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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.

Start-ups offer workplace perks to attract talent

12 October 2021

A new poll of UK workers has found that start-ups are increasingly offering workplace benefits to help recruit and retain employees.

The What Workers Want 2021 survey by SME insurance broker Hooray Health & Protection has found that more than nine out of ten (93%) start-up employees polled said that they received workplace benefits; 77% said they were happy with the benefits they receive.

The findings challenge the perception that only bigger firms offer significant employee benefit packages.

"Our survey of start-up employees shows that newly-sprung businesses are sensitive to the needs of their workers and understand how employee benefits can play a major role in enticing and retaining talent," said Charlie Cousins, md of Hooray Health & Protection.

"Benefit schemes are increasingly sought after by ambitious start-ups unable to match the large salaries of bigger businesses or leverage the allure of an established brand name."

Key findings from the report include:

  • 55% of start-up employees believe their benefits package is better than average, 23% say it's about the same and 20% believe it's worse;
  • 78% of workers say their employer has sought their feedback on employee benefits;
  • 88% say their benefits aid their sense of wellbeing.

The findings suggest that health and wellbeing is the main priority for start-up employees. When asked to choose their most desired benefits, 57% chose health insurance, closely followed by life insurance (45%).

When quizzed specifically about which benefits would help most with their mental wellbeing, 57% said access to mental health services. "It's clear that health and wellbeing is uppermost in people's minds and there are no prizes for guessing why that might be," said Charlie Cousins. "However, I don't expect this to be a short-lived trend as the general issue of physical and mental wellbeing had been receiving greater attention prior to the pandemic … As with the increased demand for remote working, it's likely just accelerated a trend which was already gathering momentum."

Written by Rachel Miller.

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