As the furlough scheme unwinds, there will inevitably be roles that will need to be made redundant. In fact KPMG estimate that the UK unemployment rate could peak at 11% in 2021. That’s an increase of 7% over March 2020 data. To put that in real terms, there are approximately 32.5 million people in the …
On Wednesday 8th July 2020, the Chancellor announced the next step in UK Government support for employers. The support package is wide ranging and we’ve summarised the key points below. Furlough bonus scheme If you are an employer who has …
On 1st July 2020, the furlough rules changed to allow people to return flexibly. The idea behind this is that employers can ease people back to work without having to carry the full salary cost. The hope is that this will help organisations to be able to preserve employment whilst they build their revenue back …
Updated – We’ve updated our flexible furloughing guidance based on the revised information issued by HMRC on 12th June 2020. This guidance has clarified how payments can be calculated. For further information, you can get the HMRC guidance here. What’s changed with the guidance? The revised guidance has brought clarity on minimum claim periods (7 calendar …
There’s a much higher percentage of us working from home right now: this has been the case since mid to end March and, based on the latest announcements from the PM and Government, for those who can do their jobs remotely, it will continue for some time. Many of us don’t have a desk at …
From Wednesday 13th May 2020, the UK Government have made some changes to the working practices of many UK businesses during phase 2 of lockdown. We analyse what has changed in their guidance. Phase 2 of lockdown: businesses who can’t work from home During phase 2 of lockdown, the general advice that if you can …
Phase 2 of lockdown – what’s changing for businesses? Read More »
What will business look like when lockdown has finished? We’ve compiled a list of 8 things that could happen in businesses when lockdown ends. 1. Flexible working is here to stay A bit of an obvious one to start with. The enforced home working that came with lockdown has disproven many business owners views that …
8 things that could happen in businesses when lockdown ends. Read More »
There is no doubt that we are living in unprecedented times and that the Coronavirus outbreak has changed the way we do business, not only now but possibly forever. At Cornerstone Resources, we want to help Stockport businesses navigate this difficult period as well as possible. Over the last few weeks we’ve supported businesses across …
Cornerstone Resources supporting businesses in Stockport Read More »
The death of a child must be truly traumatic for any parent. The last thing they want to be concerned about is feeling obliged to rush back to work straight after losing a child. Allowing a period of time off to grieve is often effective in helping overcome bereavement in the long term. From 6th …
Paid bereavement leave for parents. What do businesses need to know? Read More »
As we enter the lockdown phase of the Coronvirus outbreak, most organisations have sent as many employees as possible to work from home. However it is important to recognise that although your employees are now out of sight, they shouldn’t be out of mind. In this blog we look at the things you need to …
On 11th March, the Conservative Government announced their first budget since winning the General Election. This budget, however, was announced under unusual circumstances. The spread of Covid-19 looms large over all fiscal policies and so unusually, at least in recent years, the Conservative Government have chosen to splash the cash in the 2020 Budget. We …
In the first of our guest blogs, we look at what you should do if you suspect an employee has an alcohol problem. These issues can often be very complex to manage, especially if the employee denies that there is an issue in the first place. However, where the employee asks for help, the first …
What should I do if I suspect an employee has an alcohol problem? Read More »
Adoption leave and maternity leave. In many ways they have similar entitlements. The right to 39 weeks statutory pay is the same, the right to 52 weeks off is the same. In both cases you can have time off for pre-birth/placement appointments. Also you have Keeping in Touch days whereby you can come to work …
How does Adoption leave differ to Maternity leave? Read More »
In 2014 the Government passed the Shared Parental Leave Regulations. Prior to 2014, parents had 2 very differing entitlements. The mother could enjoy up to 52 weeks maternity leave whilst the father had 2 weeks Paternity leave. The Shared Parental Leave legislation was designed to allow parents to share statutory leave, theoretically levelling the playing …
The Good Work Plan was announced by the Government in 2018 following the Taylor Review into Employment Practices. This review was designed to improve the rights of employees and workers, particularly those on zero hours contracts. In this blog, we have summarised the main changes of the Good Work Plan. If you’d like to download …
Original blog At the end of 2019, a new strain of Coronavirus (now named COVID-19), was indentified in the Chinese city of Wuhan. As of last week, 63,000 cases had been registered with 1,300 fatalities. The condition has largely been contained within China to date with only isolated cases elsewhere. However, given the globally connected …
What should companies do about the threat of Coronavirus? Read More »
We’ve been internal HR professionals for over 40 years between us and we know all too well what pressure organisations are under. Whether you have an internal HR team or not, recruitment can simply be just another thing to do. There simply isn’t enough time in the day. External help Where do you normally go …
This week I was fortunate enough to attend a meeting where businesses and agencies came together to look at the issue of sustainability. Greater Manchester Councils have set an ambitious agenda of being carbon neutral by 2038. A lot of the messages were about looking at the ‘low hanging fruit’. Businesses are encouraged to look …
Today marks a special day for us as Cornerstone Resources are 2! It’s been quite a journey for us over the last couple of years as we transitioned from Corporate to Self-employed life but it has been well worth it. So what have we been doing over the last 2 years and what types of …
Whatever your views on the General Election outcome, there is a clear majority for the Conservative Government. So what does this mean for UK employers and employees alike? National Insurance The Conservative government announced their intention to increase the threshold for paying national insurance contributions (NICs) from £8,632 to £9,500. This rise will take place …
What does the General Election result mean for employment? Read More »
Here we are, it’s nearly Christmas already. Most people will have used their annual leave up ages ago. Many will be limping towards the Christmas break. But what can you do if you haven’t used all your holidays up? If you are asking can i carry my unused annual leave over to 2020, read on… …
Anyone else sick of the general election campaign yet? Whatever your political views in general, there’s clear daylight between Labour and the Conservatives on how they will treat small businesses. As we are in the gap between Small Business Saturday in the US (30th November) and the UK (7th December), I thought I’d summarise the …
What will the UK General Election mean for small business owners? Read More »
After a surprisingly strong year in pay growth, the economic environment looks more uncertain as we head into 2020. Average UK salaries increased by up to 3.9% in 2019, eclipsing the predicted 3% growth rates that were suggested at the end of 2018. Why was this? The sustained job creation in 2019 surprised observers. The …
So you have a member of staff who is due to go on maternity leave. What do you need to know? In this article we break down the key elements you should be aware of. Maternity leave vs Maternity pay One thing that often confuses employers is the different time periods that are used to …
Recruiting the right person first time. What do you need to think about when you’re recruiting? We’ve gathered 10 steps which, if done well, will help you hire the right person first time 1. Determine what you need The first point to consider is what you actually need as an organisation. Don’t just replace a …
Tough times at work? There are times when conflict at work can be healthy, when it’s a safe place where we can challenge and debate topics with other team members…a place where there’s no blame and differences are valued and respected. Maybe this feels an almost alien concept to you right now if you’re going …
We are here to help We were saddened by the collapse of one of the UK’s most well loved companies at the weekend. The loss of Thomas Cook is something that is felt deeply by us all, even those who’ve never flown with them. Our co-founder, Rob, completed a contract with Thomas Cook Airlines in …
UK employees receiving no paid holidays A new study by the Resolution Foundation has found that 5% of all UK employees received no paid holidays last year. In addition 9% of employees failed to receive a payslip and 23% of workers paid at or near minimum wage were actually receiving less than the minimum wage …
5% of UK employees are receiving no paid holidays Read More »
Statutory Sick Pay Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) has been around for a long time. Originally introduced in 1983, it was then extended to cover 28 weeks of absence per year in 1985. Although it has been around a long time, Statutory Sick Pay still throws up many questions. Our blog today tries to solve some …
Your mission is not you… Whilst on holiday, I’ve had the rare opportunity to finish a book. Yes, a whole book. Might not sound much to many of you but for those of you who have kids, it’s a minor miracle. The author, Carey Nieuwhof, writes about his own experiences of burnout and how to …
Flexible working – right or privilege? I’m sitting here on my decking, tapping away at my laptop with the sun shining and the birds chirping away so it’s fair to say, I’m an advocate of flexible working. And it seems I’m not alone. A 2018 Deloitte survey suggests that 75% of employees want to be …
We’ve won the Manchester Prestige Award Cornerstone Resources have been awarded the HR Consultancy of the Year Award by the Corporate LiveWire group. By Rob Birley Cornerstone Resources have been in business since January 2018. As a young business, it’s great to see our progress recognised by winning the prestigious award of Manchester HR Consultancy …
Cornerstone Resources Human Resources Consultancy have moved! 18 months after we launched Cornerstone Resources Human Resources Consultancy, we are delighted to announce we’ve moved into our new office! Read below for more information about our journey so far… After spending more than a combined 40 years in HR for different businesses in different sectors, in …
Cornerstone Resources Human Resources Consultancy have moved! Read More »
Zero hours contracts Zero hours contracts have had a lot of bad press. As they offer no guarantee of work, they have been a key cause of many lacking job security. Whilst this is undoubtedly accurate in many cases, zero hours also offer flexibility for those who require it. Although this article isn’t addressing the …
Do you pay your staff enough? I’ve worked with employers who pay the least they can get away with. But is that the right thing to do? Is paying the least you can going to save you money in the long run? How much should you pay your staff? Pay and productivity It sounds paradoxical …
I was reading an article in the Guardian. Yes, I know, the Grauniad. Don’t worry it won’t happen again any time soon. But this one made me stop and think. The premise of the article is that HR produces mind control by its murdering of the English language in a style that George Orwell wrote …
So you’ve identified that there’s a need to partner with an HR Consultant. Given everything you need to know about Employment Law and everything you need to comply with, it’s difficult to do that on your own. So what support can you get from an HR Consultant? Well to be honest, it will vary significantly. …
This weekend marks the first anniversary of the introduction of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) legislation. GDPR is one! The Europe-wide legislation came into force on 25 May 2018, forcing churches, charities and businesses to think again about how they manage, store and destroy personal data along with introducing significant fines for data breaches. …
So you are growing and with that comes all sort of calls on your time. Finance, IT, Sales, Marketing etc all require your attention. As do your people. So if you are struggling to keep on top of employment law, keeping your policies up to date, recruiting the right people and so on, you need …
Managing sickness absence is one of those issues that managers really dislike. Typically the desire to be supportive can mean that commercial sense takes second place. But that in itself is not the answer. So if you are asking yourself, how do I manage sickness absence fairly and consistently, read on! What are the issues …
Guidance released by the Home Office outlines that checks to confirm legality of workers from the EU, EEA and Switzerland will not change prior to 2021 even if there is a no-deal Brexit. As the UK is still set to leave the EU on 12 April 2019, this new advice confirms that no alterations will …
I’m currently planning the salary review process for a client. The general principle is that we reward for performance. It’s something I’ve heard expressed many times before and on one level it makes sense. Why not give more to your best performers? The problem is that salary budgets have been low for years (less than …
So the days are getting lighter and Spring is definitely in the air So as thoughts move to the new tax year and for many a new financial year, is it also a good time to check whether your HR practices need a Spring Clean? Are your policies in good shape? Is your recruitment successful? …
So we’ve been busy this week at our first exhibition this week and we’ve learned a lot! Here’s a few of the tips that we’ve learned about how we can improve our exhibiting experience. 1. Don’t rely on the free wifi I came up with what I thought was a great idea, rather than have …
Spreading the word – 6 things we’ve learnt from exhibiting Read More »
Cornerstone Resources are out and about at several upcoming events in the next couple of months. If you’d like to come and meet us and talk about what we can do to help your organisation, you can find us at the following events: Thursday 14th February 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Greater Manchester Chamber of …
Are you a small business owner? Do you struggle with people issues? Have you ever thought of getting an HR for small business package but aren’t sure what you’d get from it? And you know what, it’s a fair question. Small businesses leaders have a myriad of different issues to think about. We should know, …
Are counter offers ever worth doing? Do they succeed in retaining employees or is it a waste of everyone’s time?
Is it important to keep candidates informed of their progress? We’ve all been there. You spend hours completing an application, refining your cv, updating your LinkedIn profile, researching the company you are being interviewed by, attending interviews… And then… Nothing. For days, And weeks. How frustrating is it? So it got me thinking, is it …
How does poor management impact employees and what can we do about it?
At the beginning of the year, it’s always a good time to take stock and look at what changed will be happening in UK Employment Law in 2019. There are some unknowns – will the EAT decide that Ethical Veganism should covered by the Equality Act under Religion and Belief? Will the ICO bring prosecutions …
What changes are expected in UK Employment Law this year? Read More »
So here it is, Merry Christmas…! We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all our customers and colleagues, past, present and future and to wish you all a Merry Christmas! We’ve had a great first year at Cornerstone Resources and are excited at our plans for 2019. If you would like to keep in …
So it’s nearly Christmas and thoughts turn towards the work Christmas party. You may be wanting to reward your staff with a free night out to thank them for all their hard work throughout the year. At the risk of sounding like an HR killjoy, it’s one to think very carefully about or it could …
Why on earth do churches need HR? This blog looks at likely scenarios and how HR can support you in your mission.
Earlier this year, we looked at the cost of employees being ill but still attending work Click here to view the article. This phenomenon is known as presenteeism. A recent survey by Barnett Waddingham has found that the problem is worsening in the UK. A survey of 3,000 employees found that this issue has tripled since …
UK average salary projections for 2019 Anyone who has tried to work out anticipated salary increases knows they are on to a hiding to nothing. Newspaper articles are regularly broadcasting recent settlements as if they are the standard rise for all employees. The problem with articles such as this is that they are often based on …
What’s the average UK pay rise likely to be in 2019? Read More »
We are constantly bombarded with articles that dramatically tell us there is a skills shortage in the UK but if we are honest, has that made us change the way that we recruit for new talent? The standard cv based recruitment model is very much designed to hunt out specific skills that the organisation believes …
Are you a contractor? Update. In November 2018, the Chancellor confirmed that IR35 would be extended to the Private Sector from April 2020. The tax man has since taken an aggressive approach targeting nearly 1,500 contractors who have either previously or currently work with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). In the letter, HMRC state that they may be …
IR35 – What is it and why do I need to know about it? Read More »
You may have recently seen the Duke of Cambridge launching ‘Mental Health at Work’, a new initiative from Heads Together and Mind, aiming to change the way that we approach workplace mental health in the UK.
It’s sobering to read the latest research from Mind which shows how a culture of fear and silence around mental health can be costly to employers….
According to the attached article, two thirds of SME bosses believe that they face a benefits gap in comparison to larger employers. The research, carried out by Opinium in March 2018 among 508 decision-makers at organisations employing between 50 and 299 staff, found that 69% of senior managers believe they have a duty to provide benefits beyond pensions. …
Intensive lobbying from interested parties has failed to change the Government’s mind on removing childcare vouchers. From 4th October 2018, the current childcare voucher scheme will be closed to new entrants and the only option on the table (for those who are eligible) is tax free childcare. We find it disappointing that the Government has …
Childcare vouchers are dead. Long live tax free childcare? Read More »
Performance Management has always been a tricky thing for organisations to get right. Traditional appraisal processes have relied on formal meetings and the completion of long forms which struggle to genuinely capture the contribution an employee makes to their organisation. Done badly, performance management is less a tool to develop people and more a weapon …
How and why should I performance manage my team? Read More »
Update – The UK Government has brought the right to paid bereavement leave into force from April 2020. Jack’s law, named after a little boy who tragically died in 2010, allows parents who lose a child under the age of 18 to have 2 weeks’ paid leave. Whilst this isn’t enough in itself, it is …
It’s so important for our mental health that we look after ourselves.
Why is it so important?
Here’s a few facts:
It’s estimated that one in four adults are affected by mental health issues at some point in their lives
Click below to read more…
Do you take all of your annual leave allowance? As I sit here tapping away on the decking, anticipating my next holiday, I began pondering, why on earth don’t all employees take their full annual leave allowance? Depending on which survey you read, between half to two thirds of all UK employees fail to take …
Maybe you are a charity, non-profit or a church organisation….if so, you are likely to have volunteers helping you to achieve your vision. Carey Nieuwhof recently explored the struggle to find, keep and retain volunteers. Here’s a few questions to ask yourself about your volunteers: Are they happy and motivated in their role? Do you …
So here we are at the business end of the recruitment activity. By now you have identified your need to recruit and you have defined what skills and experience you require in your new hire. From that strong start, you’ve advertised your role and you have received candidates who are hungry to join your team. …
What selection assessment methods actually work? Read More »
How big does your organisation need to be before you employ HR? Is it just for larger organisations or can everyone benefit from having HR expertise? The attached article suggests that organisations typically have 150 employees before they employ a dedicated HR team. However, it also says that once you get past 50 employees, you …
How big does your organisation need to be before you employ HR? Read More »
Last week we looked at the first two stages of the end-to-end recruitment process, specifically focusing on being clear on what your organisation needs and developing a good job description and person specification. This week, we’re looking at the next two stages – how you attract candidates and candidate selection. 1.Where will you find your …
Recruitment: How can you find quality candidates? Read More »
Don’t just replace a leaver A colleague has resigned. Do you just look to replace them like for like or do you take a step back and see what you need? In this blog we will discuss what steps you should take when a position becomes vacant. It may be just the opportunity you need …
What’s the purpose of an induction? An induction is the process you go through with a new employee when they first start working for you. The aim is to help them meet the key people they need to know to be able to do their job well (and to feel welcome!), familiarise themselves with the …
Inductions – are you setting your staff up for success? Read More »
Why do I need policies? Without policies, it’s impossible for your employees to know where the parameters are in your organisation or what their entitlements are……whether it’s holiday, maternity leave or absence. Some information can be detailed in the contract but more is needed, especially for more complicated processes like long term sickness absence or …
At the time of writing, we are part way through month 3 of the furlough scheme. Attention is now moving away from getting employees furloughed to what happens next. But what happens if you don’t feel you can continue your business in it’s current format? In that case, you may be wise to start thinking …
Read Cornerstone Resources’ new blog…is HR just a nice to have?
Summer is here and with it come some of the great sporting tournaments, Wimbledon, Test match cricket at Lords, Stockport County’s pre-season friendlies… Ok so I was joking about the last one, but there is the small matter of the FIFA World Cup which starts next week. The timings are such that many of the …
Policies: What is your organisation doing about the World Cup? Read More »
So you’ve offered a job to your preferred candidate and they’ve accepted. The only thing left to do is to complete pre-employment checks. For most organisations, this includes sending out requests for references from your candidate’s previous employers. But are they worth the paper they are written on? The ‘tombstone’ reference A ‘tombstone’ reference, or …
Pre-employment checks: Are references worth the paper they are written on? Read More »
Does the mere mention of GDPR make you feel slightly queasy? Maybe you’re not quite sure what GDPR is but you’re just sick of all the emails you’ve been getting over the past couple of weeks? Well….GDPR is here and it’s important that all organisations….large and small, public, private and not-for-profit…are aware of it and …
This blog has been updated and the latest version is available here. Sir David Metcalf, the first appointed Director of Labour Market Enforcement, has this week published his strategy for 2018/19 aimed at preventing the exploitation of workers. Why is this needed? Sir David Metcalf was appointed early 2017 as it was widely accepted that …
It’s Mental Health Awareness week this week and we wanted to focus on stress and the impact it has on us. We all experience stress, in fact it sadly seems to be more prevalent, especially in the workplace and amongst younger people. MHFA (Mental Health First Aid) states that 1 in 6 adults in Britain …
The death of a child must be truly traumatic for any parent. The last thing they want to be concerned about is feeling obliged to rush back to work straight after losing a child. Allowing a period of time off to grieve is often effective in helping overcome bereavement in the long term. Everyone deals …
Giving time to grieve. How much bereavement leave is enough? Read More »
So we read again that real pay increases have flatlined. This means that basically the same as it has for the last decade, no increase in real take home spending power for the average employee. The attached article confirms that median pay awards are still rooted at 2.5%, the same rate as the consumer price …
Real salary increases in the UK are flat. What does this mean for your business? Read More »
No doubt you will have seen the recent headlines. The latest CIPD research shows that 86% of employers had seen their employees coming in to work ill. This is a shocking increase from 26% back in 2010. Why has it increased? ‘Presenteeism’, as it’s also known, normally happens when employees feel pressure to continue working and …
Updated: The Coronavirus outbreak has caused an unprecedented increase in homeworking. Some predict that it has changed the working landscape forever. Click here for more information about your obligations in to employees who are working from home. Original blog As I sit here in my home ‘office’ area, I think about how fortunate I have …
Breathe HR have just written a great piece on the top 10 most common errors SMEs make when they recruit….however, I think they could very easily be applicable for all workplaces, large and small, public, private and third sector. So, how can we get it wrong? Think about your own worst experiences of going through …
April 2019 sees the latest hike in minimum pension contributions. From this date, the minimum contribution rises from 5% to 8% of salary. Analysts are clearly worried about affordability both for employees and employers. However, the attached article shows that the last jump in contributions only saw an increase in opt outs of just 0.2%. So …
Thank you to Torben Rick for this great picture, showing the importance of the culture we create in our workplaces. The ‘visible’ part of the iceberg shows the things people can see or read about how we say we do things, they may be your policies, how you are structured, the values you have displayed …
So the days are getting lighter and apart from the threat of the ‘Beast from the East part 3’, there’s actually some potential of some decent weather on the horizon! So as thoughts move to the new tax year and for many a new financial year, is it also a good time to check whether …
It seems Shared Parental Leave, introduced back in April 2015, isn’t working….latest figures estimate only a 2% take-up rate. Why isn’t it working? Some say it’s due to a number of factors: lack of understanding of what is on offer, cultural barriers and financial concerns. What are the benefits? Business Minister Andrew Griffiths doesn’t want …
Ever had a recruitment nightmare story? The hire who looked great on paper but didn’t deliver? Or what about the person that you really wanted but they didn’t quite fit the role so you created something slightly different only for them to leave a few months after they joined? The attached article shows the cost …
Slowly, charities and small businesses are becoming increasingly aware of GDPR, the new data protection legislation that comes in to force in May this year. But do you know what it means for you and your business and how you keep, or securely destroy, personal data? The first article below, from the Small Business website, …
I’m in leadership…. get me out of here! Do you sometimes feel that leadership is a curse rather than a blessing? Maybe you are the owner of a small business or you run a charity or a church….do you feel like you have to be a ‘jack of all trades’? One minute you are making …
Leadership: Feel burnt out and over stretched? Where can I get support? Read More »
In this great article from The Telegraph, the Head of Learning & Development at Centrica tries to dispel a few myths around apprenticeships. In it, he talks about the benefits they have brought to the business. Who can join an apprenticeship? Apprenticeships aren’t necessarily just for someone at the beginning of their working life. Increasingly, …
Apprenticeship training – what are the benefits? Read More »
Anyone who has kids will know that the cost of childcare in the UK is extremely high! Indeed, studies have shown that the UK has the second most expensive childcare costs in Europe. For this reason childcare has featured highly in many companies employee benefits packages. Since 1989, the main form of tax efficiency that …
Is your business growing and do you need help as you build a new team? Do you hire new employees but have no idea how to help them hit the ground running? We can help you! Sometimes its really useful to seek help when you are working out the kind of role and person you …
Recruitment: Do you need to build a new team & not sure where to start? Read More »
Pensions. Not exactly a topic that tends to excite most of us. But it is important nevertheless! Faced with a crisis in long term savings, the UK Government moved to make it mandatory for employers to have a pension scheme. Starting in 2012 with the largest employers, all employees were to be automatically enrolled into …
Have you provided your employees with a contract of employment? It may seem unnecessary for smaller businesses or charities to do so but as the attached article from breatheHR describes, it is vital to have a written contract in case of dispute down the line. Does a contract of employment have to be written? Not …
According to OECD research, the average UK employee works 36.7 hours a week. This is down 0.3 hours a week since 2000. However this figure rises to 42.3 hours a week when just full time employees are taken into account. So whilst Greek employees work the most overall in Europe (and Mexicans win the Global …
Happy New Year! Cornerstone Resources is here! We cannot wait to start helping businesses and charities strengthen their people practices. Please have a look around our site and get in touch if you’d like to talk to us about how we can help your organisation. We’re also on Facebook and LinkedIn, so please connect with …
Welcome to Cornerstone Resources, a new HR consultancy who will be launching in early 2018! Based in South Manchester, we will offer a full range of HR activity from our highly experienced team. We are putting the finishing touches to our business and are scheduled to go live in early 2018. We will post developments …
