Your employees have a big impact on the reputation, market position and ultimately the profitability of your business.
HR issues can arise as a direct result of employing people. These issues can include: the need for a contract of employment, calculating holiday entitlements, managing discipline and sickness absence through to terminating employment.
We are always there when you need us with support and advice from our team of HR specialists.
The services we provide to our clients is broad, varied and sometimes even unpredictable. The nature of HR means that however well-versed you are in common practices, there can still be surprises you have to deal with urgently.
We can help with your working practices and those situations you need to deal with.
- Drafting and reviewing employment contracts
- Design and implementation of staff handbook policies and procedures
- Staff training
- Performance appraisals
- Recruitment
- Redundancy, restructures and relocations
- Discipline and grievance
- Absence management
- TUPE.
We will always take a commercial view and will work with you to make the best decisions for your business, in line with legislation.
Different because you are
We pride ourselves on providing individually tailored services to our clients. Whatever your aspirations and priorities in business and life, we will be by your side with expert advice from local specialists. It is because your needs are unique, that the solutions we provide are distinct and personalised to you.
Our HR Consultancy service can be tailored to your needs. We can act in a purely advisory capacity or take a more hands on approach and attend meetings, such as disciplinary hearings with you and your employees. As well as making sure you comply with employment law, the HR advice we provide will be in line with best practice to ensure you continue to get the best out of your workforce.
HR Consultancy Articles
The risk of refusing flexible working requests
Ensuring a fair redundancy process
The cost of conflict and how to combat it
Key partners and staff
FAQs
How are your HR services structured, do I pay a retainer or pay as I go?
We can structure your services in the most convenient format for you and your business. Many of our clients use us for a particular piece of work such as employment contract reviews or assisting with a disciplinary process and pay a pre-agreed fee for that work. Others use us as their HR department and pay a small retainer for ongoing advice and support whenever needed. In short, we can structure our services and charges in the most convenient way and we are always clear in advance so there are no surprises. We have a dedicated team of HR Advisers to help you every step of the way.
What makes Lovewell Blakes HR consultancy services stand out from other companies?
Our team of HR consultants are on hand to support you through the challenges you have to deal with when employing staff. We offer a flexible approach to the provision of employment advice, by seeking to establish client needs and providing practical HR advice to help achieve those aims, at the same time ensuring legislation is adhered to.
We provide a service in which you are able to either email or phone our HR consultants regarding general employment matters as and when they arise. Our consultants can provide support in a purely advisory capacity or take a more hands on approach and attend meetings, such as disciplinary hearings with you and your employees.
Can Lovewell Blake provide contracts of employment and staff handbooks?
Our specialists produce contracts of employment that are reflective of current employment legislation. It is an employee’s right to have a written statement of their main terms and conditions of employment from day one. We will discuss your requirements and draft contracts to suit your existing or future workforce, whether it be permanent, fixed term or zero hours contracts. Documents will be issued in a format which enables you to use the contract for as many employees as you wish.
We can also provide a staff handbook to outline various policies and procedures including family friendly leave, data protection, use of IT/social media and disciplinary or grievance polices. These policies will be reflective of statutory requirements and the ACAS code of practice, providing both the employer and employee with detail of processes that will be followed in various situations through the employment relationship. Please note we are unable to provide health and safety policies.
Are you able to review existing HR documents?
If you have existing employment contracts or documented staff policies in place, we can review these as part of our complimentary HR Health Check. Our HR consultants review your current HR documentation and provide a no obligation report detailing any amendments, updates or additional information to ensure they are fit for purpose and in line with current employment law.
Are you able to help with disciplinary processes for misconduct and gross misconduct?
We work with organisations to provide support on disciplinary matters relating to misconduct, gross misconduct or poor performance, being on hand to provide advice and documentation at each step of the process.
Our team can produce a disciplinary policy which will establish what the organisation deems to be misconduct or gross misconduct and specify the actions which will be taken should an employee’s conduct fall into one of these categories.
We are also on hand to ensure any investigations are carried out if necessary, through to being present alongside a manager or director from your organisation at the disciplinary hearing. Our HR consultants advise on the correct processes to follow, ensuring internal policies are adhered to, and detail any relevant employment law to help you conclude the matter in a fair and reasonable manner.
Should you need to dismiss an employee, our HR consultants will assist you in following the correct process for minimal risk to the organisation. We will also ensure that the employee is provided with the correct statutory notice and are aware of their right to appeal the decision so the employee’s statutory rights are not breached..
A member of staff has raised a grievance, can you assist?
Dealing with an employee grievance can be a very delicate and difficult matter. Our team of HR experts are able to guide organisations through the grievance process, whether or not a specific internal grievance policy is in place. We can help to ascertain the factors that need to be considered along with providing support to ensure the matter is dealt with and concluded in line with the ACAS code of practice and any internal policies.
We are also able to supply grievance policies to enable organisations to set out and understand the steps which need to be followed should a grievance be lodged.
Can your HR consultants help me manage employee sickness absence?
Our team is able to produce a sickness absence policy to help you manage employee absence, setting out the notification process and trigger points for absence levels.
We also assist organisations who have employees with high absence levels or that are on, or returning from, long term sickness. As part of the support, we are able to be present at sickness review meetings and ensure that the organisation has the required information to make decisions regarding sickness absences.
Related news
Introduction of carers leave
From 6th April Employees will have the statutory right to request 5 working days unpaid leave in any 12-month rolling period.
Changes to flexible working
From 6 April 2024 we will see a number of changes made to the legislation surrounding flexible working requests.
Changes to holiday for irregular hours and part year workers
An amendment to the Working Time Regulations means that holiday entitlement for irregular hours and part year workers will be based on accrued hours.
Improve your office day - what can you do for your employees?
4 October is ‘improve your office’ day. A day dedicated to the small changes that individuals can make to their office space to improve it.
The importance of investigations in disciplinary and grievance procedures
As an employer you have a responsibility to your employees to ensure that you follow a fair and robust process, especially when it comes to disciplinary and grievances
Stress awareness day - 5 ways to help staff avoid burn out
Whilst we all encounter stress in our daily lives, continual high levels of stress can lead employees to feeling exhausted and burnt out.
Supporting employee Mental Health during the Cost of Living Crisis
During this time of uncertainty the cost of living crisis is putting employees at higher risk of suffering mental health problems as they try to navigate managing their household finances.
Staff absence: How to deal with the ‘new normal’
The removal of Covid rules means that employers are now having to make their own decisions when it comes to staff absence, says Gemma Chapman of Lovewell Blake. A robust policy and consistency of approach are key.
Is flexible working part of the new normal?
National Work life week looks to encourage organisations to create a workplace that promotes employee wellbeing through their work life balance
The Good Work Plan and other future employment law developments
April 2020 saw a number of measures from the Good Work Plan come into effect.
Uber case should be ‘wake-up call’ for businesses using independent contractors, says leading HR expert
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.
National Sickie Day - Is your sickness policy fit for purpose?
According to statistics the first Monday in February is the day when employees are most likely to be absent from work, therefore being given the title of national sickie day.
What should you consider when it comes to transgender members of the workforce?
We are living in an ever-diverse world and increasingly seeing this diversity filter in to the workplace