As temperatures rise practices may find that employees relax their dress code and, whilst you may not have an issue with some changes in dress, you may find others unacceptable. What should you do if an employee is not dressing in an acceptable way? (1) Does the employee know and understand the dress code? Many…

Is collaboration the future? Over the last year or so, the number of GP practices working in collaborative arrangements has accelerated. So much so that research by the Nuffield Trust think tank on behalf of the RCGP reckons three in every four practices have some sort of collaboration in place and 44% of these new…

By Lynda Cox One of the biggest annual costs that GP practices incur is their locum insurance premium. As a large cost, it’s something which the practice or business manager needs to keep an eye on, in case it gets out of hand. Cost control is an integral part of your role and as with…

11th August 2016 Dear Mrs May Firstly, may I congratulate you on your appointment as Prime Minister. I now wait with baited breath for Mrs Clinton to become President and we will have three strong women in power! (About time too!) I write to you in my capacity as a Practice Manager working in Primary…

Almost nine in ten GPs, practice nurses & other primary care workers find work life stressful Two in five said workplace stress has led them to resigning or considering resigning One in ten say that workplace stress has led to suicidal thoughts One in three feel that admitting to being overly stressed would lead them…

By Robert Campbell Famously, Matilda shouted fire so often that her final call of ‘Fire’ was ignored and the house burnt down.  In the days when the poem was written no one was aware of the need for a Risk Assessment. To me, I would associate a risk assessment with the inspection of a building…

As we reported some time ago (see here) the case of Metroline West Ltd v Ajaj UKEAT/0185/15/RN involved bus driver Mr Ajaj and his employers who were concerned about the “genuineness of the nature and extent” of injuries that led to Mr Ajaj being off work. In reality, there have probably been times when we…