Even with years of experience and perfect policies and procedures, you might still find yourself requiring professional advice on a HR or employment law matter. Perhaps double checking something to make sure you are correctly following employment law and working in line with best practice. To a certain level, there is little need to pay for HR advice. Of course, if a situation or incident is severe enough then you may need to start to talking to your solicitor. However, for day-to-day HR issues, here are our top tips on where to get this advice for free.

Online
A good way to start is to Google your question. The top results will usually be authoritative sites such as https://www.gov.uk/. You will almost certainly find someone asking the same question as you online, and although you should not take none authoritative sites as 100% accurate, it is a great place to start.

Your LMC
Check if your Local Medical Committee offers any HR management support. For example, Lancashire & Cumbria LMCs http://www.nwlmcs.org/practice-services/human-resource-management-support/.

Through the GP partner’s indemnity insurance / defence union
Your GP partners will all carry professional indemnity insurance (MDU/MPS) and these organisations often offer legal advice, included within the cover. If your practice is a member of the MDDUS practice scheme, that also includes HR support. Finally, the BMA can also provide advice.

Your surgery insurance provider
Insurance providers often include a HR helpline service with your surgery insurance package. It’s certainly worth a call to check.

ACAS
Often the first point of call for HR advice, ACAS (The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) is a government-funded agency that promotes good relations in the workplace. It operates a national help line (Tel: 0300 123 1100) that provides free information on employment issues to both employees and employers.

Tip: Make a note of everything, including the time you called ACAS. This might come in handy further down the line.

“I was given very clear advice. The adviser I spoke to was very patient and listened to all of my questions – sometimes you just need somebody to listen to what you might think are daft questions. The adviser ran through the advice and was then very patient as I repeated it all back to him. I wanted to make sure I had it perfectly, because after all, that is the point of calling ACAS, to make sure that you get it right.” Practice Manager, GP surgery, Home Counties

Practice Index spoke to Kate Nowicki, ACAS East Midlands Area Director, who said:

“As a practice manager you may find that you or your team come up against challenging staff situations which take precious time, energy and emotion to tackle. For example, understanding the rules around pro-rata holiday pay for your part-time staff or dealing with a practice nurse or a receptionist who is always late.

Whatever the issue, ACAS is on hand to help get the answer to those questions about disciplinary procedures, holiday pay, paternity leave or contracts of employment. Practice Managers can call our Helpline on 0300 123 1100 for free, independent advice. As Britain’s leading experts on workplace relations, we help as many organisations as possible, including medical practices, to access our support and advice, most of which is free. They can also invite us to practice meetings to explain our role in promoting best practice and resolving disputes.”

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