Employment Law Myth of the Day!

Myth - No employment contract exists if there is nothing in writing.

Fact - even verbal agreements are binding, however, verbal arrangements are obviously subject to dispute. For the protection of both employer and employee it is essential to put agreed terms in writing.

KMC HR can help you devise Contracts of Employment for your staff.

Staff confidence is key to recovery

Maintaining staff moral during a recession can be a major way of maintaining a company's profitability. This is the message I gave to Lancashire Business View and they published the following article in their July/August edition.

Karen Credie of KMC HR Consulting said "Research shows that staff who feel valued by their employer are happier, more motivated and dedicated to ensuring the success of the business. With ongoing economic uncertainty, some companies are reluctant to invest in employee initiatives but this could have a detrimental impact in the longer term. Employees have long memories and if they feel badly treated by a company they will vote with their feet as soon as the opportunity arises. It is a fact that companies are watching their expenditure due to the economy and this has resulted in pay freezes, reduced head-count and in many cases the remaining staff having to take on extra work for no reward. This has to be a short term strategy if you are going to maintain morale amongst your workforce and keep your star performers."

For more information visit Lancashire Business View

Interested in HR, personnel and employment law issues?

Anyone interest in HR, personnel and employment law issues might want to view Pannone LLP solicitors' well established employment law blog. It contains regular blogs on topical HR and personnel issues and blogs answering tricky employment law questions, written by Pannone's employment solicitors, including various posts by Helena Wheeler, Employment Lawyer: http://blog.pannone.com/employment/

Employment Tribunal claims increase by 56% to the highest level ever recorded

Figures published by the Tribunal service show that the number of claims accepted by employment tribunals in 2009-10 increased to 236,100 (up from 151,000 the previous year).

The recession will no doubt have played a significant part in the increase - the number of claims relating to redundancy pay shot up by 76% to 19,000 in 2008-09. Unfair dismissal claims also increased by 9% to 57,400. Increases were also seen in age discrimination claims, up by 37% and working time directive claims increased dramatically by 297% to 95,200 in 2009-10.

The sharp rise in claims has resulted in a significant backlog of cases waiting to be heard. Only 65% of cases had their first hearing within 26 weeks of the claim being received.

Is your business well placed to deal with employment issues and disputes? HR best practice is even more important when times are tough. Ending up in an Employment Tribubal could significantly damage even the most successful business. For help and advice visit http://www.kmchr.com/mentoring.aspx

Company Directors beware - the health & safety of your staff is your responsibility!

A custodial sentence was passed down to the employer of a labourer who fell to his death from the roof of a Comet store in Wrexham in 2007. Paul Alker fell through a skylight. He and his colleague had access to the store's roof by purpose built scaffolding, however, they were not issued with safety harnesses. Their employer was convicted of manslaughter by gross negligence and jailed for two years.

Comet, which did not provide the contractor with their own health and safety policies, admitted failing to ensure Paul Alker's safety. Comet were fined £75,000 + £25,000 costs.

Following the tragic accident, the Company introduced a "robust contract management system".

The health and safety of all your staff is your responsibility. http://www.kmchr.com/health-and-safety.aspx