Wednesday 28 September 2016

Employing non-EU nationals: staying on the right side of the law




You’ll recall that in July immigration officials arrested dozens of employees working illegally in the UK at Byron, prompting mixed reactions from the national media and the burger chain’s customers. 

The company was accused by some of setting a “sting” under the guise of a training event to assemble the 35 workers – from Albania, Egypt, Brazil, and Nepal – in a location where they could be arrested. 

The Home Office denied there had been a sting and told the media that Byron had been fully compliant with immigration and asylum law in how it handled the issue.  It emerged that although the restaurant chain had performed the correct right-to-work checks on recruits, the Home Office had received intelligence that some documents the employees provided were forged.  Once Byron became aware of this, it was knowingly employing illegal workers.  Therefore if it had not co-operated with the Home Office requests it would have faced civil penalties of up to £20,000 per employee.  For 35 employees this would have amounted to a fine of up to £700,000.

Shortly after the arrests new, tougher rules came into force and it’s now even more essential that employers comply with immigration legislation.  Changes include an increase in the maximum prison sentence from 2 to 5 years for employers who are prosecuted.  Before, employers could be prosecuted if they knowingly employed someone illegally, but this has now been extended to employers who have reasonable cause to believe they are doing so. 

While the Byron raid has attracted much media attention, the reality is that the Home Office is auditing companies every day.  Officials have powers to enter and search premises to investigate possible immigration offences, and they use them.  

But employers with solid policies and processes in place for checking right-to-work documentation are in a stronger position to defend their case if they’re found to be employing someone illegally.  As an employer you aren’t expected to be a forgery expert: unless documentation is obviously fake, you wouldn’t be expected to spot it.  As long as you’re aware of your obligations and have the correct evidence on file, it’s unlikely you’ll receive a fine.

How to stay on the right side of the new law

With such tough penalties and compliance visits in place, employers will be pleased to hear that it’s reasonably simple to head off any charges.  Three administrative steps can protect your business from liability and criminal prosecution:
  • always obtain an original right to work document from the Home Office’s prescribed list before employment starts;
  • check the authenticity and validity of the document in the presence of the employee in question; and
  • keep a clear electronic and/or paper copy of the checked document with a note of the date of the check and initials of the individual who verified the document.
Employers are also responsible for ensuring their employees continue to have the right to work throughout their employment.  This means completing follow-up checks on those who have time-limited permission to work in the UK before their status expires.


For more detail, here’s the link to a factsheet from the CIPD on Immigration law changes.  More here from The Human Resource about your legal responsibilities as an employer.  

Thursday 22 September 2016

How To Use Your Greatest Asset To Maximise Profits in The Final Quarter


 
At this time of the year, savvy business owners are starting to really knuckle down on the tactics that they’ll use to make the most of the opportunity that’s presented in the final quarter. Perhaps you’re rolling out special offers to entice festive spending, or maybe you have an exciting new line of products that you’re expecting to fly off the shelves.

These strategies can work, for sure, but if you’re serious about really upping the ante and ending 2016 in the best position possible for the business, then it’s time to think about how you can leverage your best asset – your people.

Here, we’re going to share some practical hints and tips that you can start implementing right away.

 Consider whether you need to roll out refresher training

 At this time of the year, exemplary customer service can make a huge difference when it comes to your profits. Are your staff comfortable with talking about your products and services? Can they pinpoint opportunities to offer an upsell? And are they really firing on all cylinders when it comes to their day-to-day work?

Take the opportunity to consider how you can offer training to drill down on key points, and take performance up to that next level. You don’t necessarily have to spend a fortune on bringing in external providers, so think outside of the box when it comes to how you can deliver.

 
Ensure that individuals and teams have goals to be working towards

If your staff have been in their positions for a while, then they can really easily fall into a mundane routine. They turn up to work, do their bit, and then go home. Could it be the case that they’re feeling complacent? If so, now’s an excellent time to get your leadership team together and ensure that everyone has realistic but stretching goals to be making progress towards.

 Individuals should understand and recognise the contribution they make to the bigger picture, though it’s also sensible to think about how you can encourage staff to work together to achieve bigger things.

 
Work out how you’ll incentivise outstanding performance 

Think that it’s enough to pay your staff the money you owe them at the end of the month? and then expect them to thank their lucky stars that they’re so generously rewarded for their work? Think again.

 Pay is only one part of the story here, and you need to consider how you can make sure that your employees know that their contribution is valued.

 Again, this doesn’t have to be something that puts a strain on your budget. There’s a ton of things that you can do to offer an attractive inventive for outstanding performance, even if you’re on a tight budget. And, of course, you should never underestimate the value of saying thank you.

 
The year’s speeding to an end, but if you start taking action right away on the points that we’ve outlined above, you can make a big difference to your final results. So what are you waiting for?

 
 
If you need some help with managing that final push for the last quarter, then pick up the phone and contact us at The Human Resource on 07884 475303. We’ll be looking forward to having an initial chat about how we might be able to work together, without any obligation or pressure.
 

 

Monday 19 September 2016

Growing your employees: it makes business sense


Are you growing a small business and recruiting more and more people into new jobs? 

And has it reached the point where you can see that if you’re to carry on being successful, the skillsets of your staff will have to change and develop too?  Maybe you've reached the point where your better people are starting to lose their spark and stagnate, or perhaps you’ve received a resignation you really didn’t want, with lack of advancement given as the reason.

What to do when you run a small business with no budget for external courses or bonding team building experiences?

The good news is that opportunities are all around you to develop your people - you just need to look out for them in day-to-day work, and be creative and proactive about making them happen for the right person at the right time.  Here are some ideas:
  • Cross-training so that people can carry out parts of each other’s roles.  This gives the business more flexibility and the individuals greater understanding of the tasks their colleagues do.
  • Workshops or lunchtime lectures where employees present on their areas of expertise to the rest of the team.
  • A business issue such as a customer complaint needing a “fix-it” solution.  This gives experience in analysing business problems, fact finding and practical problem solving.
  • Representing the company at seminars and networking meetings.Self-managed networks where staff can discuss problems and share solutions.
  • Responsibility for mentoring a new or inexperienced employee.  This grows skills in learning how to coach, explain things and support people.
  • Being in charge of a project where there’s likely to be a high degree of resistance or conflict.  This provides practice in handling conflict, negotiating, influencing others and building support.
  • Being in charge of a cost containment project with specific results expected. This gives exposure to commercial reality, the profit/cost balance and numerical analysis. 
  • Complete responsibility for managing a complex project from start to finish.
  • A lateral move into a different job for a limited time, for example when someone resigns and there’s a vacancy.
  • A project that requires dealing directly with your own boss.  This provides wider exposure and experience working with senior executives. Webinars and other online learning directly relevant to the job.
Give some direction and structure, preparing the way to avoid misunderstandings.  Monitor how things are going, keeping an eye open for difficulties and slip-ups, balancing your own responsibility for results with the need to allow the employee to develop through his/her own experience and build a sense of achievement. 
Personal growth is about challenging employees daily, giving them opportunities to grow and learn, and this doesn’t necessarily mean expensive training courses; you can use internal expertise and experience and share this knowledge with others who want to learn.
Research shows clearly: among the most critical drivers for employees are training that enhances the work experience and improves long-term career prospects, and opportunities for advancement and greater responsibility.  Where people don’t rate their job as good for their personal growth, they’re much more likely to leave if they can find another job. Helping your people with personal growth will not only make a difference in their lives, but will also bond them more closely to your business and increase their motivation and job satisfaction.
If you would like to explore ways of improving learning activity within your team, developing your coaching skills and building the expertise you will need as the business grows, contact The Human Resource on enquiries@thehr.co.uk.