Lucy Fitzgerald

Following a career as an HR leader for a number of high profile companies and organisations, Lucy channelled her knowledge and experience into setting up FitzgeraldHR in 2008. With a post graduate diploma in Human Resource Management, Lucy is MCIPD qualified and has worked in the field of HR for over 15 years. Lucy has substantial experience in all areas of HR including strategic planning and trouble shooting, employment law, talent management, coaching and advising. She divides her time between Head Office, the regional offices, and supporting and overseeing clients nationwide. Lucy also runs HRtalk, a group set up for SME business owners and employees with HR responsibility that runs regular free sessions to offer support and guidance on a range of HR topics. You can find Lucy on Google+ and LinkedIn. Also, visit our company pages: Google+, facebook, twitter and LinkedIn.

What is Employee Ownership?

August 6th 2020September 18th 2013 by Lucy Fitzgerald

Stock Market Shares - Employee Ownership

Having your stake and a voice in the company Employee ownership is not a new concept in business organisation. However, it is becoming popular with companies who want to take advantage of the benefits that employee ownership can offer. In this article, we’ll outline what employee ownership is, the pros and cons, and how it … Read more

The benefits of outsourcing your HR

February 3rd 2021September 7th 2013 by Lucy Fitzgerald

HR outsourcing is when organisations contract out their HR functions to an expert company. Businesses can choose to opt for a full service, where everything from recruitment to pay and disciplinary procedures is managed or they can pick and choose the HR outsourcing services they need, such as the development of employee handbooks or managing redundancies.

The exact service that a company chooses will depend on issues such as their size, sector, staffing level and budget, and bespoke HR packages can be tailored to each organisation. Many businesses find that outsourcing some or all of their HR functions brings a number of benefits.

A 2009 survey for the CIPD found that the top three reasons cited for using HR outsourcing were access to skills and knowledge, quality and cost reduction. We take a closer look at these benefits and more.

The New Employment Tribunal Rules 2013 Laid Bare

August 5th 2020September 1st 2013 by Lucy Fitzgerald

There’s been a lot of talk over the last year or so about the changes to be made to the employment tribunal rules 2013. The Government has now published the Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2013, which came into force on 29 July 2013.

We think that it’s important that both employers are employees are aware of the changes that will take place and how it may affect them when they attempt to resolve disputes.

How to Handle a Disciplinary Issue

August 5th 2020August 12th 2013 by Lucy Fitzgerald

When disciplinary issues come up, it can be easy to get things wrong if you don’t follow a fair process. There are some key stages in a disciplinary procedure that you must follow, even for formal verbal, or first written warnings.

Changing employee terms and conditions: Proceed with caution

March 1st 2023May 21st 2013 by Lucy Fitzgerald

Companies need to change the terms on which they do business all the time but changing employee terms and conditions of employment is not as easy. The contract between employer and employee is regarded as a legally binding agreement and neither party has an automatic right to change any terms or clauses. Our advice has … Read more

How to implement “trigger points” to help manage absence

September 14th 2020April 18th 2013 by Lucy Fitzgerald

It’s important to establish set action points for both short-term and long-term absence as both types can cause difficulties for employers. If an employee regularly takes one day off, you won’t be able to count on them being in the office when you really need them. In the case of an employee who has been off sick for a few months, you need to know if they are likely to return in the foreseeable future and if there is anything that you can do to facilitate a return to work.

Establishing an absence monitoring culture

The first thing to do is introduce an automatic return to work interview after any period of sickness, even if it was just for one day. This should be regarded as the first step in the absence management process, where all employees are asked about their absence and how they are feeling. This gives the message that you are supportive but are also taking note of the absence on your records.

Beyond that, you will need to choose a certain number of stages at which you will take action to manage absence. Some examples are:

Measuring Absence: Sickness Absence Rate Calculations

September 4th 2026April 18th 2013 by Lucy Fitzgerald

Measuring absence in the workplace. We outline sickness absence rate calculations.

There are four main ways of measuring time lost to sickness absence in the workplace. These are: In this article, we provide an overview of each of these methods and explain sickness absence rate calculations using these approaches. Let’s dive straight in and learn about measuring absence in the workplace. Why we need to be … Read more

How to use metrics and action triggers to manage absence

August 22nd 2024April 17th 2013 by Lucy Fitzgerald

The Health and Safety Executive reports that sickness absence costs UK businesses £12 billion each year. That’s an extraordinary amount in a struggling economy. Of course, absence in small businesses has a huge impact. According to the Federation of Small Business, small companies are more likely to suffer from employees taking periods of short-term absence and it reports that long-term absence can be a very expensive problem for them.

The bad news is that small businesses are less likely to monitor sickness absence and manage it proactively. This is probably due to competing priorities and a lack of knowledge in dealing with such situations, especially if the business owner knows the employee well.

Putting an absence policy in place and alerting employees to it will pay dividends. Research suggests that good absence management helps to lower costs and time spent off sick.

Acknowledging Pensions Auto-enrolment

February 21st 2023October 25th 2012 by Lucy Fitzgerald

One of the biggest changes in UK pensions is taking place right now. Because people are living longer but not saving adequately for their retirement, the country has been facing a pensions financial ‘black hole’ for some time, leading to the introduction of pensions auto-enrolment.

So what does this mean for your business? Well, auto-enrolment means that employers will need to offer a minimum standard of pension to all of their employees. Rather than ‘opt in’, the UK will have an ‘opt out’ system, where employees will have to make the effort to tell their employer in writing that they don’t want to be part of the pension scheme offered. The government is hoping that this will create a culture of saving for retirement.

Establishing an absence monitoring culture

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