According to a recent survey of 400 solicitors around the country (*), Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SME’s) seeking legal advice state the following as the top two HR issues they face:

• Terminating the employment of under -performing staff (63%);
• Making redundancies when restructuring (45%).

The main reason for SME’s finding these HR issues challenging, according to the research, is they:

• don’t know or understand what their legal requirements and obligations are (85%);
• lack awareness of changes in employment legislation (45%).

In addition, 65% of SME’s often leave it too late to seek advice thereby causing themselves problems.

So what can SME’s, and other businesses, do to help avoid the HR issues?  The key point is not to leave things to chance or until it is too late.  By putting a small number of essential HR elements in place the risks can be reduced and avoided:

• Have consistent policies in place and follow them;
• Recruit staff correctly and look after them by having a proper induction process in place;
• Ensure that compliant contracts are in place and provided to staff so that they understand the terms and conditions they are employed on (note: it is a legal requirement that a new member of staff should have their employment contract within two months of starting);
• Ensure staff are trained effectively and that all training is recorded and kept up to date;
• Provide regular, accurate and honest feedback on performance;
• Communicate effectively with staff and keep them informed.

One other essential element is to ensure you get the right advice at the right time, staying abreast of changes to employment legislation to avoid claims being made against you.  Getting expert information on how to implement employment legislation could help your business before it gets into trouble and save you money.

If you would like to discuss any aspect this HR article in more detail, please contact our HR consultants at info@connectivebusiness.co.uk