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HR & Health and Safety News
What lessons can we learn from children? When it comes to living in the adult world, we sometimes need to take a step back and reflect on what we are doing/saying/teaching/treating – (delete the appropriate words) and think about how we can become better/more productive/efficient/worthy ...
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Imagine the scene – it’s Week 3 of the year’s 2nd Quarter. You know how important it is that the first month of the Q is a successful one, as it helps build momentum or maybe even carry the momentum forward from a successful Q1. Everyone is expecting you to deliver a strong performance, because t...
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All the staff at Quest want to send their thoughts to the friends, family and all those affected by the fire that ravaged through the Grenfell Tower housing block on Wednesday 14th June. We also want to praise the efforts and speed of reaction by the London Fire Brigade and the ...
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Incremental Holiday System – Increasing holiday entitlement Increasing holiday entitlement for long serving employees is one of the methods employers use to reward employees for their commitment to the company. This week a client wanted to implement an incremental holiday system b...
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Who is at risk of HAVS? Hand-arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) is a workplace disease that causes pain and damage in fingers, hands and arms. The main causes are prolonged use of power tools and operating heavy machinery. So, who is at risk? That will depend on the type of eq...
Read moreDo you know the 10 steps when dismissing an employee due to ill health? If you are considering terminating an employee’s contract on the grounds of ill health, it is important to follow a fair and reasonable procedure for someone who is on long term sick. You must ensure there are justif...
Read moreComplying with health and safety To take the hit or to comply that is the safety question! Top tips below. Companies are still willing to take the risk of not complying with health and safety legislati...
Read moreHR's role is more than just peace of mind Many people would be forgiven for thinking that HR’s role was only concerned with ensuring administrative processes work smoothly and employee relation issues are managed appropriately. All in accordance with complex and continually changing <st...
Read moreAll the staff at Quest want to send their thoughts to the friends, family and members of the school of the poor young girl who lost her life at Drayton Manor on Tuesday. Many thoughts of ‘…how could this happen…?’ I’m sure be resonating for many people, but we know that things can happen t...
Read moreProof of eligibility to work in the UK and Immigration Act 2016 Eligibility to work in the UK became a hot topic back in the late 2000s when the laws on illegal working were considerably bumped up. The Asylum and Immigration Act 2006 introduced civil penalties for employers who ta...
Read moreRegretting your vote ‘for’ or ‘against’ Brexit? Well hold on to your seats folks because a general election scheduled for 8 June 2017 could totally change the direction Britain will now go once Britain exits the European Union. Last year Britain voted to leave to the European Union. Howe...
Read moreHearing protection at work Hearing protection for your workers is extremely important. There is anecdotal evidence that noise induced hearing loss is fast becoming the new claim of the ambulance chasers. So how can we ensure that our workers are protected? Simply ...
Read moreWhat is the entitlement to pay when resigning during a period of absence? Resigning during a period of absence can cause confusion when determining what the employee’s entitlements are relating to pay. The reason for the absence could range from maternity leave to sickness but cou...
Read moreIs the Apprenticeship the future? Is the government pushing on an open door with its Apprenticeship Policy? With 871,800 funded apprentices participating in an apprenticeship in 2014 to 2015, it would appear so. There is a noticeable change in attitude with clients of ours tendin...
Read moreOr could it be a 'mythical compensation culture'? The compensation culture is another way that people use to make a quick pound or two. This is by suing someone or something! Hold on, mythical compensation culture? Well apparently, in 2011 just before Lofstedt’s report...
Read moreDo I have to pay the minimum wage to an apprentice? This call referred to one of our clients who was thinking of taking on an apprentice and he wanted to know whether he would have to pay a minimum wage. Historically apprenticeships had long been the bane of many a business across...
Read moreProvision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) A recent health and safety breach, where a worker was involved in a fatal accident, made me think about putting this article together. Basically the person, who was new to his company was pressure t...
Read moreThis week our question relates to the statutory default retirement age (DRA) The DRA allowed employers to give either six or 12 months’ notice to employees approaching the age of 65 to retire. Sadly, for employers, the DRA died a death in October 2011. There was a transitional pe...
Read moreFixed term contracts - what are an employee’s rights? Fixed term contracts are deceiving by their very nature. The vast majority of employers believe that an employee employed on a ‘fixed term’ absolves them of any liability at the point which the contract ends. Unfortunately, this is ...
Read moreIs redundancy okay if an employee’s work has diminished? February is a particularly busy time for the HR advice line at Quest and redundancy has reared its head. This week’s question is following a general theme that is running throughout this month. Question of the week <p...
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