Managing the risk of a dismissed employee claiming they have whistleblown

Dismissed employee claiming they have whistleblown

We’ve known for some time that employees who whistleblow are able to claim that they have made a protected disclosure. They are entitled not to suffer a detriment as a consequence of raising a protected disclosure about their workplace. The detriment might be the right not to be dismissed or to suffer a detriment such […]

Supporting staff in Early Years with their IVF journey

IVF Journey

In recent years more and more employees have been grateful that their employers have a IVF Policy, clearly setting out what they can expect if they start fertility treatment during their employment. IVF itself is a common and yet much understood workplace issue and one that needs Line Manager’s to be both supportive yet consistent […]

How can I stop them wanting to kill each other!

staff not getting along

Recently I was having a chat with a Day Nursery Owner who was asking whether it was them or whether there was something in the air with nursery personnel in general. Intrigued I asked her what she meant and was told, “I don’t know what to do it’s like they want to fooking kill each […]

Why investigating claims of misconduct in your setting is a good idea

Claims of misconduct

A thorough investigation into alleged misconduct can go a long way towards mitigating risks and establishing the appropriate steps for the employer to take in terms of the employee, policies, procedures and third parties. This is especially true in the following circumstances: where the employee might be dismissed and then claim unfair dismissal. where you […]

COVID-19 SSP Rebate Scheme is Closing 30 September 21

COVID 19 SSP Rebate Scheme

The COVID -19 SSP Rebate Scheme was put in place in May 2020 to ensure that those who needed to self isolate are able to be paid SSP from day 1 of their absence (as long as they were off for 4 days) rather than only receive SSP from day 4.  The rebate scheme also […]

So what happens if we can’t authorise leave due to the pandemic?

calculating annual leave for term time only staff

We are now in full on holiday season. You only have to look on social media to see that many people are already away with some lucky things even being abroad! However, as well as being in late summer, we are also in a global pandemic with no sign that the virus has gone. But […]

Can I make staff take the vaccine?

Can we make it a requirement that staff are vaccinated in our Day Nursery?

The COVID-19 vaccine is not mandatory. Individuals can choose when they take the offer of a vaccine or not. The fear is forcing individuals to have the vaccine will result in claims of discrimination in the courts. Popular claims we feel will be in the areas of: Disability discrimination Culture Government has had to introduce […]

Should we use Facebook to vet potential new employees?

Social media screening

It can be tempting to look for potential new employees on Facebook and other social media platforms before making a job offer? People have so much of their lives online these days. However if you are going to vet them by looking at their online presence its only fair that you tell them that this […]

How do you address staff absence due to childcare?

Absence due to childcare

Working parents taking time off to be at home with sick children is nothing new. However, we are all short staffed and with the pandemic not over it is often children who are self isolating as they have contracted COVID-19. Time off for Family Emergencies Circumstances that may give rise to needing unpaid time off […]

Can we relax in our Nursery now Freedom Day has come and gone in England

Freedom Day

Like an Olympic diver on the 10m board, COVID-19 cases seem to be taking a significant dive. Freedom Day (19th July) has come and gone. The possibility of 100,000 cases or more a day remain just that, a possibility. The news reports are of declining numbers day on day. So, considering all this and August […]

Why we should know our Labour Turnover rate in Early Years

Labour turnover rate

Labour Turnover rates impact so many aspects of a business. But relatively few employers calculate their labour turnover rate and set in place actions to improve it. Labour Turnover is the rate in which a employer ‘turns over’ its workforce. Its the rate of attrition. Here’s our online calculator to find out your labour turnover. […]

Using a probationary period in your Day Nursery, Pre-school and Club

Probationary period

I don’t think I can say it enough times, probationary periods are very useful. They may not be employment law, but in terms of HR, we always find that it’s better to have one than not. Since the introduction of the Good Work Plan its been important to include in the contract of employment whether […]

10 Redundancy Pitfalls and how to avoid them in your Day Nursery, Pre-school or Club

Redundancy pitfalls

With the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (Furlough) changing from 1st July (employers are not able to claim 80% only 70% and will have to pay the 10% themselves) more and more employers who have continued to use furlough will be considering restructuring and redundancies. So what are the redundancy pitfalls and how do you avoid […]

How much notice does a Nursery Manager give who is on maternity leave?

keeping in touch days

A common grumble we hear is when someone doesn’t want any contact from their employer during maternity leave. As human beings we can be confused that someone isn’t talking to us about their intentions. On a human level its perfectly reasonable to be affected by this and to feel saddened. But from an employment perspective […]

Handling our stress to keep a better work life balance

Work Life balance

One thing that the last 15 months has taught us all is that there is more to life than work. So how can we handle our stress to keep a better work life balance. We should work to live, not live to work. It’s not been easy for many people who are employed in busy […]

Do you know how Furlough changes over the coming months?

Employment law changes

I spent Sunday in A&E with my Mum. You see all of life in an A&E reception waiting room. There was one extremely loud lady who had had a fall down the stairs 10 days previously and thought today was the day she ought to seek advice from the doctors, on a busy Sunday on […]

How common is Class A drug use in our Day Nurseries?

How common is drug use

This is the second time we’ve written about drug use in Nurseries. Back in April 2017 we wrote about how common it was for staff to smoke cannabis. Now we need to face another ‘elephant in the room’. We all know that many people in society take Class A drugs recreationally. If the percentages are […]

Can I refuse someone coming to work after a trip overseas?

Refusing someone to return to work after trip overseas

On Friday 7th May 2021 it was all about international travel. We learned about the Government’s plans for green, amber and red list countries from 17 May 2021 should people wish to travel overseas. These are plans for England, and we are yet to learn what will be in place for those who live in […]

Do we know the difference between an excuse and an explanation?

Excuses or explanation

Here’s a theory we’d like to explore with you, is there a difference between an excuse and an explanation? We think there is. We see this a lot in human resource management. Management ask questions of staff during informal and formal situations and sometimes we report that we’ve heard an explanation and other times we […]

So now shielding has paused do the CEV need to return to work?

Shielding paused for CEV

This week we’ve heard of our first case where an employee who has been shielding has refused to return to work. As you are probably aware, in England, although the advice to shield has ended, those who are Clinically Extremely Vulnerable people (CEV) are still advised to follow the rules and take extra precautions to […]

Now they want to cancel holiday booked – What are my rights as an employer?

Holiday cancelled

As I sat there with my bowl of Fruit n Fibre (other cereals are available) and first Coffee this morning, the news was alight with announcements about the Government’s new traffic light system for grading countries as we emerge from the pandemic. Green country’s will require PCR tests on return. Amber country’s will require self […]

Recruiting Apprentices – Here’s some things to bear in mind

recruiting an apprentice

Having an apprentice in your setting is very popular and its never been a better time to hire one given the Government incentives that are in place to support the training and the host employer. Here’s some things you should bear in mind if you are hiring an apprentice: Who can you assign as their […]

What is a Risk Assessment?

Risk Assessment

There’s a lot of talk about risk assessments at the moment. Even though we stick to talking about HR on this blog, I thought you may find it useful to learn a bit more about risk assessments. Here’s a blog from Frank McCormack one of our HR Advisors. At it’s simplest, a risk assessment is […]

He’s refusing to wear a face mask?

Refusing to wear a face mask

Wearing of a face mask where social distancing can’t be achieved has been with us for some time now. Featuring in many an organisation’s COVID Risk Assessment and workplace procedures. As we might have expected in some workplaces, employees have been resistant to wearing a mask. This has been dealt with as a Health and […]

Struggling to sleep?

World Sleep Day

With our lives being turned upside down over the last 12 months due to the Pandemic, it’s not surprising that more of us are struggling to sleep than ever before. This year World Sleep Day is on Friday 19th March, their motto for 2021 is ‘Regular Sleep, Healthy Future’ highlighting, especially at the moment, how important […]

Returning Shielding Employees to Work

Returning shielding employee to work

As you are probably aware clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) employees have been advised to shield until the 31st March 2021. This means many are working from home, on sickness absence receiving SSP, or are furloughed by their employers. With the 31st March fast approaching we thought it would be useful to explore what an employer […]

Redundancy whilst on maternity leave from your Day Nursery

Redundancy during maternity leave

When an organisation needs to consider redundancies, it must have a fair reason for doing so. Unfortunately, during the pandemic some Day Nurseries may need to consider redundancies in order to manage the impact of loss of business. In this article we explain what should happen if an employer identifies that a role occupied by […]

Employee Assistance Programmes

What is an Employee Assistance Programme

If you’ve noticed one thing during the last 12 months it will be that not everyone has coped well with enforced lockdowns and the impact of the pandemic on our lives and livelihoods. In fact many employers are reporting greater numbers of employee’s off with stress related absence and more anxious employees struggling to come […]