Client Tips

I was surprised to find out that the minimum legal notice period that an employer can give is:

One week if the employee has been employed continuously for one month or more but for less than two years.

Two weeks' notice if the employee has been employed continuously for two years, plus one additional week's notice for each further complete year of continuous employment, up to a maximum of 12 weeks.

However these really apply to a company making an individual redundant. If an employee wants to quit the company, either party can waive their rights to the notice period, if they mutually agree. Note that minimum notice periods do not apply to contractors.

Unless you issue a written employment contract within 2 months of an employee starting work, these notice periods will apply. If you issue this contract on time, it can include a longer notice period.

Get ready for counter offers when you have made a job offer to a candidate.

When a candidate resigns from their current role, it is a wake-up call to their employer. They realise that they are underpaying their staff, that they are going to be expensive and difficult to replace, and that it make take months to solve the problem. So they offer the employee more money and lots of promises to try to keep them on board.

Candidates find the appeal of the loyalty, the promises that everything will change for them and the extra money on offer very flattering.

Their MD takes them out for coffee to tell them all about his special projects and new plans for them. Suddenly the wonderful new job is not so attractive.

So, assume the candidate is going to get counter offered and be sure that when you put together your job offer, it is the best offer you can make.

Give yourselves plenty of time to recruit people.

Getting the 'right person for the job' is the aim of every manager who is running a key function or a company. It can take months to hire the right person, so if you know you are going to be looking for someone in the near future then put some feelers out early. This is especially true where the location of the candidate is crucial.

To get a key person for a key post requires know-how and time - and it is the latter most managers don't have. Thus, the problem is often seen as an irksome task; and often deferred to the point when it eventually becomes so urgent that a rushed decision has to be made.

Hire graduates!

Normally the very best IT graduates are snapped up during the Milk Round by large corporate companies with massive resources and budgets. But those companies have not recruited in the same volumes this year. Consequently the quality of graduates available is far higher than usual. This year offers a unique opportunity to hire good graduates.

However, graduates are still going to take some time to make the transition into work mode; they are going to need lots of training, management and monitoring, plus constant feedback via Twitter and Facebook to keep them happy.

Ensure that your interview process makes your company attractive. If the first interviews are informal, chatty and relaxed then you will attract people who thrive in that environment. Starting the process with a one on one chat is a great first step.

If possible try to avoid starting the process with an interviewee meeting a lot of people at once. If technical tests or psychometric tests are part of your interview process then it is best to get the candidates to do these tests after they have had their face to face interview and met everyone.

And try not to start the interview late; a lack of punctuality has a very negative impact on people.

And do offer the candidate something to drink!