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Krystal Smith

HR Advisor


Why choose me

HR is a rewarding career path offering real variety day-to-day. I have worked with a range of clients to solve challenges associated with employing people – from those within the automotive, engineering and manufacturing industries to clients in education, charities and health and social care sectors. Knowing how important timely HR advice is, I work with my clients to ensure responses are received as soon as possible after an initial query is received.

My specialisms include advising on people-related processes, reviewing contracts of employment, onboarding, employee handbook reviews, policy and procedure reviews and assistance with calculating holiday entitlement.

Outside work, I enjoy clay pigeon shooting, allotmenteering and gardening.

A photo of Krystal Smith at a table

HR is a rewarding career path offering real variety day-to-day. I have worked with a range of clients to solve challenges associated with employing people – from those within the automotive, engineering and manufacturing industries to clients in education, charities and health and social care sectors. Knowing how important timely HR advice is, I work with my clients to ensure responses are received as soon as possible after an initial query is received.

My specialisms include advising on people-related processes, reviewing contracts of employment, onboarding, employee handbook reviews, policy and procedure reviews and assistance with calculating holiday entitlement.

Outside work, I enjoy clay pigeon shooting, allotmenteering and gardening.

Related services and specialisms from HCR Law

Questions my clients ask me

No, employees cannot take holiday or get holiday pay while on statutory maternity leave. They will continue to accrue holiday at their usual rate during their maternity leave – arrangements should be made for this to be taken before or after the period of maternity leave.

If the employee has made an informal request to change their hours of work, and you are happy to make the suggested changes, you need to agree to an effective date, and confirm the changes in writing through a ‘variation to contract’ letter. If you can’t accommodate an informal request, there is no set process to follow – you need to inform the employee that you can’t accommodate their request. Consideration should be given to the Equality Act 2010 to ensure refusal is not discriminatory. The statutory procedure should be followed for a formal request, alongside the ACAS code of practice on requests for flexible working.

An employee on a period of statutory maternity leave can work a maximum of 10 ‘keeping in touch’ days. If they exceed this, their statutory maternity leave will come to an end, and they will be regarded as having returned to work. In addition, it would also end any entitlement to Statutory Maternity Pay. If they wish to complete more than 10 days’ work, they need to bring their maternity leave to an end. If they can’t work their usual hours, you may wish to discuss the option of a flexible working request to change their working pattern as necessary.

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