By putting my staff on watertight contracts, I felt secure


The image shows a company logo that says B B
A Peninsula client.
  • Business size

    Small business

  • Support

    Unlimited HR support

  • Industry

    Hair and beauty

Introduction

Jo is the owner of Beauty Boutique, a small beauty salon in Staffordshire. She chose to outsource her HR to Peninsula to navigate risky conduct issues.

The situation

One of Jo’s workers was acting unprofessionally…

The worker was offering her services outside of the business. She also carried out beauty treatments on herself – during working hours. Then, a customer complained about her professionalism during an appointment.

One bad online review could ruin Jo’s reputation that she’d worked so hard to build. So, she knew that she had to prevent these issues from ever happening again.

That’s when Jo decided to become a Peninsula client. She expressed her worries to her new HR advisers…

The solution

Jo’s worker was behaving poorly. But without any workplace contracts, she wasn’t technically breaking any rules…

So, as a priority, Peninsula created watertight HR contracts for Jo’s staff.

This meant Jo could set clear, company-wide rules against unacceptable behaviour. For example, Jo’s documentation experts added specific non-disclosure agreements to the contracts, which prevented staff from poaching her clients or working for a competitor.

Then, Jo used her unlimited HR advice to navigate her worker’s behaviour issues. Jo’s adviser drafted a verbal and written warning for the worker. All Jo needed to do was print it off and read it out.

Through Peninsula’s advice, Jo then put the worker onto an extended probation. During this process, Jo felt comforted by the support of her advisers – who called to offer “pep talks” before any tricky conversation.

  • Custom contracts

    Peninsula experts created custom staff contracts to help Jo clamp down on specific issues in her business.

  • Tailored documentation

    Jo received watertight disciplinary correspondence to share with her worker, including a written warning.

  • Unlimited advice

    When Jo was dealing with tough HR procedures, her advisers gave her unlimited support, advice, and reassurance throughout.

The image shows a woman with brown hair.
Jo

When I started with Peninsula, I told them everything I was worried about, and they added particular points in the contracts to help. By putting my staff on watertight contracts, I felt secure.

- Jo / Owner of Beauty Boutique

The outcome

After the warning, the worker improved her behaviour.

And now, Jo’s staff can always refer back to her rules – so there’s never any doubt around conduct. As staff signed their contracts, Jo has grounds to take disciplinary action if they break these rules in the future.

What difference has this made to Jo?

Before Peninsula, Jo felt she needed to always be available to her staff. It meant that she hadn’t taken more than five days off in over nine years.

But now, Jo feels more comfortable taking a step back. As staff are clear on the rules, Jo doesn’t need to always weigh in to discuss what is and isn’t acceptable. And now, she has legal protection for when she does need to intervene.

It means Jo can finally enjoy more time outside of work, without worrying about potential legal risk.

Before Peninsula, I hadn’t spent more than five days away from the business

But this year, I was able to go to Vegas for my 40th. To be able to do that is nice. You feel like they genuinely care, it’s like someone has really got your back. If you make a mistake, you know you can turn to Peninsula, and they've got you covered legally

- Jo / Owner of Beauty Boutique

Protect your business with expert HR support

  • Watertight contracts

    Set solid guidlines around conduct with legally-binding HR contracts

  • Step-by-step guidance

    Navigate risky disciplinary procedures with total support from an HR expert

  • Advice you can trust

    Speak to a CIPD-qualified adviser for friendly, reliable support


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