-
Video Library
Watch our videos and masterclasses by our leading employment law experts.
How to avoid being taken to a tribunal
What can you do to protect your business?
Resolving employee conflict
Meeting the challenges of effective staff management.
-
Staff Induction
A perfect start can pay dividends in the future.
Did you know...?
A job applicant can lodge a claim against your business:
find out more
Recruiting Staff
How to attract the best candidates to your business.
The Interview
Making the most of the first face-to-face meetings.
-
Maternity
An insight into the employment rights of a new and/or expectant mother.
Holidays
Establishing the rights of your employees... and your rights as an employer.
Bullying
in the workplace
Dealing effectively and swiftly with any complaints.
Sickness absence
An unavoidable part of employing people in your business?
-
Understanding redundancy
Consider the options available to your business.
How to manage a fair process
Crossing the t's and dotting the i's.
5 Potentially Fair Reasons for Dismissal
Trying to protect your business.
Staff Problems
Conduct or capability - understanding the difference.
-
Employee or worker
Examining and exploring these tricky definitions.
Received a tribunal claim?
What to do next.
The employment tribunal
Who, what, why, where & when?
Genius: Intelligent enough to understand and wise enough to explain even the most complicated situation.
Contracts of Employment.
When someone starts working for you as an employee, they do so under a contract of service, also known as a contract of employment. This contract starts right away, even if nothing is written down.
When do I need to put it in writing?
While the full contract does not need to be in writing, you do have to provide a written statement of the main terms and conditions of the contract within two months of an employee starting work for you. The only exception to this is if their employment lasts less than one month.
Putting an employee on a probationary period does not change this requirement.
The ACAS code.
If you find yourself in a position where you have to look at staff problems, you need to make sure you follow a fair process. The ACAS Code of Practice provides a guide to the steps you should follow as far as possible, although your own procedures may go further.
There are a lot of similarities between the disciplinary and grievance procedures because they are both based on the same principle, namely that the employee should be given an opportunity to prepare and explain their position fully. If you keep this principle in mind as you go through the process, it will help you to work out what you need to do next if you are unsure.
The Tribunal Process.
Given the number of claims that are accepted by the Employment Tribunals, the chances are that if you employ people, no matter how hard you try, you may well end up with a claim against you.
The Claim
If someone wants to make a claim against you at Tribunal, they need to fill in a claim form known as an ET1, and send this in to the Tribunal Service.
The claim form can be completed by hand or online, and it must be received by the Tribunal within the relevant time limit, which in most cases is within three months of the issue they are complaining about.
TUPE.
If you are looking at buying or selling something that has employees, or taking over a service, then you may find that the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE) will apply.
It is an extremely complicated area and not one for the faint hearted. If you think TUPE might apply then it probably does and you should seek specialist advice because it is very easy to make costly mistakes.
What does TUPE do?
The important starting point with TUPE is to remember that it is there for the employees. The clue is in the name, Protection of Employments.
Criminal Records Bureau.
When you are looking to take on a new member of staff, you may want to know if your preferred candidate has a criminal record. Where the job involves working with children or vulnerable adults, a criminal records check becomes essential.
As an employer you need to know not only what you could and should ask for, but also what action you should take if something shows up.
Should I ask about criminal record?
You are entitled to ask any prospective employees about their criminal records, but there are limits on what you can ask for and whether this is something you should be asking about.
Case Studies.
At HRgenius we're dedicated to being the number one resource for all matters related to HR and employment law
Our case studies outline possible real life scenarios that you may encounter as an employer. Our advice is written to ensure you don't fall into one of the many common pitfalls that an employer often will.
