To go to a story click on the link below:
- How do you recruit?
- Don’t make employers immigration police
- Warm weather brings out ‘sartorial discrimination’
- Office romances on the increase
- Sunburn new liability threat
- Companies targeted to reduce driving offences
- Sleep working
- Squeeze in!
- Consultation opens on smoke-free workplaces
- NHS could save £80 million a year on temps
- Human Rights awareness low says DRC
- European ruling in pensions case
- Public sector pay rises capped at 2%
- New HR application goes to Coventry
- Employers to blame for absenteeism
- Summertime – and production levels are falling
- Mobile phones mean big hits for business
- Employers clamp down on dodgy applicants
How do you recruit?
According to the third digital classified survey by the World Association of Newspapers, recruiters are returning to the newspaper fold.
In 2005 newspapers accounted for 50.5 per cent of the combined print and digital recruitment advertising sector, up from 49 per cent in 2004.
* * *
Don’t make employers immigration police
Following the Government’s announcement that as part of its shake-up of the immigration system it proposes fining companies that employ illegal workers, both the TUC and the CBI have expressed concern.
The TUC is anxious that employers do not become bogged down in immigration red tape, while the CBI says that only those companies who deliberately flout the law should be targeted.
* * *
Warm weather brings out ‘sartorial discrimination’
As women cool down in spaghetti-straps and flip flops in offices around the country this summer, employers failing to enforce gender neutral dress code policies could be at risk of sex discrimination claims from men forced to swelter in suits, according to research by Croner.
‘Sartorial discrimination’ is a widespread problem this summer, with 55 per cent of employees polled for Croner by YouGov saying that women ‘get away’ with more casual clothing than men to keep cool. This is compared to a mere three per cent who think men are given more leeway to dress down when the weather heats up.
But the problem isn’t confined to the summer months, 41 per cent say that women stray the most from the ‘smart’ dress code all year round – compared to only five percent thinking the same of men.
Richard Smith, employment services director at Croner says: “While it can seem relatively harmless to some people, an unequal dress code policy can have serious implications on business, affecting employee morale, increasing tension and potentially leading to complaints of discrimination.
“If employers are going to allow women to wear summer spaghetti-strap tops and flip flops, they must make equal allowances for men to relax the rules.”
* * *
Sleep working
If your staff are on call, then they must be paid – even if they spend that time asleep, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled.
The case concerned a hotel manager who brought a claim for unpaid contractual wages. He was required to sleep at the hotel overnight in case there was an emergency. In a nine-month period he was only called out once. On another occasion he had left the hotel for half an hour and had received a verbal warning.
The EAT said that a contractual obligation to be present was working time for the purposes of wages and therefore should be paid.
* * *
Office romances on the increase
HR practitioners have reported that employers are turning a blind eye to office romances that would once have brought dismissal or a formal reprimand according to the latest edition of IRS Review.
The research found that the number of respondents reporting a rise in office romances was three times higher than the number reporting a fall – with half saying a marriage had taken place between co-workers.
* * *
Sunburn new liability threat
The biggest future threat to the construction industry could be the risk of sunburn causing skin cancer and generating huge employers’ liability claims, according to Aon Construction Direct.
Contractors across the sector could be facing potential claims amounting to millions over the coming decades if they do not warn their employees to slap on the suntan lotion.
* * *
Companies targeted to reduce driving offences
Companies employing commercial drivers who commit offences can expect a visit from the police as part of a new scheme to reduce the number of road accidents.
Staff from the Metropolitan Police’s Commercial Vehicle Education Unit deal with both drivers and companies from the freight industry that have committed offences or been involved in collisions.
Companies are monitored to check they are taking steps to improve safety in line with the Freight Operators Recognition Scheme. Sussex Police is also running a similar scheme.
* * *
Squeeze in!
With office space at a premium, estate agency Knight Frank has found that employers are offering less desk space per person.
Historically, companies offered 140-190sq ft per person, now that’s been cut to 120-130sq ft.
But space saving can’t go much further – regulations require every worker to have 11 cubic metres of space, by our calculations that’s equivalent to 118sq ft.
* * *
Consultation opens on smoke-free workplaces
The Government has launched a 12-week consultation on how legislation to enforce smoke-free workplaces and vehicles will be implemented and enforced. Views are sought on issues such as exemptions and signage.
The consultation closes on October 9 and can be found at:
* * *
NHS could save £80 million a year on temps
The National Audit Office (NAO) believes NHS trusts could save more than £80 million a year by improving the way they recruit and use temporary nurses.
In its report, the NAO says that although money has been saved on expensive agency nurses with costs down to 3 per cent of budgets from a high of 7 per cent, many trusts don’t have the data necessary to work out cost-effective staffing levels.
* * *
Human Rights awareness low says DRC
A survey by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) reveals that 70 per cent of the British population cannot name any of their human rights.
The Human Rights Act enshrined 16 articles from the European Convention on Human Rights and some could be used as an alternative to more traditional employment legislation.
The 16 rights are: right to life, freedom from torture and inhuman and degrading treatment, freedom from slavery, right to liberty, right to a fair trial, freedom from punishment without lawful authority, right to respect for private and family life, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, right to marry, freedom from discrimination, protection of property, right to education, right to free elections and abolition of the death penalty.
* * *
European ruling in pensions case
When a company goes bust, should the Government pick up the entire pensions bill? The unions Amicus and Community certainly think so – they’ve taken a case to the European Court of Justice on behalf of 1,000 former employees of Allied Steel and Wire.
But the opinion of the Advocate-General is something of a mixed blessing for the unions. Firstly, it agrees that a 1980 Directive does require governments to ensure that pension rights are fully protected – but it goes on to say that governments are not expected to be guarantors.
The court’s decision is likely to be several months away. Usually it follows the opinion of the Advocate-General – but not always.
* * *
Public sector pay rises capped at 2%
In his update to the latest Government spending review, Gordon Brown announced that public sector pay rises will be capped at about two per cent.
The Chancellor said maintaining wage discipline was important because inflation in the price of goods had been increasing, partly because of higher oil prices.
* * *
New HR application goes to Coventry
Coventry City Council has invested £850,000 in a new human resources and payroll application for its 16,000 employees.
The council has chosen Northgate HR’s ResourceLink solution to manage its entire human resources function from recruitment, training and career development through to pensions and retirement.
It is estimated the new application will pay for itself in efficiency and effectiveness improvements over the next three years.
* * *
Employers to blame for absenteeism
A survey by Norwich Union reveals that 94 per cent of doctors blame employers for workplace absenteeism, saying they fail to take care of their staff as the major health problems reported by human resources directors, such as stress, back problems and depression are all issues which are caused or exacerbated by the workplace.
The survey also reveals that less than 40 per cent of companies see employee health as a priority for human resources, despite figures suggesting absenteeism costs businesses £13bn a year.
Employee health has a significant impact on an organisation, with 42 per cent of companies claiming to have struggled when key staff have been off sick for long periods of time, causing widespread disruption.
* * *
Employers clamp down on dodgy applicants
According to new research in the IRS Employment Review, employers now use up to seven different methods to check out potential recruits.
References are still the most common but for those posts for which they are available, criminal record checks are considered the most useful.
The research shows that employers are concerned about identity theft and most verify academic qualifications. They also follow up discrepancies between interviews and CVs.
* * *
Summertime – and production levels are falling
As temperatures in parts of the country soar towards tropical levels, the summertime living isn’t always easy for staff cooped up in offices.
A survey by Office Angels reveals that around a third of business premises don’t have air conditioning and as temperature soars, so productivity levels drop – by a quarter.
And although there are statutory minimum working temperatures – 16°C unless there is severe physical effort which reduces it to 13°C – there is no statutory maximum. The only provision is in the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 which states the temperature should be ‘reasonable’.
* * *
Mobile phones mean big hits for business
Number crunchers at the Communications Management Association have worked out there were 3,480 betting opportunities during the World Cup – and all of them were accessible through mobile phones.
Then there’s the multitude of opportunities to download music and games, view video clips and vote on TV programmes – all of which could mean a big phone bill for organisations who supply mobile phones.
Paul Fegan, head of the association’s billing group, said companies who supply mobiles should act now and make sure they put a policy outlawing such usage in place.
