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I need to hire my first employee, what do I need?

All employees are entitled to a written statement of employment particulars (usually their contract) from day one of employment. It is essential that you have this in place.

You must also make sure you check they have the right to work in the UK before they commence employment.

We recommend that you also have a job description and suite of policies and procedures in place so that both you and the employee understand clearly what is expected of them.

Definitely! Especially for small businesses with less than 50 employees. Employing a full time HR Advisor or Manager would cost a business between £35,000 and £50,000 per year. With a consultant you have their expertise at hand for a fraction of the price. And as a bonus, you’re not responsible for holidays, sickness or pension contributions!

No, employees do not need to provide a sick note for sickness periods under 7 days. There are some circumstances where you may ask an employee to provide one. This may be because they are trying to claim back annual leave if they were sick during this period, or because they requested annual leave which was denied and then they phoned in sick.

Employers can be fined up to £45,000 per illegal worker for a first breach. For repeated breaches this goes up to £60,000 per illegal worker.

Grievance’s can be tricky to navigate. It’s important you appoint an independent person to investigate so that all parties involved feel their will be complete fairness.

The investigating officer needs to be trained to understand how to run a grievance process. If not, they can end up making matters worse. We recommend outsourcing if you don’t have someone within your team who is trained.

The person investigating is simply looking for the facts in the case, if there is no physical evidence then any outcome will be based on reasonable belief. It is important that they ensure they investigate with all witnesses provided and those not provided if they have been present or could provide insight into the concerns raised.

We often consider if mediation is the right course of action too, if both parties are happy to proceed with mediation the outcome is normally more positive.

  • extra costs that will damage the business
  • the work cannot be reorganised among other staff
  • people cannot be recruited to do the work
  • flexible working will affect quality
  • flexible working will affect performance
  • the business will not be able to meet customer demand
  • there’s a lack of work to do during the proposed working times
  • the business is planning changes to the workforce

Yes all employees are entitled to a contract on or before day one of employment.

Employees with less than 2 years’ service currently cannot claim unfair dismissal. There are exceptions to this rule, including in cases of discrimination and asserting a statutory right. In these cases, an employee may claim automatic unfair dismissal. This will change in 2027.

Only if they are pregnancy related visits. If an employee has a doctor’s appointment and it is not pregnancy related, then you can ask that they take this time unpaid, as annual leave, or ask them to make the time up.

If you apprentice is aged 19 or over they must be paid the national minimum wage for their age once they have completed their first year of study. During their first year of study, you can pay the national minimum wage for apprentices.

Absolutely, as long as you have in your contracts of employment that employees are obliged to carry out shifts once accepted, failure to attend a shift without notification and good
reason may result in disciplinary action.

First step is to complete a return to work meeting. Record things like the reason for their absence, any potential ongoing concerns and what support they need from you. If their
absence is becoming problematic seek further advice from your Policy and our HR team or provider.

If an employee has been caught drinking alcohol at work, or you reasonably suspect them to be under the influence of alcohol you should refer to your alcohol and drugs policy. Does this allow you to request to test the employee? If it does, this should be your first point of call.

If the employee refuses the test – you can suspend them under suspicion on full pay, investigate and if reasonable belief exists/evidence demonstrates they were likely under the influence you can invite them to a disciplinary hearing with a potential outcome of summary dismissal (depending on policy).

If the employee tests positive – you can suspend them pending investigation on full pay. Investigate and if reasonable belief exists/evidence demonstrates they were likely under the influence you can invite them to a disciplinary hearing with a potential outcome of summary dismissal (depending on policy).

Do you have a social media policy in place?

There are many variables here and it will depend mainly on your policies. If you do have a policy in place, does the employee’s social media clearly identify that they work for you? If it does then your first step is to investigate the concerns and if there is evidence/reasonable belief that they have breached company policy, you can invite them to a disciplinary hearing. The potential outcome will depend on the severity of the misconduct and you policy.

Many small businesses don’t have big budgets. This can often leave them unsure on how to provide valued recognition to their teams. But there are a few cost effective ways you can;

  • Team days out/events
  • Opportunities to train – this doesn’t have to be expensive, it can be simply working with more senior team members to learn different roles
  • Flexible working
  • Earning bonus holiday days or extended lunch breaks
  • Volunteer days
  • Hand written thank you’s with small treats from the Senior leadership team

For the employer – this allows you the benefit of budget control. The portion of Car Allowance within an employee’s contract is not likely to be subject to any % increase in salary reviews or when the car lease comes up for renewal. It will also reduce the administrative burden of company cars and simplifies tax.

For your employee – it gives greater flexibility and if they already have a car they’re happy with they get the benefit of additional income. It also removes any restrictions on personal
use and simplifies the way their tax works.

Yes, you can, but the hours they can work are restricted and you may need to seek approval from your local authority each time you employ someone under the age of 16.

Term time rules:

During term time, children can only work a maximum of 12 hours a week and never during school hours. This includes:

  • a maximum of 2 hours on school days (a maximum of 1 hour before school) and
    Sundays
  • a maximum of 5 hours on Saturdays for 14-year-olds, or 8 hours for 15 to 16-year-
    olds

School holiday rules:
During school holidays, 14-year-olds are only allowed to work a maximum of 25 hours a
week. This includes:

  • a maximum of 5 hours on weekdays and Saturdays
  • a maximum of 2 hours on Sunday

During school holidays, 15 to 16-year-olds can only work a maximum of 35 hours a week.

This includes:

  • a maximum of 8 hours on weekdays and Saturdays
  • a maximum of 2 hours on Sunday

14-16 year olds cannot work more than 4 hours without having a 1 hour break.