Ask the Expert: Can we cut mileage rates without staff agreement?
The question In 2003, the company set mileage rates at 15p per mile for certain employees who drove their own cars. In 2007, the firm was bought out and became part of a larger group. The current head of the company resigned and a new manager was recruited to take over. In January […]
Work experience scheme launched to help autistic adults get jobs
The National Autistic Society’s recruitment service is piloting a new 28-week course entitled ‘Preparation for Employment’ to help adults with the condition move into work. NAS surveys indicate that only 15% of autistic adults are currently in full-time employment, even though most are willing and able to work. Key barriers to finding and keeping a […]
The Bribery Act: Goodbye to the gravy train
The UK Bribery Act 2010 is ushering in a new era of tighter control over corporate hospitality and employee entertainment. For any business built on wining and dining customers and business partners, the introduction of the Act this July will have a significant impact on its behaviour. To ensure they comply with the law, […]
PC to appeal dismissal for having sex on the job
A police constable plans to appeal against his dismissal for gross misconduct after a probe found that he had sex with five different women while on duty. Troy Van-Eda, who claimed he was separated from his wife, was sacked without notice from the Greater Manchester Police. The move followed an 18-month-long internal investigation undertaken by […]
Heads of flagship government apprenticeship schemes quit
The heads of both of the Coalition Government’s flagship multi-billion pound apprenticeship schemes have resigned on the same day. Geoff Russell, who heads up the Skills Funding Agency, and Simon Waugh, who was chief executive of the National Apprenticeship Service, both announced today that they plan to step down. Russell, who will leave his […]
Blog: Social media and the workforce – Can you hear me now?
Can you hear me now? That ubiquitous phrase made famous by Verizon became quite apropos at the end of 2011. After the most embarrassing debacle in history of marketing/pricing, Verizon was forced to backtrack, put their tail between their legs, and somberly walk away from what they thought would be another revenue steam. Netflix […]
Trends 2012: The talent issue
Prime Minister David Cameron predicts that 2012 will be another tough year for the UK economy. With this in mind, employers should be considering the implications of financial austerity measures, particularly with regards to selecting and nurturing talent. Selecting talent: In 2012, the ‘try before you buy’ trend will become increasingly prevalent due to two […]
Coral bets on SaaS-based workforce management system
A UK bookie has rolled out WorkPlace System’s Software-as-a-Service-based workforce management offering across 1,700 of its licensed betting shops in order to manage the whereabouts of its 10,000 employees. Coral, which is part of the Gala Coral Group, is the third largest retail bookmaking business in the country, with a market share of approximately 20%. The […]
Analysis: Increasingly fragile UK jobs market set to get “much worse”
The latest official figures paint a picture of “increasing fragility” in the UK jobs market, which is set to get “much worse” over the year ahead. According to the Office for National Statistics, unemployment rose by 118,000 in the three months to November, accounting for 2.69 million or 8.4% of the total workforce, up from […]
Blog: Global recognition stereotyping – don’t believe the lie
Recognise This! – The power of employee recognition and appreciation knows no geographic or cultural boundaries. I hear time and again that “it’s different over there.” Or “They do things differently. They don’t have the same expectations our employees here have.” I hear this most often about the Asia/Pacific region and usually specifically about […]
Book Review: How to be good at performance appraisals by Dick Grote
I must say that I approached Dick Grote’s book with some misgivings. Since designing and helping clients to install performance appraisal systems and advising on possible approaches to management development, I have become rather cynical about their usefulness after they have been around for a couple of years. This is not least because of […]
Update: Unilever workers start 11 days of strikes
Thousands of staff at Unilever are starting 11 days of strike action in a dispute over plans to close their final salary pension scheme later this year. Some 2,500 mostly factory-floor staff – out of a total workforce of 7,000 – took part in the first national strike at the company in December following an […]
Talent Spot: Darren Hockaday, HR director at London Overground
“I’ve made it my business to get as close to the business and operations as possible. As an HR director, it’s not desirable, it’s essential that I know every role in the organisation and that I’m out there speaking to people and knowing how things are done,” says Darren Hockaday, HR director at London Overground […]
Survey: Do you engage in training and if not, why not?
Just under two thirds of practitioners regularly or occasionally undertake training, work towards qualifications or carry out any form of continuing professional development, according to a recent poll by The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals. But while the figure appears promising, the Insitute, which is focusing on CPD this year due to the introduction of […]
Tweeter allegedly sacked after admitting depression
A Twitter user who opened up to the boss earlier today about his depression was apparently fired three hours later after allegedly being told that “we’re a small company, there’s no room for passengers”. The tweeter aka @badlydrawnroy claimed that his employer initially tried to make him resign, but later sent him a letter of […]
Blog: Is there a link between staff resilience and engagement levels?
Resilience has been a hot topic for me lately and that trend isn’t slowing. One of my colleagues recently attended the Division of Occupational Psychology’s Annual Conference where he presented a paper: Is an employee’s level of resilience related to their work engagement? In this, Ali Shalfrooshan studied the relationship between individual resilience and […]
1000s of private sector jobs ‘at risk’ across all industries
As the Ministry of Defence revealed plans for a second round of redundancies in the armed forces, thousands of jobs also appeared to be at risk across the private sector. The government department announced that 2,900 personnel were to go in the Army, along with up to 1,000 RAF jobs and up to 300 positions […]
Accord Energy Solutions: Becoming an employee-owned company
If your organisation has ambitious plans for the future and wants to employ the most talented and productive people, then making the transition to employee-ownership could be for you. In 2010, we set up Accord Energy Solutions, an independent hydrocarbon accounting company to provide services to the international oil and gas industry. The aim […]
Update: Public sector job cuts ‘only just beginning’
A huge 710,000 public sector job losses are expected by 2017 and will hit the poorest areas of the UK hardest, according to the TUC. The job cuts, which were originally expected to number 400,000, will have a "devastating" impact on regional labour markets in the North East of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, […]
Health worker fined after illegally accessing patient records
A former health worker has been fined for unlawfully obtaining patient information by accessing the medical records of five members of her ex-husband’s family in order to obtain their new telephone numbers. Juliah Kechil, formerly Merritt, a former health care assistant in the Outpatients Department at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital was convicted under section […]
