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Empty chairs and no candidates?

Trying to hire is a gamble at the best of times, but lately it’s been a little bit of a nightmare. It’s a combination of various things, including the obvious (the B word) and that so many people are just treading water while we continue…
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Change, develop and improve

  If you see or hear the words “developing people” – you probably don’t react well. If you’re a manager, it probably feels like a duty or, at worst, a pointless exercise. Ticking a box in an appraisal process. But here’s…

Don’t panic … not yet anyway

UPDATE: We will have a new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, and she takes over the role on 6th September. It's being reported that she will quickly announce plans that may include freezing energy bills, although that's only speculation and there are…
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Thinking about a disciplinary?

If telling people off at work was easy, then anyone could do it. In reality, managers find it hard sometimes. You work closely with people and nobody enjoys sitting with someone who’s feeling angry or sad because you’ve just told them off…

Enjoy the long weekend!

Hope you have a wonderful 4-day weekend - if you get the whole bank holiday break off work. Have fun whether you're enjoying Jubilee street parties, seeing your loved ones or just relaxing. After all, it's 3 months until the next bank ho…
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Employ full-timers only? You’re missing out

As the economy picks up and your business is expanding, it may be worth considering employing new staff on a part-time basis. Maybe you need more help but cannot justify the costs of a full-time worker? If you are replacing staff, do you really…
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Big change to employee sick rules

How long can you stay off sick before you have to get a doctor’s note? Will you get paid? Are you sure you know the answers? The answer to the first question was 7 days: you can self-certify that you’ve been ill for that long, before…
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Why didn’t I get an interview? 8 top tips

I’m spending hours every week reading applications and CVs at the moment. Time and time again I am coming across the same common mistakes that tick the ‘no’ box. So have a read through my list of bugbears and you never know it might…
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Tech and people: make sure changes work

Once upon a time, businesses communicated by posting letters, making phone calls and meetings. Now people are sending and receiving work messages through emails, messaging apps and texts.   While considering the obvious pros and cons -…
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Brexit and travel between UK and EU

Let’s start by saying this is relevant advice now but things might change. We'll update this blog if they do. Many firms we work with have people moving between countries, either permanently or for a fixed period of time or just for business…
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Furlough extends again

So here we go again: the furlough scheme's extended on the same arrangements until the end of September 2021. We're updating this blog as things are fleshed out or change. Furlough scheme It's now available until September 2021 with…
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Hooray, it’s appraisal time again!

Hands up who loves appraisals! Come on, don’t all rush to raise your arms enthusiastically. If you’re sighing and feeling it’s something you have to do, because your boss and HR are hassling you about it, then here’s some quick advice:   1…
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Options for parents and carers

So now you’re juggling home-schooling and working remotely. Good luck and enjoy the experience! As a working parent, there are a number of ways to shake things up so that you can maintain some kind of your work-life balance, as well as…
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Feeling bad at home? Tips to help people

If you’re working from home, you’ve probably sorted out in your mind the pros and cons by now. But the news that you have to work from home (if you can) again, and another lockdown, is still bound to cause spirits to dip a little – or…

Have a wonderful Christmas!

  We hope you have a very merry Christmas and a wonderful 2021!
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Ho ho … huh?

Dust down your Christmas To Do list and crack on with organising cards, a lunch or party or whatever celebrations you usually have in December .... oh wait. Maybe not. Everyone's scattered all over the place and you only see their faces on…
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Job Support Scheme: quick FAQs

UPDATE: Honestly, there's no point reading this. It's been completely changed and now it's been abandoned for November. Check here for the latest news about furloughs: http://www.quickhr.biz/furlough-extends-and-lockdown-is-back/   So,…
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Lockdown and vision changes

I went ‘out out’ to the opticians …. a very interesting experience under the current circumstances! We discussed my awesome skills in fixing glasses with Superglue but also, more importantly, signs of digital eye strain. As a result…