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Should recruiters ask candidates about current salary?
Written by John Berry on 18th November 2021. Revised 21st November 2021.
2 min read
The phrase ‘a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work’ is common in the labour market. Penned first by Carlyle and then Engels and it applies now. The employer and candidate reach a bargain between work and pay. It’s not necessary for managers to know about the past. They should never ask anything about history. As soon as they do, they're wide open to bias.
Writing Responsibility Statements in Job Descriptions
Written by John Berry on 25th June 2021. Revised 22nd July 2021.
6 min read
The vast majority of job descriptions on Earth contain a list of tasks or duties. The job holder can do these, year on year, and yet fail miserably in contributing to the business. Tasks and duties are useless. Sadly, that means that most job descriptions are useless. What’s needed is stated responsibilities or accountabilities embodying required achievement. Here's how to build such statements.
How do you make a supplier contract work? Agreeing what’s to be agreed is typically complicated. Start by setting out the nature of the services to be supplied. Then describe how the services are to be specified and called off month by month. Ask the supplier for a quote, then raise a purchase order. Have the whole process managed by a project manager.
Not infrequently, we begin work with a new client and request to see current employee documentation. And we find there is none. We go to a particular employee’s personnel file and find that either there is no file, or it’s substantially empty. And that’s often after they’ve been with the firm for many years. Simply, this can’t ever be so. Here's why and what to do.
Managing Supplier Agreements
Written by John Berry on 21st June 2021. Revised 22nd June 2021.
7 min read
There are two types of agreement that might be in place between a firm and its people: an employment contract for its employees, and a supplier contract for all others. A supplier contract covers the relationship between the firm and the various consultants, associates, sub-contractors, freelancers and other individuals. Companies struggle to differentiate between the two agreement types. Here's some guidance.
Just Reasonable Belief
Written by Sue Berry on 2nd May 2017. Revised 26th May 2021.
4 min read
The manager’s right to act, to sanction or dismiss, is dependent on the manager having grounds for reasonable belief that the situation occurred. The manager’s right to act, to sanction or dismiss, is dependent on them having grounds for reasonable belief that an unsatisfactory situation occurred. The onus is not as demanding as criminal cases - nor as demanding as in civil cases. But evidence is still needed to inform the manager's decision.
