HR ADVICE BLOG
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alison Schreiber is an experienced HR professional who provides practical and pragmatic outsourced HR support to SMEs in the Durham area.
The HR Dept specialises in Employment Law, contracts of employment, disciplinary and grievance, appraisal, performance management, absence management, dismissal and redundancy, TUPE transfers, employee surveys, training and development, payroll, recruitment, health and safety.
Alison’s areas of expertise also include job evaluation, compensation & benefits, leadership, change management, employee engagement, coaching and diversity.
For more info, visit HR Dept Durham or call Alison on 01325 526036 or 07535 853226.
BLOG POSTS
HR ADVICE: Understanding philosophical beliefs in the workplace
Belief is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. This means that a person cannot be discriminated against because of, or lack of, their belief. In guidance, belief gets grouped together with religion. However, unlike religion, belief is not as clearly...
HR ADVICE: Managing employees during the Euros
Football fan or not, you’ll probably be aware that EURO 2020 started last week. Whether it was the flags, frontpage news or an excited employee that gave it away, it’s hard to miss the hype, especially when your home country is taking part. Major sporting events, such...
HR ADVICE: How inclusivity helps with workplace mental health
Did you know that one in four people will experience poor mental health at some point in their lives? The recent Mental Health Awareness Week gave us all a good opportunity to reflect on our own mental health and that of those around you. Mental health is just as...
HR ADVICE: How your business can play a part in improving disability inclusion
Last year, little over 50 per cent of disabled people were in employment; compared to over 80 per cent of people without a disability. This was an improvement on the year prior, but nevertheless, an appalling statistic which highlights the scope of disability...
HR ADVICE: Time management tips for shorter working weeks
Did your week start on schedule or were you caught off guard by the changing of the clocks? Anyone unprepared this time around will hopefully have been pleasantly surprised by the now lighter evenings and official start of British Summer Time. From higher levels of...
HR ADVICE: Working women have been set back by the pandemic, but it doesn’t have to end there
Monday, March 8, marked International Women’s Day. A day for seeking out and celebrating the successes of women everywhere. This year’s theme focused on challenging the status quo to raise awareness and call out acts of gender bias and inequality. It’s a pertinent...
HR ADVICE: Self-employed, worker or employee – are you classifying correctly?
Earlier this month, the long-awaited result of Uber v Aslam, a high-profile case which delved into the subject of employment status, came to a head at the Supreme Court. Backing previous findings by employment tribunals and the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court...
HR ADVICE: How to achieve a smooth transition of leadership in your business
A transition of power usually brings about change, which can be a good thing when managed well. However, the process doesn’t come without its challenges. We need only look back to January when one of the most public and emotionally charged leadership transitions took...
HR ADVICE: How employers can help working parents through school closures
In efforts to control the spread of coronavirus as vaccinations get underway, the government has temporarily closed schools to most pupils. Schools remain open for children who are vulnerable or whose parents are key workers and need the cover so they can go out to...
HR ADVICE: What should employers consider when people planning for the year ahead?
A lot has happened this year. So much so that Brexit, one of the most discussed and publicised topics at the start of 2020, ended up taking a back seat and almost fell off the radar completely for some people. Taking its place was, of course, the coronavirus pandemic....
HR ADVICE: How a daily routine can help you and your workforce at this time
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has affected people in different ways – in their symptoms if they catch it, as well as socially and economically. However, something that almost everyone can relate to is the disruption to daily life due to COVID restrictions and...
HR ADVICE: How to build the resilience of your workforce
Resilience is often described as the ability to bounce back from adversity. Because of this, picturing resilience in the workplace pre-2020 may have conjured up stereotypical examples of jobs that require just that. Think police responders, the armed forces in action...
HR ADVICE: Why assisting departing employees is good for your business
Once reserved for pumpkins and sugar-crazed trick or treaters, October 31 now seems to be getting attention for controversial government deadlines. Last year it was the Brexit cut-off date. This year 31 October marks the end of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. A...
HR ADVICE: What is an employer’s role in supporting an employee at risk of domestic abuse?
Protection from the threat of coronavirus has been a major concern shared the world over this year. It has resulted in enforced periods of lockdown and a considerable shift towards home working which remains in place for many people. The government’s instruction to...
HR ADVICE: Three tips for better consistency in your internal communications
Good communication is vital for people to be able to work well together and for a business to succeed. Whilst most people will know the importance of good communication, life can sometimes throw a few curveballs, making it harder to achieve and maintain. 2020 has...
HR ADVICE: Why financial education for employees can be good for business
The UK government has revealed plans to further ease lockdown restrictions in England. It is encouraging much of society to return to some sort of normality, in a COVID-secure way. Employers have been given the green light to bring remote workers back to the office...
HR ADVICE: Managing holiday requests during the new normal
Like many aspects of people management, the process of managing holiday requests for employees has new “what if’s” involved due to the impact of coronavirus. Whilst some people might not want to take holiday during a lockdown, there are others keen to use their annual...
HR ADVICE: Has coronavirus widened the gender wage gap in your business?
The coronavirus job retention scheme has provided an immense level of support and a much-needed lifeline to UK businesses. It has undoubtedly helped to keep many people employed throughout the pandemic. But of the 8.4 million people currently on furlough leave, how...
HR ADVICE: Do employees fear returning to work post COVID-19 lockdown?
If your business has been interrupted as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, we know that you may be eager to reopen or scale up operations as soon as possible. Perhaps you have already been in touch with employees about their return to work since the recent ease in...
HR ADVICE: 11 tips to manage the mental health of all employees during lockdown
The strict lockdown rules of social distancing have presented many new challenges for us all. And news from Downing Street that these measures are going to remain in place beyond the end of April may have been difficult to hear. Especially for those who were already...