*Elaine Ryan from Elaine Ryan & Associates HR & Business Consultants.
Are you an Employer? Thinking of being one? Then read on.
This is the first part in series of articles where I share my insights into HR Management & employment legislation. Human resources management and trends have come into considerable scrutiny over the last few decades and is ever changing making being an employer stressful and expensive at times. Today, we find ourselves in a world where it is no longer an option to be unaware or not take into consideration the many implications and ramifications it entails.
Once you decide to be an employer, or are an employer, you have to take into consideration compliance. There is a lot of legislation that one needs to navigate around in regard to this matter. This is where we, Elaine Ryan and Associates Ltd, come in. From a HR consultancy point of view, we have worked with companies that have just one employee up to over 500 employees. Whether you have one or five hundred, your obligations under employment law is to ensure compliance. This means if you are taking someone on, within 5 days you have the 5 Day Statements that you have to give out if you are not issuing the contract straight away. You have to ensure that you issue the contract within 2 months of an employee starting. Having said that, contracts can be tricky but easily navigated by an experienced eye. There are various criteria that has to be met on the contract. What I notice and what people say to me is, “Ah sure, I’m grand. I only have 2 or 3 employees.” I don’t need to give a contract. That is the norm and a common feedback that I get a lot. This brings home my point that whether you have 1 or a hundred employees, compliance must be met. A number of businesses in the last few weeks reached out because they are becoming an employer for the first time and hiring their first employee.
My role as consultant is to tailor services to suit our client’s business needs and budgets. There are many areas we can assist you with. Let’s dive in a little into new legislations and the ever changing employment law. From the onset, you need to decide what kind of employer/manager you want to be. Know how you intend to handle matters such as psychological safety, conflict, bullying and harassment, sexual harassment in the workplace, to name a few. The best way to do this is to have a staff handbook that provides you, the employer, with policies and procedures to handle such matters.
Many businesses that I work with, are innocently enough found to be non-compliant. Employment contracts, job specifications, a handbook with your company policies and procedures are a must if you have employees. This is to protect your business and to ensure your employee(s) know & understand what their entitlements and rights are. We will draft and provide you with the required documentation to ensure compliance and peace of mind.
At Elaine Ryan and Associates Ltd, as we predominantly work onsite we find this serves our clients and their teams very well. We cross train and bring the skills in-house. We will tailor packages to suit your business needs; do a budget analysis, outline intentions and action plans, do a gap analysis. We are about people, culture and making change a great experience.
There are many areas we will touch on in the coming weeks, but for now I want you thinking about (1) Do I know what I need to know on my compliance as an employer? If you are in any way doubtful on that, connect with us to do a free audit. (2) How do I become compliant? (3) Am I thinking of hiring and do I even know how to go about it? If you are, then that is when you pick up the phone and we’ll talk you through it. Our methodology as I mentioned is to work on site, so we will come to you, meet the team and work in partnership based on your business needs. We are just a phone call away. If you are considering starting a business, we can scope out what that looks like together with all the practicalities that go with it. As an experienced NLP Executive, Business & Life coach, I will be able to help you formulate your ideas and bring you on the coaching journey that will enable you to make design how you want to go forward.
We look forward to hearing from you, to arrange your free HR audit contact elaine@eraltd.ie.
