Who’s For Tea?

22 / 06 / 2015

A study by Tetley of 2,000 workers found that 44 per cent believe they are too busy to take a tea break, and one in five don’t take tea breaks in case their boss thinks they are slacking. This is worrying news for Tetley and I’m sure they’ll start lobbying to bring back the traditional British tea break forthwith... While...

Taking Personal Responsibility

19 / 06 / 2015

Yesterday I was talking to a client who described a relationship between a manager and one of her team. As with all cases, there’s good and bad on both sides. Both have some poor communication habits. The manager, Angela, is 20 years younger than the employee and a bit inexperienced. She hasn’t really built rapport with her team and often...

A Year of Paternity Leave Anyone?

14 / 06 / 2015

Sir Richard Branson was in the media in September last year for announcing he was letting his employees take as much holiday as they wanted as long as they got their job done. Employers can chose to give more than the statutory minimum of 28 days holiday, but giving complete free rein is taking it to the extreme and surely...

Home Working – A Great Opportunity That Gets Abused

12 / 06 / 2015

Most of us are used to “Martini” working now – (any time, any place anywhere…) and it’s all made possible by modern technology. The TUC has made headlines with its analysis that now 4.2 million people in Britain work from home, an increase of over 800,000 since 2005. The biggest increase geographically has been in London, and sector-wise it’s IT...

The Dreaded Remedy Hearing

10 / 06 / 2015

If there’s one type of hearing that wins the booby prize for unpopularity with employers, it’s the remedy hearing. Imagine the scenario: you have been to the Employment Tribunal once, your witnesses have been hauled over the coals by your former employee’s representative and by the Employment Judge. Now you have to go back to the Tribunal again for the...