As an employer, you can refuse an employee’s annual leave request if there is a legitimate business reason, such as a staff shortage or it being a peak business period.

As a business owner, how often do you think about the future? What happens to your business when you decide to retire? Have you got plans in place if you can suddenly no longer work, or even pass away? What if one of your key workers stepped down?

As a business owner, it’s always great to see employees getting along with each other. Naturally, when people work in the same location and begin making small talk, friendships can form. Before you know it they’re popping out for lunch together or having a quick natter in the staff room.

You might be the boss of your business, but are you a leader? What’s the difference?

Anyone can be a boss, but it takes someone who actively tries to understand their team, invest time in them and sets an example to be a leader. Some of the most successful businesses are those whose owners focus on being good leaders too.

It’s inevitable that employees will leave your business at some point. It’s very rare for people to spend their entire career within the same business/with the same employer, but there are a variety of reasons why people do leave, from career progression or relocation to changes in personal circumstances.

In our many years in the HR industry, we’ve heard all the misconceptions going. We’re the first to admit that HR often gets a bad reputation, with many people believing we only show up when things are going wrong.

Unused annual leave in employees is something that every business encounters. You would think that most people would snap up the chance of paid time off work, but there are many reasons why some employees would rather not take it or end up leaving it until the last minute.

We get it, your business is your baby. You don’t really want an outsider coming in and telling you what to do. But let’s be realistic, you cannot do it all. 

Did you know, there is no legal maximum working temperature? However, under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations, employers have a duty of care to ensure working temperatures are reasonable for their staff. 

Hurrah, the initial part of hiring a new employee is done. You’ve ‘ummed and aahed’ over what to write in the job description, you’ve waded through CVs from potential candidates and you’ve held interview after interview and now you feel as if you’ve finally found the right person, so what comes next to get this person settled in quickly and efficiently?

Next month marks the halfway point of the year and is often a reflective time where we can look back on what has gone well or not so well over the past six months.

Being on sick leave does not automatically mean an employee is immune from disciplinary action, however employers need to handle cases with care in order to remain fair and legal.

It’s been three years since our founder, Pam, launched P2HR, and what a three years it’s been.

Having an employee on long-term leave can be one of the most challenging aspects of running a small business. You might not have the luxury of an HR department or a large team who can take on the workload, but you need to balance dealing with this and the effects it has on the business alongside compassion for your employee.

Annual leave can be a minefield at the best of times, but in the spring and summer months, you might have multiple employees all requesting the same days/weeks/months of annual leave.

Employees come and go - it’s the natural cycle of running a business, but it’s how you handle departures that can make all the difference.

A quick chat with an employee might feel like the easiest way to handle an issue, but if these chats aren’t documented, it could cause problems later down the line.

As a business owner, have you ever considered paying above the legal minimum and thought about how it could benefit your business?

It’s inevitable that stress is going to crop up from time to time in the workplace, and a certain amount of stress is healthy, but it becomes a problem when it starts affecting productivity, employee wellbeing and the success of your business.

For many people, work isn’t just about the paycheck at the end of the month anymore. Recent research has revealed that 28% of employees now rank their work/life balance as the top priority, even beating compensation (27%).