HR & Employment Law9 min read
How Much Does HR Support Cost?
Compare retained, pay-as-you-go, per-employee and project pricing without judging value by the headline monthly fee alone.
Read the guide →Practical guidance for UK employers
Employer Guides & Insights
Clear guidance for directors and managers navigating HR, employment and recruitment decisions.
Guardian Forge guides are written for UK SMEs, with a particular focus on employers with 1-50 people. We explain the practical issue first, link to authoritative sources where relevant, and show the management decisions that deserve closer attention.
Published by Guardian Forge · Reviewed 20 September 2026. These guides provide general information and are not a substitute for advice on the facts of a particular employment matter.
Browse by subject
Built around the questions employers actually ask.
We are building this library deliberately rather than publishing content for volume. New guides will be added where they answer a real employer question or explain an important change.
HR & Employment LawFoundations, policies, outsourced support and practical employment-law management.3 guides availableManaging EmployeesAbsence, performance, conduct and the day-to-day decisions managers need to get right.2 guides availableRecruitmentStructured hiring, fair candidate comparison and better recruitment decisions.2 guides availableDirector & Leadership RiskHigh-risk people decisions viewed through a director and governance lens.2 guides availableWorkplace WellbeingPractical mental-health, stress and manager guidance for healthier workplaces.2 guides availableEmployment Law UpdatesConfirmed legal changes translated into practical actions for small employers.2 guides available
Employer Guides Library
Practical guidance, organised by the decisions employers face.
Each guide is written for UK employers and directors, reviewed against authoritative sources where legal or regulatory points are involved, and linked to the relevant Guardian Forge service where appropriate.
HR & Employment Law
HR & Employment Law
Foundations, policies, outsourced support and practical employment-law management.
HR & Employment Law10 min read
Does a Small Business Need HR?
Understand the legal baseline, practical warning signs and support options for businesses with 1–50 employees.
Read the guide →HR & Employment Law11 min read
What HR Policies Does a Small Business Need?
Separate legal document requirements from the policies that help managers make fair, consistent decisions.
Read the guide →Managing Employees
Managing Employees
Absence, performance, conduct and the day-to-day decisions managers need to get right.
Managing Employees9 min read
Managing Repeated Short-Term Absence
Identify patterns, use sensible review points and have better absence conversations without jumping straight to disciplinary action.
Read the guide →Managing Employees10 min read
Managing Poor Performance Fairly
Deal with performance early, distinguish capability from conduct and give employees a fair opportunity to improve.
Read the guide →Recruitment
Recruitment
Structured hiring, fair candidate comparison and better recruitment decisions.
Recruitment8 min read
Running a Structured Interview
Use the same core questions, a clear scorecard and evidence-based notes so the best candidate is easier to identify and explain.
Read the guide →Recruitment8 min read
Comparing Candidates Fairly
Move beyond gut feel with a simple scorecard, agreed evidence and a decision process that can be explained.
Read the guide →Director & Leadership Risk
Director & Leadership Risk
High-risk people decisions viewed through a director and governance lens.
Director & Leadership Risk9 min read
Before Dismissing an Employee
Ten questions to slow down a high-risk decision long enough to test the reason, evidence, procedure and alternatives.
Read the guide →Director & Leadership Risk8 min read
Gross Misconduct & Fair Process
Gross misconduct can justify dismissal without notice, but it does not remove the need to investigate and hear the employee’s response.
Read the guide →Workplace Wellbeing
Workplace Wellbeing
Practical mental-health, stress and manager guidance for healthier workplaces.
Workplace Wellbeing10 min read
Managing Work-Related Stress
Use the six HSE Management Standards to identify work-related stress risks and turn wellbeing into practical management action.
Read the guide →Workplace Wellbeing8 min read
Better Mental Health Conversations
Managers do not need to diagnose mental health conditions — they need to notice changes, listen well and discuss practical work support.
Read the guide →Employment Law Updates
Employment Law Updates
Confirmed legal changes translated into practical actions for small employers.
Employment Law Updates9 min read
Unfair Dismissal Changes: January 2027
From 1 January 2027 the ordinary qualifying period falls from two years to six months and the compensatory award cap is removed.
Read the guide →Employment Law Updates9 min read
Harassment Changes: October 2026
From 30 October 2026 employers face stronger duties around preventing sexual harassment and third-party harassment.
Read the guide →
The stranger side of work
You Couldn't Make It Up
Verified workplace stories that make a director smile, think “that could happen here”, or teach one useful management lesson. Short, sourced and always relevant to the services Guardian Forge provides.
Our rule: if a story is not independently verifiable, relevant to employers, and useful or genuinely memorable, we do not publish it.
01 · UK EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL
✓ Source verified
The chewing gum that became an unfair-dismissal case
A Boohoo warehouse worker was dismissed for gross misconduct after putting promotional Mentos under stairs to share with colleagues. The tribunal found staff — including managers — had been eating the gum, the employee genuinely thought that was permitted, and the dismissal was substantively unfair.
The GF point
Before calling something gross misconduct, investigate the context. If a rule is unclear, inconsistently enforced or routinely ignored by managers, the disciplinary risk changes considerably.
Case: Moraru v Boohoo.com UK Ltd, 6001245/2024 ·
Read the official judgment ↗
02 · UK EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL
✓ Source verified
The cleaner working 17 hours a day — across two jobs
A cleaner worked 8am–5pm at Deutsche Bank and 10pm–6am at the Houses of Parliament. When one employer became responsible for both contracts, it discovered she was working 17 hours in each 24-hour period. Her unfair-dismissal claim failed.
The GF point
Secondary-employment declarations and working-time checks are not administrative box-ticking. They can become health, safety, compliance and duty-of-care issues.
Case: Ogumodede v Churchill Contract Services, 2225883/2024 ·
Read the official judgment ↗
03 · UK EMPLOYMENT APPEAL TRIBUNAL
✓ Source verified
When “bald” workplace banter crossed the legal line
A factory electrician was subjected to a personal insult referring to his baldness. The Employment Tribunal found harassment related to sex, and the Employment Appeal Tribunal later held that conclusion disclosed no error of law.
The GF point
A workplace culture where robust language is common does not automatically make personal remarks safe. “Banter” still needs boundaries, particularly where comments relate to protected characteristics.
Case: British Bung Manufacturing Ltd & King v Finn, [2023] EAT 165 ·
Read the official judgment ↗
These short items are selected for management relevance, not sensationalism. They are summaries only and are not legal advice. Future items may come from the UK or overseas; where a story is outside the UK, we will label the jurisdiction clearly and will not present it as UK employment-law guidance.
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