Talking Point: Why HR directors should manage, not mother
When it comes to evaluating staff behaviour and performance, what kind of manager are you? And more to the point, is your managerial style – and that of your colleagues – damaging the business? Some employers apply strict policies to keep employees on a tight rein. Others take a more laid-back approach, letting conduct […]
Neet employer funding: ‘Why fill in forms for a social experiment?’
The government’s new £126m training scheme for young people has drawn a mixed response, with one entrepreneur claiming that it will only help training providers rather than businesses or the unemployed. Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg announced today that the funding would be made available to pay charities and private sector organisations to provide 55,000 […]
Tesco changes work experience terms in bid to end protests
Tesco is to offer work experience candidates paid placements and a guaranteed job at the end, after claims that it was using benefit claimants as unpaid labour generated an angry consumer backlash. The UK’s biggest supermarket chain said that participants in the government’s ‘Workfare’ scheme would now be offered the choice of remaining on Jobseeker […]
The HR Headmistress: How to deliver compliance training with aplomb
Compliance training is like visiting a difficult family member. You may not really like spending time with them, but your mother insists. Topics such as health and safety, data protection, food hygiene and employment law evoke a similar rather less-than-thrilled response in a ‘we do it because we have to, but don’t expect us to […]
Blog: Charity needs to begin at home for third sector HR
I find many people tend to assume that the Third Sector is mostly staffed by tree-hugging hippies, and is full of warm and fuzzy organisations where group hugs are on each meeting agenda. (This is usually the view of people who work in the private and public sectors, funnily enough.) But did you know […]
Employers vs employees – What both parties want to see
New research reveals there is a perception gap between the skills employers are looking for from prospective employees and the skills jobseekers believe to be important. There is a particular divergence of views when it comes to workplace skills such as teamwork, communication and dealing with customers. The findings show just one in ten […]
Minister: UK employers should favour UK unemployed
Little seems to have been learned from Gordon Brown’s ‘British jobs for British people’ populist sloganeering – Employment Minister Chris Grayling has taken a similar tack this weekend. On Sky News this weekend Grayling said that that young British people out of work should be given priority over immigrant applicants, including those from Eastern Europe. […]
Workfare critics are job snobs, says Chris Grayling
Tesco is to hold crisis talks with employment officials as criticism of the Government’s ‘workfare’ scheme continues. As Employment Minister Chris Grayling branded critics of the scheme as “job snobs”, Tesco’s nerves seemed to be growing after one of its stores in Westminster was forced to close by protestors. Under the scheme, the unemployed […]
HR’s critical role in shaping company culture post-M&A
As soon as a merger or acquisition is announced, the culture of both entities begins to change as people start to think about, and behave towards, their immediate environment in a different way. This means that HR directors need to act quickly to help guide these changes and ensure that the transaction fulfils its original […]
Blog: Why is staff engagement in decline globally?
Recognise This! – Employees worldwide are disengaging at work, leaving organisations at a competitive disadvantage. Recent research out of Kenexa is showing employee engagement on the decline globally. “EEI scores declined, not only in the aggregate of these economies, but in each individual country as well. The pattern of scores over time is fairly […]
Ask the Expert: When should we CRB-check our site engineers?
The question We are currently looking into whether we need to undertake CRB checking for some of our site engineers, but are not 100% sure if we require it? As a company, we occasionally (and I have to highlight that it is only occasionally) send engineers out to schools or attend calls in […]
Tesco accused of “exploiting” workers in ‘free work’ row
Tesco has blamed a job advert for an unpaid permanent night shift worker on an “IT error” after outrage in the twittersphere led to claims that the supermarket chain was “exploiting” workers. The advert, which was posted on the Jobcentre Plus website, said that Tesco was looking for a permanent night shift worker for a […]
Could more effective workforce management replace redundancy?
As uncertainty over the Eurozone crisis continues to dampen confidence and fears of a double-dip recession continue to loom, it appears that UK organisations will need to keep on tightening their belts for some time to come. And as downsizing strategies go, few measures ever seem to receive the same amount of airtime and […]
Analysis: SAP and SuccessFactors – A marriage made in heaven?
A new transatlantic special relationship has formed since SuccessFactors and SAP finally became one – and HR directors must now wait to see what happens next. SAP’s $3.4 billion purchase of SuccessFactors – a Software-as-a-Service firm that focuses on selling human capital management applications – had been extended beyond its offer deadline three times while […]
Blog: Fraud – Who do you think they are?
Do you know how easy it is to lie about your experience or qualifications on a CV and get away with it? Actually it is extremely easy, simply because the people doing the interviewing are not doing their job properly. And this backed up by the latest US TV hit from Dave, Suits, where a […]
Dept of Health apologises for paying senior execs via limited companies
The Department of Health has apologised for misleading the opposition about paying senior figures via limited companies to help them avoid income tax. According to one insider, the 25 cases identified by The Guardian could be “the tip of the iceberg”. The comment mirrors that of AccountingWEB member, The Black Knight, who commented on […]
Network Rail’s travel time-based redundancy policy branded “unfair and arbitrary”
Unions have branded Network Rail’s decision to make workers redundant if they do not live within 75 minutes of its new offices as “unfair and arbitrary”. The Transport Salaried Staff Association claims that 800 staff from Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire will be affected by the policy, although the owner of the UK’s rail infrastructure […]
Blog: How to network effectively
Networking – why do it? Are you doing it? Are you any good at it? Did you know that you can greatly enhance the performance of your team and your company through networking? One of the things about networking is that there can be a lot of mystique attached to it. There is the […]
Legal Insight: How to avoid getting sued when making redundancies
In today’s financial climate, it is generally not particularly difficult to persuade an employment tribunal that a company needs to make redundancies. But if an employee challenges the reason for their dismissal, the employer’s reasoning will come under much closer scrutiny than it would in an ordinary unfair dismissal case. This means that, ideally, […]
UK unemployment continues ‘steady crawl’ to 9% by year end
Although the latest official unemployment figures were better than expected, the UK is continuing its steady crawl towards jobless levels of 9% by the end of the year, experts warn. According to the Office for National Statistics, worklessness rose by 48,000 in the three months to December, bringing the number of people without employment to […]
