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When an employee leaves your company they walk out of the door in a position to profit from your confidential information, either by divulging secrets to others or taking what they know and putting it into practice themselves. Restrictive covenants stop this from happening.   What are restrictive covenants?   Restrictive covenants are restraints written […]

Wouldn’t it be great if all business could be done on a handshake? “Come work for me and I’ll pay you a handsome wage at the end of every month.” “You’ve got yourself a deal!” It would save a lot of hassle for business owners and employees. But we all know that’s not how the […]

As a business, your intellectual property (IP) is everything you’ve worked for. It’s your most valuable asset — your art, creativity and inventions. Whenever you read in the news about two major companies going to war, it’s usually over IP. Apple has spent most of the last decade in court with Samsung over smartphone patents, […]

In business we’re often guilty of it – we look for a solution once we’ve encountered a problem rather than putting preventive methods in motion. That’s the case in most of the HR issues I’ve previously dealt with; especially within the creative and digital sector. Business owners are often so busy delivering work for clients […]

We are delighted to announce that Jo Davies, our Managing Director has been shortlisted in the Best Newcomer category as part of the Tees Businesswomen Awards 2018. The awards are designed to celebrate women in business on Teesside, who help inspire a new generation of females to succeed in business with the aim of creating […]

In the UK employers have a statutory obligation to carry out Right to Work checks. Making sure that your staff have a right to work in the UK is a core duty as an employer. Sometimes these obligations are overlooked within businesses, whether this is because there is still a lack of understanding of what […]

“I knew nothing about Right to Work checks before I met Jo at HR Alchemy.” Becky Leckenby, CEO, The Pristine Clean Company NE Ltd. Owner of a successful local business, Becky Leckenby had not heard of the Right to Work in UK legislation before meeting Jo Davies of HR Alchemy, even though she had employed […]

According to the UK Visas and Immigration Enforcement Agency, over 3,000 penalties were issued to employers for hiring illegal workers in 2016, collectively generating fines of £50 million. Unfortunately, we find it all too common at HR Alchemy that these checks are not completed when our clients are going through the recruitment process, with over […]

One of the most common mistakes I find employers make is knowing how and when to communicate effectively with their most valuable asset – their employees. Praise is a powerful thing – it can lift moods, give a sense of pride and result in productive, engaged employees who are more likely to stay with their […]

I often find that many small businesses, especially start-ups, are quite fearful of HR. It conjures up notions of unnecessary bureaucracy and paperwork, and more often than not, businesses feel that having an arrangement with a HR company is a form of insurance policy in case something goes wrong, rather than something that should help […]

Easter always heralds the start of Spring here at HR Alchemy, and we like to ensure that we make time in our busy schedules to review our policies and procedures in light of any new legislation coming into effect, as well as updating our client’s documents and handbooks so that everything is kept completely legally […]