If you have content you want to share, get in touch!
The Norfolk Knowledge Hub is available to every business, the content is provided by every business that would like to share their knowledge, skills and expertise. It is curated by your Norfolk Chambers of Commerce.
If you would like to get involved, then we would love to hear from you!
Why not drop us a line and we’ll get straight back to you to arrange a chat.
You can find out more about membership with the Norfolk Chambers of Commerce here
Or if you would like to speak to a member of our team directly call us on 01603 625977
(we’d love to know more about you and your business!)
Businesses which use independent contractors as part of their workforce need to conduct an urgent review of whether those contractors should be regarded as employed workers, following a landmark Supreme Court judgement last week, according to a leading East Anglian HR expert.
An important unanimous ruling by six Supreme Court judges determined that drivers for taxi firm Uber should be classed as employed workers – entitling them to a range of benefits such as National Minimum Wage and holiday pay.
Although there are no Uber taxis in Norfolk, the judgement has major implications for many firms in the region, says Vicky Webber, HR specialist at Lovewell Blake.
“The court decided that because Uber set contract terms, determined fares, set rules about accepting rides and the criteria for customer ratings, that their drivers are in a ‘position of subordination and dependency’ in relation to the cab firm, and so should be regarded as employed workers,” said Ms Webber.
“The ruling will have a major impact not just in the taxi industry, but in many businesses which rely on an independent contractor workforce, including food delivery firms, couriers and delivery companies.
“The case makes it clear that no matter what might be written in a contract, if the relationship between a business and a worker is not genuinely a self-employed one, then tribunals are going to rule based on the reality of the situation, not what is written down in a contract.
“The case came down to the element of control that the employer has over the worker: if they are determining working hours, don’t allow the worker to send a substitute, are supplying equipment or a vehicle, or in some other way controlling when and how the worker works, then it is likely a tribunal will regard the worker as having employed status.”
Ms Webber said that the judgement should be a reminder to businesses to review the relationships they have with contracted workers on a regular basis.
“It’s likely that the publicity around this ruling will embolden individuals to go to tribunal to seek employed status, either while they are working for a business, or when they no longer work for the business. Such cases could lead to substantial claims for backdated holiday pay and underpayment of the National Minimum Wage, and even in some cases claims for unfair dismissal if employee status is established.
“This case should be a wake-up call for businesses to conduct an urgent review of the relationship they have with independent contractors, and to take expert advice on whether they should be regarded as workers, or even employees.”
You can view this original Lovewell Blake article and others here
If you have any specific questions or would like to speak to a member of the Lovewell Blake team, get in touch via email info@lovewell-blake.co.uk
Are you fed up with your day job but struggling to find a route out of it? I know how frustrating it can be to have that dissatisfaction and not know how to solve it. So think about taking that first step of turning your passion into a lucrative side-hustle.
Many people have found success with the following low-risk, easy side hustle ideas. The great thing is they’re tried-and-tested, and you can start them alongside your nine-to-five.
If you’re craving more flexibility and freedom, think about going freelance or working as a contractor.
It’s one of the easiest businesses to start as you’re using your existing skill-set and qualifications with no start-up costs. It could be incredibly lucrative with a niche area of expertise with knowledgeable coaches and mentors in great demand!
Working as a freelancer will allow you to keep your day job and balance your responsibilities while building up your client base and getting your name out there.
Tutoring or Teaching English Online
Starting a tutoring business from home is as easy as 1-2-3!
If you already work in the education system, tutoring is a great way to bring in more cash.
You could be making more money within minutes by signing up to online platforms such as MyTutor and Tutorful. The demand for tutors has never been higher, given the pandemic’s toll on the education system.
Same with teaching English. You could soon be helping eager learners brush up on their English language skills online through Education First or Italki.
A particularly great option if you like meeting new people all over the world.
The best thing is you don’t even have to leave your house – all it requires is a good internet connection and an engaging approach!
Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Services
People will always need sitters and walkers for their pets, so you’ll never be short of clients.
This is an incredibly easy side-hustle idea.
Becoming a pet sitter or dog walker requires little start-up cost and low risk.
Because of this, you can use these side hustles to test the waters of entrepreneurship and see if you’re ready to make the jump and become self-employed.
You’ll have complete control over when you work, so they’re great side hustles to pair with a full-time job. Remote working also means the possibility of working while also being paid to pet sit.
Think Locally and Reach Out to People in Your Community
Remember to think locally and consider collaborating and offering up your services in your community.
Whether you’re a savvy freelance marketer, offer pet sitting or tutoring services, an easy way to find clients is to reach out to friends and neighbours where you live.
You never know what people are after, so do not underestimate the power of word of mouth! If you let people know of your services, you could have a diary full of clients before you know it.
At Charles Stanley Wealth Managers we help clients secure their financial future. In today’s world though just having the right investments and tax wrappers is not enough. As everything moves increasingly online this presents new challenges.
John Harrison ACSI, head of information and cyber security at Charles Stanley, outlines some important security measures we can all adopt to help prevent and prepare for cyber-attacks.
Email
An email account is an attractive target. Hacking it allows criminals to reset other online account passwords, impersonate you, amend emails and phish your contacts. Use ‘Two Factor Authentication’ for your email accounts and change each account password to something unique, long, and strong. Never reuse an email or cloud password; criminals have tools that automatically try one compromised password with other popular online accounts.
Insecure email and secure portals
The global internet is a public network. Standard email sent across the internet is insecure: it can be read or intercepted. Email accounts belonging to individuals are increasingly being hacked. Charles Stanley’s ‘MyCS’ service is a secure website (known as a ‘secure portal’) that offers a safe messaging service for our clients and Investment Managers. As the messages stay inside Charles Stanley’s network, and are not sent across the public internet, the risk of a message being intercepted or tampered with is greatly reduced.
Password hygiene
Starting with your email account, make the password long (over 15 characters) and strong (containing numbers, letters and symbols). You can try using three random words that you can remember easily but mean nothing to anyone else. Then replace some of the letters with numbers and symbols.
Push payment fraud
This is when cyber criminals trick you into sending a payment to their bank account. Try to use a secure payment service like PayPal, or pay by credit card, instead of sending a bank transfer.
Two Factor Authentication (2FA)
2FA uses two pieces of information to prove your identity. Your password, ‘something you know’ is the first factor. The second factor will typically be ‘something you have’, like your mobile phone. After entering your username and password, a code is required before the account can be accessed. This might be sent as a text message or within an app on your mobile phone. An unexpected 2FA code also indicates a cybercriminal has your password, so you can immediately change it.
Zero trust
Protect yourself by adopting a zero-trust mindset, when emails, text messages or phone calls are not believed until proven genuine. Independently verify the sender by contacting them using details obtained from a search engine or official web site.
For more tips on staying safe online, contact a member of our Norwich team for your free guide to cyber security.
Past performance is not a reliable guide to future returns. The value of investments, and any income derived from them, can fall as well as rise. Investors may get back less than originally invested. Charles Stanley & Co. Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Without a doubt, outsourcing your HR services to an experienced, trusted Human Resources consultancy can save both time and money. HR consultants can have a significant impact on your business and selecting a partner that aligns with your own company’s values and culture is crucial.
Choosing a partner who invests time to get to know you and your business – one that works in partnership with you to achieve your business plan and goals – will help ensure that you get the results you need.
Business owners can often think of outsourcing HR as having someone to handle HR-related compliance issues, draw up policies and procedures, deal with grievances and disciplinaries and look after HR administration. However, there is much more that we can do to positively influence your bottom line, helping you to achieve your goals much more quickly.
How will you know that you are getting the best from your HR consultancy?
Cost effective
Outsourcing can be very cost effective. For example, with a team of HR consultants, such as our team here at MAD-HR, you have access to HR professionals who have a breadth of experience and specialist knowledge, ranging from transactional to transformational and everything in between, which you can switch on and off, as and when needed. Having this type of flexibility helps you manage costs, work efficiently, and utilise the right “tool” for the job. Hiring a full HR department to provide the same level of skills and experience would be incredibly costly and add another line of reports to the business leader.
For smaller businesses, it can be more cost effective to hire a trusted HR consultancy who will do the job well and with efficiency, giving you access to what you need, when you need it, rather than increasing your overheads. You never have to worry about holidays, sickness or other types of absences; the service being delivered should be seamless, as you are supported by an outsourced HR team that knows your business, rather than an individual.
HR consultancy complements a business no matter where it is in its growth cycle. Start-ups, growing mid-market businesses and businesses focused on stability or reinvention can all benefit from an HR consultancy partner who can develop and implement a plan that aligns management and employees with business goals and objectives to achieve optimal results.
Efficiency
Experienced outsourced HR consultants can often deal with HR processes quickly and effectively, especially potentially complex HR activities such as recruitment, onboarding, employment contracts, employee handbooks, compensation and benefits, learning and development.
At a minimum, your HR consultant should free the business owner or management from having to handle many common, time intensive issues such as employee leaves of absence and updating policies due to changes in employment law and best practice, for example. An HR consultant should be looking at ways to automate, systemise and simplify processes, where possible.
Consistency and continuity is key. Having an HR consultancy with a robust infrastructure and resource plan will help keep the business on track, effectively delivering projects as well as dealing with the day to day people challenges, deploying the skills, expertise and resource required for each situation whenever, wherever and however.
“Very approachable and helpful team.”
“From the first approach I made to MAD-HR I was very pleased with the information and help I was given.” Read the full review
Recruitment
A good consultancy can help you source and select strong candidates for your job openings. First, they should have the skills and experience required for drafting job descriptions and identifying the core competencies and behaviours expected of a successful employee. They should also have good knowledge of the best places to advertise open positions to attract qualified candidates.
While it may seem like a small detail, the advert and job description may be a candidate’s first impression of your organisation and its culture and values. Poorly written, this not only places the organisation at risk of potential discrimination claims, it also misses the opportunity to showcase you as an employment destination.
The process does not stop there, however, as it is vitally important that you have a robust onboarding and induction process in place, in order to allow the individual to begin contributing to organisational success as swiftly as possible.
Learning and development
It is critical that any learning and development activity is aligned to the strategic aims of the organisation and to support the individual in their role or in preparation for a future role.
93% of people employees say they would stay longer with a company when they invest in their career development.
Learning and development or training and development, whatever you call it, is a must. Firstly, identify skill gaps among individuals and teams and then develop and deliver training to bridge those gaps. HR consultants should develop and implement learning strategies that meet business needs, through evaluating the business as well as the individual employee development needs, ensuring alignment of learning and development with business goals and optimising implementation and review to improve Return on Investment (ROI).
Benefits
You may have identified a need to improve on the benefits you offer as an employer to attract and retain the best and most desirable people to work in your business. Your HR consultancy should be able to assist you in developing your offer, undertaking market research to ensure you are aligned with where you would like to be and creating a benefits package, with several expected and desirable benefits, such as flexible working, employee assistance programs, wellbeing at work, etc. They can also help you to implement permanent remote work arrangements, which are popular now with employees especially after the pandemic.
Your HR consultant should be able to analyse your compensation and benefits across the organisation to make recommendations to keep your business competitive, your employees engaged and attracting top talent.
Regaining business focus
Business owners often get embroiled in the day to day running of the business, distracting them from the focus of planning for the future and implementing a mid-to-long-term business plan. Outsourced HR allows you to shift your focus back to what you love and need to be doing, while providing the comfort and peace of mind that the HR side of things is being effectively managed.
It can be lonely at the top and a big part of our role here at MAD-HR is working with business owners on a personal level, acting as a sounding board, a safe space, a champion and a critical friend.
Save time
By deploying the right skills for the job, you are more likely to get it done well and right first time. Your HR consultancy can help to create legally compliant, easy to understand documentation and processes that actually enhance and protect your business, rather than restrict it, such as employment contracts, employee handbook, performance management and other policies and procedures.
In turn the documentation builds the confidence and capability of the management team, as well as providing employees with consistent, comprehensive and timely answers to many of their questions.
Minimise risk
Appetites to risk vary from organisation to organisation and a great HR consultancy will be able to navigate the various risks along its journey, standing shoulder to shoulder with the business, achieving a win-win outcome wherever possible. Employment laws change regularly, and it can be difficult for employers to remain up to date on regulations that affect the workplace. It is the job of the HR consultancy to stay on top of these laws, so you do not have to. They should regularly review and update your documentation and practices so that you are always up to date and work with you in a pragmatic and commercial way that protects the business, the team and the reputation you work so hard to build.
Employee satisfaction and happiness
The quality of services your HR consultant delivers will have a direct impact on employee satisfaction. Having an expert speak honestly with your employees about their role, workplace and culture, responding to feedback and implementing changes that are fair and benefit everyone, will lead to greater employee satisfaction and happiness, increased productivity, and lower turnover.
Return on investment
Your people are what create a great product or service, which in turn generates profit, so ROI should naturally be a priority when it comes to managing people.
Every single person employed in your business is an investment, and by guiding your people to perform at their peak, reducing attrition, and investing further in their development, you will see maximized productivity and the subsequent returns.
Are you getting the best from your HR consultancy?
If you are considering outsourcing your HR function or reviewing the effectiveness of your current provision, call us to find out how we are Making A Difference to our clients as their outsourced partners. At MAD-HR we work alongside you to build capability rather than create a dependence and we are looking forward to speaking with you to begin our journey together, today.
If you would like to discuss how we can Make A Difference to your business through our provision of HR services, please get in touch on 01473 360160 or visit our contact page here.
You can view this original article and other content at Mad-hr.co.uk
