Blog: Is regulation really to blame for hiring caution?
I have looked with surprise at the debate around changing the unfair dismissal qualification period from one year to two. Is the unfair dismissal qualifying period really what drives small businesses away from employing people? Fear of employment law (which is used by many to sell employment law insurance) does not seem to tie in with […]
Proposals to change parental rights slammed as “hideous”
A Liberal Democrat minister has branded recommendations to restrict maternity and paternity rights as “hideous” amid rumours of a Cabinet split on the issue. Lynne Featherstone, LibDem equalities minister, made it clear to the Observer newspaper yesterday that her party would not tolerate any watering down of parental rights, lashing out at private equity […]
Employers sign up to Recruitment Protocol to tackle disability discrimination
A group of 16 employers are to sign up to an agreement requiring all of the recruitment agencies they work with to remove employment barriers for disabled people. The ‘Recruitment Protocol’, which was developed by the Employers’ Forum on Disability in consultation with the employers concerned and recruitment agencies, is intended to make it easier […]
Roll up, roll up: 10 complimentary passes for the Business Cloud Summit
As HR director, what has Cloud really got to do with you? If you’ve been asking yourself that question, then maybe you need to get some practical advice. And the Business Cloud Summit 2011 could be just the thing for you – it’s aiming to give real-life insights into all things Cloud and how the […]
Positive moves: Dealing with the back pain epidemic
Lord Sugar may have mocked Tom Pellereau when he presented his plans for an office chair designed to alleviate back pain. But the Apprentice winner knew what many employers have been forced to learn: the crippling cost of back problems for both staff and the business. Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE […]
Government funds released to train more online spooks
The Coalition Government is to channel funds from its £650m National Cyber Security Programme into making good a shortfall in the number of internet specialists required to combat online information security threats. Concerns about the inability of GCHQ to retain enough cyber experts were raised earlier this year in the Security and Intelligence Committee’s annual […]
‘Humanising’ HR through social media
Traditionally, HR’s main involvement with social media has been to police employees’ online activities and ensure that they are not breaching company policies if using social networking sites within working hours. But the function is also gradually starting to see the benefits of employing the channel more widely itself. A recent survey conducted by SysComm […]
Blog: Committing to a compassionate culture within the NHS
Compliance to compassion was a phrase that has resonated with me this week, since another damning report was released on the state of the national health service’s approach to eldercare. A lady on the radio yesterday (Thursday) urged officials to shift thinking across the organisation, and actually change the way that individuals approach their day-to-day […]
State pension age to hit 67 up to a decade earlier than planned
The state pension age will rise to 67 for both men and women up to a decade earlier than previously planned, the Coalition Government is expected to announce next week. Under a timetable set by the last government, the pension age was scheduled to reach 67 between 2034 and 2036. But Government ministers have told […]
Only 20% of employers hire apprentices – and falling
A mere one in five employers has taken on an apprentice over the last year, with the majority harbouring negative perceptions of the current workplace training system, including its relevancy to them. To make matters worse – and despite the personal urging of Prime Minister for businesses to take on more such trainees– even fewer […]
Ask the Expert: How can I legally sack an employee with a disability?
The question We have a member of staff who is bi-polar (declared and fully supported since November 2009). Recently, however, there have been changes to his mood and behaviour. He suffers from depression, feelings of self-harm, hallucinations. On occasion, the staff member has also sent inappropriate and racist emails to some colleagues and demonstrated […]
Tax relief cannot be claimed on car allowances, rules tribunal
A training provider plans go to the Court of Appeal over an upper tier tribunal ruling that tax relief cannot be claimed on car allowances. The upper tribunal ruling in the dispute between Total People – now called Cheshire Employer and Skills Development – and HM Revenue & Customs found that lump sums given to […]
Blog: It’s time for HR and recruiting to kiss and make up
Recently I read a great book called In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the whaleship Essex. It tells the true life story of a whaling ship from Nantucket in the 1820’s which was sunk by a rogue sperm whale. Herman Melville based his famed novel Moby Dick on this tragedy. The […]
Building much-needed business savvy
Learning and talent development professionals are used to expanding the skills of others in the business. Customer service has to improve and technical skills must be upgraded. Staff need to acquire knowledge of new technologies and leadership capabilities should be refreshed and strengthened. But a key development area that will also pay real dividends […]
MoD spends £9m on armed forces recruitment as redundancies mount
The Ministry of Defence has spent £9 million on recruitment advertising for the armed forces despite being in the process of laying off thousands of troops over the next four years. According to figures revealed in a written Parliamentary answer to shadow defence minister Kevan Jones, the government department has forked out £5.19 million in […]
Temps entitled to tips under Agency Worker Regs, warns lawyer
The hospitality industry must pay temps their fair share of customer tips or risk legal action under the new Agency Worker Regulations, a lawyer has warned. Although many of the UK’s largest leisure chains have in the past failed to share gratuities with agency staff, individuals with 12 weeks’ service will now be entitled to […]
Gloucester Council’s shared service centre to save local jobs
Gloucester City Council’s move to a shared services model for revenues, benefits and welfare rights-based services will safeguard local jobs and should even create more as other authorities sign up to the arrangement, it has claimed. The Council has outsourced the delivery of the services to outsourcing company Civica in a bid to make annual […]
Talent Spot: Jez Langhorn, McDonalds’ VP of people for Northern Europe
Although ‘persistence’ and ‘staying the course’ may not be the sexiest of qualities, they are important ingredients to business and HR success and should not be underestimated, says Jez Langhorn, McDonalds’ vice president of people for the UK and Northern Europe. And in fact, such doughty terms could also be applied to his own working […]
Blog: TK Maxx – when collaboration pays off
Having heard Penny Illston, HR Director at TK Maxx UK & Ireland, speak at our HR Conference recently, I was delighted to see their hard work pay off following a recent visit to one of their stores. It was relatively quiet in the store and only one person serving at the cash register. With no-one else in […]
Unemployment “truly horrific” – and unlikely to improve any time soon
UK unemployment levels have hit a “truly horrific” 17-year high, confirming that the private sector has failed to create enough jobs to offset swingeing public sector cuts. The International Labour Organization-defined rate of worklessness in the country now stands at 8.1% for the three months to August, up 0.4% on the quarter. The 114,000 increase […]