The Influence of Social Media Backlash: Lessons from Kyte Baby’s Controversy
In today’s digital era, the impact of social media on a company’s reputation has never been more significant. The recent controversy surrounding Kyte Baby, a renowned baby clothing company, highlights how negative attention on social media can sully a brand’s image and affect its financial standing. The public scrutiny began when allegations emerged about the […]
Help, my employee who is absent from work has attended her son’s graduation
We often get calls that go a bit like this. “My employee has been absent from work for 5 weeks and is currently receiving SSP. We have since found out that she attended her son’s graduation ceremony last week. If she is fit to attend this, then surely she is fit to be back at […]
Menopause – Are your Manager’s aware of their responsibilities?
ACAS published guidance on how to manage menopause at work and since then there have been more information published about what employers need to consider when managing employees who are transitioning through the menopause. The CIPD says that 59% of women who experience menopausal symptoms said that it impacted them negatively at work. Let’s think […]
Ending a fixed term contract is still a dismissal
I was reading about a Finance Director today who had decided they would offer a retainer to someone ending their fixed term contract. The feeling of the FD was that if you pay someone for 6 hours a week you can avoid holiday pay. You can’t. This would be a classic situation where the FD […]
Help, Our employee may be in prison!
What happens when an employee stops coming to work and we hear on the grapevine that they may be in prison? Firstly we hope this never happens to you. However should it do, it might be because the employee has been remanded in prison following being charged with an offence. Whilst you might think that […]
The reliance on the non verbal communication
We were talking in the office the other day about a 16 year old ‘dumping’ his then girlfriend by text. Now it’s been 25 years since I was in the dating game, and phones were in their infancy then, but I am glad to say I have never ‘dumped’ or been ‘dumped’ by text. For […]
The rise in no notice resignations
It’s very apparent that for many employees when it comes to notice to leave their employer they are happy to leave without giving any notice. Having seen a rise in this over the past 12 months, I thought I would share my ramblings about why I think this is happening. New Employer Behaviour I am […]
Preference for leadership styles for different generations?
For some time I have wondered whether there is any link between someone’s generation (i.e. when they were born) and their preference for any particular style of leadership. It is generally conceded that there are four main leadership styles; autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire and a combination of the first three. It’s important to note that individual […]
Keeping your nose out of other people’s business
When your children get older it seems to me that you suddenly remember comments made about them that meant something at the time. Just the other day I was speaking to a Nursery Owner and remembered that our son was once told by a teacher in a parent’s evening that he would do well “to […]
What we communicate matters
We have a phrase in our family. “Lead with Sorry”. It means that before you start explaining why you did X or Y you should start with acknowledging the feelings of others and say a meaningful sorry. Sadly it feels that all too often we fail to recognise our mistakes and communicate arrogance rather than […]
The Importance of Retaining HR Documentation
For many businesses, the meticulous task of retaining HR documentation might seem like a secondary priority. With everything going on in the bustling workplace environment, who has time to file away every individual email and piece of paper? However, the significance of these records reaches far beyond mere paperwork. Here’s a concise look at why […]
The value of the welfare chat
We often get asked as HR Consultants how to approach a given situation where the employer knows that the employee needs to chat with them, except for whatever reason the employee is not asking for this. The Welfare Meeting as a useful mechanism for the employer and employee to be able to sit down together […]
Understanding Deed Poll
In today’s dynamic business environment, it’s not uncommon for employees to undergo personal changes, including altering their names via deed poll. In fact an employee can go by any name they like, and do not have to follow a legal process to start using a new name. However an employee would need a ‘deed poll’ […]
Getting caught up in the moment is not an excuse!
There’s much being written about the assault on Jenni Hermoso by Luis Rubiales at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Final last Sunday. I use the word assault because that is what it was. A man has kissed a woman on the lips forceably and she has stated it was without her consent. She has been […]
Help! Have I had a staff member commit theft?
All workplaces experience theft. It appears to also have happened recently in the British Musuem so why should the rest of us be exempt. In this article we will cover what employers need to consider when managing an allegation that staff theft has occurred. “The mystery of the bowl of soup and the 50p” Some […]
The rise of the ‘Mental Health Day’ in our workplaces
The concept of having a ‘Mental Health Day’ off work has been increasingly prominent in discussions surrounding employee health and wellness. While some employers may be skeptical, believing that some employees are simply seeking an additional day off, it’s essential to remember that mental health is as crucial to a person’s wellbeing as physical health. […]
Modernising your Acceptable Use Policy
Modernising your acceptable use policy Don’t let your Acceptable Use Policy gather digital dust… The rapidly changing landscape of today’s digital workplace necessitates agile and comprehensive corporate policies. As an employer, one of the most important documents that you must keep up to date is your Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). This policy guides employees on the […]
Crisis Communication – Responding when you are in an emergency
We hope that you never need this blog in our Knowledge Centre. Unfortunately from time to time we hear of settings that need to respond in a crisis and as you might imagine that is the worst time to think straight about how you will respond. Imagine you have an incident at your setting and […]
They didn’t tell us about their disability
Employer’s will often come to us as HR Consultants with one complaint, “But they didn’t tell us about their disability.” These employers will share with us that their new employee has just revealed a health condition that they didn’t previously let them know about. What can be done? They ask. The answer is very little. […]
Top Tips for Dealing with Overwhelm
#day nurseries #hr for early years #hr for pre-schools #hr for day nurseries #hr early years management #hr support for day nurseries #hr support for pre-schools #hr support for out of school clubs #hr support for after school clubs #hr support for before school clubs #pre-schools #outofschoolclubs #daynurseries #preschools #earlyyearshr #earlyyears #childcare #retainedhrsupport #retained hr […]
Help, my employee falls asleep at work?
From time to time we hear from employers who are frustrated that their employee has fell asleep at work. Often in the staff room but occasionally when working. As you can imagine when working with children this can be very serious. Over the years we’ve had everything from ‘Betty fell asleep on the baby room […]
Supporting Employee’s Mental Health
Whilst things have most certainly improved in society when it comes to talking about mental health, unfortunately there is still a stigma that surrounds it, resulting in people struggling in silence. This can be particularly evident in the working environment, where employees refrain from talking about their struggles out of fear that it may tarnish […]
Supporting Your Employee Diagnosed With ADHD
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has been a topic of news recently. Celebrities such as ex-professional footballer Jermaine Pennant and TV personality Tommy Mallett are raising awareness of Adult ADHD, due to their recent diagnoses. ADHD is a condition that affects people’s behaviour, and whilst most cases of ADHD are diagnosed in childhood, there are some […]
The importance of organisational culture
In HR terms we talk about organisational culture. This is because every organisation is made up of human relationships and human interactions. There are many definitions of organisational culture. My favourite is this simple one ‘the way we do things around here’ by Balogun and Johnson. In your organisation there will be a ‘way you […]
Supporting your bereaved employee
When you hear the news that an employee has suffered a bereavement it may not be the best time to consider your strategy towards how you will support bereaved employees. You see whenever we hear bad news it can be default human nature to want to solve the problem. For example, a common phrase we […]
Can I anonymise witness statements?
Introduction When an employer identifies witnesses when investigating potential misconduct it is normal for witnesses to either be interviewed or provide a statement that they sign and date. It is not uncommon for us to be asked whether the employer can anonymise witness statements obtained during the disciplinary investigation. What does the law say? Whilst there is […]
The Rules Relating to Statutory Maternity Leave and Pay
Here at Redwing Solution, the rules relating to maternity leave and pay tend to be one of our more commonly queried topics, unsurprising given that around 90% of the early years sector is made up of female workers. When it comes to Statutory Maternity Pay, a common mistake we see happen, is employers miscalculating how […]
What are we teaching others in terms of how to treat us?
I recently heard a phrase on the radio. Sadly the radio was on in the car and I couldn’t easily write it down. Luckily it was so good, I could recall it vividly when I arrived at my destination. “We train people how to treat us” We regularly speak to Managers who want to ask […]
Do I have to give additional bank holidays?
Introduction Non HR folk love two phrases that HR folk will say on a daily bais. One common one is “Is it reasonable?” and another firm favourite is, “It depends what’s in the contract.” Additional Leave? The answer to whether any employer has to give additional bank holidays that fall in the holiday year is, […]
“Give them space to walk if their stride is long”
I’ve been binning old notebooks today. I need to do this from time to time as my collection is huge. I do love stationery. In one notebook I found the above quote in relation to my time on an executive coaching programme with horses. If you recall I spent a number of weeks considering my […]