Infographic: Q2 employment snapshot
News: ‘Zero-hours’ NHS contracts branded risky “untested experiment”
An increasing use of ‘zero-hours’ contracts by NHS Trusts trying to make the coalition government’s reforms workable amounts to an “untested experiment” that is putting patient safety at risk, critics have warned. According to the Independent, a number of Trusts including Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals, South Gloucester and University Hospitals Bristol are currently turning to the […]
News: State pension age rises to create “limbo zone” for older workers
Increases in the state pension age will lead to the creation of a new “limbo zone” in which many workers are too young to draw their pension but too old and infirm to work. The TUC issued the warning on releasing an analysis of official labour market data, which revealed that a mere 54% of […]
Book Review: The Advantage – Why organizational health trumps everything else in business
A key message of author, Patrick Lencioni, is that the financial cost of running an unhealthy organisation is huge because of waste, decreased productivity, increased employee turnover and lost customers – and I agree with him. But the personal cost can be much higher, as he also explains: “When leaders of an organisation are […]
Blog: Disabled workers – Making reasonable adjustments
Most people will no doubt be familiar with the concept of ‘reasonable adjustments’ to accommodate employee disabilities, facilitate a return to work after sickness absence etc. But often that’s when we get a bit stuck for ideas of how to actually do this in practice – in fact we often rely on the person who requires […]
International workforces: Supporting non-native English speakers
It goes without saying that it is much easier for people to work together if they can communicate effectively. But one consideration in this context is the increasingly international nature of the modern workplace. As a result, HR directors have a big part to play in supporting new employees moving to the UK for […]
Ask the Expert: Can employers simply take food allowances away?
The challenge A friend is a residential carer at an organisation that looks after multiple residents with learning difficulties. The job is shift-based and includes sleepovers. Historically, the company has included a food allowance for resident carers (it covers shopping for sustenance while onsite). Due to the nature of service users, carers prepare food […]
News: Whitehall must work “smarter” to deliver services post-jobs cull
In order to prevent civil service staff numbers creeping up again despite heavy job cuts, it will be crucial to revamp business processes and enable people to work “smarter”. This is one of the key findings of a report entitled ‘Managing early departures in Central Government’ published by the Commons Public Accounts Committee. The […]
News: September will be UK’s key holiday month this year
Even though August has traditionally been considered the UK’s key month for taking summer holidays, deserted workplaces will be more common in September this year, according to research. A survey conducted among 153 employees by the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professional revealed that just under a quarter would be taking their vacation next month compared […]
Blog: The art of mobile motivation
Gone are the days when managers wanting to motivate their staff simply had to call a team meeting in the office anytime and everyone would be there. As a result of remote working and flexible hours it is very rare for most of the team to be in one building at the same time, certainly […]
Christina’s Counsel: Seven ways to ensure credible performance management
Hello and welcome to this month’s dilemma: The challenge A reader contacted me to talk about the impact of introducing a performance management system into her company a year ago. The process is not linked directly to reward at this point in time, although there are plans to do so in future. As […]
Legal Insight: How to prevent grievances from becoming constructive dismissal claims
In the recent case of Assamoi v Spirit Pub Company (Services) Ltd, it became clear that resolving an employee’s grievance quickly in their favour could prevent a manager’s conduct from escalating into a fundamental breach of contract – and ending up in defeat in a constructive dismissal claim. It also reminded employers that once they […]
EU proposals: Tightening up Ts&Cs for temporarily posted workers
A recent government consultation on the potential impact of a decision by the European Union to enforce its Posting of Workers Directive has just closed, but the responses should help the UK to formulate its negotiating position. So what does it all mean and why is the move significant for employers? A worker is classed […]
News: Half of HR departments will be restructured in next few years
Nearly half of all organisations intend to restructure their HR departments over the next few years in a bid to cater more effectively to the changing needs of the business. According to professional services firm Tower Watson’s HR service delivery survey conducted among HR and HR/IT executives working at 628 organisations across the world, just […]
Blog: Organisational values – Actions speak louder than words
“For us this lawsuit has always been about something much more important than patents or money. It’s about values. We value originality and innovation and pour our lives into making the best products on Earth. And we do this to delight our customers, not for competitors to flagrantly copy.” This was part of the missive […]
News: It’s official – Oracle will discount heavily to win contracts
Earlier this year, Oracle executives were doubtless among those who chortled as the Software-as-a-Service battle plans of Lars Dalgaard, SAP‘s head of cloud and former chief executive of its SuccessFactors acquisition, were laid bare in a leaked internal document. But the boot is now on the other foot as Oracle’s sales strategy for its human […]
In a Nutshell: Four ways to ensure that HR serves the business better
The closer HR is to the business, the better it can serve the business, believes Karl Jolly, director of people at Welcome Break Group. He certainly considers himself to be an ‘ops’ man through and through rather than being one step removed from business. As a result, Jolly offers us advice based on his […]
Do you do a Basil Fawlty when talking to foreign partners?
The lack of importance placed on developing language and business communication skills by UK employers is startling. In order to mark our centenary this year (we’re having a party to celebrate this weekend at The Orangery at Kensington Palace), we commissioned some market research among UK HR directors and discovered something that we had […]
News: Holt Review calls for overhaul of SME apprenticeship system
Less than 10% of UK small-to-medium enterprises ever take on apprentices because existing programmes are “misunderstood and inaccessible”, according to a government report. The review into how to make apprenticeships simpler and easier for SMEs to get involved with, which was undertaken by jewellery entrepreneur Jason Holt, found that the entire system needed overhauling. […]
News: UK staff spend 24 mins bonding daily over a cup of tea
UK employees spend an average of 24 minutes each working day bonding with colleagues by either fetching or sharing a cup of tea with them – and drinking a total of about 46 million mugs of the stuff. According to a survey among 5,000 UK workers conducted by Travelodge, the great British tea break is […]