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Establishing a successful recruitment process and clear written employment contracts for new employees can have a major impact on your business.

Every business needs to be aware of its obligations under minimum wage and equal pay laws, as well as recent pensions auto-enrolment changes.

You must comply with legal restrictions on employees' working hours and time off, or risk claims, enforcement action and even prosecution.

The right employment policies are an essential part of effective staff management. Make sure any policy is clear and well communicated to employees.

While sick employees need to be treated fairly, you need to ensure that 'sickness' is not being used as cover for unauthorised absence.

Most pregnant employees are entitled to maternity leave and maternity pay, while new fathers are entitled to paternity leave and paternity pay.

As well as undermining morale, illegal discrimination can lead to workplace grievances. Employee discrimination is covered by the Equality Act 2010.

Home, remote and lone workers are becoming increasingly commonplace. Key issues include communication and how to manage and motivate people remotely.

The right approach to consulting with and providing information to your employees can improve employee motivation and performance.

Disciplinary and grievance issues can be a major burden to employers. Putting in place and following the right procedures is essential.

Following the right dismissal and redundancy procedures helps protect your business and minimise the risk of a legal dispute at tribunal.

Employment tribunal claims are a worrying prospect for any employer. A tribunal case is a no-win situation – even if the claim is unjustified.

More small firms hiring freelancers to fill skills gaps

29 October 2024

Marketing is the main skills gap for SMEs according to a new survey of small business owners - and the answer for more than half is to bring in specialist freelancers.

A poll of 1,055 UK entrepreneurs by 1st Formations has found that one-third of business owners say they were least prepared to take on the marketing role when they started their business.

In fact, nearly one in three (29%) of those polled said they felt they lacked some of the skill sets needed to start and run their businesses.

Of those who felt unprepared, marketing was the skill many felt least confident in (34%), followed by lead generation (21%) and sales (14%). More than four in ten (44%) of small business owners want to increase their marketing budget within the next 12 months.

Small businesses turn to freelancers to plug skills gaps

A significant issue cited by the small business owners polled is the persistent shortage of labour and skills, with 37% experiencing recruitment difficulties. This has been worsened by the decline in skilled workers from EU nations - 58% of businesses say they are currently suffering from a lack of skilled workers from the EU.

However, the survey results suggest that attitudes to recruitment are also shifting - in particular, small firms are increasingly relying on contractors and freelancers rather than permanent staff:

  • 53% of small firms plan to hire contractors or freelancers;
  • 21% say they would recruit permanent employees;
  • 13% are looking for temporary staff;
  • 9% want to use zero hours contracts;
  • 4% are looking for apprentices.

SMEs increasingly favour remote working

It seems that many small businesses are looking to access a wider talent pool without geographical constraints; hiring freelancers that work remotely not only solves skills shortages but can lower staff overheads at the same time. In fact, the poll results show that 43% of small businesses are now looking to implement a fully remote working policy; 39% are opting for a hybrid set-up; only 18% have a full-time "work in the office" policy.

The survey also looked at the typical hours that business owners are working. The findings show that:

  • 32% of business owners say they work seven days a week;
  • 21% work six days a week
  • 28% work five days a week;
  • 8% work four days a week;
  • 6% works three days a week;
  • 3% work two days a week.

On a positive note, the findings reveal that 90% of business owners say they are happier since they set up their own business. Even so, 40% say they are making less money working for themselves than they were before; 37% say they make more and 23% earn the same amount.

Written by Rachel Miller.

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