Skip to main content
Practical employment law information to support your business, from Clover HR

Search

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.

Revealed: best UK cities for women to start a business

13 April 2021

A new study has identified the UK cities where women have the best chance of starting a successful business.

Payments provider Dojo has analysed data from the past year to find the best UK cities for starting a business and specifically those places that give female entrepreneurs the best chance of success.

York is the best city in the UK for female entrepreneurs according to the research, closely followed by Wakefield, Stoke-on-Trent and Sunderland.

The study has focused on six key metrics in order to identify cities with the best working conditions for women to start a business: five-year business survival rates, the cost of living, average weekly pay, the number of female employees, the number of female business owners and the gender pay gap.

The findings show that the ten best cities overall for women business owners are: York, Wakefield, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland, Wolverhampton, Southampton, Plymouth, Perth, Hereford and Peterborough.

York takes the top spot, with 9% of female bosses and 66% of women in work. It has the third highest five-year business survival rate at 48% and several women-only networking groups such as York Women Mean Business.

In second place, Wakefield has 5% of female bosses and 66% of women are in work. It scored second place in both categories of the best places to start a business as a woman and the best place to start a business overall. Like York, the city has several networking opportunities for women, including Wakefield Women's Business Club.

Written by Rachel Miller.

Stay up-to-date with business advice and news

Sign up to this lively and colourful newsletter for new and more established small businesses.