Cotswold HR

11/05/2023

Sorry for the radio silence, we’ve been busy doing what we do and helping our clients with their HR needs 👏

So, what exactly do we do? We’re a Generalist HR Consultancy Practice based in Witney, West Oxfordshire, offering outsourced HR to businesses across the Cotswolds, as well as throughout Oxfordshire and the wider Thames Valley area.

Just the words ‘Human Resources’ can bring a feeling of uncertainty and anxiety to business owners, especially if you’re not completely sure of all the necessary compliance. By outsourcing your HR function to us, you can achieve not only peace of mind that your employment process complies fully with ever changing regulations, but also you’ll save time and money, helping to reduce your workload so you can focus on what’s important, your business 🙌

We pride ourselves on taking the time to understand your needs as an employer as well as your ambitions as an entrepreneur, helping you take your business to that next level.

25/11/2022

Celebrating the start of the festive season with our fabulous partners at Magara Law - Roy Magara, thank you for your expertise, your backing and your continued support - and dare I say it…. Merry Christmas! 🙈🎄🤶

14/02/2022

You'll hear the term 'SME' used often... but what does it actually mean and do you know if your is one?

Well, if you own a business, chances are that it is an - even if you think you're surely too small. Here's a helpful little vid to explain 👇

You'll hear the term 'SME' used often... but what does it actually mean and do you know if your is one? Well, if you own a business, chances...

04/02/2022

“Not now Stacey!”

This phrase embodies what now amounts to something in excess of two-million pounds’ worth of blunder - a blunder which has led BNP Paribas to admit that they “fell short in our duty to Ms Macken”.

So who is Ms Macken and what’s the story?

The story is one of s*x discrimination, unequal pay, s*xism and victimisation in the workplace that has led to Stacey Macken, a former Vice President of Deutsche Bank who was by this point a finance specialist at BNP Paribas, being awarded £2,081,229 in compensation - one of the largest figures awarded by an English Tribunal.

Ms Macken is a smart, successful 50 year old banker who happens to be female, who has dedicated herself to what most would admit is a male-dominated industry - in fact, the tribunal noted that “She has prioritised her 22-year career in banking over other lifestyle choices. This includes remaining single and not having children.

“She enjoyed her work and was fulfilled by it. Other than keeping her personal fitness at a high level she pursued no other hobbies or interests.”

Nevertheless, at BNP she felt marginalised and discriminated against on the basis of her gender. She was paid £120,000 a year but discovered that a male colleague at an equivalent level was paid £160,000 - not to mention what difference there may have been in bonuses. She felt belittled and suffered s*xist jokes against her - not least the regular use of the phrase “not now Stacey” by her male boss when she raised concerns, which the judge ruled to be ‘rude and dismissive’ - rejecting the defence offered that it was said only occasionally and only to indicate that he was busy at the time. Perhaps most damning in this story is the anecdote offered to the tribunal that a group of male colleagues - including said boss - after a night of drinking in the pub at Halloween, left a witches hat on her desk for her to find.

If you are reading this and thinking that this is all just a joke taken badly and blown out of proportion then do please take note, because it’s your £2,000,000 mistake waiting to happen.

Hopefully you’re reading this and saying to yourselves: “well, obviously…” - and if so, good on you.

*xism *xdiscrimination

17/01/2022

Well, that was an experience! Good fun though! Thank you Joseph for the nomination and of course Adam for having me.

So who would have answered differently… and why?

Answered ‘what’ differently? Oh, you’ll have to listen to find out…

17/01/2022

January is a particularly long month and after a merry festive period, employees can struggle to get through January and stay motivated and engaged.

Today supposedly marks ‘Blue Monday’, which has been calculated as the most depressing day of the year due to bad weather, trying to recover from debt after the expensive Christmas season, already failing your New Year’s resolutions and generally having low motivational levels but don't despair.... instead be 'joy' cheering 'sadness' up and implement some simple actions to keep your team upbeat, happy and engaged.

You could take the morning meeting out of the office and have a morning walk, whilst discussing your weekly action plan or you could have a team lunch or afternoon tea together or let your team finish an hour early, so they can still enjoy daylight at the end of their day.

Go the extra mile and implement an annual staff well-being schedule, with all sorts of activities to maintain and improve your teams mental health.

14/01/2022

I love a frosty morning walk, like this one I had this morning after my weekly networking meeting… it’s great for the body and mind to get out in the fresh air.
Make sure you’re encouraging your team to do just that and you’ll find productivity will soar

02/01/2022

10 Top Tips for helping your team achieve their goals (starring our eldest daughter, Leila... 8 and a half yesterday!)

09/07/2021

Woohoo my remix of ‘My favourite Things’ hit number 2 in the top 10 Top of the Pops BNI Academy Oxford - proud moment 😂😂

BNI roundup Friday 9th July

Presentation today was by Andrew Price, from Just Wills & Legal Services. Andy explained how important it is to have a Will in place and the other services he offers, like estate planning, power of attorneys, trusts etc. Very interesting and thought provoking. Thank you.

Today at BNI it was all about songs and song lyrics to do with the type of work you do. Very entertaining and some amazing, odd, weird, quirky renditions….

The hit parade was as follows, said in a Tony Blackburn voice….

No 10 - Ian Gifford managed to squeeze 14 song titles into his pitch accompanied by Holiday - Madonna

No 9 - Chris Badger Independent Commercial Finance Consultant - went all AC/DC, highway to hell. Who knew?

No 8 - Chris Haynes TechIOSH Haynes - I’m gonna live for ever, by Irene Cara. Chris said he can’t guarantee you’ll live for ever but he can help you make sure your H & S is up to date.

No 7 - RACHEL FOORD gave us a great rendition of Bananarama’s, It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it.

No 6 - Jill Shatz - sang and banged a pan to explain about their beautiful kitchens they build and create. You needed to be there!

No 5 - Matt Williams, did his rendition of Will Smith, Prince of Bel Air - he's got rapping off to a tee

No 4 - Jamie Golding went all Wet, Wet, Wet, I feel it in my fingers…..

No 3 - Stefanie Calleja-Gera ABIPP sang all about her photography business - Stef just loves to sing!

No 2 - Jenny Waller, MA, Assoc CIPD Waller went all Sound of music, My favourite things

No 1 - winner of the Oscar was Chris Hooton with his best Bruce Springsteen. It was like Bruce was on the Zoom call!

I wish I had videoed some of the performances, they were epic.

27 referrals passed between the group, which is great and lots of 121's happening.

Have a good weekend everyone

26/05/2021

A quote from one of the members of BNI Academy, Jenny Waller, MA, Assoc CIPD and this is what she has to say about it.

19/03/2021

As it’s Comic Relief today, I’d thought I’d tell you all a HR joke... hope you like it!