The information provided in the below webinars are correct as of the date they were presented.

Wednesday 11 November 2020

Is homeworking here to stay?

The coronavirus pandemic forced businesses to trial home working for the first time. Many have found benefits and are now looking to implement permanent remote working practices.
Advantages include, but are not limited to: reduced overhead costs, greater flexibility for employees, and safety support through a reduction in the exposure and spread of COVID-19.

As a result of the pandemic, many businesses rushed to equip their teams with office essentials as a temporary solution. But making these business practices a permanent change requires a different approach. Employers need to re-address health and safety and HR for the longer term, to ensure staff remain safe whilst performing their duties remotely.

This free webinar will provide you with the knowledge of:

• Your responsibilities regarding remote working and health and safety
• The impact of remote working on employees mental wellbeing
• The issues your employees may face with a permanent shift to remote working
• The long term cultural change of remote working and how it can impact your business in the future

Tuesday 12 July 2020

Bringing employees back to work with Flexible Furlough

Since 1st July 2020 eligible UK businesses have been able to take advantage of the Flexible Furlough scheme to restart operations and kick start the economy.
But with Furlough still being a relatively new term to the UK, and with the recent addition of ‘flexible’ furlough, many employers may have unanswered questions on how best to use and implement the scheme.
The HR Dept and Bishop Fleming, our payroll partners, will be hosting a free webinar to help businesses understand:

• The benefits of flexible furlough for your business
• How to implement flexible furlough in your business whilst staying on the right side of employment law
• What an employer can do if employees refuse to return on a flexible basis
• Payroll changes employers should be aware of whilst taking advantage of stage 2 of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
• Payroll changes to the Grant claims process. In terms of timing and number of submissions, information needed and other aspects to consider.

Friday 26 June 2020

Are redundancies the only option?

As the Job Retention Scheme starts to introduce employer contributions, business owners are considering if it is time for them to say goodbye to their staff unknowing the alternative options that may be available to them if the reasons they are considering redundancy is financial.
For many employers who have invested a lot of time and money into upskilling their teams, it can be difficult to make them redundant when the employer may feel they will need those skills again in the future, and fear losing them forever.
This webinar will provide employers with the clarity and information they need to decide if redundancy is the right course of action for their business.

Friday 12 June 2020

Do you have a COVID-19 related HR or Health & Safety question?

Our panel of HR and Health & Safety experts joined this webinar answering employers’ questions on bringing employees back into the workplace after the COVID-19 lockdown. This session covered questions regarding:
• The Job Retention Scheme
• Employees refusing to return to work
• Health and Safety considerations of returning to work
• Holiday entitlement
• Redundancies
We were joined in this webinar by our sister company The Health & Safety Dept. If you have any questions regarding COVID-19 risk assessments or preparing your workplace for employees returning, please do not hesitate to contact them.

Friday 29 May 2020

Mental Health and returning to work

Due to the recent government guidance advising that those who are unable to work from home return to their workplace, employers are faced with increased challenges.

This recent pandemic has triggered anxiety and panic in the UK workforce, of which it is the employers responsibility to alleviate where they can. This webinar will discuss and provide support to employers in the following topics;

• Health and safety concerns and what a business can do to alleviate concern
• Anxiety of returning to the workplace
• Recognising the signs and symptoms
• Mental health considerations that you may need to be aware of

Friday 15 May 2020

Developing your team for a return to work

Training is not only permitted during furlough but it is actively encouraged. There are some rules of course, which we can explain. But providing training to employees on furlough leave is a great way to keep them engaged, motivated and optimistic. It can also help with their return to work when the time is right.

Of course, training is not limited to employees on furlough, and employers may find that they need to upskill those working from home, managers and so on. This recorded webinar will:

• Help employers identify new skills or development needs if roles need to be adapted during lockdown.
• Identify if staff need to upskill personal skills and behaviours to ensure they are still able to carry out their day to day tasks when returning to work.
• Help assess if managers need new skills to embrace change and adapt management styles going forward, and what longer term implications this may have.

To help keep your furloughed employees engaged and part of the team, download our free resource My Furlough Development Portfolio to help provide structure to their training and support them with their professional development.

(Please note: some information may be England specific)

Friday 1 May 2020

Bouncing back: Post lockdown plan

Many businesses are starting to look at how they will survive during lockdown and look after the coronavirus pandemic.

We are joined by ActionCOACH who will help us guide you through the various stages you as a business owner will go through during lockdown, how changing your mindset can help you identify new opportunities to thrive and develop your team and business through the effects of coronavirus, so that you are ready for the new ‘normal’.

Friday 24 April 2020

Remote working and mental wellbeing for your staff during lockdown

The extension of lockdown has caused more anxiety and worry for many of us. In particular employees who are; working from home with increasing stresses from their families, being isolated from their loved ones or employees placed on furlough and are uncertain about the future.

Coronavirus has had many effects on your workforce. To help with this issue the HR Dept and Health & Safety Dept partnered with Headstrong Training to provide you with a webinar to discuss:

• How to manage your team remotely
• Legal implications of home working and an employer’s responsibilities to mental wellbeing
• Physical wellbeing
• Mental and emotional wellbeing

Friday 17 April 2020

Preparing your business to survive the COVID-19 crisis

The coronavirus pandemic has impacted UK SME businesses immensely over the last month. Forcing business owners to face new challenges they may have never thought they would face.

The HR Dept and Risk Evolves will be hosting a free webinar to help prepare SME business owners to survive this and other crisis.

This webinar aims to:

• Advice on how to manage the potential unfortunate outcomes of coronavirus on your staff and yourself.
• Provide a framework to help you survive in a crisis
• Provide some ideas on how to revive as the crisis passes
• Prepare your business if you should become unable to work

Tuesday 31st March 2020

The Job Retention Scheme

The Government had released more information about the Job Retention Scheme, and to ensure the information is understandable and applicable to your circumstances the HR Dept hosted a webinar covering the following topics:

• Eligibility of the Job Retention Scheme
• How businesses will be reimbursed
• What is reimbursed
• How this scheme is applied to variable pay
• Furlough
• Sickness and annual leave

Friday 20th March 2020

Lay-offs and short-time working

The introduction of COVID-19 has resulted in a large amount of worry and strain for SME business owners within the UK. The HR Dept hosted a live webinar to give advice to employers who were considering lay-offs within their business as a result of coronavirus. This webinar discussed:

• What you need to pay
• The process for laying-off staff
• What you have to tell your staff
• Lots of ‘what if’ questions to cover different scenarios

Friday 13th March 2020

Coronavirus advice for employers

The introduction of coronavirus in the UK has created a rapidly changing terrain of obligations for employers which can be confusing. The HR Dept aim to provide clarity for SME owners by answering the commonly asked questions around how to deal with employees during the coronavirus crisis. This webinar covered the following topics:

• Statutory sick pay queries – what are your obligations?
• What to do if you can’t sustain your business financially, because of a downturn (temporarily and/or permanently)
• How do you deal with employees who might be taking advantage?
• What are your obligations when allowing staff to work remotely?
• How should you deal with worriers in your business?

We were also be joined by the Health & Safety Dept offering their top tips on your responsibilities from a health and safety perspective.