CONSULTANCY

When running a small business, there will be a wide range of people related problems and it is unlikely that you can justify the costs of in house HR. Hr with Confidence work with clients to become your “HR Department” when needed, for a fraction of the cost of an in-house HR professional. We are on hand to provide advice and support as and when needed, with unlimited access to employment law advice and guidance, as well as hands on support. We specialise in getting to know your business and the challenges it faces. We provide effective, practical and specialist advice, we can draft letters and provide supporting documentation. We can work with you on an adhoc or retainer basis, with our retainer packages starting from as few as two hours per month. We will review your contract of employment, employee handbook and policies and procedures, providing regular updates on changes to legislation.

Discipline
Handling a disciplinary or a grievance hearing in a small business is never a very pleasant experience!
You may work in the same office as someone you have to hold a disciplinary meeting with and maintaining the relationship is not easy. Hr with confidence specialise in minimising the pain. We can advise you from the beginning of the issue, attend disciplinary meetings and appeal, we can even hold the meetings on your behalf.
We can provide advice and guidance throughout the whole process.

Grievance
Formal grievances within small businesses are usually emotionally charged and very difficult for all involved. Hr with confidence can advise on the best practical path and can be involved with attending the meetings and appeal and again we can even hold the meetings on your behalf.

There are ways of improving your workforce and reducing employee turnover, hr with confidence can help you with this.

Induction programme
An effective induction programme does not need to be costly. It should be structured, informative and systematic. It must feed the size and complexity of your business and should begin before the employee joins. Hr with confidence can help you design and deliver this.

Probationary periods
It is extremely important to include a probationary period for your employee. The duration can vary, normally from three to six months. Probationary periods enable both sides to assess the fit between employee and the company. Hr with confidence can provide you with all the supporting documentation needed to create a probationary review process that works.

Performance Appraisals
These must not just be box ticking exercises. It is only worth carrying out appraisals if they achieve the objectives of enhancing performance, facilitating two way communication and setting clear objectives and development plans.
Hr with confidence can design cost effective appraisal processes and train managers to conduct appraisals.

When running a small business, sickness/absence can place a huge strain on resources and can damage your ability to meet the needs of your clients and place an extra burden upon your other staff to pick up the pieces. There are a few simple steps you can take to make significant improvements to sickness/absence; such as return to work interviews, training managers, having processes in place to deal with repeated short term absence and have an effective Absence Policy.

Long term sickness absence may have an underlying cause related to disability. Disability discrimination can be a mine field for a small business but with our help you can deal effectively and practically with long term sickness. It may be that an employee is not able to return to work, if this happens then we can help you take all the necessary steps to terminate employment safely, whilst helping the employee leave your business with dignity and a feeling that they have been treated fairly.

Contracts of Employment

When a company employs people, one of its obligations is to provide a Written Statement of Particulars of their employment within the first 8 weeks. A written Contract of Employment gives you the opportunity to set out the terms of the working relationship between you and your employee. The Contract of Employment sets out the basics such as hours of work, salary, rules on sickness etc. Without a Contract of Employment you are exposed to risks that are simple to minimise.
It is also sensible to set up standard HR policies and procedures such as Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures so that all your employees have the same or similar terms and conditions of employment.

Employee Handbooks

Employee Handbooks are important to a growing business. A Handbook sets out the way the company operates and sets new employees off on the right track from day 1. Hr with confidence can provide you with a tailored Employee Handbook that creates a positive, professional impression on new and existing employees providing information and guidance on the rules and operating practices for your business. It will also protect your company from potential claims.

It is important to make sure your people stay motivated and grow with your business. You may identify gaps in skills or development needs. We offer bite size workshops, perhaps over a lunch hour or breakfast that do not affect the running of your business.

Development
We offer tailored training programmes to suit the needs of your business and your budget. Some of the most popular programmes are:
⦁ Handling the disciplinary and grievance processes
⦁ Appraisal management
⦁ Interviewing skills
⦁ Delegation skills
⦁ Managing a small team and the challenges
⦁ Supervisory skills
⦁ Stress management

Structured mentoring
You may have employees who would like to develop but you have limited time to put a process into place. We can work with your business to set structured targets and arrange regular monitoring meetings.

Coaching
Do you have the time to think about your own development? We can provide one to one coaching with tailored individual development plans to help you develop. We offer bite size meetings that fit in with your busy schedule.

Effective recruitment starts with a good job description and person specification, setting out the requirements of the role and the person you are looking for. Interviews using prepared questions and behavioural interviewing techniques.
Hr with confidence can help you as much or as little as you would like. Some of the things we can help you with:
⦁ Drafting job descriptions and person specifications
⦁ Sourcing the best recruitment media
⦁ Drafting adverts
⦁ Sifting applicants
⦁ Conducting telephone screening interviews
⦁ Designing competency based questions
⦁ Conducting face to face interviews
⦁ Designing and delivering assessment centres

Hr with confidence will deal with your case from start to finish minimising the stress these situations cause. Part of our role is to ensure that the best possible settlement is reached.
We will:
⦁ Advise from the beginning providing you with a risk assessment and estimated percentage of success
⦁ Deal with early settlement negotiations
⦁ Complete and submit your response to the Employment Tribunal
⦁ Produce and manage all correspondence
⦁ Represent you at Preliminary and full Employment Tribunal Hearings
⦁ Draft final Settlement Agreements

Hr with confidence can help support you through this process should this be a requirement for your business. There is a lot of legislation surrounding redundancy procedures and you need to be careful that you do not leave yourself exposed to potential claims for unfair dismissal or unfair selection. Hr with Confidence can help make this process as simple and straightforward as possible.

TUPE can apply to one employee or to the whole company. There are prescribed rules for consultation and heavy penalties for failing to consult. Without the right help, TUPE can be a costly exercise for small businesses.
Our TUPE experts will guide you through the TUPE minefield, firstly by establishing whether TUPE applies, then advising on consultation and working with you on providing the required justification for any changes you may need to make to the workforce.