HR advice from the Professionals

This advice has come from our resident herbalist, Julie Osbourne.

Swine Flu is a virus that is expected to infect 1 in 3 of us.  As with all flu’s they spread more readily in autumn and winter.  There are things you can do to help prevent the severity of this Flu if you catch it

One of the ways to boost your immune system by improving your antioxidant potential.  Antioxidants are made up of vitamins A, C and E plus beta carotene which are the precursor of vitamin A.  This can be done by the following:

• Eating lots of fresh fruit in particular mangos, citrus fruit, kiwi fruit, melon, and berries.
• Eating lots of fresh vegetables, especially sweet potatoes, carrots, peas , broccoli, pumpkin, cabbage.
• Eating meat and oily fish (tuna, mackerel, salmon) twice a week and increasing your intake of nuts and seeds.

It is also important to make sure you drink plenty of water, get enough sleep and exercise.

The Herbs for Swine Flu are Echinachea, Garlic, and Thyme, which all have an antiviral action.  You can take these herbs in the form of a herbal tincture or tea, or even adding garlic and thyme to your cooking.

www.herbalista.co.uk

With constant developments in the media regarding Swine Flu, we have produced a document for employers, which provides general guidance and practical suggestions for managing Swine Flu within businesses.

We hope you find this helpful when making preparations within your organisation.

Download here

As part of the Human Resources Management Masters course at Napier University in Edinburgh, students have to go on a three week placement with a local business.  I was offered a place at Gravitate HR and the placement has recently finished.  I was lucky enough to be part of a very friendly team of six HR professionals.  All team members, with no exception, have been very approachable and helpful in assisting me with my learning experience.

Gravitate HR is a consultancy that provides HR services to different clients.  This set up has enabled me to see how a diverse range of problems can be tackled.  Team members take part in team brainstorming discussions in the office about the different problems clients put forward.  Gravitate HR adds value to their clients by offering them solutions that are crafted from the collective experience of the team.

These discussions made Gravitate HR an excellent place to improve my knowledge on how to design and implement best HR practices.  Therefore in the short three weeks of my placement I learnt a great deal and even contributed to some of the ongoing projects, such as: assisting with the preparation of 360 Degree Feedback questionnaires and researching the legal requirements and potential implications for anyone wishing to hire someone on a self-employed basis.  A blog contribution and publication on the consultancy website were a great highlight of the whole experience.

I am looking forward to return in June to complete my Masters Dissertation’s field research on how the 360 degree feedback tool can positively contribute in the creation of effective management development plans.

Ricardo Mateus

Congratulations are in order for Becky who passed her driving test today - first sitting!

You can expect to see Becky driving the Gravitate HR mini sometime over the New Year.

Congratulations from all the Gravitate HR team!

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.

Margery, Heather and Sarah have now completed their races with Heather coming in the fastest time of 33 minutes. All three really enjoyed the experience and are proud of the £1.5K that they have collectively raised for Cancer Research. The business also sponsored a client in the Moon Walk, who successfully completed the through the night adventure in 6.5 hours. It is great to take part in these events and to give to such deserving causes.

Margery

Keep an eye out for us in this years Race for Life, the UK’s largest women-only fundraising event.

Margery & Heather

You can find out more at

http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/margerymcbain

http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/heathermccaig