16^th January 2024

Paternity Leave Update

The Government has recently published draft legislation, namely the Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024

The Regulations will come into effect where the Expected Week of Childbirth (EWC) is on, or after, 6 April 2024.

The standout changes, under the draft legislation, are:

employees eligible to take paternity leave will now have the ability to take their statutory paternity leave (2 weeks) in two separate one-week blocks (currently eligible employees can either take one week in total or two consecutive weeks). The proposed changes thereby offer greater flexibility for both parents and workplaces alike;
eligible employees will, going forward, have the ability to take the leave at a time of their preference, so long as this is taken within the first 52 weeks post birth (currently the leave has to be utilised within the first 56 days post birth);
eligible employees will, going forward, only be required to provide 28 days’ notice of their intention to take paternity leave (currently the position is that eligible employees have to provide notice 15 weeks before the EWC);
in the case of domestic adoptions, the required notice period will be extended to four weeks (currently 7 days) thereby affording new parents more time to prepare;
Eligible employees will, going forward, have greater protection from redundancy

The proposed changes are due to take effect on 6 April 2024, along with changes to other family friendly policies, including changes to flexible working.

The current rate of statutory paternity pay is £172.48 per week, increasing to £184.03 (rates effective on or after Sunday 7 April 2024).

The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023

Employment Law

22^nd January 2024

The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023

In this blog post, we delve into the new flexible working measures which have been introduced and what this means for your business.

Gordon Brown Law enlists the consultancy support of Cultura HR

Kathryn Taylor, Head of Gordon Brown Law, Team Valley, advises why the support of Cultura HR is invaluable.

Employment Law

23^rd August 2023

Employment Reforms Post-Brexit

In this blog post, we take a look at the visionary paper released by the UK Government outlining plans to simplify and streamline employment practices.

Client Reviews

"Navigating HR with Confidence: Our Experience with Deb at Cultura HR"

As a busy GP practice, navigating the often tricky and unpredictable world of HR was a daunting prospect. However, working with Deb from Cultura HR over the past 18 months has been invaluable. From the outset, Deb put us at ease with her clear HR expertise, guiding us through every process with professionalism and reassurance.

Her pragmatic and sensitive approach to addressing both the needs of our business and those of our employees has been a great asset. Deb’s responsiveness is amazing. She consistently addresses our queries and concerns promptly, often getting back to us the same day or the day after, even when faced with challenging HR events.

We are grateful for Deb’s support and highly recommend her services to any organisation seeking expert HR guidance.

"Cultura HR has made my life so much easier"

We are a family-owned business with 3 hotels which are unique in their own way and a busy bar in Newcastle Centre.

We are going into our second year with Debs, but I feel we have been with her for ever.

Her knowledge in this field is second to none she is prompt with her uncomplicated replies, making it easy for us all to understand.

She is reliable, approachable, pleasant, honest, friendly whilst always acting in a professional manner. Her documentation and replies are perfect.

I am so much more confident since working with Debs that our handbook, contracts, offer letters, job descriptions etc.. are all up to date.

We have 160 staff across the business, so we have times when we keep Debs busy 😊

I have worked for the family for 30 years and this is the most comfortable I have been with HR in all my career so thank you Debs.

Angela Thomas, STR Hotels

“Cultura HR was an absolute godsend”

“As a small business, taking on staff was a daunting prospect and something of which I had no previous knowledge. Cultura HR was an absolute godsend. Deb immediately put me at ease, using clear HR expertise to provide us with a staff handbook and contracts of employment while also helping with a job description.

No question was deemed a silly question and any amendments needed to the contracts were carried out with minimum fuss until we were happy with the final contract.

Cultura HR is a pleasure to deal with and we will be continuing our working relationship.”

Jamie McDonald, One Two One Accounts Limited

"Deb is honest, reliable and really cares about what she does"

“Deb has supported me in the field of HR for just over 11 years now. Deb is pragmatic, realistic and sensitive to both the needs of the business and the employee .

Having Cultura HR by our side, we are sound in the knowledge that we can call upon Deb, whenever we need her, for all our HR and Training needs.

Cultura HR don’t offer an off the shelf product, they offer bespoke products which really do look to protect a business’ assets and reputation alike. Deb is honest, reliable and really cares about what she does. I can highly recommend her services.”

Kathryn Taylor, Gordon Brown Law

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