ACCRINGTON HR AND HEALTH & SAFETY EVENT

Published 10 October 2019

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​We co-hosted the Accrington HR and Health & Safety Event in partnership with Citation on
Wednesday 9 October 2019 and we have covered some of the key topics and tips that were discussed on the day.


RECRUITMENT

Is your recruitment process working for you and your business? 

Application forms are a great tool for getting the information that you need rather than relying on CV's.

A scoring sheet is a good way to demonstrate that you are not discriminating in the recruitment process, you could also send applicants a copy of their scoring sheet as feedback.

RETENTION

It is important to give recognition to retain great employees so that they feel valued in your business.

This is why a lot of companies implement schemes such as 'employee of the month' etc.

Sometimes all it takes is a simple 'thank you' to let your team know that they have done a good job and make them feel appreciated.
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ABSENCE

It is recommended to have a return to work interview after every instance of absence. It is your responsibility as an employer to ensure that they are fit for work and these meetings are a good opportunity to communicate with your employee. Return to work interviews should also reduce the amount of absences that are not genuine.

Keep in touch with employees who are off for longer periods, this will show that you care and it will also help you to manage their absence.

Employees must have access to their employee handbook when they are not in the office, make sure that you have a signed document to show that they have received a copy.
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ENGAGEMENT

Your business will benefit when your employees are engaged.

Asking for feedback is important to keep people engaged and to give them the opportunity to communicate with you.

Surveys are a great way to achieve this but you need to get them done and then ACT ON THEM. This will allow your employees to feel like they are having an impact on the business.

A good system to follow when asking for feedback is:
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Start - What should we be doing?
Stop - What should we stop doing?
Continue - What should we continue doing that is working well?

POLICIES

The thing to remember about policies is that "you won't need it until the day you need it".

A few policies that you should think about introducing if you haven't already done so are:

Social media - you need a social media policy, it isn't going anywhere and you need to be prepared for it. E.g. do you allow employees to be friends with clients from their personal profile?

Dress code - do you allow employees to take their uniform home? Do you make sure that they return their uniform when they leave your employment? Consider how their actions outside of work can reflect on your business.

Walk by policy - this means that if someone walks past or sees a hazard then they must report it immediately rather than ignoring it. This also gives your employees some responsibility in terms of health and safety.

 HEALTH AND SAFETY

Everyone is equally responsible for health and safety.

Breach of health and safety should be treated as gross misconduct.

You have a duty of care and need to regularly update your health and safety policy and properly communicate this to your staff.

How often do you get people to update their personal details? (next of kin or telephone numbers etc.) this may have changed and you need to make sure that your records are up to date. 

FIRE RISK ASSESSMENT

It is illegal not to have a fire risk assessment.

Are your employees appropriately trained?

Are you regularly doing a fire drill?

You should also be checking that your fire safety equipment is in working order and in the correct place.

Make sure that you protect your records – back it up, fire safe storage etc.
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GOOD WORK PLAN

Are you ready for the Good Work Plan?

One of the key changes is that workers will have to be given the statutory information regarding the terms of their employment on day one - currently 8 weeks.

​We recommend looking into this, you can find more information HERE.
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