‘Tis (nearly) the season! With less than 100 days to go until Christmas, shops are already stocked out with sweet tubs, selection boxes and Shloer bottles. Winter lines are also coming in on the high street and to meet this seasonal demand, retailers, delivery companies and hospitality businesses need to hire in extra staff with many already recruiting for the festive season.
Workers who are hired to meet this demand are done so on casual contracts where the relationship between them and the employer is characterised by the flexibility of their working arrangement. In this example of Christmas staff, this has great benefit for both employee and employer. For example, many students are only looking for additional income and not a full-time or permanent role and the employer can staff-up to meet extra demand, plan rotas and time off. There is no regular working pattern and the employer has no obligation to offer work whilst the employee has no obligation to accept work.
The key things employers must consider are;
– Ensure temporary staff receive at least the National Minimum Wage (21 and over – £11.44, 18 to 20 – £8.60, Under 18 – £6.40)
– All staff are entitled to rest breaks as per the Working Time Regulations
– Health and Safety of all employees is the employer’s responsibility
As the saying goes, Christmas gets earlier every year. With this in mind it is important to ensure employers are equipped to ensure as smooth a festive season as possible.
Our specialist HR Advisory team can assist you with recruitment and selection as well as developing contracts of employment and induction processes. To find out how we can assist you, please get in touch with Karen Corry E: karencorry@bakertillymm.co.uk or Brian Lenehan E: brianlenehan@bakertillymm.co.uk