FAQs

Are HR on your side? Our answer is that HR isn't your friend, but they're not your enemy.

Human resources are not there to act as a friend that is automatically on your side. There is a myth that HR works for the company and not the employees. Some people think HR is a sort of referee between employees and management (they’re not!) or between employees and other employees (they’re usually not that either).

So what is HR all about. What does HR do, exactly?

Human Resources covers a huge range of things: benefits, compensation, personnel policy, legal compliance, investigations, hiring assistance, employee relations (which can be anything from identifying and addressing employee complaints to helping a manager address a performance problem), and much more. You often hear people say, “HR works for the company, not the employees.” That’s 100 percent true! But that doesn’t mean that HR is inherently untrustworthy or that you should expect them to be adversarial if you go to them with a problem. It just means that HR’s function is to serve the needs of the company.

In many cases, serving the needs of the company also means serving the needs of employees—for example, with things like ensuring the company is offering competitive salaries, addressing bad management, and working to raise morale. Good HR professionals do care about what’s fair and right.

HR support

#HelpfulHR

At Amica HR, we're based in London and Lincoln and we're here to help in anyway we can. Contact us for a free, 30 minute consultation and we can answer your questions!

It is best practice to hold a half way meeting in the middle of their probation period to discuss their progress and give them the opportunity to improve on anything that might stop them from passing. If you intend to pass them, then simply waiting for the probation period to end and sending them a congratulation letter will suffice. We would also recommend mentioning details of any opt in or out requirements to pensions or benefits.

Although face to face meetings are starting to happen again in most workplaces, best practice still suggests hosting meetings online where possible. Ultimately it is a judgement call; if hosting the meeting online will hinder the content, then you should consider meeting face to face with Covid restrictions in place such as social distancing and face coverings.

Over the past few months, we have had a demand for training in line management, diversity/inclusion, and bespoke management academies (industry specific content that runs over a few months). In addition, we’ve received an increase in training requests for managing remote workers and staff working from home. We would recommend that employers use quiet periods of business to consider staff training, especially with furloughed staff to keep them in touch with the organisation.

Each person's induction plan can be completely different. We like to tailor our induction processes based on company preferences, as well as adding a personal touch so each employee is welcomed based on their job title and the team they're joining.

Government guidance was updated in April 2020, so you have to base your calculation on the last 52 weeks average hours, instead of the last 12 weeks. If you need help with this, then get in contact.

It usually depends on the employee’s length of service and the change being implemented. It's also worth checking the wording in contracts to ensure you're following the correct procedures to have a meaningful consultation period.  If you're unsure, you can send us an email and we can guide you through any changes to ensure you're legally compliant.

As of April 2020, the deadline to issue a contract of employment has been greatly reduced to the first day or, ideally, before the first day of employment. If you are thinking of appointing a new member of staff, get in contact and we can help keep the process legally compliant.