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Suspect employee theft in your small business? Act quickly and fairly. Gather evidence, follow a proper investigation and disciplinary process, and stick to the ACAS Code. Avoid knee-jerk action, gossip or dismissals without facts. A UK HR consultant will guide you step by step, protect confidentiality, ensure employment law compliance, and cut tribunal risk. Get calm, compliant support to protect your people, profits and reputation. Book a confidential consultation today.

Protecting your investment in good people makes business sense.   If you're not confident about how you handle maternity returns or want help with creating a process that works for everyone, get in touch.   Losing employees after maternity leave is frustrating and expensive.   And when it costs you around £30,000 to replace each employee, every loss matters.   1 in 4 mothers leave their job within a year of returning from maternity leave.   This contributes to £650 million in

Stay informed with the Fluid HR & Coaching newsletter. Get expert HR advice, UK employment law updates and practical people management tips from trusted HR consultant Sarah Cooper. Designed for small and growing businesses, it helps you stay compliant, solve HR challenges and build a positive workplace culture with confidence and clarity.

Growing your business feels amazing. More customers, more revenue, more people wanting to join your team. You're finally getting somewhere. But growth brings some unexpected legal challenges along with it that weren't even on your radar when you started. Those casual ways of doing things that worked perfectly with 3 people can cause real problems once you hit 10 or 15 employees.

You can do everything you think is right and still get hit with a massive fine. That's exactly what happened to a fish and chip shop owner in Surrey. They thought they'd covered all the bases. The person they hired had a National Insurance number, benefit paperwork and was already on PAYE with another employer. Everything looked legitimate. But the Home Office disagreed and the business was fined £40,000.

Interviews can feel awkward, especially when you're trying to build rapport with a candidate. A bit of small talk to break the ice is natural. But some casual questions can land you in hot water, even when you don't mean any harm. Here are 5 topics to avoid completely during interviews. These aren't just HR best practice, they're legal requirements that could expose your business to discrimination claims.

More adults are getting ADHD diagnoses than ever before. That means someone in your business might have ADHD right now, whether you know it or not. As a small business owner, understanding ADHD isn't just about being supportive. It's about unlocking potential you might not even realise exists in your team.

Menopause is a normal life change and a natural part of our ageing process. Yet, for some individuals it can be a hugely challenging time; one that significantly impacts their health, wellbeing and professional life. Many women feel blindsided by their menopausal symptoms at work; it can disrupt their work and overall performance, and shatter their confidence. Failing to adequately support your employees with their menopausal symptoms by refusing to make reasonable

Workplace problems in small businesses don't stay small for long.   In small businesses, these problems hit harder and spread faster than in larger companies.   The relaxed atmosphere that makes small businesses great can also be their downfall. Everyone knows each other's business, banter flows freely and boundaries get blurry.   What starts as harmless jokes can quickly become something more sinister:   Someone gets excluded from conversations Comments about appearance, per

The truth is that staying legally compliant is often about managing the small details... Outdated contracts, missing paperwork, unpaid training hours. Easy to overlook, but costly if you get them wrong. We see the same 7 areas catching business owners out time and time again.

7 employment law mistakes that could cost you thousands Most business owners we speak to don’t know they’re breaking the law. They think...

When was the last time you looked at the health of your business, not just the profit and loss, but the people, policies and more. We...

Your business is growing, people are delivering, and everything feels like it's working. But how you've set up these working arrangements...

Wellbeing washing is when a company means well and tries to improve employee wellbeing by offering perks or one-off events.   What is...

Navigating workplace fairness: Addressing perceptions of unequal treatment among employees. Your day shift gets certain benefits. Your...

What do you do when an employee becomes disruptive? Most people hand in their notice and work professionally until they leave. But...

Burnt out employees do not perform to their best and that costs your business money. Burnout shows up in different ways in your business:...

Underperformance costs your business more than you think. It's not just about one person missing targets. It's the knock-on effect across your team, the projects that slip, the clients who notice, and the time you spend fixing problems instead of growing your business. The key is acting early and looking at the whole picture. This guide shows you how to spot underperformance before it escalates, understand what's really causing it and build systems that prevent it from hap

How to handle underperformance in your business Your best team member has started letting you down. They used to be reliable, but now...

HR isn’t just about keeping you out of trouble. Done well, it helps your business to run more smoothly, keeps your team on track and sets you up for long-term growth. But not all HR support is the same. It comes in three levels, and knowing the difference can help you to choose the right kind of help for your business.