HR Diaries: The One With Clock-Ins, Contracts, and Creeps at the Bar

Flexible working just got legal teeth. Clock-ins don’t need hardware anymore. And if your handbook hasn’t been updated since 2019, you might be leaving staff wide open to customer harassment.

Here’s everything that crossed my desk this week.

🚀 TL;DR – This Week in HR:

✅ "Use it or lose it" holiday rules? Not that simple anymore

✅ Flexible working requests now come with a legal edge

✅ Breathe HR adds geo-fenced clock-ins — no hardware needed

✅ SOPs, contracts, and policies — all going digital

✅ DIY dismissals = legal chaos (WhatsApp is not a process)

✅ Flexible Working Training — nearly live

✅ Plus: quietly rewriting pub handbooks to stop customer creepiness

🧠 Employment Law Nugget: Holiday Rules Just Got Trickier

If you don’t tell staff they’ll lose unused holidays — or if managers keep blocking time off — they might be able to carry leave over, even if your contract says they can’t.

📌 What to do now:

• Check your contracts
• Set holiday expiry reminders
• Email staff in the final quarter with a clear “use it or lose it” note

No drama. No claims. No payout.

💻 Flexible Working = Legal Hot Potato

Employee with a health condition wants to return from sick leave — but only if she can work from home. Manager says: “That’s not possible.” She says: “Equality Act. Reasonable adjustment.” Me? Caught in the middle. And yes, I’m chairing the appeal.

⚠️ These cases are growing. You need your managers trained on what counts as a reasonable adjustment — and when you can say no.

📲 Breathe HR’s Clock-In Feature = Gamechanger

Geo-fenced clock-ins from phones, no physical hardware needed. It’s perfect for ops-heavy businesses, and yes — reporting has finally improved.

If you’re not using Breathe HR yet, but considering it, let’s chat.

📚 Contracts, SOPs, and One Scary Handbook

One client had staff records scattered across emails and filing cabinets. We’re fixing that now with proper forms and GDPR-safe onboarding. Another client? We just updated their pub handbook for the October 2024 sexual harassment changes — especially protecting bar staff from inappropriate customers.

If you haven’t touched your handbook this year — you might be overdue.

📉 “Off the Books” Dismissal = On the Hook for a Claim

This week: someone dismissed via WhatsApp. No warnings. No process. Employer panicked and made it worse with a dodgy settlement offer.

🚨 Reminder: If managers are “sorting it out” off the record, that’s how claims — and serious reputational damage — start.

🧰 NEW: Flexible Working Training (Almost Live!)

We’ve had so many questions about flexible working, we’ve created two new training options:

1. Don’t Fk Up Flexible Working (DIY course)** – Short, sharp, practical.
2. Live Training for Managers – Virtual or in-person. Real-world scenarios. No fluff.

Reply or DM me if you want details — I’ll help you pick the right one.

P.S. Freebie: Flexible Working Readiness Checklist

If you're unsure whether your contracts, handbook, or managers are up to speed with the new rules — grab our checklist. It’ll show you what’s missing (and how to fix it fast).

👉 Comment below or message me with “CHECKLIST” and I’ll send it your way.

Until next time,

Emma

The HR Goddess – part law geek, part Breathe HR whisperer, full-time fixer of work messes