Caroline Waters: The Equality Act and HR
As the Red Tape Challenge website focuses on equality, Caroline Waters, BT’s director of people and policies, talks about the impact the Equality Act has had on business. I have worked in this space for many years now and have seen many changes for the better. There is no doubt that we have come a […]
Book review: Screw Work – Let’s Play by John Williams
Screw Work – Let’s Play John Williams Reviewed by Simon Jones Morrissey once sang “The music you constantly play says nothing to me about my life” and my first impression of this book was that the tone and style of it said nothing to me. In fact, half way through the first chapter, with its […]
Apprentice Helen offered £100,000 job – but sticks with Greggs
Although our favourite for the Apprentice win ended up missing out on running a business with Lord Sugar, Helen Milligan has been offered a position with the type of company she pitched to the peer, but decided to stick with her employers, Greggs, where she is said to have accepted a ‘very senior role’ with […]
Ask the expert: Restrictive covenants
This week the experts, Adam Partington and Esther Smith advise on whether a company can cancel any unpaid salary or bonus if a restrictive covenant is breached. The question: Restrictive covenants Does anyone know if a company can state that they will cancel any unpaid salary or bonus if a restrictive covenant is […]
Book review: Managing 4 Good By John Fagan
Book title: Managing 4 Good By John Fagan Reviewer: Amanda E Heaton This book is not lightweight in either content or volume, although the text is well written and uses plain speaking English without reliance on jargon or acronyms making it easy to read and digest. The book opens with an explanation of what sustainable […]
Will the office still exist in 2021?
A decade ago businesses in the UK looked very different to how they do today – just look at the BBC’s ‘The Office’, which first aired in July 2001. Many of us had big, bulky desktop PCs, an agonisingly slow internet connection and a desk phone that looked like something out of the 80s. Move […]
Sports Direct pays out biggest employee share windfall in history
Sport Direct’s 2,200 permanent staff will receive a share bonus averaging £44,000 each after the sports retailer hit its profit targets for the second year in a row. The chain, which was founded and is still controlled by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, reported underlying profits of £200.4 million for the year to 24 April, […]
EHRC attempts at clarity muddy the religious waters
A bid by the Equality and Human Rights Commission to clarify the law surrounding religious discrimination in the workplace has sparked a huge row. The Commission has applied to intervene in four cases of alleged religious discrimination in the workplace, which are already before the European Court of Human Rights. The cases are expected to […]
What a performance! Talent and technology
As the competition for talent hots up, companies must get the link between performance and reward spot on, says Stuart Hearn, Commercial Director at Vaado Software. Rewarding employees correctly based on how they perform is a tricky area for companies, but if they get it wrong then productivity and motivation levels can nose-dive. Nothing is […]
UK Association of Coaching gets a code of conduct
The UK’s Association of Coaching has endorsed a Code of Conduct submitted to the European Union earlier this month by two international industry bodies in a bid to professionalise the sector. The European Mentoring and Coaching Council and the International Coach Federation are positioning their code as a basis under which coaching and mentoring professionals […]
NOTW – what next for employees?
The demise of the News of the World (“NotW”) has come as a result of the phone hacking scandal that has rumbled on for a number of years and, more recently, dominated the news even while at the same time a new country has formed and drought ravages nations further from home. Besides the obvious […]
Employment downturn imminent, say experts
Conditions in the labour market are weaker than earlier in the year and evidence suggests that a renewed employment downturn is imminent, experts have warned. Although figures from the Office of National Statistics indicated that UK unemployment fell by 26,000 to 2.45 million or 7.7% of the total workforce in the three months to May, […]
Case in point: Capability dimissals and medical opinions
Capability dismissals are often complex and require a consideration of both the needs of the business in having the employee at work, and the wellbeing of the employee who is suffering ill health. The recent EAT decision of DB Schenker Rail (UK) Ltd v Doolan sets out the principles for employers. It is almost always […]
NAO warns public sector HR is not delivering
Changes in the nature of the HR role across government is contributing to a lack of value for taxpayer money spent on training civil servants. While the government estimates it spent £275m (or £547 for each civil servant) on training in 2009/10, spending watchdog the National Audit Office (NAO) reckons that this is "significant underestimate". […]
Unemployment will not improve before 2016, says CIPD
Unemployment will peak at 2.7 million in mid-2012 but anaemic economic growth will lead to the same number of people being out of work in four year’s time as there are today, an HR body has warned. The Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development has revised down its December 2010 forecast, in which it predicted […]
Nissan offshores HR shared services to India
An Indian offshore outsourcing provider has acquired Nissan’s HR shared services centre for an undisclosed sum and bagged a seven-year contract to provide the Japanese car manufacturer’s 54,000 staff with transactional HR services. Genpact, which has provided Nissan with a range of other business process outsourcing services for the last six years, has purchased the […]
UK fraud rising to record levels
UK fraud figures hit a record £1.1 billion in the first six months of this year, with managers and staff being responsible for a quarter of it, according to KPMG. The amount of fraudulent activity committed rose 59% over the same period last year, the management consultancy’s Fraud Barometer revealed. Although government agencies have traditionally […]
Rail union considering legal action over lost contract
A leading rail union is considering whether to take legal action over the decision not to award Bombardier the Thameslink contract in a bid to save 1,400 jobs at the train manufacturer. The Rail, Maritime and Transport union said it was taking legal advice over a potential challenge on the grounds that the tendering process […]
How should the HR software industry respond to the changing HR environment and rise in HR legislation?
In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in the amount of pressure being placed on organisations’ HR department by the board, and with HR legislation flying out of Downing Street at an alarming rate, software providers have been forced to develop technology that meets client requirements in a constantly changing environment. HR technology […]
UK workers: Why good enough is no longer good enough
Kate Russell says that over the last 10-15 years, there’s been a noticeable decline in the British work ethic. HR needs to take control. Recently I was asked to take part in a Five Live debate centring around the findings of Centre for Social Justice think-tank that 82% of employers are concerned about British […]
