Talent Spot: Damian Hughes, HR author, speaker and consultant
HR practitioners know the value of having a varied CV. But in the case of Damian Hughes, now running his own consultancy Liquid Thinker, varied doesn’t appear to do justice to the eclectic mix of careers and experiences that he’s amassed – and all before turning 40. Hughes has been a footballer and Manchester United […]
Blog: Four tips to help staff keep calm in the face of change
Change is inevitable and necessary, but it is also a major cause of stress and anxiety. As many organisations face up to big cultural and financial changes, it is important to have some simple techniques up your sleeve to help people handle the uncertainty. Even the smallest of changes can have a big impact, […]
“Stratospheric” executive pay rises are ‘damaging British business’
“Stratospheric” pay increases that have seen the salaries of top executives at a number of FTSE companies soar by more than 4,000% over the last 30 years are undermining productivity and “damaging” trust in British business. According to a report published by the High Pay Commission following a year-long inquiry, such high growth rates compare […]
HR vacancies rise, but salaries remain flat
The number of permanent HR vacancies, particularly for global and public sector posts, is on the rise, even though pay continues to remain relatively flat month-on-month, a report has revealed. According to October’s Talent Spotlight from recruitment consultancy Badenoch & Clark, the amount of permanent HR positions available increased by 1.3% last month compared with […]
HRD Insight: HSS’ John Hardman on moving beyond HR theory
What’s important if you want to succeed in an HR context? The first thing is not to get too caught up in text book approaches to people management or too bogged down by the theory. What is far more important is being able to understand the business and your people and, to some extent, […]
Regional Health Authority goes social to support new NHS commissioning groups
South East Coast Strategic Health Authority has set up a virtual learning environment to help new ‘clinical commissioning groups’ share their experiences and tap into the expertise of other workers in Primary Care Trusts and local authorities. The Learning Network is a collaborative web site that is intended to provide support to those members of […]
HMRC to change year-end PAYE system
In a move that should help to reduce year-end penalties for employers, HM Revenue & Customs is to change its Pay As You Earn system to handle tax and other deductions on a monthly rather than annual basis. HMRC’s new ‘Real Time Information‘ approach will mean that tax and deductions data is transmitted to it each […]
Blog: Why you should stop motivating staff
Recognise This! – Factors that serve to demotivate employees are stronger than those that motivate them. For decades, “good” managers have concerned themselves with how to motivate employees – how to encourage their employees to give their best. New research from Jim Collins, co-author of Good to Great and Great by Choice, offers a […]
Government minister threatens strike law changes
The case for reforming strike laws will become “very pressing” if public sector workers press ahead with industrial action at the end of the month, a Coalition Government Minister has warned. Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude told BBC 1’s Andrew Marr show on Sunday that such legislation was kept “under review”, adding that a mass […]
Medical panel should sign off long-term sick, report recommends
An independent panel of medical experts should be set up to decide whether or not people are fit for work, stripping GPs of the power to issue sick notes for long-term absence. Employers should also be given the right to appeal decisions made by family doctors to sign off workers, while being offered tax breaks […]
Ask the Expert: Can I change the job offer for a pregnant candidate?
The question We recently offered a full-time role to an applicant who has now indicated that she may be pregnant. She is considering not joining us because of this. We have no problem with her pregnancy, but the role offered could be strenuous in the later months of pregnancy. We want to consider other […]
Blog: The value of early intervention
Mary is an established member of her team, with good social and professional relationships with her co-workers. Her boss has managed the unit with a fair degree of success (neither perfect nor imperfect), and everyone knows where the boundaries are and what is expected of them. Boss moves on with fond farewells. New boss […]
Employee vetting in recruitment – a must or a nice-to-have?
How effective is making pre-employment vetting part of the recruitment process in order to reduce subsequent fraud and theft? Which pre-employment checks are necessary and where do you stand on hiring ex-offenders? Such topics have been widely debated in the HR world for years without any clear-cut answers having emerged. But what is […]
“Incredibly complicated” tax changes to salary sacrifice schemes due next year
Employers who offer workers childcare vouchers and the like will face some complicated tax calculations from the start of next year when new VAT rules on salary sacrifice schemes come into force. From January 1 2012, companies will have to pay VAT on non-cash goods and services provided to employees in exchange for some of […]
Employers failing to make staff contingency plans due to Olympics antipathy
As youth unemployment passed the one million mark for the first time, just over a quarter of UK employers said the money being funnelled into the London Olympics would be better spent on training to help young people get jobs. A total three in five UK also wished that the money had been invested in […]
New investment for 10,000 more volunteer business mentors
The Coalition Government is investing £1.2 million in order to recruit and train 10,000 new mentors in a bid to boost support for entrepreneurs and stimulate the economy. The money will be used to support the Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative‘s new ‘Get Mentoring’ scheme for volunteers from small-to-medium businesses who may not otherwise be […]
Legal Insight: Qantas of solace – Would Oz’s dispute resolution model work in the UK?
Qantas’ unprecedented decision to ground its entire fleet of aeroplanes during a recent industrial dispute has provoked huge debate across both the country and the world. The clash, the response of the Australian national airline’s management to it and the subsequent decision of national workplace relations tribunal, Fair Work Australia, to order an end to […]
Update: UK worker loses race discrimination claim against Chinese telco
A UK worker has lost his case against a Chinese telecoms company that he sued for race discrimination after claiming that 49 workers in Basingstoke were axed and replaced with Chinese nationals. Judeson Peter, a customer support engineer who was paid £48,000 per annum by Huawei Technologies, accused the firm of making him redundant because […]
Blog: A new role for HR?
Every year we bring together key thinkers in the HR Profession for the Ochre House HR Directors Annual Symposium and this year, they certainly didn’t fail to impress. The subject for the day was Redefining Business Value Through a Talent Centric Approach and it wasn’t long before the room was buzzing with conversation. One […]
Employers asked to bid for chunk of £250m apprenticeship pot
In a bid to try and tackle soaring youth unemployment, the Coalition Government is asking employers to bid for a chunk of a £250 million pot next year to take on new apprentices. The news came only weeks after the leak of a document from Business Secretary Vince Cable’s department revealing that official apprenticeship figures […]