Stay on these Rhodes

This blog is all about my recent holiday in Greece.  However, there is an important HR message in this.

My wife and I have just returned from spending two weeks on holiday in Greece.  

After seeing a Mitsis hotel in Crete last year, we booked to stay at their sister hotel in Rhodes this year.  Needless to say, it was beautiful and very restful.

THE OPPORTUNITY TO SWITCH OFF

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The holiday was to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary.  We had planned to go back to Jamaica where we got married in 2019, but we enjoyed Greece so much last year that we decided it was special enough to return to – and we were right.

One of the reasons that the holiday was so blissful was because I got to switch off.  

Although I took my laptop with me, I knew my team could handle everything back at home.  The laptop was ‘just in case’.

Between Louise, Jessica, and Gus, they managed everything in terms of emails, issues, clients, marketing, and much more.  I only got involved in two issues, and rightly so – my team know that I am always available for them, but they also know that I trust them implicitly to handle everything.  In the two particular cases, only I could have dealt with the issues.

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WORK-LIFE BALANCE

Rather than being a blog all about my holiday, the important thing is this – running a business and being an employer is often about creating the perfect work-life balance.

Although one of the earliest things I learned in business was to outsource the bits that I don’t like or the things that I’m not good at, it has taken a long time to be able to relax and take my hands off the reins for any length of time.

As an employer, you will know that you often feel like you can’t fully switch off – and this is where the right team, workplace culture, and hiring policies come into play. I am very grateful that I have a great team who not only understand the business but understand me too.

So, ask yourself, when was the last time you truly got to switch off?

If the answer has made you think about your workplace culture; or if you want to make hiring the right people a priority in your business, please do not hesitate to get in touch for an informal chat about how the AJB HR team can support you.

ONE IMPORTANT DATE

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Now, speaking of our wedding anniversary, which was 10^th October, that was also the day that the Labour government announced their Employment Rights Bill.

We have more detail now but effectively, at the time of writing, there is no implementation date (although likely to be 2026) plus a number of issues and hurdles to overcome before then.

Labour is introducing new workplace rights to end unfair employment practices and help deliver economic growth.

The Employment Rights Bill will ban exploitative zero-hours contracts, end 'fire and rehire' situations, and introduce basic employment rights from day one - like paternity and parental leave, and protection from unfair dismissal (and I shared some of this detail in my blog ‘Don’t labour the point’ last month).

Labour says that "it will replace out-of-date employment laws, helping to boost pay and productivity with legislation fit for a modern economy."

ONCE IN A GENERATION

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This is the biggest update to workers’ rights in a generation, and a significant step towards delivering this government’s plan to make work pay.  The Trades Union Congress said that the Bill is a massive boost for workers’ rights.

However, there is a fine line between appeasing the unions while also making sure that the legislation works for employers too.  Many of the key parts of the Bill will be subject to consultation, with the suggestion that current proposals may not be the final proposals.

The government has already indicated that it intends to begin consultation on the reforms in 2025, with the majority of reforms taking effect in 2026.

DON'T PANIC

We have some time to get ready for the implementation of Labour's manifesto and changes to legislation, but the next few months are critical for all employers.

Please do talk to your HR provider as soon as you can -or if you don't have one, please do not hesitate to contact me.

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