The Play Factory

From your first employee to your first official client, adopting the title of a Business Owner commands a lot of dedication and carries a magnitude of responsibility.

Not only is offering a high quality service a key priority, but the day-to-day running of your business and people also requires significant attention and time.

When Bimal Kotecha turned to Croner for support with HR and employment law when first starting his business, he found that he was able to save a substantial amount of time on contracts and policies, and dedicate more time to setting up his new company: The Play Factory.

“As a new business operator in a heavily regulated industry it is really useful to have support and guidance from Croner through complex HR and legal matters relating to employment law and employee attitudes,” Bimal says, Director of the children’s day care centre.

“As any independent employer would, we have faced a number of challenges that have been both stressful and, from a legal perspective, quite complex.”

The amount of legislation which forms today’s employment and case law is often underestimated by many employers.

Many written clauses to form the backbone of a good contract in the nursery sector are not always immediately obvious to a new employer, such as attendance and absence, meeting regulatory and performance KPI's, positive attitude, appropriateness of activities and interactions, and many more.

One of an employer’s very first action points should be creating and implementing written contracts, not just for reference, but for black and white clarity should any difficult circumstances arise.

With such a vast spectrum of situations and eventualities to consider and translate into written handbooks and practical behaviour, Bimal consulted Croner in the first instance to assist.

“Croner's HR team have been invaluable in helping us to develop new staff contracts and associated policies, and an employee manual to make the roles, goals, and responsibilities crystal clear. What a change this has made to the culture in the organisation,” Bimal says.

“The Croner legal advisory team have assisted us when there were performance or attitude or attendance issues, and have greatly reduced the stress that can come from managing people who have different aptitudes, aspirations and career goals.

“I would like to thank Croner for all the support, and while I hope not to speak to anyone from the team soon – meaning all is going smooth - I must say that it is really nice to know that the help and guidance I need is a mere phone call or email away. I want to let you know how pleased I am to have signed up with Croner for HR and Employment support."