Personnel Disaster – 5 Common HR Mistakes That Settings Can Avoid
From employee checks to pay cheques, keep your staffing on track by nipping these common personnel pitfalls in the bud…
People stuff! Goodness, it’s boring isn’t it? But that’s the best thing for it to be – when it gets exciting, it can cost you in terms of money, reputation and energy.
Here are my top 5 HR mistakes to avoid, so that you can ensure that the children in your care and your business itself are properly safeguarded…
1. Not checking out staff!
Before employing anyone, check that they’re eligible to work in the UK. Employing someone unlawfully can cost you up to £20,000 in fines, per illegal worker. You should carry out the checks before they start working for you, and only accept original documents as evidence – don’t make any assumptions, and take a copy of their documents for your file. You can find our more about checks you need make to check at ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk. You also need to ensure that workers are who they say they are, meaning that an identity check against their photo ID will be needed. Of course, you then need to fulfil the safeguarding requirements of a DBS check and references. Finally, ask to see the original certificates of any qualifications claimed and take copies of these for your personnel records.
2. Getting pay wrong!
There are all sorts of pay scales now, depending on role and age, which are governed by legislation. Check what you need to pay and keep records in case you need to increase staff pay at a certain point in future.
Apprentice rates are dependent on age and time spent in the apprenticeship. The National Minimum Wage varies according to age, up to 25: Under 18 – £3.87 18-20 – £5.30 21-24 – £6.70 25+ – £7.20 (National Living Wage)
Workers have a legal recourse if you’re not paying them the legal minimum rate they’re entitled to.
3. The wrong sort of contract!
Ensure your workers and employees are on the right terms and conditions. If you want to retain well-trained, high calibre staff, you have to treat them fairly – which means putting them on the right contract. You won’t have failed to notice the recent discussions in the news surrounding zero hours contracts in the news. Zero hours contracts typically involve no obligation on the part employers to offer work, or for workers to accept it. If you have regular work to offer, then you should not be putting your staff on zero hours contracts. If you do use them, then by law they cannot include an exclusivity clause. If you have a short-term need for a member of staff, offer them a fixed-term contract. If you only need someone to cover the same few hours in a week, offer them a part-time contract.
4. Out of date policies and procedures!
One of the biggest mistakes any business can make is not having any HR policies in place to help deal with matters when they arise. However, just having them is not enough – if they’re out of date or unlawful, that’s just as bad. Employment legislation is constantly changing, and as an employer, it’s your responsibility to ensure you’re up to date date and complying with the law. The easiest way to lose an Employment Tribunal claim is to not have a policy in place, or fail to followed it lawfully (or not at all!). The ‘I didn’t know about that’ excuse won’t stand up in court.
5. Not dealing with stuff!
The quickest way to lose the respect of your staff and control of your business is to not challenge poor performance and behaviour. You should have policies in place to deal with these matters, and your staff should understand them. Set out very clearly what your rules are, the consequences of breaking those rules, and follow through on them if someone does. Don’t be afraid to deal with matters that aren’t acceptable in your business – but deal with them in a measured, consistent, fair and reasonable manner.
Vicky Stanton is the director of HR 4 Your Nursery and has recently launched HR Hub – an online one-stop shop for all your people resources needs, including contracts, letters and policies. To find out more, visit vickystanton.sendmedetails.com/teach-early-years
