By Alan Finlay on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
Here is what you need to know about notes for disciplinary or other formal employee meetings.
Taking minutes
Minutes taken at a formal meeting with an employee can constitute important evidence in both your company’s internal proceedings and in any subsequent tribunal claims. Be it a disciplinary, capability, absence or grievance meeting, the minutes should be detailed and accurate and, if possible, agreed by both you and the employee.
You should also consider your company’s position on electronic recording and employees secretly record meetings. It is best to set out your position on this clearly in writing, usually in your company’s staff handbook.
Provisions for note or minute taking
If you are holding any kind of formal meeting with an employee, you should have a minute taker present since it can be difficult for the chair to run the meeting and also take minutes. The minute taker should be another employee and ideally, someone who is not involved with the employee or with any circumstances giving rise to the meeting. The minute taker should not actively participate in the meeting and will act only as a scribe to ensure everything
Tag Archive for Employing & managing staff
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Calculating holiday allowances for part-time staff
by Victoria Greaves • • 0 Comments
By Victoria Greaves on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
Part-time employees are entitled to equal treatment with full-time employees as a result of the Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000. This means that they should receive the correct pro-rated amount of annual leave as a full-time employee doing the same job. To ensure compliance with this legislation and The Working Time Regulations 1998, you could use the following calculations:
If an employee is contracted to work a set amount of days and works full time five days a week, they are entitled to a minimum of 28 days statutory annual holiday entitlement a year. This amounts to 5.6 weeks. It is up to you whether you allow employees to choose 20 days holiday and require them to take the eight bank holidays as holiday or whether you give them 28 days holiday and no automatic day off on a bank holiday. The minimum statutory holiday entitlement would not increase even if the employee works six or seven days a week.
It doesn’t matter if a part time employee doesn’t usually work on a bank holiday, you still need to make sure that they
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Can I sack my employee for a racist tweet?
by Katie Maguire • • 0 Comments
By Katie Maguire on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
The recent online racist tweet abuse targeted at a trio of England players after their Euro 2020 final defeat brought into sharp focus the issue of whether an employee’s actions on social media can result in them being sacked.
While online racist bullies may claim they can say and do what they like in their own private lives, this isn’t necessarily the case. Where the online abuser can publicly be linked to working at a company, it will put that company under huge pressure to take disciplinary action against them.
This was the case when an employee from estate agency Savills levelled racist tweets at Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka. Savills suspended the employee and launched a swift investigation into the tweet. The employee has subsequently claimed his account was hacked and the matter is being investigated by the police.
>See also: Do I have to pay staff who are self-isolating?
But can the employee be sacked as a result of posting a racist tweet online? The simple answer is yes, but it is of course not that simple.
‘Sack an employee on the spot – even for
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Interns and the law
by Andy Willis • • 0 Comments
By Andy Willis on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
With so many graduates and young people out of work and recruitment slow to pick up, internships and work experience are a popular route for those looking for a foot in the door to their chosen career.
There are also significant benefits for smaller employers. Internships offer them a pool of talented new faces at a time when budgetary constraints mean they may be struggling to take on permanent staff.
However, while the benefits are clear, SMEs must be aware that from a legal standpoint interns can be considered either workers or employees. This means that they are often covered by the same employment legislation as the rest of the workforce, including the right to be paid National Minimum Wage (NMW). As failure to comply with NMW laws can lead to costly employment tribunal claims and hefty fines, it is crucial that businesses know where they stand before offering work experience or internships.
Is an intern a worker or an employee?
“Internship” is a general term that can result in varying employment relationships and, as a result, varying employment statuses. Depending on the way that an intern is treated,
Hot Business News Today
Can I sack my employee for a racist tweet?
by Katie Maguire • • 0 Comments
By Katie Maguire on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
The recent online racist tweet abuse targeted at a trio of England players after their Euro 2020 final defeat brought into sharp focus the issue of whether an employee’s actions on social media can result in them being sacked.
While online racist bullies may claim they can say and do what they like in their own private lives, this isn’t necessarily the case. Where the online abuser can publicly be linked to working at a company, it will put that company under huge pressure to take disciplinary action against them.
This was the case when an employee from estate agency Savills levelled racist tweets at Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka. Savills suspended the employee and launched a swift investigation into the tweet. The employee has subsequently claimed his account was hacked and the matter is being investigated by the police.
>See also: Do I have to pay staff who are self-isolating?
But can the employee be sacked as a result of posting a racist tweet online? The simple answer is yes, but it is of course not that simple.
‘Sack an employee on the spot – even for
Hot Business News Today
How can leaders get the best out of their team when the pressure is on?
by Clive Woodward • • 0 Comments
By Clive Woodward on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
It’s safe to assume anyone in a management or leadership position has felt the extra pressure over the last 18 months. In a constantly changing and uncertain environment, tasks such as motivating teams, running training sessions or just keeping a clear overview of projects came with their own set of unique challenges. What’s more, working remotely means it’s even harder to ensure team members, and leaders themselves, are working collaboratively and performing to the best of their ability, especially when the pressure is on.
Boris Johnson’s latest announcement means that employees are now able to return to offices across the country, yet three quarters (73 per cent) of Brits are set to continue working from home. It’s more important than ever before for leaders to be prepared to handle pressure, as well as have the ability to coach their team to perform in challenging circumstances too.
At a recent event hosted by the Executive Development Network (EDN), Sir Clive Woodward, England’s Rugby World Cup winning Head Coach, and Team GB Director of Sport for London 2012 provided his own unique perspective on vital strategies for leading and
Hot Business News Today
How can leaders get the best out of their team when the pressure is on?
by Clive Woodward • • 0 Comments
By Clive Woodward on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
It’s safe to assume anyone in a management or leadership position has felt the extra pressure over the last 18 months. In a constantly changing and uncertain environment, tasks such as motivating teams, running training sessions or just keeping a clear overview of projects came with their own set of unique challenges. What’s more, working remotely means it’s even harder to ensure team members, and leaders themselves, are working collaboratively and performing to the best of their ability, especially when the pressure is on.
Boris Johnson’s latest announcement means that employees are now able to return to offices across the country, yet three quarters (73 per cent) of Brits are set to continue working from home. It’s more important than ever before for leaders to be prepared to handle pressure, as well as have the ability to coach their team to perform in challenging circumstances too.
At a recent event hosted by the Executive Development Network (EDN), Sir Clive Woodward, England’s Rugby World Cup winning Head Coach, and Team GB Director of Sport for London 2012 provided his own unique perspective on vital strategies for leading and
Hot Business News Today
Do I have to pay staff who are self-isolating?
by Calum Covell • • 0 Comments
By Calum Covell on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
With the lifting of lockdown restrictions from July 19, there is likely to be an increase in Covid-19 positive test results, increasing the number of staff who are self-isolating.
Between July 19 2021 and August 16 2021, it is a legal requirement to have your staff self-isolating if they test positive for Covid-19 or have been notified by Track and Trace to self-isolate.
This all means that employers are likely to encounter self-isolation of employees, if they have not already, so being aware of the options for you and your employees will help.
It will depend on the circumstances as to why staff are self-isolating as to whether you must pay them, the amount you will have to pay them and what you are able to claim back.
>See also: Small business owners face increased national insurance contributions
Can an employee work from home if they have tested positive for Covid-19 or have been told to self-isolate?
Yes. If an employee is well enough to work from home and can perform their role at home, there is no reason why they cannot do this and be paid as usual for their
Hot Business News Today
Do I have to pay staff who are self-isolating?
by Calum Covell • • 0 Comments
By Calum Covell on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
With the lifting of lockdown restrictions from July 19, there is likely to be an increase in Covid-19 positive test results, increasing the number of staff who are self-isolating.
Between July 19 2021 and August 16 2021, it is a legal requirement to have your staff self-isolating if they test positive for Covid-19 or have been notified by Track and Trace to self-isolate.
This all means that employers are likely to encounter self-isolation of employees, if they have not already, so being aware of the options for you and your employees will help.
It will depend on the circumstances as to why staff are self-isolating as to whether you must pay them, the amount you will have to pay them and what you are able to claim back.
>See also: Small business owners face increased national insurance contributions
Can an employee work from home if they have tested positive for Covid-19 or have been told to self-isolate?
Yes. If an employee is well enough to work from home and can perform their role at home, there is no reason why they cannot do this and be paid as usual for their
Hot Business News Today
Can I force my staff to come back to the office after July 19?
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Staff may have to return to their offices and workplaces after July 19 after an extended period working from home.
We’ll be asking if you can force staff to come back to the workplace and what risks you need to be aware of.
Why are staff expected to return to work?
As part of his announcement yesterday (July 5), Boris Johnson said that the ‘work from home wherever possible’ advice would be lifted. From July 19, it’ll be up to employer whether they ask their staff to come back into the workplace.
Aside from that, the PM also outlined from this date that:
Masks will no longer be a legal requirement
Social distancing rules will end
All businesses that are closed will reopen
Covid-19 certificates will not be a legal requirement
Travellers who are double jabbed won’t have to quarantine after returning from amber-list countries
An announcement may follow that those who are double jabbed won’t have to self-isolate if one of their colleagues contracts the virus. Self-isolation is expected to be replaced by a regular testing regime.
What’s more, the government has no plans to introduce a legal right to work from home. There are also no plans to introduce labour laws that