News & Insights

September 28, 2026 Mustard news

Meet the team – Q and A with Danielle Ratcliffe

We’re delighted to welcome Danielle Ratcliffe to the Mustard team. With over 20 years’ experience in conflict resolution, including more than 10 years as an accredited workplace mediator and conflict coach, Danielle brings a wealth of experience in helping people navigate challenging workplace situations. We caught up with Danielle to find out a little more about her experience, her approach to conflict resolution and the support she can offer Mustard clients.

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September 23, 2026 Compliance

ERA 2025: The changes keep coming

A number of significant employment law changes have or are due to come into force through the Employment Rights Act 2025. While many employers are aware of the headline changes, our experience on the ground suggests that the approach in practice is not always aligned with the new requirements. In this article, we recap the key changes already in force, highlight what's coming next and explore some practical steps employers may wish to consider before the next round of reforms takes effect.

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June 25, 2026 Employment Law

Employment Rights: what’s coming up?

If it feels like employment law has been changing at pace this year, that's because it has. With major reforms already introduced and more arriving in October 2026, employers have a lot to keep track of. The good news? A little preparation now can make navigating these changes much simpler. Here's what you need to know.

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June 18, 2026 Compliance

Build your own handbook

Let's be honest, employment policies probably aren't at the top of your to-do list. But when an employee issue lands on your desk, you'll be glad they're there. As employment law continues to evolve, having a handbook that's up to date and most importantly, fit for purpose, has never been more important. The good news? Getting your policies in order doesn't have to mean a major consultancy project...

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June 14, 2026 Mustard news

Growing the Mustard team

We're delighted to share some team news. As Mustard HR continues to grow, we've recently welcomed two brilliant new members of the team who are helping to strengthen our support for clients and enhance the way we work behind the scenes.

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October 10, 2022 Employment Law

To suspend or not to suspend…

"new advice on the suspension of employees, emphasising the importance of careful consideration and mental health implications before making suspension decisions." (2022 article)

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May 5, 2022 Mediation

The Real Cost of Conflict

Many employers accept that from time to time (or in some cases, frequently) conflict in the workplace will arise. How they go about it usually depends on the culture of the organisation.

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July 28, 2020 Redundancy

Redundancy: 5 good reasons to consider Outplacement Support

“Outplacement” is used to support employees facing a job loss with the transition to the next phase of their career. It is usually facilitated by an external provider and funded by the employer.

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June 26, 2020 HR Tips

The future of employment: the end of the (working) world as we know it?

Mustard HR has been trading for a full year now. It is fair to say in that short period, the world of work (actually, the world full stop) has changed significantly and further changes look set to continue.

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May 24, 2020 Business

Navigating a career and family life: Guest Blog

Way back at the end of March, when the Corona virus pandemic was only just starting to unfold in the UK and we all found ourselves in a very strange and unknown predicament, I had been asked to write a guest blog post on navigating a career and family life for Claire Brown Coaching, who runs the ‘The Career Hub for Mums’. Given the sudden changes, this ended up focusing somewhat on working from home and adapting to change.

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March 30, 2020 Business

Flexible Working Requests: 5 Top Tips

Mustard HR recently wrote a guest blog post on flexible working for the parenting website and blog ‘The Resilient Mama’. This was pre COVID-19 restrictions in the UK and as we now know, the flexible working landscape seems to have changed somewhat (in terms of working from home anyway). However, the blog post focused on requesting flexibility (and the many variations of flexible working) not, as we are now experiencing, it being forced on people unexpectedly.

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February 28, 2020 Business

Career life lessons

Career’s aren’t just about success and progression, the seemingly ‘bad’ experiences we have at work can teach us a lot about what we want and where we are going. I’ve had times during my working life where I’ve felt frustrated, stuck and unappreciated. However, reflecting on this (mainly from my pre-HR days) I can see now just how much I’ve learned along the way…

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January 5, 2020 Culture

(No) Blame Culture

I’m writing this following a friend, a fellow HR professional, being instructed to apologise as an outcome to a grievance. I couldn’t help feeling how utterly horrid and inhumane this course of action was.

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December 6, 2019 Business

Network Network Network! Part 2

In the first of my networking blogs I explained how I’d come to realise the [import]ance of networking when starting up your new business. I was surprised by the choice and diversity of groups out there and decided to try a few out to ‘find my tribe’.

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October 7, 2019 Flexible Working

“All things Flexible Working”: Q&A with HR Puzzle

Earlier this month I caught up with Anna Ives, a fellow HR Independent.

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October 1, 2019 Business

Network Network Network! Part 1

Take the pain out of networking with my two-part round up of some local groups…

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August 23, 2019 Redundancy

Archive: Making redundancy the best thing that happened!

Once I realised that others believed in me, I decided it was now or never and so threw myself into looking at all aspects of self-employment... Lucy's story: An interview from the early days of Mustard

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July 26, 2019 Workplace Culture

Man up!

Why are women expected to ‘man up’ to make it to the top?

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July 4, 2019 Performance Management

Managing performance issues – a step by step guide

Following on from a general overview of managing performance issues in the workplace and the crucial role of management, here are my practical tips for line managers dealing with a performance issue.

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July 1, 2019 Performance Management

Performance issue? It’s an HR problem, right? Wrong!

"The management of a poorly performing member of staff is something that anyone with supervisory or management responsibilities should be fully au fait with."

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May 25, 2019 HR Tips

How Flexible are You?

You employ “working mums” on a part-time basis…tick! You have a flexi-time arrangement…tick! You even allow working from home on occasion. But how open is your business to true flexibility for your people, allowing them a life around work?

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May 21, 2019 HR Tips

HR Jargon

Drawing on many years working as an in-house HR professional as well as sitting on Employment Tribunals, it is clear that ‘HR speak’ (the various acronyms, jargon etc. that we HR professionals seem to love) is on the rise.

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May 21, 2019 Employment Tribunal

What would you do if you received a claim?

The number of Employment Tribunal (ET) claims is on the rise after the abolition of fees in July 2017 (claims in 2018 almost trebled compared to the previous year), meaning less barriers for the average employee.

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