Sickness absence is on of the major causes of concern for all employers and you need to take care when tackling this issue.  It all starts with a Sickness Policy and so it’s worth reviewing your policy at least annually and making sure that it actually works in and for your practice. Part of your…

I have not had many occasions where sacking someone was my prime objective, taking disciplinary action was also a rarity. Although I was accused of being soft, I personally found a quiet firm chat usually did the trick. Nevertheless, I can think of two practice managers who were sacked for theft, and one attempt to…

In its handy mythbusters series of articles, the CQC aims to set the record straight about a number of common misconceptions – including the belief that patient surveys are a mandatory annual job for practice managers. The facts When asked if patient surveys are an annual must-do task, a spokesperson at the CQC told us:…

A round up of the latest HR and Employment Law updates and related stories.   CLARIFYING DISMISSAL FOR TRADE UNION ACTIVITY Under section 152(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 employees can not be dismissed for any reasons concerned with lawful trade union activity Azam v Ofqual UKEAT/0407/14/JOJ relates to a trade union…

GP patient records are no longer kept on practice-based servers and whilst the original records folders are still held locally they are rarely referred to and their future is in doubt.  But even though records by law have to be kept for a specific time, the use of computer records means paper copies, like clinical…

Whilst they may well be effective workers, unhappy employees create problems for your practice by creating a generally uninviting and negative environment for patients and other  workers. There is no direct legislation which covers managing unhappy employees so we’ve collated 5 practical tips you can adopt 1. Don’t let the situation drag on There’s always…

Last weekend, Prime Minister David Cameron cited a report by the Department of Health that claimed 1 in 4 GP appointments are potentially avoidable and that it’s time to cut bureaucracy in practices – all based on a report practice managers contributed to. The Making Time In General Practice study by NHS Alliance and the…