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Diversity Training: Responding to the Voices that say it Doesn’t Work

Blog
There has been plenty of articles of over the years pointing out why diversity training does not work.  Whilst it’s not inevitable that it works, in our view, it’s equally not inevitable that it doesn’t either. Today we’re exploring the common objections to diversity training, and the ways in which you can design and deliver…
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Managing Employees Overseas Holiday Plans in Light of Quarantine Rules

Blog
Updated 5/08/2021 With effect from the 8th June 2020, anyone who returned to the UK from being overseas who was not exempt due to their occupation (see here for more information) or because they had travelled from the Common Travel Area, was required to self-isolate for 14 days.  (From 14th December the self-isolation period was…
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5 Hybrid & Remote Working Questions: Answered.

Blog
There can’t be a HR team in the land that hasn’t had a recent discussion about hybrid working and remote working. Its been on our clients agenda’s, so here’s the top 5 things we’ve been asked in the last week, and the answers to them: 1. Do we have to allow employees to work remotely…
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How to Run a Disciplinary Hearing Remotely

Video
What are the things we need to think about when running a disciplinary hearing remotely? The legal requirements can be boiled down to this formula: Fair Reason + Fair Procedure + Reasonable Decision = Fair Outcome But how can we achieve this when running a hearing from home? Our Head of Learning, Vicky Roberts takes…
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Managing Performance during Covid19

Blog
All employers are having to react to the challenges arising from the Coronavirus outbreak. The welfare and protection of staff is paramount, coupled with the economic implications and consequent organisational changes. In particular, the advice around social distancing has resulted in many employers having to introduce measures for staff to work at home and stop…
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What is ‘Dignity at Work’ Anyway?

Blog
Dignity at work is the title of our flagship training programme at Vista. But what does dignity at work really mean? In order to feel valued and included at work, we first need to feel respect from and for the people that we work with. Both our human values and the legal framework expect that…
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How to Get the Best from an Occupational Health Report

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Managing people when physical or mental wellbeing is a factor is best managed by teamwork. This team should be made up of HR, the employee, the employee’s manager and possibly some specialist help in the shape of Occupational Health. Bringing in Occupational Health allows us to make better, more informed decisions; so, it’s really important…
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What to Do When an Employee is Off Sick with a Pending Investigation

Blog
Often employees think that by getting themselves signed off sick they can avoid disciplinary proceedings. As HR professionals, we know that this is not necessarily the case. It’s important to remember that even though someone is signed off work, it doesn’t automatically mean that they also won’t be able to attend a meeting or hearing.…
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Managing Sickness Absence: Too Ill to Talk?

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Managing an ill health situation where an employee says they are too ill to talk, or attend meetings requires a careful and considered approach from managers and HR teams. Suzanne Pipe, one of our experienced employment lawyers at Vista talks us through the right approach.
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Managing Sickness Absence: Too Ill to Talk?

Blog
Managing an ill health situation where an employee says they are too ill to talk, or attend meetings requires a careful and considered approach from managers and HR teams. Suzanne Pipe, one of our experienced employment lawyers at Vista talks us through the right approach: Explain how important communication is, and why Keeping in touch…
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How to Make Employee Feedback Memorable: Tips for your Managers

Blog
Great quality employee feedback is one of the best thing’s managers can give to their teams. Well-structured, constructive guidance that the recipient can use to evolve what they do; and how they do it is vital for ongoing development, confidence and a thriving workforce. The problem is, we’re not so keen on giving it or…
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How to Write a Better Grievance Outcome Letter

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The first rule of the grievance outcome letter: provide reasons for any findings, backed up by evidence. It is a common fear that putting too much in a grievance response could give the complainant an opportunity to pull the details apart. The actual danger is that if we don’t give reasons for our response at…
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How to Conduct a First-Rate Grievance Investigation

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So, we know the importance of establishing the nature of the grievance and ensuring all of the issues are addressed. One way in which we can be confident we have responded to a grievance thoroughly and ensure the employee is satisfied it has been addressed, is by conducting a thorough grievance investigation. So, what does…
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The Do’s and Don’ts of The Grievance Process

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As employment law advisers, we are frequently asked about grievances and issues surrounding the grievance process, which put us to thinking: what is it about a grievance that fills us with dread, and why? We all know what we should do in an ideal world… Establish the nature of the grievance and the issues promptly…
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Managing Sickness Absence: Tips for your Managers

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When a member of your team goes off sick and the absence becomes prolonged, how to manage the sickness absence can seem unstructured for managers as there aren’t specific ‘trigger points’ to prompt (or justify) taking action. Also, often policies and procedures state that an employee can be absent from work for four weeks before…
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Things to Consider when Suspending an Employee

Blog
So, you’re thinking about suspending an employee. Before you send them off on a paid holiday, it’s important to ensure suspension is the right way to go. It’s a big deal being suspended. We say it’s a neutral act – but it sure doesn’t feel that way for the employee. So as employers we must…
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5 Ways to Support Employees with Autism

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Many employers are worried that they don’t know enough about autism or that they may struggle to make adjustments to support an employee. It’s important to bear in mind that autism affects individuals in very different ways and covers a wide range of challenges and needs, some of which may be relatively straightforward and others…
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Tricky Dismissals: What to do when an Employee can’t Engage in the Process

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Here’s the fifth and final scenario in our Managing Tricky Dismissals series: five short blogs where we look at complex dismissal issues and how to approach them. “What happens when an employee is off sick with a complex mental health condition that is unlikely to improve, but OH say that engaging in the medical capability…
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Tricky Dismissals: ‘The Suspected Thief Blaming it on a Medical Condition’

Blog
Welcome to the first in our Managing Tricky Dismissals series: five short blogs where we look at complex dismissal issues and how to approach them. As employment tribunal claims continue to rise, now more than ever employers must have heightened sensitivity and a firm grasp in fairly and reasonably managing dismissals. When complex dismissal issues…
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Disengaged Employees? Don’t reach for the survey button yet

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When organisations want to increase productivity and employee engagement within the workforce, it can be all too easy to reach for the ‘employee engagement survey’ button. As HR professionals we can do a lot more to alleviate this issue than send round a survey. Whilst surveys absolutely have their place in analysing engagement levels within…
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What Can Employers do to Support the Menopause?

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The 18th October is World Menopause Day. Where did that come from and why is everyone suddenly talking about Menopause at work? Menopause has long been one of those ‘taboo’ subjects. With this comes a stigma, where no one talks about it and therefore there is a lot of misunderstanding, even amongst women, about the…
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Bullying or Harassment? How to decide which you are dealing with

Blog
Bullying and harassment, if you don’t hear these terms in the press on a regular basis, we’re pretty sure you will hear them around the office. In the world of HR these words amount to serious but very different allegations. You may have heard the phrase ‘all examples of harassment could also be bullying, but…
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Five steps to better grievance procedures

Blog
The increase in employment tribunal claims could mark the beginning of a new era for employee relations. With this, comes an increased pressure on organisations and HR teams to better manage grievance procedures from the word go. Here’s a 5-point plan for when a grievance, or any level of complaint is raised by an employee:…
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How to Manage the Grievance Appeal Process: Tips for Your Managers

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An employee has appealed against the outcome of a grievance they have raised, and one of your managers is in the frame to chair the appeal hearing. We’ve put together a quick guide covering how to manage the grievance appeal process and be confident that the decision they reach has taken all the right things…
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