Before you can begin to hire a team, it’s vital to have an understanding of the laws and principles around employment as a whole, and to have checked your business is ready to take on employees.

In today’s fast-paced world, standing still is no longer an option. As your business grows and develops, it’s more important than ever to help your people upgrade their skills and adapt to new ways of working.

Psychotherapist Noel McDermott is an expert on mental health in the workplace and runs Mental Health Works Ltd. He works alongside employers providing wellbeing in the workplace advice and solutions, teaching them tools to keep staff healthy.

Carlene Jackson, CEO of Brighton-based tech company Cloud9 Insight, is one of the UK's top 25 SME culture leaders for 2019, according to the recent report by Real Business magazine. Here, she shares her views on employee happiness and wellbeing.

Five years ago, I made the bold decision to leave the world of corporate business behind and launch my own startup. Make no mistake about it – this was not a decision taken lightly, as I was all too aware of the success rate – or, rather, the high failure rate – of startups during their formative years.

The demands, challenges and risks that come with running a small business can bring personal pressures and impact on health and wellbeing.

Companies are made up of individual people; even Apple, the world’s biggest brand, would mean nothing without its employees. Imagine if Apple was hiring random people and their board was changing all the time. The recent departure of Jony Ive led to a one percent reduction in Apple shares.