Tory Conference: Fujitsu strike called off at eleventh hour
This week’s Tory party conference proceeded untroubled by pickets from unhappy Fujitsu employees amid union promises that further action would also be suspended for the time being. Workers at public sector ICT supplier Fujitsu in Manchester had voted to go on strike and to demonstrate during a presentation at the party conference by the supplier’s […]
Stress now most common cause of sickness absence at work
Stress is now the biggest cause of long-term absence among UK workers across all sectors, overtaking cancer as the main reason for taking time off due to sickness. But according to a survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and private health insurance provider, Simplyhealth, staff absence in the public sector have rocketed […]
Blog: Strategies for dealing with a workplace bully
Imagine you’re attending your first meeting at your new job. The senior manager in the room begins by pointing out the failure of a particular department to reach a goal. He looks at the department chief, who appears ready to crawl under the table, and asks how he can face his family when he goes […]
Talent Spot: Dominic Ceraldi, head of HR at Pimlico Plumbers
“HR would be a good job, if it weren’t for folk!” Luckily, Dominic Ceraldi, HR and general manager at Pimlico Plumbers, has chosen to disagree with this helpful observation that was made by one of his bosses early on in his HR career. In fact, he aims to be very much seen, heard and […]
Does management by metrics work?
On the frame of my kitchen door are marks of the heights of my children, and now grandchildren, with names and dates written down over the course of years. They were all proud to stand there from time-to-time in order to check how much they had grown. We did not, of course, manage their height, […]
Tory Conference: Employers invited to voice employment law concerns
The coalition Government has invited businesses to voice their concerns about existing employment law in the latest phase of efforts to slash red tape, which it claims is stifling private sector job creation. For the next three weeks, the Red Tape Challenge, Whitehall’s crowdsourcing project, will focus on the rules governing employee rights. The campaign […]
Blog: Engagement taskforce update – part two
Hello again – a couple of weeks ago, a bunch of us met with David MacLeod, Nita Clarke et al to continue encouraging the engagement taskforce. What follows is part two of a transcript of the conversations that I heard. If you haven’t already read it, part one is here. Here goes anyway: Part two […]
Legal Insight: M&A rule changes – an HRD guide to getting it right
New merger and acquisition rules introduced on 19 September mean that companies involved in such activity will have to bring HR into the picture at a much earlier stage of the due diligence process than was previously the case. The changes were introduced by the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers, an independent body that is […]
HCM technology heads for the clouds in generation refresh
HCM systems are moving into the Cloud as a new generation of technology refreshes gets underway – that’s the unmistakable conclusion from a new global survey from HR consulting firm Tower Watson. The study – which polled 444 HR managers in Canada, the US, Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific – cited the recessionary pressures of budget […]
Blog: Engagement taskforce update – part one
Hi folks – a couple of weeks ago, a bunch of us met with David MacLeod, Nita Clarke et al to continue encouraging the engagement taskforce. What follows is a transcript of the conversations I heard. I’ll issue part one now and part two tomorrow. Here goes: Part one In groups we were asked […]
Case Study: NHS Trust saves £500,000 by managing nurses more efficiently
Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust claims to have saved £0.5m in a year by introducing software to record employees’ working hours, administer their shifts and manage their expenses claims. Managers at the Essex-based Trust, which employs 1,800 clinical staff – 1,500 of whom are nurses – are now using e-rostering, time and […]
Lack of specialised skills holds back growth of ecommerce
A lack of appropriate skills and an alarming lack of board level support is holding back the growth of ecommerce, a study has found. Three quarters of the 100 ecommerce directors questioned cited a lack of appropriate skills and resources as a key challenge to growth, according to research commissioned by ecommerce software provider eCommera […]
Customer service staff paid 34% below national average
The number of people working in the UK’s customer service sector has increased threefold in the last eight years, but pay remains 34% below the UK average. A new study by the Institute of Customer Service, published to coincide with the launch of National Customer Service Week (3 – 9 October), shows that the industry […]
Arc scheme to create 1,000 jobs in deprived London Olympics boroughs
A new initiative has been launched to support social entrepreneurs and boost employment in the London boroughs that are hosting the 2012 Olympic Games. Unveiled by Olympic medalist Jonathan Edwards in Hackney, arc, organised by Business in the Community and supported by Deloitte and BP, aims to generate 1,000 jobs for local people and support 200 […]
Two new enterprise zones created to help BAE jobless
The coalition Government is to create two new enterprise zones in the areas where BAE Systems’ workers are being made redundant. Chancellor George Osborne said the zones, which give tax breaks to businesses that set up within them, will be created near Warton and Samlesbury in Lancashire and Brough in East Yorkshire, home to the […]
Ask the Expert: Is it OK for staff to smoke e-cigs in the workplace?
The Question ‘E-cigs’ are electronic cigarettes. Basically, they look like cigarettes but work by heating a solution that contains nicotine. This produces an odourless vapour that is inhaled. The user inhales this and gets their nicotine hit. When they exhale, you see a ‘vapour’, which looks like smoke. In fact, the units look just […]
Diverse thinking
How many ethnic minorities are represented within your organisation? Do you know that? If you do, do you know what the breakdown is in terms of representation and at what levels of the organisation? How about the breakdown in terms of sexual orientation? Or faith-based segmentation? Let’s ask a different question: does all this matter? […]
Pay rises on the cards in 2012 for a third of UK firms
One third of organisations in the UK plan to up staff pay next year, according to a study by Incomes Data Services (IDS). More than half of employers are making the same settlement as last year and only 13%are planning a lower settlement, the survey suggested. The cost of living will play a key […]
UK jobs to be hit by Europe’s “terrible plan” over pensions?
The European Commission’s “terrible idea” to treat pension schemes as insurance contracts will hit UK jobs, according to the CBI chief policy director Katja Hall. In a speech to the CBI Pensions Conference, Hall said: “We need the UK Government to step up to the plate in Brussels and stop the imposition of insurance-style solvency […]
The retiring of the retirement laws – a talent management challenge?
Employers can no longer force staff to retire at 65 after the Default Retirement Age met its end on 1 October – but has UK Plc really woken up the HR challenge ahead? The Default Retirement Age (DRA) was introduced in 2006 at the same time as regulations (Employment Equality (Age) Regulations) intended to stop […]