Female unemployment to jump again from 23-year high

Even as it became clear that Lord Davies’ boardroom gender targets were being ignored by most UK companies, the TUC warned that female unemployment rates were set to jump further from current 23-year highs. An analysis of official statistics undertaken by the union umbrella organisation revealed that, because the number of women employed in the […]

Legal Insight: The religious discrimination issue

The Church of England recently attempted to re-open the long-running debate over the issue of religion (and religious expression) in the workplace. But the legal position is far from straightforward. How far employers should go in accommodating the religious needs and requirements of staff is an issue that typically polarises opinion. The Church believes that […]

Ask the Expert: How sick is sick?

The Question A member of staff has been off sick for two weeks (one week self-certified, the other with a doctor’s note). While off sick, she has been posting on a social networking site that she has been to Bristol to have a new tattoo, has been out and about with friends and has also […]

Criminal convictions for tax evasion jump 38% in a year

The number of criminal convictions for tax evasion jumped by 38% over the past year as HMRC has taken a more focused approach to dealing with the problem. The number of convictions increased  to 148 for the year to 31 March 2011, according to figures obtained from HMRC under the Freedom of Information Act, with […]

Enterprise social media collaboration is on the up

The growing use of social media by business is popular among employees who largely support the idea that becoming a “social enterprise” is a necessity in today’s business world. But business leaders are concerned about their ability to own and manage their brand as they start collaborating more at both an internal and external level, […]

Blog: Thank God it’s Monday – what it takes for true employee engagement

Thank God It’s Monday While waiting on the bus the other morning, one of the other gentlemen at the stop started complaining about the local bus that makes the same stop as the express bus which we both catch. The driver of the local bus stops when she wants to, regardless of the number of […]

Holcim cements behaviour metrics into leadership development scheme

Evidence suggests that HR-sponsored leadership development programmes that are deemed to be high quality are 20 times more likely to measure performance than those rated as ineffective. Despite this, however, only 5% of organisations are able to provide meaningful metrics that effectively demonstrate a correlation between HR and business performance.    But if HR is […]

One out of 25 bosses ‘could be a psychopath’

Although one out of every 25 bosses is likely to be a psychopath, most people would not be able to tell, new research has revealed. Psychopaths are characterised as lacking in deep emotions, empathy or remorse and are often abusive in their treatment of others.   But a recent study undertaken by New York psychologist […]

New boss hacks back on Everything Everywhere management team

The new boss of mobile phone company Everything Everywhere marked his first day in the job by wiping out half of his management team including two senior HR executives. Olaf Swantee, chief executive of the company, which was created out of the merger of Orange and T-Mobile last year, announced yesterday that he had hacked […]

Council decision to equip binmen with iPads causes stink

A decision by Bury Council to equip its binmen with Apple iPads to try and save money has aroused ratepayer and tabloid anger. Earlier this week, the Greater Manchester council, which has to make £18 million in savings over the next three years, voted to spend £9,000 on equipping its 22-strong fleet of refuse collection […]

Workday integrates with Salesforce.com for social collaboration purposes

HR Software-as-a-Service provider Workday has integrated its offerings into Salesforce.com‘s environment to enable employees to undertake social collaboration and application development activities more easily. The vendor has integrated its workforce data with Salesforce’s enterprise social media tool, Chatter, to enable users to share, collaborate and work with the information in real-time. Staff will be able […]

Blog: What are you bringing to the top table?

Recognise This! – If HR wants a seat at the table, then bring metrics the CEO cares about. Over and over again, I hear HR pros talking about “getting a seat at the table.” Laurie Ruettimann’s post last week reminded me again of this highly contentious topic.   I’m always astounded that HR doesn’t have […]

Dress codes and uniforms: it’s all about presentation

I read an article about dress codes in the Times newspaper with great interest the other day. The Marylebone Cricket Club had received complaints from some members that its dress code was being ignored, which led to concern over falling standards. This snippet made me consider whether dress code standards were also slipping in UK […]

First 2,000 armed forces personnel are axed

Nearly 2,000 armed forces personnel out of a projected 22,000 will be told that they face redundancy today following the coalition government’s controversial Strategic Defence Review. The army plans to release 920 soldiers, of which 660 will be voluntary departures and the rest compulsory. More than half of the 260 being forced out are Gurkhas, […]

‘Outrageous behaviour’ of Microsoft UK bosses exposed in High Court battle

An alleged culture of “outrageous behaviour” characterised by “excessive drunkenness” and lewd behaviour among Microsoft UK’s senior staff has been exposed in a £10 million High Court battle between its boss and former heir apparent. Simon Negus, who was hired as a general manager to eventually succeed UK chief Gordon Frazer, was sacked by the […]

Leadership development programmes not up to snuff in too many organisations

Just under a quarter of HR professionals believe that their leadership development programmes are ‘highly effective’, while about one in five admit that they are useless. But according to research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and talent management consultancy, DDI, about a third of UK leaders rate the quality of leadership in […]

Blog: Integrating people strategies into business plans

Recognise This! – Too often, critical people management strategies – for risk and for reward – are ignored in overall business plans. How strong is your company’s risk management plan? How strong is your human capital risk management plan? Recent research out of The Conference Board found companies do not incorporate human capital risk management […]

Going for gold – the role of HR in Olympic tenders

With less than a year to go until the Olympics, much is being written about the expected impact on the workforce, including an increase in sickness absence and requests for flexible working. But another much less discussed issue is the stringent tender process that companies are having to go through to be considered ‘fit to […]

Nurses’ ‘do not disturb’ tabards send out ‘wrong message’

Patients’ campaign groups have criticised the growing use of ‘do not disturb’ tabards worn by nurses in a bid to cut medication errors during drug rounds as sending out the wrong message. The tabards are being used in a number of hospitals to try and reduce the risk of personnel being distracted by either patients […]

Female bosses to wait a century for equal pay, says CMI

Female bosses in the UK will need to wait nearly a century to be paid the same as their male counterparts, although women are already earning more than men in the most junior management positions. These are the key findings of a poll undertaken among 34,158 executives by XpertHR on behalf of the Chartered Management […]