-hours contracts the right to request predictable working hours. Under the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill, after 26 weeks of service – either as an employee or a casual or agency worker – staff can make the request for a more predictable pattern of hours. Employers will also have to notify the applicant of their decision within a month, rather than three months, as is the case for flexible working. Wei-Men Ho, legal director in employment for the consumer sector at law firm Eversheds Sutherland, said that including casual and agency staff means the change “will have a broader impact”, adding: “It will impact start-ups and ecommerce businesses, as well as retail, hospitality and leisure — the types of companies that have peaks and troughs and have to call on both agency workers and employees at short notice.”

The Times

HR Comment:

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “Since the introduction of Zero Hour Contracts, there have been many articles and opinions on them have changed over time. As previously discussed many members of the team and employers do find their uses and the flexibility they provide helpful. This new article in the Times makes some interesting proposed changes.”

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22 03 2023

Plan to raise state pension age shelved as life expectancy falls

Matthew Chilcott Employment Law, General, Payrol, Rewards & Benefits #outsourcedhumanresources, #pensions, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's

NEWS ARTICLE: Plan to raise state pension age shelved as life expectancy falls

plan to bring forward a rise in the state pension age to 68 is expected to be scrapped amid a decline in life expectancy and fears the change would alienate a core demographic of Conservative voters. The state pension age is due to increase from 66-years-old to 67 between 2026 and 2028. It is scheduled to rise to 68 by the mid-2040s. The government wanted to bring this forward to 2037-2039, with the plan due to be confirmed in May. But key cabinet ministers now think the decision should be postponed until after the next election. Steve Webb, former pensions minister and partner at LCP, said: “In many ways, people in their 50s are probably your swing voters. Upsetting people in their 50s is probably not what you want to do just 18 months before an election, especially if you don’t get any money until the 2030s.” Baroness Ros Altmann, a former pensions minister, said the fall in life expectancy projections means the cost of long-term state pension provision may already be overestimated. “This is of course partly due to the pandemic’s impact on older people, but the ongoing NHS backlogs and crisis in elderly care are also likely to prevent a sudden resumption of life expectancy rises,” added Altmann.

The Financial Times

The Telegraph

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “This is an interesting article from the Financial Times and The Telegraph in relation to pensions and especially if it applies to you and you were born when this would affect you and your retirement!

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21 03 2023

Met Police: ‘boys’ club’

Matthew Chilcott Blog, Disciplinary & Grievance, Employment Law, General #equalityact2010, #equalityanddiversity, #metpolice, #outsourcedhumanresources, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME's

Met Police: Women and children failed by Met Police: ‘boys’ club’

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “So the Metropolitan Police report written by Dame Casey is out in the news today and having just read the BBC report written by Thomas Mackintosh & Lucy Manning, Special Correspondent it is extremely disappointing to put it mildly! We have written many blogs on Equality and Diversity in the workplace and how this is not a request for all employees to ensure it is followed but is the law and rightfully so as discussed previously. All members of the team should be treated equal regardless of any personal characteristics as outlined in the Equality Act 2010 such as:

age
gender reassignment
being married or in a civil partnership
being pregnant or on maternity leave
disability
race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin
religion or belief
sex
sexual orientation

It is extremely worrying to hear that the Met. Police have been found to not be upholding the law and working to best practice and I for one, wait to see what the outcome is and the way forward, whether this is the breaking up of the force or taking other action and business owners and managers should be aware that action from an employee can be taken from day one of employment and awards, awarded by an Employment Tribunal (ET) can be unlimited.”

NEWS ARTICLE BBC:

Women and children have been failed by the Metropolitan Police, with racism, misogyny, and homophobia at the heart of the force, a blistering review says.

Baroness Casey says a “boys’ club” culture is rife and the force could be dismantled if it does not improve.

Her year-long review condemns systemic failures, painting a picture of a force where rape cases were dropped because freezers containing key evidence broke.

The Met’s Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has apologised to Londoners.

He said: “It is ghastly. You sit down and read that report and it generates a whole series of emotions. It generates anger, frustration, embarrassment.”

Rape cases ruined, officer’s beard cut… five findings from report

Baroness Casey was appointed to review the force’s culture and standards after the abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by serving police officer Wayne Couzens, in 2021.

During the course of her review, another Met officer, David Carrick, was convicted of a series of rapes, sexual offences and torture of women.

To read the full BBC report, click here

Here are a few of our previous blogs written on the subject:

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YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

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21 03 2023

Recruitment: finding the perfect match…

Matthew Chilcott Blog, General, Recruitment #outsourcedhumanresources, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Recruitment, Small Business, SME, SME's

Blog 2 of 3 – Recruitment: finding the perfect match…

For long-term success within the job market, employers should ask them selves these key questions:

Who is your vacancy reaching?

Almost all recruitment solutions are reactive, sourcing candidates when the need arises. This means that companies are entirely reliant on candidates already in the market: signed up with agencies, looking at ads, on job sites or on databases.

Studies have shown that this only represents around 20% of the qualified candidates in the marketplace. To access all of that 20% you have to use every agency, database and advertising medium. In fact, companies often access just 2-3% of the available talent pool to fill any given vacancy.

Having access to only people who really want or need a new job can have a major effect on the quality of hire. This situation can only be improved by having a company database of previous applicants. (Those who have specifically applied for a role with the company through choice whilst employed, or via a company employee recommendation scheme.) This offers a clear improvement in quality of hire and, as a result, a demonstrable increase in productivity per head of between 10-30%.

Are you keeping your new starters?

Up to half of new hires leave within the first 12 months, with an average of 20% leaving within this crucial period. The reasons are simple. A standard recruitment process involves six – eight weeks of contact time. This simply isn’t long enough to develop a cultural rapport between candidate and company.

In short, the ‘new hire’ can only finds out if they ‘fit’ after they’ve started in their new role. Plus – the pressure of the new job amplifies any concerns.

Longer engagement with candidates – allowing them to understand the culture and raise any concerns – can reduce the 12-month drop out rate by up to 90%.

Are you recruiting proactively?

Engaging with Talent Warehousing or recruiting employee recommendations are the only ways of tackling this.

What does your recruitment process involve? Could it be cheaper, quicker or more effective? Have an informal chat with Consensus HR and see how you can find the perfect match for your next vacancy.

Contact us now

If you want to always keep up with employment law and wish to know more please get in contact now.

YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

For further information on any of the HR subjects we provide, please click the heading below:

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