Sitting on a train to London I heard the guard not only add a few facts to his usual announcements (for example, the date of the first official bank holiday) which made the journey more interesting, but also having found out I was headed for Euston he offered me some helpful and accurate advice as regards changing trains so I could get there faster.

As many of us have been doing this week, I looked up from the last minute GDPR preparations yesterday to find I had received a reference request from a large retail organisation for one of my former employees had arrived in my inbox.

It’s a beautiful day. It’s also 9am on Friday. Right on cue, one of your employees, Peter, calls in (using that curious hoarse voice he always has when he is reporting sickness) to let you know he’s unwell (gippy tummy and vomiting this time). There’s no underlying medical reason causing his absence. He’s just simply away rather frequently with a wide variety of mostly unrelated ailments.

When an employee falls short of workplace standards, employers are expected to take disciplinary action. This will normally start with an informal discussion and then if the problem is not resolved it will become formal. Before a formal disciplinary hearing can take place, there has to be an investigation to determine whether or not there is a case to answer. An investigation is simply a fact find.

During recruitment many companies make the mistake of overselling their jobs to potential employees, which although it may increase interest in a position, often results in the company experiencing a high employee turnover rate.