HR advice and questions

Free professional HR advice and your frequently asked questions answered.

Welcome to The People Shed HR Advice and Questions Hub. Below you will find answers to frequently asked questions on key HR issues that could be useful to you or your business.

We regularly update this page, but if you can’t find what you are looking for, please don’t hesitate to contact us – we are here to help.

 

How does HR outsourcing work?

Outsourcing your HR is a great alternative to having an in-house HR team, like all organisations that employ people require a certain level of HR.

For many organisations outsourcing their HR is a more cost-effective way for the business as there is no salary outlay every month. Outsourcing can include aspects such as recruitment, ad hoc meetings, or managing the entire HR function.

 

Can you prepare Contracts and onboarding documents?

At The People Shed we can prepare and manage all onboarding documents for you by issuing the documents directly to your new starters! We can also carry out reference and DBS checks.

 

We need someone to review our Handbook and policies – can you do this?

Our team can review your handbook and policies either as a unique project or as part of our retained HR services.

 

Are you able to assist us with a specific HR project?

At The People Shed we can assist you and your business with project work from redundancy consultations, performance frameworks to recruitment drives.

 

We already have someone in our business who does HR – do we need you too?

Some of our clients already have an in-house HR department and we are happy to partner up with that person and offer them any support that they need. Most of our clients don’t have an inhouse HR team and they rely on us to fully maintain and develop the HR function.

 

What do employers need to give to employees upon hiring?

The People Shed can help you through this entire process and create new employee packs for your business. A written contract is initially provided to the employee which sets out the employee’s basic terms and conditions of employment.

In addition to a contact a new employee could receive a mixture of the following:

• An induction to run through an introduction to the company
• Employee handbook
• Uniform, if appropriate
• Equipment needed to perform the job

 

When should companies undertake background screening?

Background checks are normally done throughout the recruitment process.

You can choose which areas you feel are relevant and would like to screen including:

·        Criminal records

·        Social media

·        Credit checks

·        Education and credential verifications

·        DVLA checks – for roles that require a degree of driving

·        Public safety verifications

 

The People Shed advises assessing what checks are proportionate and relevant to the role in question and how you will use the information once received.

 

Can employers carry out criminal records checks under the UK GDPR?

Yes, you still can. GDPR does not dictate whether an employee can carry out criminal record checks. However, once you carry out pre-employment checks and start to process and data you obtain GDPR will then kick in.

 

What is statutory sick pay?

This is a question we get asked a lot! At the time of posting this, as an employee, you can get £96.35 a week Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) for up to 28 weeks. You get SSP for the days you would normally have worked. Unless you’ve already had SSP within the last 8 weeks and are eligible for it again, it’s not paid for the first 3 days you’re off.