Avon LMC’s blog page

Welcome to Avon LMC’s blog page. The LMC has been providing advice and support to Practices for many years. However, we realise that not all of our Practices are aware of what we provide. As well as contract advice we offer HR support, DBS checks and training courses, to name a few. Therefore, we have set up this blog in order to discuss subjects relevant to Practices and practice staff.

Have anything you wish us to write about or have any questions? Please feel free to contact the office on 0117 9702755 or info@almc.co.uk.

HR Changes for 2021

The new tax year is often when HR changes are brought in and this year is no exception. Whilst there are fewer changes than normal this year, there are a few crucial updates, particularly around payroll that you don't want to miss. Payroll Changes · Increase to the National Living Wage and national minimum wage - from 1st April the rate of pay for all employees increased as shown below, and the National Living Wage became applicable to all those aged 23 and over (previously...

By: Admin Account | April 8, 2021 | blog

Staff Development

There are various benefits to training and developing staff for both employers and employees. For an organisation these benefits can include increased performance, efficiency and better staff morale. It can also lead to increased staff retention which can save costs due to lower staff turnover. Also by developing staff you might be able to promote from within rather than having to recruit outside of the organisation. For an employee an effective training culture can keep them motivated, build loyalty towards their employer and provide them...

By: Admin Account | April 1, 2021 | blog

Flexible Working

Flexible working describes a type of working arrangement which gives a degree of flexibility and level of choice on how employees work. It can cover various types of working such as: · Part time working · Compressed working – working full time hours but over fewer days · Flexitime - The employee chooses when to start and end work · Term time working · Job sharing · Working remotely – e.g. from home As well as having benefits for employees, flexible working can help an organisation enhance their recruitment, engagement and...

By: Admin Account | March 25, 2021 | blog

How to Keep Your Employees Happy at Work

Employee happiness and engagement is difficult at all times, none more so than in times where there are extra restrictions and lack of ability for involvement in the more ‘fun’ or social side of work. However, ensuring that your employees are happy is just as important as ever. Happier employees are more likely to be engaged in the company, so will work harder and be more productive. They are also less likely to leave, saving you on the time and expenses of recruiting and training...

By: Admin Account | March 19, 2021 | blog

Top Tips for Effective Teamworking

It can be difficult to get effective teamworking at the best of times, but throw in a pandemic with heightened workloads, stress levels and emotions, it can be even more difficult. However now more than ever is it important that people work together and support each other. So how can you ensure that your teams are working as effectively as possible together in these difficult times? Some things are easier than others, and some you will already be doing, but for a reminder, some of...

By: Admin Account | February 18, 2021 | blog

Recruitment – Interviewing Remotely

Recruitment – Interviewing Remotely The first thing to be aware of is that although you are interviewing remotely this needs to be treated in the same professional manner as a face to face interview. If you are interviewing from home take a minute to think. Would you interview in the workplace lolling in your chair surrounded by empty coffee cups? No employer wants candidates to share negative impressions of their organisation. Our HR team have a comprehensive knowledge and experience of interviewing and can help...

By: Admin Account | February 12, 2021 | blog

Sickness Absence Management

Sickness absence management can be very time consuming for managers and high levels of sickness absence can have knock on effects within an organisation such as extra expense of covering the absence and low morale in the employees who feel they are always left to pick up the slack. There are two types of sickness absence, short-term and long-term absence. Short-term absence would be classified as those occasions when people are absent for the odd day or so maybe with a sickness bug or cold...

By: Admin Account | February 5, 2021 | blog

Keeping your employees’ data safe

Data security if not often something that is considered in the role of HR, and it’s something that is sometimes considered as someone else’s responsibility. However, as an employer, there is a lot of data that you will hold and handle on a daily basis about your employees, so it is important to understand what data you can collect, what authorisation you need for this, and how to store this data safely. The cost of getting employee data wrong can be very substantial, and in...

By: Admin Account | January 28, 2021 | blog

How to support employees with mental health in the workplace

Supporting employees with mental health is an important part of providing a supportive workplace and never more so than during this Pandemic. The resilience of employees has been challenged by the current situation, although the mental health implications will vary from employee to employee. It is well known that employees do not feel comfortable about speaking up about their mental health but employers do have a duty regarding the health and safety of their employees including mental health. Employees who have a mental health condition...

By: Admin Account | January 22, 2021 | blog

Snow days and how to manage them

Whilst snow might be one of the last things on your mind right now, it is the time of year where it could be a possibility and it’s always best to be prepared in order to minimise the disruption that it would have on the workplace. The main disruption caused by snow is the ability of employees to actually get into the workplace, but managing these absences whilst still being able to operate as a business can be difficult, so here are some top things...

By: Admin Account | January 14, 2021 | blog