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Simply put, HR is often ignored or relegated to a minor role within a business. For any business that hires full-time of part-time employees HR is an area that you should really pay attention to.

An example is always a good way of illustrating a problem. A HR specialist I know was referred into a small business as they’d hit a few bumps along the road and were now faced with a legal challenge over a seemingly ‘simple’ HR issue.

When the HR specialist asked to see a copy of the company’s staff manual, the CEO promptly produced a downloaded copy of a staff manual from Apple with the quip that if it was good enough for Apple it was good enough for his business.

Apple employs some 45,000 people, the company in question, 15.

Far too many business owners and managers underestimate the complexity of employment law and the above example is but one case in point.

HR GUIDE_3d Page (1)8 HR Facts You Must Know

1. All employees (permanent, temporary or fixed term) must be provided with a contract/written particulars of employment within two months of commencing employment.

2. Employees must receive, within 28 days of signing a contract of employment, a copy of the disciplinary procedure, which is in place.

3. All staff are entitled to a 15-minute break after 4.5 hours worked.

Click here to read the 8 must-know HR facts in our HR Guide.

Our HR Guide is a simple and easy to follow guide that clearly sets out the simple steps that every small business owner or manager can take to map our a coherent and compliant HR guide for their business.

Our HR partner has a basic HR package that will get you fully covered. Sign up here with the HR Department and purchase your HR contract and staff handbook.

 

Marc O'Dwyer

After completing a Graduate program in Marketing, Marc’s impressive sales career began at Allied Irish Banks, Pitney Bowes and Panasonic where he received numerous Irish and European sales performance awards and consistently exceeded targets and expectations. In 1992, Marc’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to set up his own business, Irish International Sales (IIS). Initially, this company was a reseller for Take 5 Accounts and Payroll software. Within four years, IIS became the largest reseller of Take 5 in Ireland, acquiring four other Take 5 resellers. He also found time to set up two mobile phone shops under the Cellular World brand and a web design company offering website design services for small businesses. In 2001, he bought the majority share in a small Irish software business, Big Red Book. At that time, the company was losing money. The company became profitable within two months, and Marc then acquired a payroll company to compliment Big Red Books Accounting products. In 2003, IIS were appointed as Channel Partners with SAP for their new SME product, SAP Business One. Marc sold his Take 5 business and concentrated on developing this new market for SAP As a result, by 2007, IIS was recognised as the largest Channel Partner for SAP in EMEA (Europe Middle East and Africa). In 2008, the IIS Sales Manager bought the Company from Marc in an MBO. He launched Big red cloud in June 2012, the online version of big red book, to date the company successfully converts 59% of trials into sales and the number of customers is growing rapidly. Marc continues to run both Big Red Book and Big Red Cloud which now support 75,000 businesses. He is a very keen sportsman, having played rugby for 20 years, represented Leinster at under 16 and under 20 levels, and league squash with Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club for 10 years. Marc has competed in 11 Marathons, including the London and Boston Marathons, and has completed several Triathlons and Half Ironman races. He has also completed six Ironman Races in Austria(x2), Frankfurt (Germany), Nice (France) , Mallorca (Spain) and Copenhagen (Denmark)