A reminder of the complexities of trying to change employees Terms and Conditions. This is something we often discuss with clients who would like to make variations to various T&Cs in their employee's contracts or in company policies. Personnel today highlight...

Target set but are your employees completing the actions agreed in their professional development plans and really benefiting from doing so.....or has the process become a tedious paperwork exercise that you wish you'd never started?! Are review meetings filled with...

Election Time Considerations... Do your employees hold political views that you or your company does not wish to be associated with, or that you or other employees find offensive? Exercise caution if you were considering taking any action on that account as you may...

Do you run a business in childcare or early years provision? Did you know that if any of your staff live with someone who has a conviction or caution for a "relevant crime" - predominantly crimes against children and violent crimes - then they may be disqualified by...

Three paid days a year off work to "volunteer" - that's what Dave Cameron is pledging if he is elected. Companies employing more than 250 staff will be required to allow staff 3 days a year off to do volunteer work. We think this is a wonderful sentiment and as people...

Zero hours employment contracts will only be allowed for 12 weeks! Well that's the plan if labour gain power at the election. Ed Miliband is promising that employees on zero hours contracts will have them converted to regular contracted hours contracts after 12 weeks...

It makes sense to offer an attractive maternity benefits package if you want to retain talent in your business - well that's the message Vodafone are giving & we agree! Vodafone have announced a worldwide enhanced maternity benefits policy that will see all women...

Did you know that 1.8 million people in the UK are now employed in job roles that didn't even exist in 1990?! According to the Financial Times 6% of all UK workers are in these new roles. The rapid rise of technology and our embracing of the "digital economy" has...

The legislation on whistleblowing makes it unlawful to dismiss an employee if they report alleged wrong doings to a relevant authority and by following the prescribed procedure. However reports would suggest that employees face poor treatment by their employers...

Is it time to bin the Competency Framework? Personnel Today reports that they have had their day & are no longer relevant to the business world in the 21st Century. We don't necessarily agree with that! Like all tools they have their benefits if they are designed...

Emma & Sam made the decision last year to each support a local charity close to our hearts, it is a privilege to use our skills and give some of our time to these essential community projects. Sam works with Creating Futures - a project in the Rushmoor area that...

Procedure, procedure, procedure! Yes we know we bang on about this all the time - you might have every good reason to dismiss an employee but if you don't follow proper procedure you will fall foul of employment law and potentially lose a claim at tribunal. Just such...

A reminder to not over react to disciplinary matters involving social media. A Dairy business who dismissed an employee for gross misconduct for a 'selfie' they felt would damage the company reputation were found to have unfairly dismissed him. The company were...

Labour would double Paternity Leave & Pay if they are elected.Sounds good doesn't it? Not for many small businesses though with some employees then out of action for 4 weeks in addition to their annual leave that year. We also have the introduction of Shared...

First tribunal decision on vaping - employers beware! If you have a smoking policy but you don't explicitly mention e-cigarettes & you then rely on that policy in making any disciplinary or dismissal decisions about vaping you could find yourself the subject of an...

A recent press release from Employment Minister Esther McVey states that job seekers shouldn't try to hide their regional accent when attending job interviews.Is this REALLY a big concern? At vivoHR we do a lot of recruiting in many industry sectors, admittedly only...

If you have employees who are pregnant & expecting a baby on or after 5 April you may start to receive enquiries about Shared Parental Leave very soon. The very first parents to take advantage of this new right might start to submit requests by 8 February if baby...

Two news of the world journalists are making tribunal claims of unfair dismissal following them pleading guilty to hacking allegations.Yes that's right - they were dismissed for gross misconduct & are bringing tribunal claims that their dismissals were unfair...

Apparently one in three workers plan to look for a new job in 2015 - a significant increase compared to the number making this plan this time last year according to a survey conducted by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM).January is of course always a...

We hope you all have had a great start to 2015 - Happy New Year! We bring some good news for employers to start the year... yes we know that doesn't happen often! Following on from recent tribunal rulings about the need to now include commission and most overtime when...

Yet more media furore over not that much at all really...obesity is the target of today's hyperbole! Yes it is true that today the European Court of Justice did rule on the case involving an employee in Denmark who claims he was dismissed from work for being too fat....

Unison have lost their latest bid at the High Court to overturn Employment Tribunal Fees.This of course good news for employers who have significantly less fear of groundless or vexatious claims but bad news for employees in genuinely difficult employment situations...

The vivoHR newsletter this issue tells you all you need to know regarding the new Shared Parental Leave Regulations as of 1 December 2014 http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=a2a0ecc47cee6f92f5ded05ff&id=c9aafdef79

It's been a busy week at vivoHR - lots of great stuff going on. No Black Friday offers from us - we didn't want a riot outside our office door! Watch out for a link to an epic vivoHR newsletter coming up - all about Shared Parental Leave - it's great that the...

This weeks see a news report based on data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) that pay growth has overtaken inflation for the first time in five years. Wages rose by 1.3% in the year to September according to the ONS. At the same time unemployment has fallen...

It's perhaps hardly news to hear that unpaid internships favour the rich, whereby mum or dad can foot the bill for living costs while their offspring gain real world experience in their chosen career, but that's the headline findings of research by an education...

We've just seen this report about Sports Direct and the zero hours contract issues. The headline rather boldly states that Sports Direct have "bowed to pressure" over their use of zero hours contracts.However reading further it appears they have settled the claim out...