Questions and Answers

I’m thinking of using zero-hours contracts for the first time. Have you any tips and advice on their drafting?

My company has carried out the necessary manual handling risk assessments for employees. It has been suggested that we need to review individual assessments to take account of an employee ageing. Is this the case?

Should we hold a Christmas party?

How lenient should I be with misbehaviour at Christmas?

I have an employee who is 70 years old, and I feel that it is time for them to go. Can I discuss retirement with them? If I raise the question of retirement, will I leave myself open to a claim of age discrimination?

We have an ageing workforce. Can I introduce a mandatory retirement age and introduce some younger blood into the organisation?

I am aware that fire safety legislation requires the responsible person to maintain fire detection and alarm systems in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair. What does this mean in practice?

I am devising a new bereavement policy for my company. Have you a checklist of the essential points that I should include in the policy?

What are access control systems and how can they be used to improve security in a general practice?

We are interviewing for a vacancy and an applicant has chosen to disclose that they have a birthmark that qualifies as a disability — how should we manage this?