Major recent changes to the duties of employers to prevent harassment in the workplace have, understandably, turned a sharp focus onto the need for clear and knowledgeable HR and employment law advice within the workplace.
The Employment Rights Bill has caused concern among business owners about how to ensure compliance and it’s just one of the many reasons why the team at one of Northampton’s newest HR companies believe that their experience and understanding of the world of business is invaluable to clients.
CE People – pronounced SeePeople, because the ethos of founders Claire Butcher and Emma Thompson is to see clearly how clients and their businesses work and to build a compliant and workable HR structure that protects both the owners and the employees. And the expertise and guidance Claire and Emma bring is based on hands-on experience, working together in a large company and helping to guide it through growth and change, thereby gaining first-hand involvement in how HR processes work.
Claire said: “Emma and I worked together for some years, during which time we went through a lot of changes – the company grew from 10 to 250 people, we handled acquisitions and TUPE, restructuring and redundancy programmes. So, because of what we have seen and experienced in our day-to-day jobs, means we have a lot of business knowledge and commercial knowledge to offer”.
“We don’t work from scripts because that doesn’t always work in the real world. Everything depends on how an individual might react and you can never pre-empt and predict what their response will be, and you have to be ready to react to that. Because we have lived and worked and delivered all those services, we’ve seen it from the inside. We’ve been involved in so many processes which means we can advise and adapt to suit the client while still delivering exactly what they need.”
The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023, made it incumbent on employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace by ensuring their policies are robust and that staff are trained to be able to recognise and avoid or address harassment. The new rules can leave employers open to tribunal claims if they cannot demonstrate that they have taken all reasonable steps to make sure their employees are aware of sexual harassment both within the workplace and when they are away from the workplace, but representing the company.
The introduction of those new regulations in October, and the recent publication of the Employment Rights Bill, prompted many employers to review their internal policies, contracts and training programmes, so that they could feel confident they were protecting their employees and their company.
Emma Thompson said: “Changes to employment law are a concern for many employers, but as we hear so often, employees are a business’s most important asset. Wanting them to be engaged and enthusiastic, and making them feel like they are valued, is so important. If you are focused on running a business and driving growth and sales, it’s easy to forget about who is looking after your people”.
“CE People works with employers to bring a new perspective, to understand that no two people are the same in terms of values, personality, work ethic, but if the organisational structure is there, if you’re listening to your people through feedback forms and employee surveys, then they feel heard”.
“We can also work with businesses to make sure company hand- books and contracts are up to date. If you’re going through a period of growth and promoting people – are they ready for that step up? Do they need additional training or support?”
Where training is required, CE People will not only provide advice, but will use their own hands-on experience and understanding to devise and deliver courses that are appropriate to the client’s situation.
Claire said: “It might be that clients need us as an outsourced service, where we take on all HR responsibilities, or it might be that they have a human resources department, or someone looking after the HR admin, but bring us in where additional support is needed. That could be for a redundancy programme, or to update contracts and handbooks where internal processes have changed”.
“Every business is different, and all business owners have their own ways of working. Our role is to help them achieve their end goals, whilst ensuring they are compliant with employment law and getting the best from their people. It’s also important that every business owner is given options for how to achieve and implement any changes they wish to make, whilst understanding the risks aligned – fundamentally, having the options to make a final decision, given any time restraints and costs.”
Find out more about CE People, you can Call, Email or visit their website
