Blog

What do you do when you realise you’ve made a recruitment mistake?

· by Emma Browning
Don’t Panic ! Keep calm and follow our advice, but whatever you do, don’t ignore your mistake! Firstly, you are not alone, we have all done it – me included!  I’m not going to tell you about all the things you should have done in the recruitment process to minimise your mistakes, we can discuss that at a later date. Right now, what you need is a way to resolve this and fast! I’m sharing our way of dealing with this quickly and swiftly and if you need any help…

Your Top 5 HR Questions answered this month

· by Emma Browning
Here’s our round up of the most frequently asked questions from our clients and our advice for you, which we hope you find helpful. If you have a question you’d like answered next month, then just send it to us at hello@merakihr.com and we may include it in next month’s Top 5! 1.My employees are refusing to come back to the office – what should I do? Employees are required to obey their employer’s reasonable instructions, which would normally include attending work where the employer has put in place safe-working…

Improving People’s Performance is as easy as 123….

· by Emma Browning
If you want to achieve big improvements in performance, you just need clear and effective processes in place to help you to get there! Improving People’s Performance is as easy as 123! Ok, maybe it’s not that easy! But it doesn’t take an HR expert to tell you that if you want your company to thrive, you need to make sure that your staff are really performing at their best. But when it comes to the tricky business of managing people, this can be much easier said than done. Your…

It’s time to get back to work – well amost!

· by Emma Browning
As the Government has announced plans to remove the current ‘work from home if you can’ guidance and all legal limits on indoor and outdoor meetings with effect from 19 July 2021, we wanted to send you an update on how this may impact you and your business. Here are some of the key considerations: Talk to your staff. Employers should be aware that mandating a wholesale return to the office carries several legal risks. Although there is no legal right for employees to work from home, employers should take…

Are you a legally compliant employer?

· by Emma Browning
There have been many HR challenges in the last 18 months and significant changes to your working practices can’t be achieved overnight, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t make sure you are legally compliant as an employer. As we quickly roll into the final quarter of 2021, most business owners will be focusing on a couple of things to make sure they meet their business objectives. However, if you still have some big goals that you haven’t quite smashed, now’s the time to pull your socks up and make…

How to adapt to remote working in the long term

· by Emma Browning
Recent Covid-19 announcements and subsequent guidance issued by the Government on easing the national lockdown, have left many employers in a difficult position deciding what’s best to do. The Covid-19 lockdowns have proven that remote working is feasible for many employers and numerous surveys has shown that a large degree of employees prefer having this degree of flexibility in their working life. Bringing employees back into the workplace brings its own set of challenges, but employers now must consider whether remote working can be performed in at least some capacity…

The F word is finally coming to an end . . . . . . .

· by Emma Browning
As the Furlough schemes comes to an end on the 30th September, find out what you need to do if you still have staff that are furloughed. How does furlough work, and how is it changing? Furlough was introduced in spring 2020, to stop people being laid off by their employers during lockdown. The government initially paid 80% of the wages of people who couldn’t work, or whose employers could no longer afford to pay them, up to a monthly limit of £2,500. Employers have to pay pension and National…

It’s time to get back to the office – well almost!

· by Emma Browning
We all thought that as of the 19th July we would be getting back to some form of normality as lockdown restrictions were easing!  However,  as the government seem to be back tracking on their recent advice about getting back to the office, and are now saying that we should “continue to work from home” if we can, and we are being “encouraged” to continue to wear masks, we wanted to send you our thoughts on how you approach getting back to work! Talk to your staff. Employers should be…

Do you need some HR Oxygen to help you breathe?

· by Emma Browning
Growing a business without HR expertise is challenging at best, and a constant uphill struggle at worst. If you’ve ever had to tackle a people issue on your own, you’ll know just how stressful it can be. Between trying to manage your legal obligations, and meeting your operational requirements, firefighting can become part of your everyday routine if you’re not careful. The last 18 months have shown us, how valuable it can be to have your HR Expert on speed dial. There is always the option to call upon HR…

Key HR lessons from Matt Hancock’s recent resignation

· by Emma Browning
A few weekends ago, we saw Matt Hancock resign from his position as Health Secretary over the breaking of COVID-19 social distancing rules while having an affair with his aide Gina Coladangelo. Whilst the world of political reporting and the mainstream broadcasters will focus on the implications of his resignation in the world of politics – anyone in an HR role like we are was sat at home thinking; Did Matt Hancock know there was CCTV in his office? How did the CCTV footage of him and an aide get…