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September 2011 Newsletter
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Welcome to our latest newsletter.
We provide professional HR support and payroll services to organisations across Oxfordshire and the surrounding counties. Our goal is to keep you up to date with the latest developments in HR and Payroll that affect your business. We will publish useful hints and tips, interesting business articles and feature the occasional competition with prizes.
Fiona McClure
Partner
Critchleys HR and Payroll LLP
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NEWS: Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) Are Changing!
  Many organisations use agency staff as a cheap temporary solution to seasonal work fluctuations, staff absence and short term projects.
However, the introduction of the Agency Workers Regulations on 1st October 2011 may make this option more expensive.
This new legislation is designed to give agency workers the same basic working and employment conditions as directly employed staff in the same role. There are penalties for companies deliberately failing to comply with the AWR!
Fortunately, those helpful people at Critchleys HR and Payroll have compiled this quick guide that outlines the key points of the regulations and how they may affect anyone working with agency workers after 1st October 2011.
For more details, click here, but more importantly, do call Fiona and her team on 01865 261188 and make sure you understand the regulations. |
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CLIENT TESTIMONIAL
"I have found the Critchleys HR team to be knowledgeable, responsive and practical. For a small monthly sum I get the employment help I need when I need it from recruitment to absence management."
Roy Naraine
Technical Director
Startech Productions
www.startechproductions.co.uk
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HINTS & TIPS: Yippee, It's National Payroll Week! 
Earlier this month, we all celebrated National Payroll Week. I expect, like us, you popped champagne corks, exchanged small gifts, and probably held a small street party to celebrate this momentous national event!
You see, we love Payroll. We eat, sleep and breathe Payroll. So, very occasionally, we receive a big shock.
That big shock is the fact that not everyone shares our enthusiam for Payroll. Apparently, there are individuals out there who don't always enjoy processing their Payroll. There are even people who find all the details and ever-changing regulations both time-consuming and difficult to understand.
Would you believe that some companies would rather save their time, money, and stress by removing this hugely entertaining activity from their own employees and passing it to a third party to look after!
Joking apart, we do save our clients a lot of time and hassle. In many cases, it's also more cost-effective to let us look after your Payroll than doing it yourself! We have prepared an Excel Spread Sheet so you can see the significant cost of Payroll.
Click here to download the Spread Sheet and then call us on 01865 261188 and ask us to look after your Payroll.
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RETAINED CLIENTS AREA
Our HR Advice Line clients have online access to their own area of our website. This private resource contains employment and HR documents, employer guides, employment law updates, case studies and client special offers.
Click here for this month's information on:
1. The Risk with Interns
2. October legislation update
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CASE STUDY: The Grass Isn't Always Greener...
 PRIME Research is a global company with their UK office based in Oxford's St Aldates. With 600 research analysts in six research centres across the US, Europe and Asia, PRIME Research is a global leader in strategic communication research. One of their key services is to monitor international media coverage to provide their clients with strategically relevant information and competitive intelligence.
PRIME Research were happy customers of Critchleys payroll services in the past, but were lured away by another provider who purported to offer greater access to their data. However, the data provision was unreliable and the help and support that Critchleys HR and Payroll provided outweighed the advantages of this other system A few months later, they returned to Critchleys and their payroll was soon back on an even keel.
"We were very happy with the Critchleys service," says Derek Tronsgard, PRIME Research's Director of International Accounts. "However, we received an offer that looked better on paper. On reflection and having tried out the alternative, this confirmed that Critchleys HR and Payroll are very good at what they do and consistently offer a high level of service. Sometimes, the grass really isn't greener on the other side!"
For more information about our Payroll Services, please click here. |
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COMPETITION: Last Month's Competition Results
 Last month's competition winner was Doug Hawkes from Quadraco Contracts. Doug correctly identified that the French chef who invented the Peach Melba was Auguste Escoffier.
His prize was a meal for two at the Eyston Arms in Oxfordshire's East Hendred village and he has sent us this lovely note which we would like to pass on:
"My wife and I had a really lovely meal on Saturday night and we would both like to thank you and all at Critchleys for your generosity. The food and service were both excellent and I would thoroughly recommend it!! |
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COMPETITION: What Would You Rather Be Doing?  This month's competition is £50 voucher for dinner for two at North Oxford's Portabello Restaurant Bar & Grill in South Parade.
To celebrate National Payroll Week and win this fabulous prize, all you have to do is to tell us what activity you would rather be doing than running your company's payroll!
Try and keep your answers clean so we can share them next month and the most amusing or inventive entry, in our humble opinion, will win the prize!
Email your answer and contact details to Fiona at: fmcclure@critchleyshr.co.uk and we'll choose the winner on Monday 17th October. |
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ABOUT CRITCHLEYS HR AND PAYROLL
 We specialise in working with clients who do not have the time to keep up to date with employment law or process payroll.
Our aim is to remove much of the worry and risk that comes with employing staff, by offering professional HR support and payroll services.
For more information, see www.critchleyshr.co.uk or contact Fiona McClure on 01865 261188.
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