Tube maintenance staff to strike next week
London Underground maintenance staff will go on strike for 72 hours next Tuesday because of a row over pensions and benefits. The Rail Maritime and Transport Workers union, which represents about 1,000 staff who work on the Tube Lines contracts, said that personnel had voted four to one in favour of industrial action, which will […]
Is there such a thing as a typical HR career path?
There is no such thing as a ‘typical’ career in HR. The diversity inherent in the profession provides the opportunity to take things in a variety of different directions and to influence strategic business decisions. This is as true today as it was 20 years ago. HR is an evolving profession and entry routes […]
Graduate starting salaries lowest for nearly a decade
Graduate starting salaries are predicted to drop to their lowest in real terms for almost a decade because it is currently a “buyer’s market”, researchers have revealed. According to a survey of more than 100 employers conducted by Incomes Data Services, nine out of ten that run graduate recruitment schemes plan to freeze pay over […]
Inequalities watchdog slammed over pay gap
The UK’s inequality watchdog has been slammed after admitting that it pays male workers more than females and white employees more than those from ethnic minority backgrounds. The situation came to light just over two years after the Equality and Human Rights Commission had vowed to stamp out pay discrimination among its own workers – […]
Blog: Crappy performance management rule 3 – Set objectives that staff can never hit
In my previous two blogs I articulated rule 1 of crappy performance management: Don’t tell anyone about the vision and rule 2: Never attempt to motivate staff as it will merely be seen as patronising. In this final instalment of the trilogy the hero of crappy performance management wins the day and their "precious" drops away into the […]
Blog: Boris and Ken – Lessons in leadership
There is something worrying about the struggle for mayoral rights in London, between past and present: Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone. Perhaps journalist Rachel Sylvester packaged up the problem in the neatest way when she wrote: "It’s not supposed to be about you, Boris and Ken." But, at the moment it is. It appears that […]
The secret to employee engagement? Just listen
Most people know that engaged employees are much more productive than disaffected ones, but HR professionals also understand the amount of damage that the latter can wreak on the company’s bottom line. You’ll be familiar with the research, but it’s worth a recap. Staff members who are engaged with their jobs will: Generate 43% […]
Does affirmative action in recruitment work?
Affirmative action in the jobs market, while illegal in the UK, has been key to helping cut US unemployment rates among African-Americans, research has revealed. According to a paper presented at the British Sociological Association’s annual conference in Leeds today, one in 12 black Britons is currently unemployed compared with just one in 16 over […]
Mini workers threaten strikes after claims of being denied loo breaks
Thousands of Mini workers are threatening to strike over a “strings attached” pay deal as it also emerged that they were facing shorter breaks and had to “ask permission” to go to the toilet. Unions have already balloted almost 2,000 of their members who work at the BMW-owned plant in Oxford over what the car […]
Living Leader Learnings: Why saying ‘well done’ just isn’t enough
The challenge A sales team leader at a mobile technology company asks: “I am constantly telling people at work that they have done a good job. I say ‘well done’ all the time, but it doesn’t really seem to make a difference. I do sometimes feel a bit like a broken record. How can […]
Blog: Ten top tips for taking control of your career
It goes without saying that the number one thing you need to do to manage your career within in an organisation is to work hard and do a really good job, exceeding expectations wherever possible. But that in itself is not enough to actually take control of your career and achieve your aspirations. Here […]
Blog: Why I rate The Apprentice US more highly than its UK counterpart
I watch The Apprentice – the UK version with Lord Sugar and when I spot it in the TV listings, the US version with Donald Trump. Four programmes into the new series in the UK and I have to say I’m watching it for negative rather than positive reasons. None of the candidates seem to be covering […]
Ask the Expert: How legal are contract clauses to work overtime for no pay?
The question I’ve just downloaded an Employment Contract T&C’s template from an online provider and it contains the following condition: 5. Hours of work Your normal hours of work are between [TIME] and [TIME], [Mondays] to [Fridays] inclusive, with a lunch break of one hour. You may be required to work such additional hours […]
How to overcome six employee engagement challenges
Employee engagement should not be seen as a goal in and of itself. It should instead be treated as a vehicle to help fulfil the corporate vision and achieve business success. As such, it is essential to translate the concept into what this specifically means for your organisation. So what would the experience of […]
Health and safety investigations panel branded of “limited use”
A panel set up to try and end the inappropriate use of UK health and safety legislation in the workplace and elsewhere has been branded as of only “limited use” by one legal expert. The Health and Safety Executive has set up a ‘Myth Busters Challenge Panel’ to look into complaints about decisions made by […]
Breakthrough reached in Unilever pension dispute
Two out of three unions have broken the deadlock in a long-running pension dispute at Unilever by accepting what they described as a “significantly improved” offer. Members of the Unite and Usdaw unions have accepted improvements made to a career average pension scheme that had been put on the table to replace a more lucrative […]
Blog: Are annual performance reviews strictly necessary?
Recognise This! – Yes, getting rid of the annual review can be done successfully. Do we really need annual performance reviews? I’ve written before that there is a balance between ongoing feedback from multiple sources and annual feedback from one source. I’ve also written about what it would look like if you scrap the […]
Blog: LivePerson – A culture-based approach to recruitment
This is my tweet (see below) from Thursday afternoon after I got a glimpse of LivePerson’s campaign to find a new CTO. “A CTO with heart” does not quite fit into my mind when I think of a CTO. I know numerous Chief Technical Officers, but I would be hard pressed to figure out which […]
TV Review: The Apprentice Week 4 – Quality over quantity
After another saucy (sorry!) episode last week, I was looking forward to seeing what Lord Sugar and his trusty aides had in store for our 13 remaining hopefuls this week. Once again they did not disappoint. First of all, Lord Sugar injected a breath of fresh air into the proceedings by springing this week’s task […]
Legal Insight: Compromise agreements
On Friday 6 April, changes to The Equality Act 2010 (Amendment) Order 2012 confirmed that an employee’s lawyer could act as an independent adviser for the purposes of preparing a compromise agreement. But while this is all very well and good, what actually is a compromise agreement and why do employers use them so frequently […]