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 […]
Employers must tackle poor awareness of pension changes, warns CIPD
More than half of UK workers are unaware that pensions auto-enrolment will start to be phased in next year, with knowledge of the change particularly low among young people. But because awareness of the reforms, which will be rolled out over four years from October 2012, is predominantly linked to age and managerial status, it […]
London Fire Brigade uses e-learning to improve training and cut costs
The vital role the London Fire Brigade plays was brought into sharp focus recently when its 999 control officers answered 2,168 calls in a 24-hour period at the beginning of August and attended over 100 fires during the four-day period of unrest in the capital. Each of these incidents will be fully reported, and learning […]
Book Review: Suddenly in Charge by Roberta Chinsky Matuson
Title: Suddenly in Charge Author: Roberta Chinsky Matuson It’s been a while since I read a management book from cover to cover. What I normally do is pick one up, select a chapter and read the elements that I think I will find most useful – I work in the NHS and deliver […]
Blog: Is more home-working the Olympics’ legacy for employers?
‘Olympic legacy’ is a phrase mentioned on a daily basis at present. But what effect will London 2012 have on businesses in the capital? For starters, a meltdown of public transport according to Olympic Games organisers and Transport for London. There’ll be three million more journeys a day including one million more Tube passengers during […]
Legal Insight: How to craft an effective social media policy
The proliferation of social media has blurred the lines between workers’ public and private lives. As a result, over the last few years, there has been a rise in the number of cases involving employees’ use of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The situation has also been made all the more difficult […]
Birmingham Council to hire out staff using workforce planning tool
Birmingham City Council plans to commercially hire out workers to other local authorities with the help of a newly introduced ‘Talent Net’ workforce planning framework. The framework will also be employed to ensure that the local authority’s skills needs are met in the face of thousands of job cuts by enabling it to identify critical […]
Line managers lack skills for people tasks, fears HR
Although just under two thirds of HR professionals have devolved tactical activities to at least some line managers, three out of five are not convinced that they have the necessary skills and know-how to cope. According to a survey of 139 senior HR managers working in firms with more than 100 employees undertaken by YouGov, […]
Modern Workplaces consultation: the view from payroll
Back in May, the government launched a four part consultation on Modern Workplaces to explore the pros and cons of four key regulatory proposals. These proposals comprised: the introduction of a system of flexible parental leave a right for all employees to request flexible working changes to the Working Time Regulations affecting the interaction of […]
Blog: Fancy contributing to a book on corporate politics, anyone?
We’re working on a new book, which we are planning to launch later this year, on the subject of corporate politics, hidden agendas and manipulation in business. It’s a thorny topic, we know, and we believe that HR professionals are best placed to observe and comment on these activities. In the book, we cover three important […]
Career visioning as an antidote to corporate rioting
There are very few people who would give those involved in this month’s rioting the time of day, let alone the chance to explain why they sought to bring disruption, violence and chaos to the streets of the UK. But as anyone working in HR will know, communication, whatever the circumstances, is always critical. So […]
Goldman Sachs takes away bankers’ two-year old pay rise
Goldman Sachs is taking the unusual step of cutting the salaries of hundreds of its London bankers by invoking a contractual clause to phase out former pay increases by the end of the year. The move follows a previous announcement by the New York-based investment bank’s that it plans to cut about 1,000 staff across […]
Tate trustees take action to stop bullying
Complaints of bullying by managers has led the Tate galleries to issue a directive pointing out that staff have a right to work in a safe place “free from harassment or discrimination of any kind”. According to the Independent, the problem was considered so serious that the organisation’s trustees, who are appointed by the Prime […]
Digital and social media specialists’ wages soar 70% in three years
Senior digital and social media specialists have seen an explosion in pay over the last three years as companies increasingly divert marketing budgets to online campaigns. Wages have soared by almost 70% over the last three years, according to recruitment company, ReThink Recruitment. ‘Head of Search’ jobs, responsible for managing a company’s Search Engine Optimisation […]