HR advice from the Professionals

According to Croner, the UK’s leading workplace information and consultancy providers, have highlighted the potential cost of mismanagement of redundancies. Employers who are looking to cut costs by making redundancies run the risk of facing further costs as a result of employees raising tribunal claims against them. They recommend that businesses seek professional help to put the right plans in place and be able to implement those fairly and minimise the risk of claims. You can read the full article at Redundancy Not the end to employers’ problems.

Recently we have been advising clients on managing redundancy in their businesses. Our advice has been centred around the following principles:

1. Have a defined policy and procedure to follow that meets the current and future needs of your business.
2. Take every step to follow statutory process and best practice.
3. Consider the implications for those who are chosen for redundancy and for those who remain.
4. Offer support for all involved in the process - it can be very emotional especially in a small business where team members are close and have an emotional involvement with each other and the business.
5. Communicate clearly at every step and stick to the stated communication plan - be careful of casual asides.

It is not an easy process to manage and the emotional cost can be high, but it is really important to ensure that you do not add to the cost by incurring further financial exposure by getting it wrong and open yourself up to an employment tribunal claim. Seek independent advice early and follow the advice.

And this is not going away, over 50% of organisations are planning to make job cuts according to the KPMG National Business Confidence Survey - which you can read at KPMG - quarterly national survey.

The arrival of our 2nd year accounts from the accountant has lead to some reflection of how the business has grown and speculation on where we should go from here. I thought I would share my learning from the “early years” and perhaps this will lead to words of wisdom and inspiration from out there in the ether. So if you are interested in how we got going and have some ideas that would keep us growing - please read on and then reply.

1. We have stuck to what we know and do best - we have not tried to do anything that we can not excel at and have always delivered the promise.
2. We have gone out of our way to understand the client and what they need - perhaps not what they want - and then over time have demonstrated how they can benefit from following our advice.
3. We have tried to have fun - HR can be quite dry and can be perceived as an necessary evil (sometimes an unnecessary evil) - but if you can bring some passion, some life and some common sense to what you do it is much more palatable. We are not shiny and brash - we have kept our real identity.
4. The team is important - having a good team fit and all understanding where you fit in is really important for them and for the client.
5. Keeping close eye on costs - working within a low cost base, investing in what is essential and not extending the finances has allowed to maintain a positive cash flow
6. Building on word of mouth - positive referrals has been very important in our growth. This way introductions are meaningful, proposals are effective and lead time to getting work relatively short because there is a platform of trust already created.
7. Invest in good advice - I have invested in trusted IT support; accountancy and legal advice and built good working relationships with other professionals and it has paid dividends.

Where do we go now?

Next steps are to analyse our cost structure; identify profitable sectors and avenues to open discussions with key players. We need to build our IT infrastructure to ensure we have the best systems to manage and protect data. We need to develop our own skills and knowledge to keep ahead of the market. Most importantly we must work hard at maintaining effective working relationships with our clients, move our services up the food chain so that we can influence strategically and deliver effectively at the operational level.

And at all time - we must enjoy, have fun and have a sense of achievement!

What do you think we should be doing?

Margery

In October 2008, the minimum wage will increase from £5.52 per hour to £5.73 per hour.

For employers, this means that any employee over the age of 21 will receive a 3.8% increase in their hourly rate.

Workers between the ages of 18 and 21 will receive £4.77, a 17p increase, whilst 16 to 17 year olds will see an increaser of 13p to £3.53 per hour.

Meanwhile, the Government is set to crack down on employers who fail to pay employees minimum wage. The penalty fine issued for failure to pay minimum wage will be uncapped, increased from a minimum of £231.84.

Minimum wage was introduced in 1999 to provide a level playing field for competition, ensuring that companies are competing on quality of products and services, and not on low labour costs.

Minimum wage applies to all status of workers and employees, including foreign workers. However there are some exceptions to the rule, this includes apprentices under the age of 19, or apprentices in the first year of their apprentice, students on a work placement that forms part of higher or national education.

If you would like more information on minimum wage, please contact one of the Gravitate HR team or see the the link below.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7279199.stm