Tag Archive for Employing & managing staff

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Settlement agreements in the redundancy process

by Ethan Diver • October 24, 2025 • 0 Comments

By Ethan Diver on Small Business UK – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

Key takeaways:

Settlement agreements can save employers from employment tribunal, which reduces cost, time and the potential for reputational damage.

As an employer, you should consider whether, how and when you should offer settlement agreements during the redundancy process.

Many employers make settlement offers before or during the early stages of the consultation process, as an alternative option.

Employers should also consider taking specific legal advice before deciding whether to offer a settlement agreement in any particular circumstances.

Settlement agreements are an increasingly popular method by which employers can terminate the employment relationship on agreed terms and ensure this does not lead to employment tribunal claims.

This is no different in the redundancy context, where employers commonly offer settlement agreements to affected employees to avoid the risk of unfair dismissal claims. These claims could arise where employees dispute their roles are redundant and/or allege their employer has followed an unfair procedure.

However, employers should carefully consider whether, when and how they offer settlement agreements during the redundancy process, considering that employees are under no obligation to accept them. In fact, there is a risk that poorly conducted settlement discussions could

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The importance of vocational rehabilitation services for SMEs

by Partner Content • October 1, 2025 • 0 Comments

By Partner Content on Small Business UK – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

The wellbeing of your employees will play a crucial role in the success of your people and in turn, your business. Every business risks losing employees to long-term absences due to illness or injury, and so, being prepared and having access to support when needed is key.

On top of health issues, lengthy NHS waiting lists can mean accessing support to get people on the road to recovery isn’t always easy. But there are steps you can take to help strengthen and protect your business and people through your employee benefits offering.

Rebecca Selwyn, Propositions Lead (SME) Aviva Group Protection

At Aviva, our Group Income Protection policy offers a range of different support, over and above insurance. It provides financial support if an employee is unable to work due to illness or injury, paying a proportion of their salary to help them keep their income up whilst they manage their health – and help you afford to gap fill.

But more than this, it also offers access to early intervention and vocational rehabilitation services, helping employees improve their health, sometimes before long-term absence is needed.

Early intervention and rehabilitation

Hot Business News Today

Tips for staying cool in the office

by Ben Lobel • August 11, 2025 • 0 Comments

By Ben Lobel on Small Business UK – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

Cutting out teas and coffee, investing in a personal fan and only eating small portions are some of the ways that sweltering staff can beat the heat and keep cool at work.

With the UK warming up again, office experts Londonoffices.com have compiled a list of some of the best solutions to an overheated workplace that will keep employees cool and focused.

Among the other top tips recommended are keeping windows closed, dressing appropriately, making sure you’re constantly hydrated and avoiding the desire to go for a sunny walk on your lunch break.

Rounding off the list is making sure the blinds are closed, avoiding electronic devices and pouring cold water onto your wrists.

Chris Meredith of Londonoffices.com says, “Keeping cool at work is crucial to making sure that employees stay comfortable, alert and productive throughout the working day.

“If the building doesn’t have air-conditioning it can start to feel more like a sauna than an office, so finding other ways to reduce the temperature is a must.

“Most of these solutions are simple but effective ways to keep your office thermometer from going into overdrive, so if you can’t

Hot Business News Today

Top benefits of HR software for small businesses

by Owen Gough • August 6, 2025 • 0 Comments

By Owen Gough on Small Business UK – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

HR software makes managing people simple by streamlining admins tasks such as requesting and approving holiday. This allows you or any HR staff within your business to spend less time wading through spreadsheets.

People are the most important part of any business, so this can be a vital tool for any organisation. In a study conducted by LinkedIn Learning in 2024, 82% of global business leaders agreed that having a strong HR presence is more important than ever.

In this guide we’ll explore the main benefits of using HR software, and why it might be right for your small business.

See also: HR for start-ups – how to get it right

Improved efficiency

Saving time is the number one benefit of using HR software. By outsourcing tasks that would normally take a significant amount of your time to an automated system you can dedicate yourself more to the things that matter.

Making HR a single-sign-on solution, means you can have everything in one place. A 2022 research report by HiBob and CIPD found that having an all-in-one HR system was the top priority for businesses investing in HR software.

This

Hot Business News Today

Employment Rights Bill – what’s in the legislation?

by Anna Jordan • July 10, 2025 • 0 Comments

By Anna Jordan on Small Business UK – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

UPDATED: The Labour government has added a new amendment to its upcoming Employment Rights Bill, with families who experience pregnancy loss before 24 weeks becoming entitled to bereavement leave from day one of employment.

The government also tabled amendments back in March with around 250 additions to the bill, which was announced back in October 2024.

The government has outlined that agency workers will need to be compensated if their shift is cancelled or changed at short notice (though ambiguity hangs around the term ‘short notice’). On top of that, employers will have to give agency workers new contracts outlining their fixed working hours per week.

Firing and rehiring practices and firing and replacing practices will be punished more harshly with a double penalty. Employers may also be forced to pay 180 days’ compensation rather than the current 90 days.

Day one rights for employees will progress further, with staff being entitled to parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal from their first day. Plus, new mums will have protection from dismissal for their first six months after they return to work.

Probation is

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5 ways employers can improve the first 90 days of employment

by Dan Buckley • June 13, 2025 • 0 Comments

By Dan Buckley on Small Business UK – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

A bad hire is costly. But when 30 per cent of new employees leave within the first 90 days, it’s more than a staffing issue, it’s a revolving door. Companies get trapped in a churn cycle of hiring, onboarding, exiting and rehiring; losing not just money, but momentum and morale.

The first three months of employment are make-or-break. This period sets the tone for how engaged, productive and loyal an employee is likely to be. And yet, many organisations still rely on outdated onboarding practices that barely extend beyond a welcome email and a benefits package.

According to Cognexo’s The 90 Day Effect, up to 25 per cent of companies lose 60 per cent of their workforce within a year. The problem isn’t just recruitment, it’s retention. The solution? Rethink onboarding as a strategic opportunity, not a checklist.

Here are five ways employers can transform the first 90 days into the foundation for long-term success.

1. Build a structured onboarding plan

Onboarding often gets treated as a one-week formality rather than a long-term integration process. That’s a mistake.

A well-designed onboarding plan should cover more than logistics, it should help

Hot Business News Today

Five reasons SMEs waste money on HR consultancies

by Kate Russell • June 4, 2025 • 0 Comments

By Kate Russell on Small Business UK – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

She covers five common areas where HR outsourcing providers can fail:
Poor quality service
Lack of flexibility
Poor quality advice
Long contracts
Unnecessary insurance cover
…and then offers some key questions to ask when hiring an HR consultancy.

Business guru Peter Drucker once said: “Do what you do best and outsource the rest”. Wise man. For most SMEs it makes sense to buy in some services on as “as required” basis, and HR consultancy is a prime example of where you need some help sometimes.

Most small businesses are really microbusinesses too small to have an inhouse HR manager. Possibly a staff member with some HR experience has been seconded to the role. But employment law changes so rapidly and you could unwittingly be leaving yourself open to legal action by a disgruntled employee, if you don’t exactly follow HR procedure.

Or it may be that you yourself, as owner-director, handle all your own recruitment – taking precious time away from what you do best: running your business. A 2022 study by NatWest found that 95 per cent of small businesses have struggled when recruiting staff members.

‘Some companies require you to sign up

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Flexible working from day one – what it means for SMEs

by Sue Tumelty • September 24, 2021 • 0 Comments

By Sue Tumelty on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

This week the Government puts out proposals to consultation for laws which could see employees have the legal right to submit flexible working requests (FWRs) from the first day on a new job.

This is a significant reduction from the six months limit currently in legislation and would be matched, under the proposals, by a shortened requisite response time on the part of employers.

As a company which supports more than 6,500 SMEs around the UK, we broadly welcome proposals to speed up the process. Aside from giving employees a better work life balance, there are clear benefits to employers of offering more flexibility, including improved ability to recruit and retain staff across the age spectrum.

‘New laws can have unforeseen consequences … it is usually smaller businesses which feel those the most’

However, there are always knock-on effects of new legislation and it is usually smaller businesses which feel those the most.

The consultation is part of the Government’s Good Work Plan programme, under which The HR Dept has represented the views of UK SMEs since it was set up in 2018.

>See also: Is flexible working more valuable to

Hot Business News Today

Flexible working from day one – what it means for SMEs

by Sue Tumelty • September 23, 2021 • 0 Comments

By Sue Tumelty on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

This week the Government puts out proposals to consultation for laws which could see employees have the legal right to submit flexible working requests (FWRs) from the first day on a new job.

This is a significant reduction from the six months limit currently in legislation and would be matched, under the proposals, by a shortened requisite response time on the part of employers.

‘New laws can have unforeseen consequences … it is usually smaller businesses which feel those the most’

However, there are always knock-on effects of new legislation and it is usually smaller businesses which feel those the most.

The consultation is part of the Government’s Good Work Plan programme, under which The HR Dept has represented the views of UK SMEs since it was set up in 2018.

>See also: Is flexible working more valuable to

Hot Business News Today

Zero hours contract redundancy

by Anna Jordan • September 21, 2021 • 0 Comments

By Anna Jordan on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

Some people question what redundancy looks like for people on zero hours contract.

Whether or not they get redundancy depends on their employment status. Redundancy pay only applies to zero hour employees. Remember that zero hours employment includes the right not to be unfairly dismissed by way of redundancy as well as redundancy pay. They also have a right to a notice period.

You should give all staff statutory notice of:

One week if you’ve employed them for one month or over, but for less than two yearsTwo weeks if you’ve employed them for two years. For every year after that, you should add one extra week’s notice up to a maximum of 12 weeks

>See also: Zero hours contract rights

You can terminate a zero hour worker’s contract without notice but they can also leave without any warning. And even if you offer them work during a notice period, they don’t necessarily have to take it.

How do I calculate redundancy pay?

Redundancy pay should be similar to a regular employee in that it’ll be based on age and length of service. Under zero hour redundancy, pay must be the

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