One of my staff is now over 70 and her eye sight is beginning to deteriorate so the quality of her work is not as good as it used to be. Can I suggest she retires? Age discrimination is illegal and no employee can be made to retire any more, unless there is a “genuine […]
My Accountant says I should be paying my staff the National Living Wage but I don’t think one particular employee is worth that much – do I have to? If your employee is over 25 then yes you have to pay him the National Living Wage. You are not the first person to ask that […]
I have just received the office phone bill and there is a charge of over £200 for calls to premium rate numbers. I have identified who it is, can I make them pay me back? Hopefully you have included something in your Contract of Employment or Staff Handbook about personal calls from the work phones […]
Q: Our receptionist says she is broke and can’t afford to have her hair done, but her grey roots look awful and she doesn’t project our company image at all! What can I do? We don’t have a dress code as we have never had a problem before. A: Well other than put a bag […]
Q: We had an informal meeting with an employee about the quality of her work but she burst into tears, ran out and has been signed off sick with stress since. What do we do? A: Although signed off sick from work she can still be invited into a meeting – the stress of knowing […]
One of my team has booked a week away in Spain before asking for the time off work and one of their colleagues is already on holiday that week and so I don’t want to give her the time off but she says she is going to go anyway because she has paid for the […]
Q: My finance clerk is an absolute nightmare. He has been here for years and is nicknamed “Mr Happy” because he is so miserable and everything is a problem for him. I have just had one of the office staff in tears because he was so rude to her but she does not want to […]
Q: We are only a small firm and we need an office administrator. I am not being funny but I really can’t take on a woman who is going to get pregnant and be off on maternity leave. How can I do this legally? A: You’re right, you’re not funny. This is plain prejudice and […]
Speeding staff Q: One of my delivery drivers was stopped for speeding again last week doing 40 mph in a 30 mph area near a school. It is likely that he will lose his licence this time and he wants me to do a letter to the court saying he may lose his job without […]
Q: My whole team has started a sweepstake buying lottery tickets. What do I do if they win? A: There’s not an awful lot you can do, other than put in place a crisis strategy. I would join in the sweepstake – then you won’t have to worry! Via HRdept exeter If you have more […]
