News, views and tips

5 Common Questions About Workplace Absence

Sickness absence continues to be a significant challenge for UK businesses, costing billions of pounds annually. Yet many are unaware of the fact that mental health issues are a major contributor to ill health. Looking beyond the financial implications of widespread workplace absenteeism, there is a more glaring issue at hand and that is of the profound effect on individual employees.

Celebrating Pride Month 2024 in the Workplace

Much has changed in our workplaces in recent years, but the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) certainly hasn’t, nor has recognising the value of everyone on your team. 

Mental Health Awareness: Supporting Mental Health and Well-being at Work

Mental Health Awareness Week 2024 takes place from the 13th to the 19th of May 2024. The month of May is an important time to shine a light on the state of mental health in the workplace and recognise the lasting stigmas and preconceptions about mental health issues.

What Does DEI Mean in the Workplace?

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is a crucial focus for businesses today. Workplaces that excel in DEI recruitment and onboarding can drive better business outcomes and foster a more progressive culture and environment for staff, where irrelevant biases are non-existent and barriers to success are broken down.

What are reasonable adjustments?

Reasonable adjustments are at the heart of everything that ClearTalents does. In these FAQs, we explore the reasons for making reasonable adjustments, give some examples of reasonable adjustments and explain how employers can implement them to create a more inclusive workplace for everyone.

Seven signs your employees may need a reasonable workplace adjustment

Reasonable adjustments are changes that a company should make for disabled people in the workplace. It is a legal requirement under The Equality Act 2010. Making reasonable adjustments removes disadvantages ensuring everyone can bring their best, authentic self to work. It also helps to support an inclusive workplace, which benefits all. We’ve listed 7 things you might hear.

Getting people working: 2023 spring budget commentary

Getting people back into the workforce in the UK was front and centre of the spring budget from the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt. The aim is to tackle those who are “economically inactive”, including disabled people, older workers and the long-term sick. In this blog, we explore how ClearTalents’ digital inclusion passport helps you to create an inclusive workplace that can attract and retain staff from all of these groups – and more.

Inclusive workplaces for the financial services sector

The financial services sector has embraced diversity and inclusion for its customers.  However, it needs to make cultural and practical changes to create a workplace that embraces diversity and inclusion. Read how well the financial sector supports its workforce and what it could do to encourage more workers with diverse needs. 

How to create an inclusive workplace for LGBT+ employees

An inclusive workplace welcomes everyone regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. Sadly, many LGBT+ employees experience lower levels of psychological safety, well-being and job satisfaction.

Read our blog and Factsheet for more about how to support LGBT+ employees.

How to do inclusive onboarding

As an employer, it’s in employees’ interest – and yours – to ease people into a new role. Yet onboarding is an afterthought for many employers. Almost a quarter of companies don’t do successful onboarding. Onboarding well can improve new hire retention by 82% and productivity by over 70%. Read on to discover our top tips on inclusive onboarding.

The Great Retention: how to support with the cost of living crisis and boost staff retention

Job hunting spikes in January, with one report claiming January 7 is peak job hunting time and another reporting that 1 in 5 looks for a new job in January. The cost-of-living crisis means times are tough for employees, and it’s harder to retain good people.

Few employees can give an inflation-busting pay rise, but there are things you can do to support and retain staff.

Why inclusion should be at the heart of employee appraisals

The annual employee performance review is a great opportunity to connect with your employees. However, almost a third of employees find it stressful. So, you need to put inclusion centre-stage when conducting employee reviews. Companies that do will reap the financial rewards.

Five free workplace adjustments to celebrate International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2022

December 3 each year is International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

One of three themes relating to the overarching topic is ‘innovation for disability-inclusive development in employment.’

It’s a topic that’s close to our hearts at ClearTalents.

We’ve listed five free workplace adjustments to empower your staff to bring their authentic selves to work.

Five stats about workplace stress and how you can tackle them

Are you losing staff? If your employee retention isn’t as good as you’d like, then one of the causes could be stress in the workplace. In 2020/21, work-related stress, depression or anxiety accounted for 50% of all work-related ill-health. For international stress awareness week (7-11 November 2022), we explore key statistics relating to stress in the workplace and how employers can address them

Five workplace taboos and how you can break them

Some subjects are difficult to talk about at work, but often these are the conversations we should be having. For example, talking about menopausal symptoms and caring responsibilities. We explore five workplace taboos and how you, as an employer, can help to break barriers down to promote healthier workplace conversations.

Tips for supporting mental health in the workplace

According to the Mental Health Foundation, nearly one in seven of us has experienced mental illness. 12.7 per cent of all sick days in the UK can be attributed to mental illness, while it’s estimated that better mental-health support could save UK businesses £8bn every year.

Read our tips for supporting your employees with their mental health.

Tips for retaining staff during the Great Resignation

Disabled workers move out of the workforce at nearly twice the rate (8.8%) of non-disabled workers (ONS). Meanwhile, we are witnessing a Great Resignation with a disproportionate number of older people leaving the workforce. There are financial and cultural benefits to retaining staff. Making reasonable adjustments can help keep staff and is a legal requirement under The Equality Act 2010. Read our top tips.

National Inclusion Week

National Inclusion Week is a week dedicated to celebrating inclusion and taking action to create inclusive workplaces. It celebrates its 10th year in 2022. As an organisation that identifies and overcomes the barriers employers face in recruiting and retaining diverse talent, we wanted to mark the week, so we reached out to D&I leaders to ask them what a truly inclusive workplace looks like. Find out what they told us.

What is an inclusive workplace?

There’s a world of difference between a diverse workforce and one that is inclusive. We explore what it means to be inclusive in the workplace. What is the difference between diversity and inclusion? How do you create an inclusive workforce, and what role do reasonable adjustment play? Plus, what will it feel like for your employees? Plus, what are some of the business benefits of an inclusive workplace?

How to support and retain an ageing workforce

Age is one of nine protected characteristics under The Equality Act 2010, which means you’re breaking the law if you discriminate against someone because of their age. More importantly, an ageing workforce brings valuable skills and experience. Read our tips on recruiting and retaining older workers.

Making flexible working fit for disabled employees

We’re all working flexibly now. That is the dominant narrative of the post-pandemic workplace. The shift to flexible working is arguably good for a disabled workforce. However, it’s vital employers ensure reasonable adjustments apply to home-based, hybrid and in-off working.

How to reduce Christmas holiday stress for your employees

Is a stress-free holiday from work a unicorn? We all need a holiday, but statistics show that many employees either postpone or don’t take holidays because of the stress associated with leaving work behind. ClearTalents explores why people don’t take annual leave and offers our top tips for ensuring that employees manage pre- and post-holiday stress.

Recruiting a diverse workforce can boost your bottom line

Being an inclusive employer means you’ll have access to a broader talent pool and a more engaged, loyal, and innovative workforce.  It will also boost your bottom line.

How to ensure your recruitment process is inclusive

Receiving an invitation to interview is exciting but can also create anxiety for candidates. As a prospective employer, your role is to put candidates at ease so that they bring their ‘A’ game to an interview. It will help ensure you get the best person from a diverse talent pool.

We offer top tips for inclusive recruitment

Do you need to make reasonable adjustments for left-handers?

Left-handedness isn’t a protected characteristic. However, it can cause significant issues for employees in the workplace. For International Left-Handers Day, we explore specialist office equipment and stationery that is low cost but can make a big difference to your employees.