Taking on an employee is a huge responsibility and, especially in smaller firms, employees have a huge impact on a business. This can either be positive or negative. Taking on an extra pair of hands can increase your productivity and help you offer more services to your clients. Unfortunately, if things go wrong, you could end up damaging business relationships and being massively out of pocket. 

The good news is that you can limit the chances of this happening with some good old-fashioned due diligence. 

This article will help you decide whether or not you really need an employee at all and, if so, whether to recruit someone on a full or part-time basis. You’ll learn the basic legal requirements or best practice about being an employer, and get tips on how to find the best candidates.

Do I really need an employee?

Taking on an employee is a huge responsibility and, especially in smaller firms, employees have a huge impact on a business. This can either be positive or negative. Hiring an employee can boost your efficiency and enable you to expand your service offerings, providing more value to your clients. Unfortunately,if things go wrong, you could end up damaging business relationships and being massively out of pocket.

The good news is that you can limit the chances of this happening with some good old-fashioned due diligence.

Although every situation will be a bit different, here’s a list of pros and cons for you to consider before going on the hunt for a new employee. Note that this section focuses on permanent employees - we’ll get onto hiring contractors later.

Pros of taking on an employee

Increased productivity

Offloading responsibilities increases your productivity, and with someone else to share the workload, this means you can get more done (in theory).

More skills to offer clients

Not everyone can be amazing at everything. Taking on an employee with skills that complement your own offers more value for money to your clients.

Company in the office

Working by yourself can get pretty lonely sometimes. Having someone else around also gives you a second opinion on work and someone to talk over problems with.

Cover if you’re sick

In a one-man-band, if you’re out of action, the whole business grinds to a halt. You can get an employee to at least keep important aspects of the business ticking over until your back to work. 

Tax benefits 

Expenses for hiring employees, and all the costs associated with employing them, can be offset against your profits to reduce your tax burden. You may also be eligible for Employment Allowance - which could reduce the amount of Employer’s National Insurance contributions you’ll need to pay.  

Skill swap

Working closely with someone often means you’ll have the chance to pick up some new skills - becoming an employer can also be a chance to learn.

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Cons to taking on an employee

Wage costs

Paying employees involves meeting obligations like the National Minimum or Living Wage, and ensuring consistent wage payments even during tough financial periods.

Need for office space/equipment

Depending on your situation, you may need to hire out office space once your team grows. As an employer, you’re also responsible for providing adequate equipment to employees.

Time and money spent on hiring/training

If you want to get the most out of your employee, you’ll need to invest time and money into job adverts, maybe hiring recruiters, and potentially even training courses. This will be extra cost for every new employee who joins your business.

Administrative duties

Being an employer brings with it a host of administrative duties, like completing payroll, which will take up your time. Make sure you factor this in, if you have an accountant like Crunch this can be done for you, easing your administrative burden..

Loss of control

Like it or not, when you hire an employee, you relinquish some control over your company. Despite best intentions, mistakes could be made that aren’t your fault, and you must accept this.

Legal responsibilities

You have a number of legal responsibilities for your employee, such as setting up a PAYE scheme and making National Insurance contributions. Due to recently implemented auto-enrolment laws, you’ll also need to look at finding a pension provider for your business.

Hiring contractors and freelancers

If you’re still not sure about hiring a permanent employee, you’ll be glad to know that there’s another option.

Hiring a contractor or freelancer can be a good middle ground if you feel you need more help, but if the commitment to a permanent employee seems too great at the moment. You can usually find them on freelancer job sites Here are some of the pros and cons of choosing this option.

Pros of using contractors or freelancers

Flexibility

You can hire contractors and freelancers by the hour or day, which means you’ll only pay for the work that needs doing. This also makes it easier to end the arrangement if it’s not working out.

Immediacy

Self-employed workers are temporary, which means they’re often available to start work in shorter time frames, if not immediately.

Expertise

Contractors and freelancers are often extremely proficient in particular fields, which makes them a better choice for niche tasks, or those that require a fast turnaround.

Fewer responsibilities

There’s no need to set up PAYE arrangements for contractors; you don’t have to make National Insurance contributions, and you don’t need to provide a pension.

Cons of using contractors or freelancers

Cost

Paying for work by the hour is inherently more costly than paying set monthly salaries, making contracted workers a poor long-term solution.

Time

If a job is taking longer than you thought it might, and costing more than you expected, there’s not really anything you can do apart from ditching the whole thing, or pushing for it to be completed on time.

Less utility

With a permanent employee you might be able to occasionally get them to do odd jobs or help with other things around the business. Contracted workers have one set job, and have no obligations outside of this.

Less certainty

Flexibility goes both ways. In the same way that it’s easier for you to fire a contracted worker, it’s as easy for them to leave, which could leave you in lurch if the project they’re helping with isn’t finished.

IR35

IR35  is a tax law introduced to combat tax avoidance by workers supplying their services to clients via an 'intermediary' (such as a limited company) who would otherwise be an employee.

If IR35 applies to your contract, it means you pay the same Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions  (NICs) as you would if employed directly, rather than contracted to work through your limited company. HMRC can go back up to six years and evaluate past contracts to see if the legislation should have applied.

To find out more about IR35 and to make sure you’re compliant, check out our full IR35 guide. You should be aware that slightly different rules apply between public sector contracts and the private sector.

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How to work with freelancers or contractors

If you’re thinking of getting some extra help from a contractor or freelancer to deal with a big job then a little planning could help avoid problems further down the line. Working with freelancers can be a tricky business if you’ve never done it before. 

The first thing to know is that a lot of the more complex employment legislation that applies to UK workers (National Minimum Wage, Working Time Regulations etc.) don’t apply to genuine freelancers. It’s vital to know exactly what their employment status is before you start signing them up, lest you neglect their workers rights.

Be clear with them - what do you need them for? How long will the work take? Will there be an ongoing requirement for the job, or is it a one-off? Will they need to work in your office or can they work remotely? Remember to be specific, honest and clear about your needs.

It’s not all about you, though - make sure you listen to the freelancer’s needs, too. They may have their own ideas that you, your business and the project in question could really benefit from. 

Make sure the agreements you make are in writing. Whether you draw up an official contract, put it all in an email or write it on A4, you need to have a point of reference in case something goes awry. 

Finally, make sure you communicate with them during the project. Schedule regular meetings/briefings, ask how they’re finding the work and discuss any ideas the two of you may have about improving the project. It’s important not to come across as an overbearing boss that doesn’t trust your freelancer to work independently, of course, but communication is key.

Finding a candidate

Hiring the wrong person can lead to poor performance, unnecessary training costs, wasted management time and low morale. Research by Oxford Economics shows that rehiring when it all goes wrong costs an average £30,000 per employee. Here are a few tips on how to get it right first time:

Writing a job advert

The first thing to do after deciding to hire an employee is to determine exactly what you want them to do. Think carefully about the tasks you need done and start writing a job advert. This should contain:

Your company name

You can also include a short, search engine-friendly description - but make sure it’s free of any jargon or technical words.

The job title

Try to come up with a recognisable, commonly searched title. Think ‘Software Engineer’ over ‘Technical Evangelist’.

The location at town/postcode level

According to Guardian Jobs, using a town or postcode gets job adverts triple the response of those that only specify a county or region.

Salary

This doesn’t have to be included - you can just put “depending on experience” (DOE) or “negotiable” - although be aware that if you’re advertising online, job seekers are increasingly including salaries in their searches.

Description of duties

This part should be less search engine focussed and more attention-grabbing. You could re-title the section “An amazing opportunity” or whatever you want, and use more descriptive and flamboyant language. 

Description of desired person

This should include what experience you want, and what personal traits you expect. Use the second person when describing your ideal candidate: “you will be”, “your experience” etc. This engages the reader more, because it helps them visualise themselves in the role.

Description of company

This is where you have to sell yourself. Ask why someone would want to work for you, then write it down. Stress what’s unique about the opportunity, and what makes your company special. You should also include website and social media links in this section.

How to apply

The advert should prompt an action. Be very specific about what you’re expecting candidates to do, especially if you’re setting a task alongside the application. You might want to include an application form, where you can ask some more in-depth questions of the candidate. This can also be a solid base for an interview.

Research shows that rehiring when it all goes wrong costs an average £30,000 per employee and according to Guardian Jobs, using a town or postcode gets job adverts triple the response of those that only specify a county or region.

Equal treatment

Note that it’s against the law for an employer to discriminate on grounds of age, race, sex, marriage, disability, sexual orientation, or religion. All stages in the recruitment process must treat everyone equally. This includes making sure that job descriptions don’t include unnecessary or marginal requirements that might exclude people based on any of the the above criteria.

Sources & resources

Here are some great places to look for candidates.

JobCentres

The JobCentre provides a free nationwide recruitment service. To advertise your role for free, visit the government’s website.

Recruitment agencies

If you have the spare cash, you could hire a recruitment agency to help you on your search. Be wary, however, that they usually charge a percentage of the employee’s salary as a finder’s fee.

Local careers services

Local authorities and chambers of commerce are a great resource for advertising your job. They often operate local jobs boards, and can help promote the role on social media.

Print ads

Print advertisements cost a relatively small amount these days and, if you choose the right publications, can be very effective. Be specific. Try local newspapers or specialist magazines.

Online ads

There are hundreds of job sites out there nowadays - we’ve compiled a list of some of the best ones! Think about what kind of candidate you want to attract, and choose your platform accordingly.

Social media

Advertising your position is an absolute must if you want to maximise your reach. LinkedIn is especially useful for this, as it's designed for professionals, and has lots of handy recruitment features. You can learn more with our Social Media Marketing for Beginners guide.

The interview

While there are other methods of selection available (such as presentations, assessment centres, psychometric testing, numeracy testing etc), interviews are generally the most popular due to cost and ease of organising.

You can use the interview to properly test the candidate's knowledge, and also to get a better feel for whether or not you’d enjoy working with them.

Remember, it’s not just the candidate under scrutiny. The interviewee will also form impressions of you and your business based on the interview, and if you’re not careful, you could end up putting off your dream hire.

Interviews need planning to make sure they run smoothly. Here are a few things you can do:

• Read over CVs and applications before the interview and make notes;

• Make sure there are no interruptions - switch off your computer and put your phone on silent;

• If an applicant has a disability or requires additional support for the interview, make sure they have the required access or assistance; 

• Be friendly and welcoming - if the applicant is intimidated, they’ll shut down and won’t be as forthcoming with information;

• Make sure your questions are prepared in advance and are written so that the applicant must explain themselves, rather than replying with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer;

• Make sure the applicant is given time to ask their own questions at the end of the interview.

It’s really useful to take notes throughout the interview and to write up a short summary of your feelings just after the candidate leaves to help you justify why you have chosen (or not chosen) someone for the role. You might choose to use a shortlisting grid/tick boxes to help you decide.

Be wary, however, that candidates have the legal right to request notes made during interviews in certain circumstances.

References can be used to check up on a candidate’s work history and suitability. However, you may not contact the candidate’s current employer without their permission. Also be wary that this is all secondhand information, and more weight should be placed on what you learned firsthand during the interview.

Depending on the sensitivity of the role, you may want to consider pre-employment screenings such as financial or criminal record checks. Of course, you would need permission from the candidate before carrying these out.

Make sure you have second and perhaps even third choices, in case your first choice turns you down. Giving a courtesy call to unsuccessful applicants is just plain decency, but may also make it more likely for your second choice to say yes, if they’re needed.

Contracts & employee rights

Before your new employee starts working for you, preparations must be made. You have to gather information, establish a contract and make sure you’re aware of all the statutory rights given to employees. 

The employment contract

This section will cover the legal nature of your employment relationship, going over the basics of what should be included in a contract, and what statutory rights your employee has. 

Be aware, however, that this section is not intended to be a precise statement of law; nor will it cover every legal detail - we would encourage you to seek professional legal advice for putting together your first employment contract.

An employment contract is made when an employee agrees to an offer of employment in return for wages. Nothing needs to be written down for the rights to exist. Some rights begin from the moment the offer is accepted, and others when the employee starts work, or when they have worked for you for a set period.

Although verbal contracts are enforceable, it’s useful to have the agreement in writing to minimise potential disputes. The Employment Rights Act 1996 also requires employers to provide a statement of the main terms of the contract within the first two months of employment.

The following details must be included in this statement:

• Your company name

• The employee’s name

• Start date

• Wage, and the intervals at which it will be paid

• Hours

• Holiday entitlement

• Entitlement to sick leave, including details of sick pay

• Pensions and pension schemes

• The entitlement of employer and employee to notice of termination

• Job title and brief description of duties

• If for a fixed term, the date when the employment will end

• Either the place of work, or an indication that the employee is required or

allowed to work in more than one location

• Details of any other agreements that might affect the terms of

employment and the details of the parties involved

• Details of disciplinary and grievance procedures

An employment contract is made when an employee agrees to an offer of employment in return for wages.

If you require your employee to work outside for more than one month, the statement must also include:

• How long the employment abroad will last

• The currency of payment

• Any additional pay or benefits

• Terms relating to the employee’s return to the UK

We’ve got an article on written statements and contracts with more detail.

Statutory rights

A number of employment rights come from acts of Parliament, rather than the employment contract. These include, but are not limited to, the right:

Not to be discriminated against

On grounds of age, race, sex, marriage and civil partnership, disability, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity,gender reassignment or religion and belief. Read our article about equal opportunities and discrimination for more details.

To equal pay with the opposite sex

As long as it can be shown that they are doing work of equal value (more to follow in the next section).

Not to be unfairly dismissed

Most employees can take you to an employment tribunal if they’ve worked for you for over two years. There are also a number of situations that do not require the two year’s service, including if the candidate has been discriminated against, fired for participating in trade union activities, or because of pregnancy. 

To an itemised pay statement

Every employee is entitled to receive notification of how their pay is made up.To Statutory Maternity and Paternity Leave / Pay

All pregnant women have the right to time off for antenatal care, the right to 52 weeks of maternity leave, and the right not be dismissed because of her pregnancy. 

Qualifying employees are entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay for 39 weeks. This is not the same as normal basic pay, however some employers offer enhanced payments.

Fathers have the right to two weeks paid paternity leave once the baby has been born, as long as they have served 26 weeks and notify you by the 15th week before the baby is due.

Since 2014, mothers, fathers and same-sex partners are now able to share shared parental leave, entitling the father to an additional 26 weeks’ leave, as long as the mother has gone back to work.

The government offers some support for companies such as offering advances on statutory payments to employees.

To adoption leave / pay

When matched with a child for adoption, employees have the right to 26 weeks of paid leave and 26 weeks of unpaid, providing they’ve been working for you for over 26 weeks.

Statutory Adoption Pay for eligible applicants is the same as maternity pay - 39 weeks.

To parental leave

Mothers and fathers can both take 18 weeks unpaid leave for childcare up to the child's 18th birthday, as long as they’ve worked for you for over a year.

To time off for dependants

A reasonable amount of unpaid leave (time off for dependents) can be taken to deal with an emergency involving a dependent.

To apply for flexible working

Any employee has the right to apply for flexible working conditions if they have worked for you for 26 weeks continuously. You’re not legally obligated to accept the application but it must be taken into reasonable consideration.

To have sufficient notice of dismissal

Employees must be given a notice period before their employment ends. The statutory redundancy notice periods are:

• At least one week’s notice if employed between one month and two years;
• One week’s notice for each year if employed between two and 12 years;
• 12 weeks’ notice if employed for 12 years or more.

To redundancy pay

If your employee has  worked for you for at least two years, you have a responsibility to pay them redundancy pay.  You also need to show you’ve been fair when selecting them for redundancy, and need to hold a consultation so they understand what is happening.

To statutory sick pay

Usually limited to 28 weeks. You can find out the current rate here.

To time off for various reasons

Including jury service, trade union activities, to study (if aged 16 or 17) and medical treatment.

Trade union membership

Including the right to participate in union activities and not to be expelled or unjustifiably disciplined for their participation.

To a written reason for dismissal, on request

Provided they have two year’s service (or one year if they started before 6 April 2012).

To the National Minimum Wage / ‘National Living Wage’

This changes frequently. Check our rates page for the latest figures.

To annual leave and working time limits

Workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks paid leave per year, to rest periods and in-work rest breaks and health assessments in certain circumstances. This includes bank holidays.

Statutory minimum holiday allowance is 20 days plus eight bank holidays (prorated for part time employees).

Get the correct insurance

The government advises that you need to get Employers’ Liability Insurance as soon as you become an employer. This policy covers costs that arise from claims made by any of your employees while at work, up to the amount defined in your policy schedule. 

Failing to get Employers’ Liability Insurance in place will get you in big trouble with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). For each day that it’s legally required and you fail to have cover, you can be fined £2,500.

For more information, check out our article ‘What is Employers’ Liability Insurance?’

Self-employed agreements

The situation is a little different if you’ve chosen to take on a freelancer or contractor instead of hiring an employee. The relationship is generally a lot more flexible, but it’s still a good idea to get everything in writing, to avoid disputes down the line.

Just like employee contracts, you should always include the names of all parties involved and the start date of the contract. However, there’s no need to include anything about pensions, holiday leave, or sick leave. In fact, you should avoid including any of these, as their presence might cause an IR35 Investigation.

On the other hand, there are some extra terms that you should include, which wouldn’t normally feature in an employee contract.

The scope of the project

Define precisely what services you expect to be provided and in what timeframe. Failing to do so may lead to the contractor disputing the amount of work they were expected to do, or demanding a higher rate.

The contractor’s requirement to complete the project

State that the contractor must complete the project to fulfil the contract. This means that if for some reason the contractor does not complete the project, you will have a legal document to point to so you can deny payment.

The other party’s status as a contractor, opposed to an employee

This is the section that will help you avoid those pesky IR35 investigations. Make sure it is abundantly clear that the contractor is being hired as an independent entity, and not an employee of yours.

How much you expect to pay

This can be in the form of an hourly rate, day rate, or an overall project cost. State definitively whether there will be conditions in which you will pay more and, if so, what those conditions will be. This means that the contractor won’t be able to raise their rates on a whim.

How and when payment will be made

Most contractors expect to be paid upon completion; however, if you’re entering into a big project you may wish to offer a percentage up-front, for example 50% upon acceptance of the proposal, and the remainder upon delivery. Large projects can also be paid for in stages, for example 20% after each of five predetermined review dates. Speak to the contractor about how they would like to be paid and come to an agreement.

Assignment of intellectual property

Normally, intellectual property rights will stay with the contractor until they’ve been paid for the work. To cover yourself from possible disputes, you should state in the contract that the rights will be transferred to your company upon completion of the project.

Rights for usage and resale

For the most part you’ll want exclusive rights to the contractor’s work, but very

occasionally a project may call for a special licensing set-up. Remember, you should always consult an expert if you wish to create a contract with specific, complex clauses. Although this could be costly, once you have a cast-iron contract in place you can use it as a blanket contract for all your contractors.

If you’re no good at coming up with the appropriate terminology, we’ve put together some contract samples for you to use and make your own.

Payments

How much should I pay?

How much you pay your new employee is a crucial decision. It can be expensive and will also potentially affect what sort of employees you attract, and how they work.

What’s affordable?

It seems obvious to say that you should only pay what you can afford, but it’s not as simple as that. Low pay will potentially bring in low amounts of talent, and can seriously affect the morale of your staff. You should also make sure you’ve thought about more than just the annual salary, for example, any extra you’ll spend in benefits, pension packages, travel etc.

What pay rate will attract the right candidates?

If you don’t offer a decent salary, you’ll put off candidates with more experience. If you offer too high a salary, those with less experience may not have the confidence to apply. To strike a balance, find out what the ‘going rate’ for your position is by searching for similar positions at other companies.

What pay rate will motivate and retain employees?

It’s important to set a fair wage for the work you expect to be done, otherwise this can create a lot of conflict, and could ultimately result in you having to rehire too often. Pay isn’t the only thing affecting job satisfaction though, so think about what else you could offer to make your company a great place to work; for example, flexible working or equity in the company.

What’s the law?

As we’ve already outlined, you must pay your employees the National Minimum/‘National Living Wage’. If you’re planning to hire more than one employee the law requires there to be equal pay and conditions for men and women doing work of equal value.

Keep in mind that HMRC are cracking down on employees that don’t pay minimum wage, and if you’re caught short you could face a large fine and be put on a public blacklist.

Which system should I use?

There are three ways you can offer payment to employees, either based on their time worked, based on their performance, or a combination of the two. 

Pay by time

With this system, pay is directly related to the amount of time worked. This can either be worked out as an hourly, weekly, monthly or annual wage. The rate can vary depending on the situation to give more incentive for overtime or shift work.

The advantage of this system is its simplicity - it’s easy and cheap to administer. However, its weakness is that there’s no direct link between pay and performance, which means you might have to spend more effort on supervision.

Pay by performance

The obvious advantage of this is that employees are encouraged to work harder to increase earnings. The downside, especially for a small firm, is that this takes more time and money to administer. 

Different kinds of performance-based pay will suit different types of jobs. For example, a target-based bonus will suit sales executives, but something more quality-specific would be more suitable for copywriters or graphic designers. 

The problem with quality-based performance pay is that it’s inherently subjective, and can therefore lead to disputes. 

Hybrid time and performance pay

To get the best of both worlds, you may want to consider paying a basic rate according to time worked, with added incentives. This could either be directly work-related, or you could set up a share incentive scheme.

By either giving employees shares in your company, or offering them for purchase, you can encourage staff involvement with the company. This works especially well in smaller companies, as staff can really see first-hand how their contribution affects business.

Please note that with all three systems the employee must still earn at least the minimum wage.

How should payments be made?

You can either pay your staff cash-in-hand, or via bank transfer. The latter should always be preferred, as there are fewer security risks, and the process can be automated using payroll software, making payments easier to administer. Click here for a list of free payroll software. At Crunch as well as great accounting advice our online software can help with payroll for employees find out more about how we could help your company.

Although rare nowadays, it could be that your employee doesn’t have a bank account, or for some reason would prefer to be paid in cash. You should be aware that if your employment contract says payment can be made in cash, it would be an illegal breach of contract if you forced payment by bank transfer.

All employees are entitled to an individual written pay statement on or before the time they are paid. The statement must show gross pay and take-home pay, with amounts and reasons for all variable deductions.

Final preparation

What information do you need?

Even if you only have one employee, keeping an up-to-date records system is an absolute must.

You can keep this information in a card system, or digitally. However, be aware that this must be in compliance with the UK Data Protection Act 1998, and GDPR rules and that users of some sensitive digital information must register with the Information Commissioner. Find out more at ico.org.uk.

The details you need to get include:

• Personal details, such as name, gender, date of birth, address, education, qualifications,experience, tax code, National Insurance number, emergency contact and details of disability;

• Employment details, such as the date employment began, the date they started work with you, job title, basic pay, overtime and other benefits;

• Absence details - both authorised and unauthorised - such as sickness, lateness and holiday;

• Details of accidents;

• Details of disciplinary action;

• Training details.

Establishing workplace rules

Before your employee starts work, you should make sure you have a system of rules in place and written up in a document to hand out to new starters. Your rules should cover the following:

Misconduct

This should state what includes minor misconduct, such as persistent lateness, which may lead to disciplinary action; and what includes gross misconduct, such as stealing, which may lead to dismissal.

Absence

This should cover the procedures in place for when an employee will be absent, including who should be notified and when, and when a doctor’s note will be required.

Work standards

This should include information like whether an employee must stick to a dress code, whether they need to clock in and out, and whether their work will be subject to any standards reviews.

Use of company facilities

Are employees allowed to use company telephones and computers for personal matters? Are they allowed to be in company premises after working hours?

Change of status

Who should be alerted of any change of status, including change of address, name and marital status?

You should also have a disciplinary and grievances procedure in place, setting out what happens when an employee is disciplined, and how they should go about making official complaints.

Right to work documents

As an employer you could face a £20,000 fine if your new employee doesn’t have the correct documents prior to their first day of employment.

All employers have a legal obligation to check that all their staff have a legal right to work in the UK before they can employ them.

The member of staff must show the company an original document - as outlined in this list from the Gov.uk site.

If a member of staff ceases to be entitled to work in the UK whilst in employment the employer may have no option but to terminate their employment.

Getting started

Probation periods

There’s no legal requirement to have a period of probation, however they can often be useful for both employee and employer to work out if they have made the right decision and fit with the company and role.

Induction Day

The final step before letting your new recruit through the door is to set out an induction day and plan any training that might need to be done.

Induction day should focus on helping your new employee get to grips with everything quickly, so they can start to become an effective member of the team. Particular allowances should be made for those returning to work after a long time off, or those starting work for the first time.

New recruits will want to know a lot about your company, so might want to consider having an information pack ready, including details on health and safety, copies of their contract, a statement of company rules and the location of building facilities etc.

First impressions count, so make sure you do everything you can to make your new employee feel at ease.

Fundamental leadership lessons

When you (inevitably) become so successful that you need to take on an employee yourself, you’ll find that management is pretty tricky and there’s a real risk of the hater becoming the hated, if you’re not careful. 

There are a lot of things that influence how much you enjoy your job, but one of the most important is how you get on with your boss.

So how can you avoid losing the respect of your employee?

• Be compassionate. Invest in your staff as people, see how they’re doing and give them the time they need to de-stress from work;
• Your team are your family, so treat them like one. See how they’re doing and foster an environment where everyone works together;
• Remain humble and approachable. Have a sense of humour and don’t be afraid to admit to a mistake. Let people know you’re human, too;
• Be ambitious and lead from the front. Get involved in meetings and be proactive, without stepping on toes or speaking in cheesy, motivational business jargon;
• Give your employees room. Don’t hover over them, don’t delegate too many tasks to them and give them some room to breathe;
• Make sure your team feels cared for. A team night out, Pizza Friday, a thank you gift when they’ve done something important - let them know you appreciate their efforts.

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