HR Consulting Services Ireland
Pay As You Go
Get the specialist HR advice, support or training you need without any long term contracts.
ExpertiseWhen Needed
No
Hidden Fees
Emergency
Response
Project
Management
Our services are available on a pay as you go basis to allow you to benefit from our knowledge
and experience as and when required.
Whether you need to deal with an emergency employment law issue and ensure compliance
or simply need your contracts of employment and employee handbooks updated, our experts can help.
We provide a tailored approach to HR projects in Ireland to ensure the
specific needs of your business are met.
You can choose from any or all of our services and be confident that best practice is
appliedat all times. Whatever the HR issue in your project, we have the answer.
HR & Employment Law Services
Compliance
Ensure legal compliance and protection against tribunal risks with commercially-focused, expert HR support.
Performance
Management
Our performance management specialists support your sustainable and profitable growth by maximising the performance of your employees.
Employee
Contracts
Your employee contracts of employment will be legally watertight with the support of our highly experienced HR consultants.
Company
Handbooks
Our HR experts ensure your bespoke employee handbook covers all angles to achieve legal compliance while promoting staff performance.
Recruitment
& Selection
Get the right people for your organisation while complying with all legal requirements in your recruitment process.
Absence
Management
Benefit from specialist HR support in handling employee absence while avoiding legal risk to your organisation.
Redundancy
Get highly experienced employment law support for your redundancy process to ensure compliance and avoid costly tribunals.
TUPE
Our specialist team will support you in legally navigating complex TUPE situations when your business is changing ownership.
HR Training
HR training for managers that’s aligned with employers’ commercial goals and the legislative requirements.
I have used HR team for advice and have referred several our clients to them. They are very professional, knowledgeable and their service is second to none.
As business owners themselves, they understand the HR challenges faced by employers every day. They have provided me and the guys I referred with a HR department without the usual head aces of employing a person. They are our HR department and I have full confident in them.
I have no hesitation referring them to anyone. In fact, I can’t speak about them highly enough.
Pascal Curran – Advice First
Get Started Now
Employment law and health & safety compliance, HR best practice and increased staff performance are just a click away.
Is your organisation compliant or at risk?
HR Team’s fully qualified and extensively experienced advisors are on-hand to ensure you are fully equipped to address your employment issues and will provide full support to ensure that risk exposure is minimal. We deliver solutions in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the UK.
We specialise in providing documentation and telephone advice from experienced consultants to help you stay compliant with employment legislation.
• Up to date compliance
• Expert advice when needed
• Bespoke HR Documents
• Telephone/email service
Business Get Compliant Package
HR Team ensures that clients have the tools and know-how to manage employees within a legal framework. Staying within the law and keeping abreast of legislation changes in Ireland are key to the sustainability of your organisation. This not only ensures legal compliance and protection against tribunal costs, but it also portrays a professional image for the business and ensures fair practices for employees, leading to staff retention and staff motivation.
One small mistake can lead to tribunal claims. Employment tribunals will cost your organisation significant time and money to resolve. Employment law is continuously evolving and developing, and there is the expectation on employers to stay abreast of this. Many startup businesses and SME’s in Ireland do not have the resources and expertise to ensure that they are compliant. HR Team have developed a Business Get Compliant package to ensure that clients remain compliant with employment law. Please contact us for further information.
Are your staff performing to their potential?
Performance management is a vital role that all managers must prioritise in order to efficiently achieve an organisation’s objectives. Underperforming staff is a very common challenge for employers and poses serious risk to the overall success of an organisation.
Our team is highly experienced in addressing issues of underperforming employees. By maximising employee performance, we help employers to deliver profitable and sustainable growth.
• Maximise Staff Performance
• Eliminate Poor Performance
• Motivate your team
• Boost Productivity
Boost Team Performance Package
Your organisation’s success depends on strong staff performance and our commercially focussed brand of performance management will maximise your success.
HR Team provides expert advice on legally addressing poor performance in the workplace. We apply tried and tested performance management procedures to deliver tailored training and guidance to managers. Our expertise ensures you can maximise staff performance to increase your organisation’s efficiency and drive business growth.
We carry out a full review of your organisation’s existing performance management structure and design a range of bespoke processes to re-energise your teams and boost overall performance.
FAQ’s
Employees work best when they are working with clearly outlined basic standards, expectations and targets to work towards. The clearer these factors are, the more productive an employee is likely to be.
The procedure taken depends on the nature of the poor performances. For example, if the employee is not meeting production targets despite their best efforts, a capability procedure is necessary. However, if the employee has the ability to improve but does not, a disciplinary procedure is more appropriate. These procedures require very specific steps to be taken in line with the relevant codes of practice and employment legislation, and it is advised that the employer seeks expert advice.
Typically it is best to ‘use the carrot and not the stick’, meaning to encourage your employees rather than to be overly harsh or authoritarian. Being too harsh with employees often leads to them becoming disillusioned and disgruntled, and this can lead to possible resigning or a grievance procedure.
Typically a ‘live’ warning should only be live for a set period. For example, a period of 6 months is suitable for a first written warning, with 12 months being more appropriate for a final written warning.
Are your contracts of employment legally watertight?
Our experts will make sure your contracts of employment are legally watertight.
Every employee is legally entitled to a written statement of their employment terms within two months of their start date.
This may be in the form of a written contract of employment, provided all of the required particulars are included in the contract.
Contracts of employment often include references to policies and procedures which are then set out in full within an employee handbook. Where this is the case, it may be construed that the entire contents of the employee handbook forms part of the contract of employment. This may not always be your intention. For this reason, when you compile an employee handbook, you must get it right to avoid potential tribunal claims.
Contracts of Employment
• Ensure Legal Compliance
• Reference Policies and Procedures
• List duties and responsibilities
• Bespoke Documents
FAQ’s
Yes. It is a legal requirement that an employee receives written terms and conditions of their employment.
The key terms of the employee’s employment which are legally required to be given to the employee by the employer in writing.
Yes. If an employee has been working for a period of time with no contract of employment it is important to ensure when they are issued with a contract that the terms of the contract do not differ from their existing working practices. It is a legal requirement that an employee receives written terms and conditions of their employment.
Are your policies and procedures up to date?
Employees should be issued with a handbook when they commence employment and the handbook should be referred to in the employment contract.
The employee handbook will vary from employer to employer, but it is essential that every aspect of workplace regulations is covered in detail.
Our experts will ensure your bespoke employee handbook covers all the angles.
A robust employee handbook can make all the difference in fending off costly tribunal claims.
When employing staff, it is essential to have an employee handbook which clearly outlines all of the policies and procedures that employees should follow.
Company Handbooks
• Ensure Legal Compliance
• Detail all policies
• Detail all procedures
• Bespoke, designed and printed
FAQ’s
Employee handbook is not mandatory however it is highly recommended and best practice.
A robust employee handbook can help defend costly tribunal claims and is also a point of reference for employees regarding policies and procedures.
The employee handbook should contain both mandatory policies and procedures such as grievance and disciplinary and policies outlining how other staff matters will be handled by the organisation – these include employee absence, social media use, codes of conduct etc.
Yes. However, each employee doesn’t necessarily need to receive a hard copy of their handbook. Each employee should sign to acknowledge that they have received, read and understood the contents of the employee handbook.
Are your recruitment and selection
procedures legally sound?
HR Team can help you select people who are the right fit for your organisation, and ensure all of the legal checks and balances are in place.
Our experts have years of experience in the area of recruitment and selection for staffing while adhering to the legal requirements to safeguard your business from tribunal claims.
In getting the right people for the job, employers must be aware of the discriminatory factors associated with recruiting new staff. Discrimination risks apply to the whole of the recruitment process, including the selection procedure. You must avoid all forms of unlawful discrimination and ensure that individuals are selected for roles solely on the basis of their merits and abilities.
Poor recruitment and selection procedures can give rise to huge costs, waste valuable time and result in bad selection decisions. Talk to us today for further information on the recruitment and selection process.
Recruitment & Selection
• Ensure Legal Compliance
• Recruit the right talent
• Safeguard your organisation
• Stress-free process
FAQ’s
One of the many benefits of a comprehensive recruitment process is that at the end of the process there is a much higher certainty of having hired an employee that fits your vacancy as well as possible, rather than plugging square pegs in round holes, as often occurs with a less extensive recruitment procedure.
Better applicants can be attracted by having more specific criteria in the job advertisement, and in competitive markets offering a slightly higher salary can encourage a higher quality of applicant also.
It helps by asking questions during the interview process that are as specific as possible to the vacancy that is being filled. With more specific questions, it is more easily apparent how suitable the candidate is for the specific job at hand.
Some of the risks involved with recruiting an unsuitable employee includes the money wasted by paying them to do a job they are not capable of, the hassle of the necessary paperwork required to properly address underperformance, and the opportunity cost of the time being spent employing an inadequate employee instead of one that is fit for purpose.
Is employee absence hampering your organisation?
Absence management is a headache for employers but our experts are here to help.
Absence can be costly and, if not managed properly, problems such as loss of production or a reduction in services can arise and staff morale can be adversely affected.
It is essential when dealing with absence that the employer is aware of employment law implications such as discrimination and unfair dismissal in order to avoid a costly tribunal.
We provide expert assistance in handling absence from the workplace.
Absence management is complex and having a good clear policy that is understood and communicated well by managers and staff is a necessary starting point.
Absence Management
• Ensure Legal Compliance
• Decrease financial loss
• Increase performance
• Increase productivity
FAQ’s
It is important to establish the reason for the employee’s persistent absences. If the absences continue, the employer should escalate using the company’s disciplinary (or in the terms of sickness absence – capability) procedure in accordance with the company’s employee handbook.
It is important to make some accommodations for an employee’s return to work, within reason. These accommodations may include reduced number of shifts, shorter length of shift, slight temporary alterations to their expected activities such as lighter duties. This may also include occupational health assessments.
An employer has the right to request information from a sick employee on their prognosis. This is subject to the employee’s consent. Also, by following the correct procedures, with the necessary permissions the employer can request a doctor’s report on the status of the employees’ health.
This depends on the reason for, and length of, the absence and the procedure that the employer follows. It will be difficult for an employer to argue successfully that its dismissal of an employee for a one-off unauthorised absence that was taken for a good reason was fair. However, if the unauthorised absence is prolonged and/or not for a genuine reason, dismissal is more likely to be fair, provided that the employer follows a fair procedure, as set out in the employee handbook. Every case is different when it comes to absence management and so it is recommended that expert advice is sought before formal action is taken.
Are your redundancy plans ‘fair’ in the eyes of employment law?
Redundancy is a form of dismissal and so must be carried out according the legislation governing dismissal.
For this reason, it is important that you follow the procedures outlined to ensure you are acting fairly and not leaving your organisation open to tribunal claims.
Before you deal with a redundancy, you must be familiar with the essential legal requirements surrounding your responsibilities. For a dismissal on the grounds of redundancy to be fair, you must establish that there was a genuine redundancy situation (according to the legal definition) and follow a fair procedure.
There are various rules on redundancy and the timeframes associated with this and these vary based on whether you are based in Northern Ireland, UK or the Republic of Ireland.
Talk to us in confidence about your redundancy plan today, drop us a line below or call us directly.
Redundancy Plan
• Ensure Legal Compliance
• Ensure fair procedures
• Support in handling dismissal
• Establish timeframes
FAQ’s
Yes. If plans are being made by the employer to make an employee redundant, the employee is entitled to some degree of notice, with the amount of notice required dependent on the terms as set out in their contract of employment. A consultation process is always necessary in every case prior to any decision being made.
If an employee claims to have been unfairly dismissed, they are within their right to appeal the dismissal. If their appeal is successful, the options available to the employee include reinstatement (return to previous role), re-engagement (return to the employer under a different job) or financial compensation.
An employee may be entitled to a redundancy payment. The magnitude of this payment is calculated in accordance with the terms and conditions as set out in the employees contract of employment, and the statutory entitlements.
Factors to be considered when selecting an employee to put forward for redundancy will typically include their attendance record, their disciplinary record, the employees skills/experience and their aptitude for work. While these criteria are a strong guideline, this is not an exhaustive list of factors that must be considered. No one criterion should be used in isolation.
Planning a merger or acquisition?
Time to plan for TUPE!
When a business changes ownership there is a multitude of complexities that the new business owner must deal with and TUPE must be a priority.
Quite often in these situations employment legislation is left until last and this can pose a risky strategy as employees are protected under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings, Protection of Employment) legislation.
At HR Team, we have witnessed a huge increase in organisations requesting guidance with TUPE year on year, across NI, the UK and in the Republic of Ireland.
This is partly due to the recognition by smaller organisations that TUPE legislation is not only the preserve of multinational companies.
TUPE can apply regardless of the size of the business. Organisations would be best advised to seek professional assistance when dealing with this complex area of employment legislation.
Please get in touch for further information on this service.
TUPE
• Ensure Legal Compliance
• Complex obligations made easy
• Minimise stress of change
• Safeguard staff morale
FAQ’s
TUPE, meaning ‘Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment)’ regulations, is a set of regulations pertaining to when a business is transferred to a new employer.
Investigate the existing pension rights of transferring employees. Identify whether or not there is an “occupational pension scheme”. Check whether or not there are any pension rights that could transfer under TUPE. Identify whether or not there is a duty to provide a minimum level of pension provision after the TUPE transfer. Be aware of special pension rules that apply to public-sector transfers.
TUPE regulations essentially preserve the continuity of employment for an employee, as well as their existing terms and conditions of employment as established under previous ownership.
No. The Regulation states that, where an employee informs either the original employer or the new employer that he or she objects to becoming employed by the new employer, this will have the effect of terminating the employee’s contract and he or she is not to be treated for any purpose as having been dismissed. Thus, it is effectively deemed as resignation.
Are you getting the most from your staff while remaining compliant?
We deliver sector-specific, pragmatic and interactive human resource training solutions for all levels of management via our training workshops and our HR Essential 60 webinars.
We ensure that all training content is in line with our clients’ commercial goals and legislative requirements.
We have a wide range of workshops to choose from – all can be delivered on-site for clients throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland. All HR training workshops are tailored to our clients’ needs.
HALF DAY WORKSHOPS
FULL DAY WORKSHOPS
HR ESSENTIAL 60 WEBINARS
Please get in touch for pricing
HR Training Services
• Recruitment & Selection
• Performance Management
• Managing Effective Workplace Investigations
• Managing Disciplinary and Grievance processes
• Dismissal
• Absence Management
• Redundancy
• Managing Social Media in the Workplace
• Anti-Bullying and Harassment
• HR Basics
• Managing key documentation
• How to Survive an Audit
FAQ’s
HR training is very important for Managers as it provides them with the necessary skills and knowledge for dealing with incidents at the workplace as effectively and as confidently as possible. Without proper HR training, managers could end up following an unsuitable course of action which would be detrimental to the running of the organisation and exposing the organisation to unnecessary risk.
DISC Personality Tests are an incredibly worthwhile resource. It provides insight on the personality type of the employee (usually managers), offering insight on the style of management most suitable for their personality type, thus maximising output.
HR Team provide a comprehensive training experience, training managers with regards to an array of topics – including Grievance Procedures, Disciplinary Procedures, Social Media in the workplace aswell as several other categories. Typical HR Team training involves an interactive transfer of knowledge and information given by a HR expert, with handouts and resources made available to attendees that they may implement day-to-day. The HR expert will go through a series of worked examples demonstrating where certain skills will be required and how to use them.