Blog: how not to ruin a team in 10 conference calls

Working in virtual and ad-hoc teams is on the rise. Here at Brother, employees work in changing groups that often involve people in Japan, the States and all over Europe – some from within Brother, some from external suppliers, consultants and partners.   Over the last 10 years, remote collaboration has usually been achieved through […]

Legal Commentary: contract termination – it’s not cricket! (part 2)

In part one of this two part article, Andrew Yule, Assistant Solicitor at Withers LLP looked at the background to and lessons learned from the Supreme Court’s decision in Société Générale, London Branch v Geys. In this concluding part, he offers some practical advice on ways to avoid such situations arising.  Let’s say your employer has told you […]

Legal Commentary: contract termination – it’s not cricket! (part 1)

The rules of cricket are notoriously complex. As a child, I had a humorous tea-towel – "The Rules of Cricket Explained to a Foreigner" – which included the following line: "Each man that’s in the side that’s in goes out, and when he’s out he comes in and the next man goes in until he’s […]

How to steer clear of office conflicts

As children, most of us would have been encouraged to ‘play well with others,’ but in later life, this advice doesn’t always govern behaviour in the workplace.  It’s just a fact of business life that misunderstandings occur and personalities can clash. Even if you’re more of a peacemaker than a trouble-maker, you could find yourself […]

Blog: would turning off social media improve workplace productivity?

Productivity is a hot topic for management. Faced with reduced staffing and increased pressures on time, the workplace has become a laboratory on how to get the most from each member of staff over the course of the day. The idea of voluntarily allowing employees to spend hours chatting with their friends is routinely met […]

Talent Spot: Karen Myers, HR director for UK and Western Europe at RSA

Karen Myers, HR director for UK and Western Europe at insurance firm RSA, loves what she does.   She must do, she says, otherwise there’s no way she would endure a 5.15am wake-up call and a 3.5 hour commute each way.   But the company, people and culture are a “natural fit”, according to Myers.  […]

In a nutshell: making changes without ruffling feathers

When you join a new company, the temptation is to change everything at once. Marcus Powell, group organisation development and HR director at Nuffield Health, shares his tips on making changes without ruffling too many feathers.   Be appreciative Seek out what is working well and learn how to amplify the good things and dampen […]

Part timers worry about job security

Part-time staff are more worried about job security than their full-time co-workers, according to Legal & General’s Job Security Index.   Job losses at HMV, Rolls Royce and other high-profile companies have helped knock the confidence of all workers, but the drop has been most notable among part-time workers.   The Index showed that 65% […]

Health and Safety: businesses need to keep defibrillators to hand

Defbrillators should become part of regular office equipment, urges an occupational health group.  A survey of 1,000 UK firms by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) found that more than half of UK businesses do not have a defibrillator, which restarts the heart using an electric shock following cardiac arrest.   While six […]

Ask the expert: Adjusting an offer letter to reflect a change in Ts & Cs

Question   One of the members of staff that I manage is currently on a three day a week permanent contract (in the form of an offer letter). We have found the resources to increase this by an extra two days a week, but only for a time limited period (one year) and related to […]

Redundancies on the up – but so are salaries.

2013 promises a high number of redundancies but also healthy salary increases for UK firms, reports an Aon Hewitt survey. The survey revealed a mixed picture of the jobs market in the UK. More than a third (35%) of UK organisations said they were considering redundancies this year – higher than any other European country […]

Salaries did rise in 2012 despite downturn

It might still feel economically rough out there but it seems that overall the job market remained positive throughout 2012, with both permanent and temporary staffing salaries showing an overall increase. In fact, salaries have remained predominately competitive, according to Office Angels’ mysalarychecker.com which found that almost all areas of the UK saw a modest […]

Commentary: Education sector HR goes beyond the horizon

The further and higher education sector, like most others, is advancing towards the budgetary black hole which has been looming in its path…and once the event horizon has been crossed, there is no going back. The Government’s long-term goal is that the sector will become less dependent on state funding; income will instead increasingly come […]

Ask the Expert: strategies for mental wellbeing

The statistics are stark: one in four British adults will suffer at least one diagnosable mental health problem in any one year, according to The Office for National Statistics. Yet, despite the prevalence of people suffering from stress, depression and other mental illnesses, there is such a huge stigma around mental health that many people […]

Mental health reform brings HR implications

The Mental Health (Discrimination) Bill was given its final approval by the Lords last week, marking a major step forward in the way society views mental illness. Three key changes will become law when the Bill gains Royal Assent, probably next month. It will lift the barrier on people who have suffered mental illness from […]

Best practice: Staying mum at Merrill Lynch

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is spearheading an innovative campaign to help stay-at-home mothers and carers get back into the workplace.   The ‘Returning Talent’ programme offers practical advice to people hoping to re-enter the workplace after three or more years caring for their family. It is aiming to attract middle to senior-ranking professionals from […]

Best Practice: Royal Mail delivers better recruitment

Royal Mail Group has overhauled its recruitment process in a bid to pinpoint postmen, drivers and other operational staff that better fit the organisation’s sharpened customer focus. Each year, Royal Mail hires about 10,000 people for operational roles, whittled down from 170,000 applications and 22,000 interviews. These positions not only include front-line staff delivering mail, […]

Blog: Gravitas means knowing when to go

The world is coming to terms with the first Papal resignation in 600 years but it is perhaps a sign of the times that immediate public reaction was a certain amount of indignation that the news was kept under wraps and not all over Twitter before it was officially announced.   A different choice of […]

Talent Management: how to channel the force of social media

Talent Management is becoming ever more “social,” driven by mobile and tablet computing. That’s one of the main conclusions of the ‘State of Talent Management 2013’ study conduced by SilkRoad which polled 5,753 people, both dedicated HR professionals and other employees. The findings showed that most employees access social media sites from personal mobile devices frequently […]

Blog: Valentine’s Day and workplace romance

Once again Valentine’s Day is upon us, a day for sweethearts to declare their love for one another and to mark the occasion with a card, flowers and perhaps a meal.   A situation that should be applauded you may say, however, it depends on the circumstances of the relationship. When a relationship has been […]