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How to Avoid Discrimination in Recruitment

Blog
Failing to offer a candidate a position because of a protected characteristic is unlawful and amounts to direct discrimination. We don’t need to explain the reasons why it’s important for employers to have an understanding of this, but we have pulled together a few do’s and don’ts to ensure that you do avoid discrimination in…
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Is Mistletoe a Defence to Sexual Harassment?

Blog
It’s Christmas party day at the office. Christmas jumper day – done. Christmas quiz – won. Christmas lunch – devoured. Spirits are high as your colleagues leave to get ready for tonight’s party. Later, at the bar, you find a manager holding a bunch of mistletoe over their colleague’s head, gesturing for a kiss. That’s…
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How to Get the Best from an Occupational Health Report

Blog
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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Dismissal During Probation due to Sickness: What Can Employers Do?

Video
Probationary periods and sickness absence are not two ingredients that make for a smooth employment relationship. Whether employers can dismiss during probation due to sickness is a question that arises frequently at Vista HQ, and so we spent some time with Claire, who tells us what employers can and should do in this situation.
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Dismissal During Probation due to Sickness: What Can Employers Do?

Blog
Probationary periods and sickness absence are not two ingredients that make for a smooth employment relationship. Whether employers can dismiss during probation due to sickness is a question that arises frequently at Vista HQ, and so we spent some time with Claire, who tells us what employers can and should do in this situation: Assess…
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Managing Sickness Absence and Ill Health: Not the Best Person for the Job

Blog
When an employee is off sick or unable to carry out their current duties, and they are disabled within the definition of The Equality Act, then employers are obliged to make reasonable adjustments which may include seeking to find them an amended or alternative role. This gets tricky when you have an alternative role, but…
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Should Employers Offer Full Pay on a Phased Return to Work?

Blog
We’re often asked about phased returns to work, and what this means for employees’ pay packets. Suzanne Pipe, Employment Lawyer at Vista gives us a run-through of whether employers need to pay employees in full, or just for the hours that they work when on a phased return. Check the Contract The first port of…
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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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3 Tips for Closing Down Grievances that Won’t Go Away

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During the grievance procedure we sometimes come across employees who are particularly determined. They continually raise the same issue, even after you thought you had dealt with it informally. Understandably problematic for HR teams and organisations, its useful to have a few tactics up your sleeve to close down these types of cases. We’ve advised…
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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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How to Harmonise your HR Policies

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Many of you have told us that harmonising hr policies is on your list for the coming year, so we thought you might be interested in what we think are the key points to consider when undertaking this. For more information – visit the blog article here.
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How to Introduce New HR Policies into your Organisation

Video
Lots of value can come from introducing the right HR policies into a business at the right time. Organisations who ‘get it right’ in terms of the tone, culture and understanding what they want to achieve set themselves up with a fantastic opportunity to communicate key business aims and objectives to their employees. In this…
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How to Revamp your HR Policies

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If you are considering a policy revamp, Yvonne Saxon, Vista’s Head of HR takes us through the important things to consider.
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The Performance Management Cycle

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This video gives you a structure to how you manage your team member’s performance. Complete each step on the journey each time you set an action plan; and at each stage of your formal procedure – and you’re well on the way to effective performance management.
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Suspending an Employee

Video
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. Suzanne Pipe, Employment Lawyer at Vista talks us through the key considerations in this video.
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Managing Sickness Absence: Tips for your Managers

Blog
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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How to Harmonise your HR Policies

Blog
Many of you have told us that harmonising hr policies is on your list for the coming year, so we thought you might be interested in what we think are the key points to consider when undertaking this. Start with Why First of all, be clear about why you wish to harmonise your policies. It…
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Suicide: The Last Mental Health Taboo in the Workplace?

Blog
It is estimated that during 2017 there were 6,217 suicides in the UK, and that most people who take their own life were employed at the time of their death. Given these statistics it’s likely that at some stage in your working life you will know someone at work who has taken, or attempted to…
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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

Blog
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

Blog
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 Serial Grievance Raiser’

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Here’s the fourth in our Managing Tricky Dismissals series: five short blogs where we look at complex dismissal issues and how to approach them. “What happens when, during a formal disciplinary or medical capability process, an employee raises a single or a series of grievances which you believe may be aimed at delaying the process?”…
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Tricky Dismissals: The Sick Employee who is Refusing to Co-operate

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Here’s the third in our Managing Tricky Dismissals series: five short blogs where we look at complex dismissal issues and how to approach them. Scenario three: “An employee has gone off sick during a formal process and is refusing to engage with the business, what can I do?” If an employee is in the thick…
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Tricky Dismissals: ‘The Unusual Under-performer’

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Here’s the second in our Managing Tricky Dismissals series: five short blogs where we look at complex dismissal issues and how to approach them. Here’s scenario two: ‘An employee’s performance has dropped significantly, what should I do? Before you engage a formal process, it’s important to identify the cause of the drop off in performance.…
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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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TUPE Transfers: The answers to our top 3 TUPE questions

Blog
The world of TUPE transfers is complex in language and in process. As employment lawyers and training professionals, we mainly get asked three questions about the TUPE process: what are the obligations for a transferee, a transferor and when does TUPE actually apply? We’re going to cover these off today. Firstly though, a little note…
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What’s Your Policy on IVF?

Blog
Hands up everyone who has a maternity policy? A paternity leave policy? An adoption policy? A shared parental leave policy? It’s good to take the time to ensure that your employees know what they can expect when they are starting, or thinking about starting, a family. Even if your policy is to go no further…
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Making Use of your Gender Pay Report

Blog
This time last year many organisations were wrestling with identifying the right data, the calculations and the narrative for their first gender pay report. Most of the focus was on compliance and explanation. This time round many people are seeing it as more of an opportunity, part of developing more inclusive practices and engaging with…
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Is Your Organisation Transgender Aware?

Blog
51% of trans people have hidden their gender identity at work for fear of discrimination. This is a headline from this year’s Trans Report for Stonewall, despite the legislation in place to protect trans people in the Equality Act 2010 and The Gender Recognition Act 2004 and at a time when organisations are talking constantly…
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What Can Employers do to Support the Menopause?

Blog
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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Introducing New HR Policies into an Organisation

Blog
Firstly, lots of value can come from introducing the right HR policies into a business at the right time. Organisations who ‘get it right’ in terms of the tone, culture and understanding what they want to achieve set themselves up with a fantastic opportunity to communicate key business aims and objectives to their employees. In…
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How to Manage the Grievance Appeal Process: Tips for Your Managers

Blog
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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How to Revamp Your HR Policies

Blog
There are lots of reasons why an organisation might wish to upgrade all, or a number of old HR policies. They may have been written in the stone age and never resurfaced, they may be too complicated and difficult for managers to interpret or they might not reflect the tone of your organisation as it…
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