Raspberry HR

13/01/2026

I’m looking forward to joining the East of England Early Years Stronger Practice Hub for their Leadership event next month.

Time for an update on all the Employment Law changes.

Please see below for details for a free early years event taking place later this month. To book your place please follow the link here:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/idea-sparks-quickfire-topics-for-early-years-managers-and-childminders-tickets-1978114114566?aff=oddtdtcreator

Please feel free to share with anyone else you think who may be interested in attending.

26/11/2025

Yesterday, a day ahead of todays the National Minimum/Living Wage was confirmed for April 2026.

The hourly rate for over-21s will rise by 50p to £12.71 (+4.1%), with workers aged 18-20 seeing an 85p increase to £10.85. Under-18s and those on apprenticeships must receive 45p more to £8 an hour.

April 2026 will also see the obligation to pay Statutory Sick Pay to employees increase: it’ll be due from the first day of sickness absence rather than from the fourth day.

With these added costs and a hit on dividends, owners of small businesses are contemplating their sums tonight.

14/07/2025

Lately I’ve been helping several owner-managers address poor behaviour & conduct using proper disciplinary processes.

Something they’ve never done before.

Something that may be feeling
- uncomfortable
- risky
- complicated

With some guidance & hand-holding - without any judgement or finger-wagging - you CAN move forward with this problem & make change! 🥂

03/06/2025

You're recruiting again because you're snowed under, so it might feel like a bind to send a contract out ahead of their first day. You just need them to show up!🥴

Here are THREE reasons to make the effort:

1️⃣ Practically, having a clear written agreement from 'the off' reduces the chance of you getting early rumbles like:

"Um, didn't you say pay day was the 20th?"
"I didn’t know I had to take a turn doing weekends"
"There was no mention of a probation."
"Didn't you say you were paying my mileage?"
"I wasn't to know holiday would work like that here."
"That's not how it got done at my last place!"

2️⃣ Getting certain terms in writing by 'Day One' is a basic employee right in law.

BUT this document is also about YOU...

3️⃣ Beyond fundamentals like pay, hours, holiday and notice we can make sure your contract template has clauses for the other things that are important to your specific business - maybe

- Confidentiality
- Non-compete
- Probationary period specifics
- References
- Driving rules
- Safeguarding
- Licenses
- Your benefits

Take the time to protect your business.

Review yours or just start from scratch - from £495

23/05/2025

Sorry if this one puts you right off your tea.

In this case, colleagues complained after being accidentally flashed by a manager when he adjusted his laptop in an online meeting. He explained that he was in the habit of not always being fully dressed when working from home.

The company's eventual decision to dismiss him was found by a Tribunal to be "reasonable" - and that fate wasn't helped by a lack of "genuine remorse".

09/05/2025

Out and about again last night for the Early Years Employer Conference at Suffolk New College

Great to talk with the apprenticeships team, chat with leaders, catch up with past colleagues from Bows and Arrows Nurseries, and the team from East of England Early Years Stronger Practice Hub

To end the evening though, Ben Faulks (the legend, Mr. Bloom from CBeebies) stole the show with a song and a look at his educational platform, Let's Grow. We were always big fans of The Veggies in this house!

16/04/2025

Got an monthly HR retainer with a call-centre or helpdesk but not feeling like it's the right fit? Maybe paying an hourly rate only when you actually need support will work better for you.

Book a virtual cuppa with me and chat through a different HR option for your small business:

https://calendly.com/raspberry-hr/virtualcoffee

14/04/2025

When you see headlines like this do you worry about the consequences of saying one wrong thing to your team?

Go beyond the click-bait and you see that Ms Periera did not get a quick, cool £56k because her small-business employer said one sentence: "Why do you need to work?"

If you were to read the 45 pages of the Employment Tribunal's reasons judgement, you'd see the catalogue of issues over many months that lead to this small employer being slapped with a claim. Messing with pay, no payslips, discriminatory language, promises broken, shouting, and complaints not dealt with.

All in all? Sounds pretty horrible.

Chances that Mr. Wellington was taking any HR advice? Unlikely...

07/02/2025

It’s been great to work with the fantastic team at local marina Fox's Marina & Boatyard these past months. It’s a touch quieter in these cold months so it’s an ideal time to get everyone together for some ‘bitesize’ management training.

06/11/2024

I'm very comfortable with HR processes that deal with behaviour, performance or incapacity.

For lots of leaders they are unfamiliar & it's not unusual to feel like you're about to enter a minefield of potential upset, complaints and even Tribunal claims.

You do need to know what you're doing - but you can learn this and it's worth it too. Start with:
🧐finding your policies (assuming you have them) & reading them again
😍re-frame the process away from conflict - this is supporting someone in the hope they can get 'back on track'.

Need more help? I've handheld countless leaders through these processes (likely far, far worse than the one on your mind). My hope is that, after a couple of cases with me involved, you will feel knowledgeable and confident...and you will feel you can go it alone from there.

From just a few one-off hours, to longer-term projects, I work on a simple hourly rate. No long-term retainers to commit to.

Find my availability here>>☕🫖 https://calendly.com/raspberry-hr/virtualcoffee

24/10/2024

Most of you know I love a bit o' business networking - especially if there's food involved. But I will be all the sarcastic Adele vibes if I have to be sweet-smiling-with-business-cards before 8 a.m.

500 likes, 7 comments. “Adele it's an absolute honor to be here”