(1). I've been told I have to provide my new employee with a contract of employment within 8 weeks of him joining us. Is this true and what sort of things should I include in his contract?

(A). Yes it is true - every employee is entitled to a written copy of their terms and conditions of employment within 8 weeks of joining a new company. The contract should cover such issues as job title, salary, start date and basic entitlements such as holidays, sickness, breaks and notice period to name but a few.

(2). I've got a female employee who is 5 months pregnant. What maternity leave is she legally entitled to and is there anything I need to be aware of whilst she is still at work with us?

(A). Statutory Maternity leave is based on National Insurance Contributions (with certain qualifying conditions attached). The basic entitlement is 39 weeks' leave with SMP and a further entitlement of 13 weeks' unpaid leave. Companies usually choose to provide maternity packages based on length of service at enhanced rates with certain conditions attached. All pregnant employees should be subject to a 'risk assessment' to ensure we are not placing them under any 'unsafe working practices' during their continued employment with you until the onset of their maternity leave.

(3). I'm not sure of my obligations under the Working Time Directive. Can you tell me what I legally have to comply with and what I should be keeping a record of?

(A). The Working Time Directive was introduced in October 1998 to limit the standard working week to 48 hours. It also covers the provision of rest periods between shifts; break entitlement, days off and holiday entitlement. In addition it lays out the conditions for keeping records of the above and the length of time these records need to be retained for.

(4). I have an employee who is constantly off sick and I don't know what procedures to follow to effectively manage this - it's come to the point where it's affecting my other staff as they see her 'getting away with it'?

(A). Every company should have a sickness procedure in place which covers everything form the 'reporting of absence' to acceptable levels of absenteeism. There should be a procedure for managing both short-term persistent absence and long-term absence. Furthermore, there should be provision for dealing with AWOL (absent without leave) and an awareness of your obligations under Family Friendly policies such as Emergency Leave, Paternity Leave and Parental Leave.

(5). How do I go about changing someone's hours of work or shift pattern when they have worked set hours for the past year?

(A). Changing or cutting a member of staff's hours need not be a nightmare - if you follow a set procedure. You should always discuss the proposed changes with your colleague(s) and explain the business reasons for your decision whilst giving them adequate notice of the changes (based on their length of service). Also bear in mind 'implied terms' where an employee is deemed to have set hours/shifts once they have worked in that pattern for a period of time.

(6). I've been told the new Data Protection Act has implications on what information I can keep on my staff. Does this include hand-written records too - and what are employees allowed to see?

(A). Yes - the Data Protection Act does include written records and yes - employees do have the right to see what is in their files. Information held should be factual and correct and should not be kept for more than 2 years (1 year for some documents). You should have a company policy in place which sets out the parameters to be adhered to when/if staff do request permission to view their records.