Small businesses that have to keep written records of employee performance to avoid ending up in employment tribunals can now get some help on the Island from a local consulting firm.

Business advisor Jack Harris of Creative Consulting has created a new set of seminars called `Going for the Goal' which are aimed at helping small businesses set out their employee standards outlines to help them deal with the new Employment Act.

"The question is what is satisfactory performance. Even if you are a small company with three employees, you have to set a minimum standard. And then you have to know what is above and below your standard. This can be difficult if you are a small operation,'' Mr. Harris said.

And he said that companies who disciplined staff for not being up to scratch or fired them could face serious trouble if they did not adhere to the new guidelines in the Employment Act -- and could even end up before a tribunal justifying their actions.

"If, for example, you hire a typist who types at 55 words a minute, who at her last job was above standard because she or he only needed to type 50, now at you company is below standard because you need 60 words a minute, the tribunal is going to say to you, well she was at company X for ten years and was an excellent employee, why did you fire her? "So if you have to be clear about what your standards are and say anything below 60 is sub-standard to you. And you need to have an accurate job description in the first place.'' He said that the Employment Act required special ways of handing out discipline with a need for written warnings -- something some small businesses were unfamiliar with.

"To have a human resources department costs about $120,000 a year to run, and obviously this is above and beyond what most companies can afford.'' Mr. Harris said that he is now offering a service which is specifically tailored to smaller companies and their specific cultures to deal with the new laws.

"I can help the small business focus on its specific needs. If you don't administer this correctly you could in fact be taken before a tribunal on the basis of the act. These new seminars are driven by the Employment Act, and we have established a real need for these services.

"They can either be one-on-one or up to one-on-six, depending on how many people are involved. They are geared for companies with under 60 employees, and we hope to work with companies in the financial, hotel and retail sectors on this matter. The benefit is that they can be tailor-made for each sector.'' Jack Harris