We’re not your average HR consultancy. Led by Sam Swinstead, a plain-talking HR professional with over 20 years of experience, we focus on sensible, practical advice that gets results.
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Is an Ebola outbreak a risk that you need to consider in your business? We're going to go out on a limb here and say that for most, if not all, of our clients the answer is most likely no! However...if you have any concerns then the article in Personnel Today gives...
We love working with vets and we had a great time working with a fabulous vets practice recently and as any who knows us we are mad about animals! So we are putting it out there that we would love to work with more vet practices. Does this sound like you? You run a...
Do you employ apprentices? There has in recent years been some confusion about the employment status of an apprentice in a business, as it seems that legislative changes made in 2012 have not necessarily been communicated very well to employers....unless you are one...
What employee benefits are you offering - pension, health care, cycle to work scheme.... human egg freezing?! It was reported in the Guardian yesterday that Apple and Facebook are offering this "perk" to US based employees from January 2015. Apparently this is part of...
A Tribunal Fees Judicial Review is to be heard later in October - Unison have been granted permission to bring new proceedings that challenge the lawfulness of the Government's introduction of tribunal fees last year.Unison argue that the introduction of fees has...
Employee of the future Amelia? The latest development in artificial intelligence from American firm IPSoft is going to streamline everyday business tasks by automating laborious and boring work functions such as processing financial transactions, according to reports...
Watch out for your poppy seed rolls this lunch time..... the BBC are reporting a rise in the amount of workplace drug testing. Towards the end of the article it questions the validity of some tests as poppy seed bread can indicate the presence of opiates!...
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has announced that it will be carrying out an investigation into unlawful discrimination in the Metropolitan Police Service (the Met). This comes on the back of high profile cases such as the recent tribunal that found...
In the week that the National Minimum Wage increases, it appears that workers' pay is going to be a hot election topic according to Personnel Today. David Cameron promises tax cuts that will benefit those on the lowest pay rates, but also promises to increase the...
New rules come into force on 1st October as part of the Children & Families Act 2014 giving fathers and partners of pregnant women the right to attend two antenatal appointments. There is no continuous employment requirement to be entitled to this right, but...
The Telegraph reports that at the TUC congress earlier this week Labour have announced an intention to scrap Employment Tribunal fees if they are elected. The Shadow Business Secretary is quoted as saying that the fees are "locking people out of the justice they are...
YOUR EMAIL WILL BE DELETED! Just caught up with this in the news today. The BBC report on Daimler's approach to managing email while you are on holiday - it gets deleted! What a fantastic idea. Not one I think we're brave enough to try at vivoHR yet though!! Daimler...
How long would you expect to wait for a work reference?I know it's the summer holidays and people may be away but even so I've been surprised over the last month or two that I've been waiting up to 4 weeks to receive references for employees that our clients have...
Paddington Bear, Winnie the Pooh and an interesting perspective on immigration.... This article from an immigration lawyer at Squire Patton Boggs http://www.squiresanders.com/ takes a look at the impact of Government policy on immigration at the other end of the scale...
Update on the Health and Work Service (HWS) - The Government have announced that it will be run by occupational health provider Health Management which is owned by MAXIMUS who already provide services to the Government.The HWS is to be launched later this year with...
This is the time of year when school leavers start looking for employment but Personnel Today report that 87% of employers feel that young people are not ready for the workplace when they leave school; apparently lack of experience and having "no sense of urgency"...
A case in the news this week is a useful reminder that even when an employer has failed to act correctly in some instances & faces a tribunal claim, this does not necessarily mean that ALL claims made by an employee will be successful. In the case of Dr Gupta vs...
We've written a lot recently about the recent European rulings that affect how holiday pay is now to be calculated - none of which have been good news for the employer. The CBI (Confederation of British Industry) are now challenging the rulings calling for the UK...
What are your views on vaping at work? It is harmless & a way to help smokers quit, does it maximise productivity by allowing staff to vape at their desks, or is it still as unacceptable as smoking in the workplace? Vaping is not covered by the anti-smoking laws...
Almost half of UK managers work an extra day a week in unpaid overtime the BBC reports today that - in addition to staying late at the office and taking the laptop home, managers use smart phone technology to access work email even at weekends and take late evening...
Getting the process wrong when it comes to making redundancies can be a costly mistake. In this case however, one that may cost the taxpayers money. Deloitte were appointed as administrators for Comet in 2012. According to a recent tribunal ruling, when making 7000...
Just as we predicted - after all the furore has died down the Government will not be banning zero hours contracts! The Queen's speech in May revealed the Government's plans to tackle ways in which businesses were abusing zero hours contracts - no mention of banning...
A 2014 survey commissioned by Cisco has found that around 3/4 of UK workers take their mobile devices on holiday and check into work whilst "on the beach" and that the majority do not check the security of the wifi network they are using before accessing it. The study...
vivoHR are going international! We're delighted that Sam will be back out to France this November with Ski Famille to help get the resort management team ready for another fantastic ski season - it's our most glamorous assignment each year!
Holiday pay is definitely the hot topic of the moment! The European Court of Justice (ECJ) have now ruled that holiday accrued by employees who then die whilst still employed should be paid as part of the final salary settlement to their estate. In the case in...
In the news yesterday - over 2000 apprentices will be recruited by London's Technology Industry with companies including IBM, Virgin Media, British Airways and Capgemini recruiting up to 200 apprentices each whilst Microsoft has apparently committed to recruiting 1200...
Employers who failed to pay the National Minimum Wage have been 'named and shamed' by the Government Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS).This will be an annual occurrence whereby businesses that have failed to pay the NMW will be issued with a Notice...
