Back to basics: online HR
Are you on the look-out for dynamic, energetic, quick-learning barstaff with an element of experience, maturity and gravitas? If so, you could fall foul of Employment Equality (Age) Regulations.
This legislation alone, the Department of Trade and Industry estimates, could increase the cost of employment tribunals to employers of all sizes by £30m over the next year.
Under the age discrimination regulations that came in on October 1 this year, licensees and other employers will be breaking the law with their job ads by describing potential candidates with words typically associated with specific age groups.
And, as you are no doubt painfully aware, that's not not the only piece of employment legislation that's made having staff something of a minefield in itself. Most recently, the national minimum wage has been increased to £5.35 per hour for workers aged 22 and above, while the development rate, for workers aged 18 to 21, is now £4.45 per hour.
Another Act that has been amended is the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act, which means that in cases of collective redundancies you must notify the Secretary of State before anyone is given notice.
The hustle and bustle of working in the hospitality industry means it is often difficult, especially for a small business, to find the time to deal with all the aspects of people management and stay inside the law.
The number of HR jobs to be dealt with can quickly mount up, from performance monitoring and recruitment, to absence management and holiday entitlements, not to mention maternity and paternity issues.
Short of hiring your own HR manager, what you need is professional support in recruiting and managing people, something you can turn to for advice on which laws and regulations affect you and how you can best go about meeting their demands.
And that's exactly what HR Business Adviser sets out to do. It's an online service specifically aimed at SMEs - small and medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 250 employees - a category that includes most pubs.
HR Business Adviser aims to lighten the load by reducing the time you spend dealing with complicated people issues, and save you money by reducing staff-related costs.
It keeps you up to date with changing legislation and contains everything you need to know about new regulations, including their impact on attracting applicants, equal opportunities, pay, redundancy, retirement and dismissal. And you can also download documents, forms and step-by-step guides, to help you stay compliant.
You couldn't possibly expect to use such a service for nothing, of course - except that, as a special Christmas present for readers, The Publican is offering just that.
People 1st, the sector skills council for the hospitality and leisure industries, and the European Social Fund have secured 5,000 licences, each of which gives unlimited online access to the HR Business Adviser service for one year.
Five hundred of them have been set aside for licensees with fewer than 250 employees and are available, at no cost, to readers of The Publican. Just follow the instructions below.
