14/03/2011
14 per cent of small to medium-sized businesses have adequate HR expertise within their company and industry experts are urging the rest to follow suit.
Research by business software provider, SAGE found out that a small amount of SMEs have sufficient in-house HR capabilities which allow them to negotiate employment law issues safely. However, the remainder do not.
74 per cent admitted to procuring their own HR advice via the intranet, magazines and journals says sage.co.uk and while enterprising, this could leave businesses open to complaints, resignations and potentially tribunal claims in the future, writes Fresh Business Thinking, citing that such issues could be so easily avoided.
While hiring HR staff might seem like an expense the company budget cannot stretch to, it's worth bearing in mind that the maximum payout for an employment tribunal is now £236,000. However, there are ways of freeing up money. SMEs might like to consider a range of commercial finance options which include invoice factoring, to release cash.
John Taylor, chief executive of ACAS said to Fresh Business Thinking that "small businesses without in-house professional HR support... are particularly vulnerable and often don't know what to do when things go wrong."
Industry experts do appreciate that employment law is a minefield, but hiring an HR specialist need not be exorbitant. Many outsourced HR consultancies will allow businesses to pick and mix specific services and pay accordingly, should permanent hiring be out of the question.
Elizabeth Smythe