• A large collection of documents for you to use:
  • a highly customisable employee handbook to issue to all of your staff
  • a wide range of contracts of employment (some are only available to our premium customers)
  • more than 50 customisable policies that you can tailor and issue to your staff
  • at least 60 guides on management topics, legal overviews plus step by step guides to specific topics such as recruitment, induction and redundancy
  • over 70 forms to print off and give to your staff
  • a huge range of customisable letters to send to your staff
  • at least 25 guides to general health and safety issues.
  You may wish to view some sample documents:
  • Offer of employment - letter
  • Maternity and parental leave guidelines
  • Absence warning letter
  • Management notes on retention
  
   
  
• Customised documents are generated as PDFs, with a blank area at the top so that they can be printed on headed paper. If you send us a logo of the appropriate size, this will automatically be inserted into your contracts of employment, policies and handbook.
   
  
• Additional document formats are available if you have our premium service. This incorporates:
  • document generation in HTML, as well as PDF format. This is useful if you want to put your company policies on your company intranet, or if you want to modify them in a word-processor.
  • an easy-to-use but technically advanced policy template tool which gives you the ability to store your own policy templates. The template tool, which is not available using our standard service, makes the process of implementing, reviewing and updating policies even quicker and more effective.
  • a range of specialist contracts and documents not available with our standard service such as an apprentice contract, an associate agreement and a non-executive director's agreement.

  This is an optional add-on for the BasicCare package but is built into the other packages.
  Existing BasicCare subscribers can now upgrade to our premium service.
   
  

• You can find a document in various ways:
  1. by going to the topic pages shown in the left hand navigation bar. This allows you to approach the site from an activity point of view.
  2. by using the short cuts to find documents by document type, ie all policies are grouped together
  3. by using the site map
  4. by going to the A to Z listing
  5. by searching for documents using the search control.
      
     
• Archive copies of the newsletters (going back to 2001) are also available to you. These can often be useful if you are looking for information on interesting cases you have read about in previous issues. The newsletter page shows which main topics are covered in which newsletter, with a link enabling you to get to the chosen topic directly.

Our clients choose to talk to us on many issues but we strongly recommend advice is taken prior to:

• carrying out any disciplinary procedure or action
• dismissing an employee (even with short service)
• making anyone redundant or starting consultation or considering a selection process for redundancy
• acting on any notification (formal or informal) of a complaint relating to sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion/belief or age or any complaint of harassment (from an employee, a worker or even a job applicant or ex-employee)
• making any changes to terms and conditions of employment (including altering anyone's hours or time or place worked or demotion or deduction from or reduction in an employee's remuneration)

We would always advise taking advice at the earliest possible stage and certainly within 24 hours of:

• an employee failing to attend work and not notifying you of the reason - and in any event before any action is taken relating to the non-attendance

• an employee walks out or resigns without written notice
• an employee raises a formal grievance
• you receive an ET claim or formal or informal threat to commence such a claim.

Our helpline details

• Our helpline is operated between 9.00am - 6.00pm Monday to Friday.
• You can contact us by telephone to receive instant, practical advice - or by email, in which case we will respond to you within 24 hours.
• All telephone calls are followed up by an email summary of the advice given, setting out our recommended course of action - so you don't need to make frantic notes during our discussions.
• Through our backoffice system we have access to the complete history of enquiries for each client, enabling any advisor to pick up a previous enquiry and advise you without you having to re-explain previous events. This also means that we can easily make that entire history available on request, thus saving you time, effort and money in establishing an accurate record of events over a period of time.
• We will happily review letters or redraft these for you, we will comment on new draft policies or procedures you are considering.
• We also follow up more complicated enquiries - to ensure that the enquiry has been resolved to your satisfaction, and offer further advice as necessary.
• Unlike many helplines, there is no escalation procedure. All of our advisors are able to handle all enquiries. However, subscribers have a designated account manager - so that if they prefer to speak to one advisor about longer term or more complex enquiries then, subject to availability, they can do so.
• We can also provide reports if requested, showing you your usage, the topics you most frequently ask about, which of your authorised staff use us most regularly, and offering advice and recommendations for future action.

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  A subscription to our helpline starts at 10 hours per annum.
  If you feel you will use more than this, you can buy additional time on an ad hoc basis, or upgrade your subscription.

Our comprehensive health and safety service includes:

• A Health & Safety Advisor who will visit you to audit your current systems and inspect your premises. We then develop updated policies and systems plus an action plan, for your review, and visit you again to work through the implementation of any proposed changes.
  
  
• Every year an Advisor will carry out a site inspection and propose any required changes.
  
  
• Expert advice just a call or click away:

  Online, via our interactive website, you can find H&S guidance plus an extensive range of forms and checklists.

  By phone or email you can get clear and practical advice on any H&S problem.
  
  

We can also provide a range of other health and safety services including:

• Fire risk assessments
• Asbestos surveys
• Noise assessments
• Legionella risk assessments
• Health & Safety training

Call us on 0845 355 0877 or contact us to find out more.

Our specialist expertise can save you time and money plus reduce your legal risks.

• Disciplinary and grievances
  Our highly experienced staff can conduct investigations, even at the highest levels of your organisation. In addition, they can attend hearings, advise on actions and create the necessary documentation.
  
  
• Due diligence for acquisitions and TUPE transfers
  Acquiring staff can come with a nasty sting in the tail if you have not completed the same type of 'due diligence' that will have gone in to evaluating the financial and operational risks. Our comprehensive HR Due Diligence Audit provides clear information in advance of the final decision, can impact the valuation of the business and identify possible TUPE issues.
  
  
• Redundancy and restructuring advice
  Restructuring can require significant expertise and resources. Our highly experienced team can assist you to ensure that any restructuring or redundancy programme is legally compliant and minimises disruption.
  
  
• Exit interviews
  By combining online feedback from leavers with the results of more detailed confidential telephone interviews from exiting managers and other key staff, we can cost effectively provide you with comprehensive feedback and possible actions.
  
  

Call us on 0845 355 0877 or contact us today to discuss your requirements.

Effective compensation programmes must not only motivate staff but also meet legal requirements. We can assist you with:

• Job evaluation
  The new Equality Act will mean that to avoid equal pay claims most employers will need some form of job evaluation scheme. Our process is designed for use with SMEs and is practical, easy to implement and equips you with the tools to maintain the system without using consultants.
  
  
• Equal pay audits
  In the year to April 2009 nearly 46,000 equal pay claims were made to Employment Tribunals. Our audit examines both the current distribution of pay and the policies by which it is administered, and makes recommendations to help you remain legally compliant.
  
  
• Sales compensation
  Sales compensation plans can over or under reward sales staff, be complex to administer and not aligned with business goals. Our development process involves all those who create the plans, are rewarded by them or administer them, to ensure these problems do not arise.
  
  
• Bonus planning
  We focus first on your business objectives, then on identifying the key contributory factors for success and produce easy to understand, simple to administer plans that deliver the required business results.
  
  

Call us on 0845 355 0877 or contact us today to discuss your requirements.

We free managers from a fear of the law so that they can concentrate on achieving high performance. Our short participative programmes also help protect the organisation from expensive litigation.

• Achieving high performance within the law: we remove some myths about employment law and enable managers to handle practical situations and achieve high performance.
  
  
• Managing within the law update: a programme for managers who need a refresher and an update on recent developments in employment law.
  
  
• Creating a positive, high performing organisation: assists executives/senior managers to create a culture which both maximises performance and ensures a legally compliant environment.
  
  
• Managing diversity: allows managers to examine the challenges of achieving high performance with a diverse workforce.
  
  
• Successfully managing remote teams: this can be a challenge for those more used to a traditional office environment; we look at the practical and legal issues involved with managing staff remotely and achieving results.
  
  

Call us on 0845 355 0877 or contact us today to discuss your training needs