Everyone gets sick once in a while, but the disruption caused to businesses by employees who fail to adhere to the company’s sickness absence reporting procedure (you do have one don’t you?), or take unauthorised leave, creates a major headache.

Individuals who are AWOL for extended periods of time are the cause of genuine concern – do they intend to come back at all (an employee at my first company simply failed to turn up for work one day, and despite numerous attempts at contact he was never seen again)? Have they suffered serious accident or illness and are unable to make contact?

So what should you do, and where do you stand?

Colonel Gaddafi is still clinging on to power by his very fingertips as I pen this posting. His 41 years at the helm in Libya seem to be drawing inexorably to a close, a period marked by strong-arm tactics, intimidation and the increasing use of violence towards anyone who dared show dissent. In short, his leadership was symbolised by a bullying regime.

With the Bribery Act 2010 due to be enacted in April, much confusion still surrounds the detail of what remains acceptable practice, particularly with regard to corporate gifts and hospitality. The annual golf day, the tickets to the Grand Prix, the bottle of wine and a calendar at Christmas are all – rightly or wrongly - ingrained into the British way of doing business, and these practices pale into insignificance when compared with the ‘local customs’ that seemingly have to be adhered to when conducting transactions in some foreign jurisdictions. So exactly when and where does marketing and custom crossover into the murky world of bribery and corruption?

This morning the Government announced radical proposals aimed at making it easier for employers to dismiss employees without exposing themselves to tribunal claims. For their part, most employers welcomed the changes as being a small step to redressing the balance in what is perceived to be an increasingly employee-centric system. They will have greater freedom to sack underperforming staff within their first two years – increased from the present 12 months.

With the name of the game being to avoid damaging (both in terms of hard cash and reputation) employment tribunals, mediation is coming to the fore as an important Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) tool within the workplace. Indeed, David Cameron plans to make mediation a compulsory step on the road to the tribunal courts, as well as deterring vexatious claimants by levying a fee in order to bring a claim.

With some sources estimating that 275,000 people failed to return to work after the Christmas break last week, it would appear that Swine Flu - or at least the fear of it - is back with a vengeance.  There was a great deal of hysteria surrounding the illness when it first hit the headlines in 2009 - and I would argue that the media, in a what has been a relatively 'slow news' period, is doing its best to work the nation into a lather once again.  So what are sensible measures to be taking to protect your business and your workforce? 

If this is the view you or your employees have of meetings.... you’re not alone! Believe me, I’ve been there & bought the T-shirt. Poorly planned or chaired meetings can be unproductive – talking around and around subjects with no decisions being made or actions allocated. We then have pretty much the same discussion at the next meeting, and so it goes on. If they are unproductive then they’re almost certainly expensive – look around the room and count the attendees, estimate their hourly rate and multiply by the length of the meeting (not to mention room hire, transport etc if held off site). More than this, meetings are often energy sapping, overly long and simply boring! So how do we ensure we get the most out of them?

Now we are in December I feel use of the ‘C’ word is justified. Christmas comes but once a year... and without wanting to sound too Scrooge-like, for many employers that’s a blessed relief. For businesses, the festive season brings challenges all of its own – the perennial question of whether to give staff a Christmas bonus or a party (or both) has been brought into sharp focus in these financially straitened times. Is the office party a necessary boost to morale and an expression of gratitude for withstanding a difficult 12 months, or is it an anachronism which - in organisations where jobs have been lost – demonstrates management insensitivity?

With PM David Cameron’s announcement the UK will celebrate a special Bank Holiday to coincide with the Royal Wedding next year, business owners find themselves having to make preparations for 2 consecutive four-day weekends. The Wedding Day falls on Friday April 29th, which is the same week as Easter Monday and runs into May Day weekend. Those sectors that will most benefit from extra footfall (notably retailers and the pub trade), along with the tourism and memorabilia industries will be buoyed by the news. But with only 3 working days between the Bank Holidays, many employees will opt to take the entire week off, leaving organisations under resourced. The CBI suggests the extra day off could cost the economy up to £6bn (as opposed to the estimated £1bn boost the wedding itself will create). So where does the employer stand and what should they be doing now?

Today saw (for me at least) the return of that great winter ritual - the daily scraping of the windscreen. This caused me to cast my mind back to the beginning of the year, when the cold snap wreaked havoc with countless organisations across the country, leaving employees either unable to get into work, or without childcare as schools remained closed. Whilst employers cannot control the climate, school policy or indeed the availability of public transport, there are nonetheless measures that can be put in place to deal with issues arising from bad weather. Dealing with the matter now, rather than the minute it becomes an issue, is highly advisable and should mean less scope for confusion or contention.

A recent survey by XpertHR found that 40% of employers felt that their induction process was inadequate, whilst around a quarter of those surveyed felt that induction was very low on their list of organisational priorities. However, most HR professionals agree that the quality of the induction programme can be directly related to levels of retention and engagement. Having personally experienced both ends of the spectrum, I can testify that the time spent getting your process right is a critical investment.

It’s not just about knowing where the fire exits and the coffee machine is, it’s about being made to feel comfortable and valued from day one. You’ve invested a lot of time (and usually money) in recruiting a new employee, so how can you ensure that you and your new starter get off on the right foot?

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced today that all companies, regardless of size, must auto-enrol their employees into a pension scheme by 2012. The only exception will be those employees earning less than £7500.

Although the likes of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) had campaigned for SMEs to be exempt from such legislation, their pleas appear to have gone unheard, with all companies being compelled to either provide their own pension scheme or participate in the National Employment Savings Trust (Nest). Nest was first suggested by Lord Turner’s Pension Commission in 2005, but the idea has been subject to many changes and much lobbying since then.

So, Sir Alan (Lord Sugar to you and me) has been wheeled out for yet another series of the only show that makes adults cringe behind the sofa. Yes, the search for The Apprentice is once again underway, showcasing yet another bunch of egomaniacs that most right thinking business owners wouldn’t touch with the proverbial bargepole. However cynical the selection process is (after all, this is clearly designed to entertain rather than to instruct), however contrived the scenarios, it may at least prompt you to think about how apprenticeships could benefit your business.

Last Friday (1st October) saw the Equality Act (2010) become law, replacing previous legislation such as the Race Relations Act (1976) and the Disability Discrimination Act (1995). There is a raft of information available concerning the new Act, but what are the key points you need to know now?

Tribunal Service figures have revealed that the number of employment tribunal cases increased by more than 50% last year as a direct consequence of the financial downturn. In the 12 months ending 31 March 2010, 236,100 workers brought claims to tribunal - up 56% from 151,000 in the previous year.

P4 Postings returned from its brief summer holiday to find that former deputy prime minister John Prescott is once again in the news, calling for a police conduct inquiry in relation to claims that his voicemail was hacked by News of the World journalists. One of the most memorable moments of the election campaign earlier this year was Gordon Brown’s disastrous “ off air” comments about a member of the public he had just met – an ardent Labour supporter who was understandably less than enchanted by his description of her as a ‘typical bigoted old lady’.

So what is Employee Engagement? With many different reports out in the public domain citing the key benefits to a company’s bottom line of investing in this area, it is becoming a key area that businesses are being told they should focus on.. But where do you start?

The current process for dealing with retirement is fairly simple: Employers can fairly dismiss employees when they reach the Default Retirement Age, or DRA, without financial compensation as long as they have held a meeting with the employee 6 months before to discuss plans. With the Coalition government’s announcement yesterday that it has launched a Consultation process to remove DRA, things are about to get a lot more complicated...

If you, like many of our clients, find yourself suddenly getting the go ahead on pieces of work or projects which have been in the wings for months, you may find yourself in what has been unfamiliar territory of late – you need to recruit! Understandably business owners are cautious about taking on new staff as we slowly emerge from the economic morass, and rightly so. One thing is certain however - If people are recruiting, they need to be absolutely sure that they are taking on people who will add value to their business.

The French government has hit the headlines over here after voting by a massive majority (335 to 1) to ban the burka or niqab in a public place. This is merely the latest instalment in an ongoing debate about dress codes, both here and abroad – the difference being that previous cases have been about people who have not been allowed to wear a certain item of clothing or jewellery at work- such as the teaching assistant who was suspended after refusing to remove her veil, and more recently the British Airways check-in worker who was not allowed to wear her crucifix outside her uniform. So this week’s question is….. How far can employers dictate their employee’s appearance in the workplace?

Believe it or not it is now 12 months since we were in the midst of the Swine Flu epidemic. For many employers Summer 2009 was a very difficult period - employees who thought they had swine flu symptoms could self certify their absence for 14 days (rather than the standard 7) and coupled with the long school holidays, many businesses found themselves short staffed. A CBI report puts the estimated cost of absence to UK employers at £13.2 billion a year, yet 4 in 10 employers have no Sickness Absence Management Policy.

With the Coalition Government writing to some six million public sector workers recentl to ask their opinions on how services can be delivered more cost effectively, now is a good time to consider whether your organisation is effectively capturing the ideas and opinions of your workforce.

With most businesses tightening their belts as we emerge from the recession, there is still huge coverage in the media about boardroom and banker’s bonuses. Meanwhile, many companies are struggling to cut costs, but still come up with creative ways of rewarding and retaining their employees. Are Employee Benefits worth the extra money, or are they just added cost on your bottom line?

From 6th April 2010, the sick note was replaced by a fit note. The new form offers two options:

• Unfit for work

• May Be Fit for work

The reason for the change is that many people with health conditions can work as they recover from their condition, if they receive support from their employer. This has benefits for everyone, as for many people, work can help recovery and it also benefits the employer by reducing sickness absence. So, what do you need to know?