2021 is going to bring some challenges to the HR profession that are genuinely unprecedented. Brexit and Covid are wreaking change after change on UK businesses and it is our job to be prepared where we can be and agile if we can’t be prepared. Your HR policies need refreshing for 2021 to allow for that and protect the business and the rights of the staff. In this blog, we will look at three key policies that are likely to need refreshing. We are assuming that you already have these policies in place since the first lockdown. If not, it is advisable to add them to your staff handbook and inform your staff of them as soon as possible.
There are some common HR issues that most businesses with staff will face. Many businesses trust these issues to an HR professional, either in-house or outsourced. And that is often the right approach.
Discrimination at work is unlawful, yet unfortunately, it still happens. Everyone has the right to be treated fairly at work and HR plays an important role in ensuring that. Often this is done by making sure fair practices are embedded into the business and upholding them. Occasionally, HR must step in to investigate wrongdoing or support disciplinary proceedings. In this blog, we will examine the ways outsourced HR can help you prevent discrimination at work. Types Of Discrimination At Work Broadly speaking there are four types of discrimination at work; Direct Discrimination, Indirect Discrimination, Harassment, and Victimisation. Direct Discrimination is treating someone differently because of a protected characteristic. This might be overlooking someone for a promotion because they are too old, for example. The protected characteristics are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. Indirect Discrimination is when a rule, policy, or practice applied to everyone puts one group at a disadvantage or treats them unfairly. For example, insisting all staff work a Sunday could indirectly discriminate against practising Christians for whom Sunday is a religious day. Harassment is unwanted behaviour towards a person to humiliate or intimidate […]
Alison Driver shares her opinion about what are the roles and responsibilities of an HR Consultant. What are the roles and responsibilities of an HR Consultant? The role of an HR Consultant is one of trusted advisor. An experienced professional who is able to talk with employers about their people related problems. HR consultants are professionals hired from outside a business or organisation tasked with solving or meeting a human resources-related need. Often they are hired to provide high-level solutions and recommendations to employers. Specialist or Generalist HR? HR is a broad professional discipline. There are HR Consultants who are specialists and HR Consultants who are generalists. Specialists are experts in specific areas of work. Generalists are broadly experienced in a number of aspects of HR. An HR consultant asks enough questions of a potential client to know that they have the right experience for that client. An HR Consultant is responsible for not taking assignments where the skill set lies outside their own. Advice An HR consultant delivers high quality support and advice to their clients. They must be able to think across the breadth of the organisation and consider the direction that the organisation is going. Advice from […]
For small and medium-sized businesses, intent on growing, a discussion will likely have to be held at some point regarding what to do about HR. You know that HR responsibilities are increasing as your company grows. And that now is the time to ask, should you hire someone or outsource HR? Whether you should outsource may not be so much of a difficult decision after all – outsourcing has two huge advantages for businesses set on expansion; you free up valuable time and save money. It doesn’t stop there either…outsourced HR is beneficial in many ways for growing businesses; even the smallest of companies can benefit. Why Outsource HR? Here are five ways outsourced HR helps your growing business. 1.Free up more time Growing a business demands all your time. Being weighed down by HR issues and administration is time taken away from you. Because some HR areas can be complex, your focus will be diverted away from the bigger picture of your business because you’re trying to understand HR processes or employment law. Outsourced HR services are an instant way to free your time back up and restore focus. Let the HR specialists look after HR, and you concentrate […]
If you are thinking about working with an HR Consultant here are eight questions to ask an HR Consultant before hiring them. As with any investment, it pays dividends to do some research and ask the right questions. Here are our eight questions to ask an HR Consultant before hiring them to work with you and your business. 1. How much experience do you have? How long have you been working as an HR Consultant? What was your professional experience before becoming a consultant? Try to find someone with in-depth experience managing people and of running a business. Someone who can relate to the pressures that you, as a business-owner, are facing. 2. Who are some of your other clients? What kind of work have you done for clients like me? Can I call them to ask about your work? Some HR Consultants may be reluctant to disclose the names of their clients. But at the very least you need to know that the HR consultant has worked with companies closer to your size and industry. If they have they’re more likely to understand your needs. If the HR Consultant is reluctant to put you in touch with a client so that […]
Outsourced HR is when employers choose to use an external company to look after their HR function or part of it. Much like when businesses outsource IT or marketing services. Traditionally, big businesses tend to have in house HR people, but it is thought that around one-third of small and medium-sized companies now use outsourced HR support. What Can Small Businesses Outsource? Outsourced HR is usually provided by HR consultancy practices or freelance HR consultants. Services available to small businesses are usually mediation services, advisory services, or support package deals for outsourcing HR. Outsourced HR packages are generally available for a monthly fee and will relieve you of much your HR administration such as updating contracts and handbooks. Packages for small businesses usually include unlimited HR advice – one of the most valuable aspects of the service as many small business owners would not have access to professional HR advice within their own business. Outsourcing is as simple as finding an HR consultancy that offers a package or services you find attractive and that fits with what you want to outsource – whether that is some or all of your HR function. When Is The Right Time To Outsource HR? […]
One of the questions that we feel we must always keep at the front of our minds is “How does an HR Consultant add value to your business?”. One of the questions that we feel we must always keep at the front of our minds is “How does an HR Consultant add value to your business?”. We understand that you’re quite rightly focused on the results we produce for you and how we help you with the challenges you have in your business. As HR Consultants we put our all into the projects we do for you. We understand that you won’t automatically appreciate the technicality of the work that we’ve done or propose to do but we’ll work hard to explain ourselves. How do Metis HR Consultants add value to your business? 1: Understand your world We spend time understanding what you’re trying to achieve and why you’re trying to achieve it. We need to understand what your challenges are. We’re like doctors, until we know all of the symptoms and have done tests, we can’t make an accurate diagnosis. To do this we have to go a layer deeper than most people usually go. To do this we […]
Should you bother using an HR consultant? Every business needs some HR function. Outsourcing that function to an HR consultant gives you the flexibility that you wouldn’t have otherwise. Some of the benefits of using an HR consultant are: You can get the best out of your employees Your company will be compliant with employment law Their expertise will benefit your business and help you improve productivity The recruitment process will be smooth and fair You will receive absolute impartial advice and total confidentiality You can find out exactly what an HR consultant does in this blog here. Let’s have a look at each benefit of using an HR consultant in more detail. Get The Best Out Of Your Employees If you use an HR consultant, one of the big benefits is you will be able to improve the effectiveness and efficacy of your staff. An HR consultant can help you with performance management and reviews, whether in response to a problem or as part of the annual appraisal process. An HR consultant can draw up the appraisal documents, write and distribute the letters, and ensure the appraisal process is fair. They can even attend the meetings with you or […]
Many Clients have asked what the difference between furlough, redundancy and lay off is because at different times you may want to be aware of your options. Furlough The majority of employers are beginning to understand what furlough is and how it works. These are the important aspects of furlough. Furloughed employees: remain employed by you, they continue to accrue service and they continue to accrue annual leave entitlement must agree to any reduction in pay from their normal pay. If you don’t get their agreement potentially you have breached the contract and made an unauthorised deduction from wages are furloughed for a minimum of three weeks but there is no maximum period of furlough return to their normal terms of employment at the end of furlough from 1 July 2020 flexible furlough is available but we won’t know the details of this until 10 June 2020 There is no criteria for selecting those who are furloughed, other than you have no work for them and they do no work for you whilst they are furloughed. Beware of making arbitrary decisions about who is furloughed if you have some work but not enough for everyone. Redundancy Redundancy terminates the employee’s […]
