Every year, over 30,000 minor and 11,000 major injuries are caused by slips and trips in the workplace. The costs of a fall average £25,000; yet many businesses still do nothing to prevent them. More...
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If you are unsure about how to meet the new age discrimination legislation, you are by no means alone. Confusion and concerns about the new age discrimination legislation are leading more small businesses to look for freelance services. This is mainly down to uncertainty over the wide reaching legislation that came into force on October 1st; businesses are unsure whether their practices are within the law. More...
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As someone involved with a small business, you are probably aware that new legislation on age discrimination came into force on 1st October 2006. However, are you fully aware of your responsibilities under the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006?
To help you understand and avoid breaking the age discrimination rules, BizHelp24 has put together a detailed but easy to understand guide to the main points that could affect your business... More...
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Absence increased in 2006 as workers took an average of seven days off sick, losing 175 million working days and costing the economy £13.4bn, according to the latest CBI / AXA survey.
The research revealed that long-term absence of 20 days or more accounts for 43 per cent of all working time lost, costing £5.8bn. In the public sector just over half of absence (52%) is long-term, while in the private sector this was over a third (38%). More...
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You probably know how useful training can be at improving the skills and effectiveness of your employees; but you probably also know that the costs are usually high. However, both you and your staff may be able to benefit from training in the Further Education sector. More...
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If your business is thinking of hiring employees, you need to consider whether you will be checking references and CV information thoroughly enough. A quarter of employers in the UK have had to withdraw a job offer after a candidate had lied or misrepresented themselves. More...
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As an employer, the treatment and happiness of your staff is probably one of the most important considerations you take in the everyday running of your business. However, the number of employees being bullied in the workplace is still going up; and if you do not know how to deal with it you could be at risk of tribunals as well as unhappy and unproductive employees... More...
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A new survey has shown that a surprising number of business owners are uninformed about dealing with bullying and harassment in the workplace. More...
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Despite the common misconceptions, flexible working can actually save you money and increase productivity; yet a surprising number of small businesses are reluctant to move any work outside the office. New research has revealed that 59% of men and 70% of women are not given the option to work from home... More...
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If you are not prepared for the three big pieces of legislation that come into force on Sunday 1st October 2006 then you need to take action now. Almost all small business will be affected by at least one of the changes, and most will be affected by all three... More...
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If your business is considering hiring new permanent or temporary staff in the near future, have you thought about whether the information given in a candidates CV will be truthful? More...
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Is your business struggling to cope with the weight of legislation and the challenges of managing your employees? A new survey has shown that in 55% of SME’s, the managing director personally deals with all human resource (HR) issues; taking up to one day a week. More...
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If your business is based in an office location then you need to consider whether you are doing everything possible to prevent your employees working time being affected. More...
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If you are an employer then you will know how difficult it can already be keeping up with all the different pieces of legislation that affect your business. But are you ready for the new legal rights for mothers and fathers that come into force from April 2007? More...
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With the Christmas party season in full swing, ACAS has answered some of the most common questions of the hundreds they are asked every year by businesses. If you are planning a party for your employees, then it is much easier to prepare yourself for any problems in advance! More...
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As someone who is involved in a small business, you know how important it is to get the most out of your employees, and also how costly it can be to hire and train new employees.
Yet far too many businesses are failing to prepare for dealing with employees with substance issues, and are facing re-hiring costs instead of helping existing employees to rehabilitate. More...
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In small businesses, there is often not a lot of money to pay for formal training; but the majority of small businesses are potentially missing out on training initiatives from the government.
A survey, by the independent Small Business Research Trust (SBRT), and sponsored by HSBC Bank plc, has found that almost 70% of smaller businesses were not aware of the training role of the Sector Skills Councils or the Train2Gain scheme... More...
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Many small businesses struggle to find skilled and enthusiastic workers; but are you missing out on the abilities of ex-offenders?
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) survey “Employing ex-offenders to capture talent” shows that employers are most concerned about ex-offenders having soft workplace skills like honesty, reliability and good personal behavioural skills, not just basic numerical, literacy and technical job skills. But employer concerns could be addressed as four-fifths of employers with a positive experience say that ex-offenders settle into work well with colleagues, perform well and are reliable. More...
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Small businesses are the most likely to face employment tribunals, and a large number of these lose the cases that get to the tribunal stage. However, new research shows that small businesses are not at a disadvantage, you just need to follow the correct disciplinary procedures. Having tribunal procedures in place (and actually using them) will make you much more likely to win cases that reach a tribunal stage. More...
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As a business owner, you are probably aware of the problems caused by employees being absent; from sick pay costs to the hassle and expense of covering their workload. The cost of staff absence in the UK rose to £13 billion in 2005, despite the number of absent days falling from 168 million to 164 million. More...
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Despite a common reputation as being expensive and pointless ventures; a new survey shows that employers are actually reaping large benefits from team building weekends and events. More...
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In a small business, you know how important it is to hire reliable, hard working staff. Your employment practices are designed to bring in the best candidates possible; but are you aware that 50% of CV’s include at least one inaccuracy, while 20% include significant lies or omissions.
A study by employee screening specialists The Risk Advisory Group (TRAG) of over 3700 CV’s has found that one in five applications have serious issues such as... More...
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If your business is struggling to find and recruit staff, you are certainly not alone; new research shows that one in five SME’s say their growth is inhibited by an inability to recruit staff. More...
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If you have not yet found out whether you need to act ready for the forthcoming changes in employee annual leave; you need to act quickly or you could face fines as well as unhappy employees!
From 1st October, the minimum holiday entitlement for full time employees will be 24 (up from 20); rising again to 28 days from 1st April 2009. More...
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If your business is struggling to find employees with the skills you need; have you properly considered searching for disabled employees, many of whom are unemployed despite having the necessary skills and abilities. More...
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You need to be aware of the impact on your health that your particular job can impose. More...
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If your business has employees then you can benefit by keeping them committed and loyal, and ensuring effective communication and development... More...
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Last week an employee won £25,000 health and safety damages for Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) they suffered using a mouse, and being un-trained to do so. More...
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With more small businesses than ever before offering some form of flexible working to their employees, it is good to know that by improving the work life balance of employees; businesses can also reap benefits.
The new report by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) shows the efforts that many businesses are putting in to help meet the needs of their employees. More...
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If your business has employees then you probably know about the growth in popularity of flexible working. It is quickly becoming one of the most widely demanded forms of benefit for employees, and that demand looks unlikely to stop any time soon... More...
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If your business has employees, then changes put forward by the government could have a big impact on your responsibilities and costs for employee pensions. Although the changes are still under consultation, they are likely to form the basis of future pension law; therefore it will help you to understand them as soon as possible! More...
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If you want your business to provide good customer service and have motivated staff then you should look into the positive influence that recognition can have on your employees. More...
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Do you ‘touch base’ with your staff, and do you try to get employees ‘singing off the same hymn sheet’? If so, you are using management jargon; and could be irritating and confusing your employees.
A survey by YouGov for Investors in People has found that employees have a low opinion of colleagues who use management jargon... More...
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It is well known that small business owners tend to work harder than most, but could you potentially be damaging your business by working so much? More...
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As someone with an interest in a small business, you know how important it is to have productive employees; yet a new survey shows that many are spending significant amounts of time on non-work activities. More...
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The Met Office is warning that this winter will be colder than usual, and AXA is urging SMEs to take action to lower the risk of bad weather damaging their business. More...
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More than two thirds of employees think that their colleagues are less productive during the Christmas period. What can you do about it? More...
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On October 1st 2006, new rules come into force, affecting all non-domestic premises in England and Wales. If you are an employer, self employed with business premises, a contractor with a degree of control over a premises, responsible for a business premises, or a charity/voluntary organization; then you need to know your duties under the new act... More...
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The European Union has drawn up new rules about Part Time Work in order to protect the rights of part time staff and to encourage more flexible ways of working. More...
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The UK is expected to have 5 million customers signed up to the Internet by this December. More...
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Businesses in the UK lose an estimated 4.9 million days a year to bad backs, with around 258,000 employees affected; according to figures from the 2003/2004 Labour Force Survey. More...
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If your business does not advertise job vacancies online, have you considered whether you are missing out on potential quality applicants? The latest figures from the Monster Employment Index show that although recruitment activity dipped a little in July, the figures are significantly higher than the previous year... More...
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The summer heat wave is still in full swing, and while many good employers let their employees dress down slightly to stay cool; you need to be careful of unintentional sex discrimination. Employment law firm Croner has found that 55% of employees believe that women can get away with more casual clothing than men; helping them to stay cooler in the hot weather... More...
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As a small business owner you know the importance of the health and safety of your staff; but you may be unaware just how many working days are lost to ill health in the workplace every year. More...
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If your business is struggling to find suitable employees or if you believe your current employees could be doing a better job; then the results of a new survey on employee training could prove useful. More...
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If you are finding it difficult to recruit staff with the necessary skills and training then you are by no means alone. A Report by insurance company Axa has shown that 82% of businesses are worried about future recruitment, with 69% saying it has been getting harder to recruit over the last three years. Axa has also teamed up with the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to give you some top tips on cost effective training solutions: More...
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If your business struggles to hold onto talented staff, then you are certainly not in the minority. A survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has found that almost 80% of companies struggled to hang on to their staff in 2006. More...
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As a small business owner, you will know that it can be difficult keeping up with all legal issues and legislation. Sadly many smaller businesses are leaving themselves open to employment tribunals through misunderstanding common legislation.
Business consultancy firm Croner has compiled a list of the five most common myths about employment legislation from the calls to their Business Support Helpline... More...
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As a small business employer (or sole trader looking to hire someone), you know that finding the right candidate for a job can be very difficult. You may have several people with almost identical skills and experience; or maybe a range of people with vastly different but equally relevant experience! How should you make the decision? More...
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The staff in your business may work hard, but you might be surprised at the amount of time the average office worker wastes. A survey by Office Angels has found that UK offices lose 72 million hours every week, totalling £6.85 billion a year, enough to build nine Wembley Stadiums each year! More...
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While most of the publicity surrounding the recent Age Discrimination Legislation has been about older workers, it is vital to remember that the legislation covers workers of any age. Employment organisation ACAS is warning that too many businesses are risking employment tribunals by not fully understanding the scope of the legislation.
ACAS has put together some top tips to help you avoid age related employment tribunals...
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As part of a small business, you are probably aware of the problem of bullying in the workplace. Yet despite there being little mention of it day to day, a surprisingly high number of employees have been affected; and could you be doing more to prevent it?
Not only does bullying reduce the morale of your employees, but it can drastically reduce productivity and lead to expensive employment tribunals; especially if you could have acted to stop it...
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With the World Cup in full swing, the debate over decorating your house and office in England colours is raging again; and you need to be careful that decorations in your business do not upset any of your employees... More...
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