Legal Insight: Where does long-term sick leave end and annual leave begin?
The boundaries between annual leave and sick leave and where they lie has been a growing issue in both the courts and employment tribunals over the last couple of years, points out Harriet Broughton, a solicitor at Bevans. The problem arises because the Working Time Regulations 1998 state that annual leave “may only be taken […]
Ask the Expert: How to stop a one-off lease car perk becoming a given?
The Question We have a lease car sitting in the car park as the employee left after only six month’s service and will not be replaced. I suggested using it as a pool car till the lease comes to an end but the MD wants to give it to one particular member of staff. […]
Workers uninspired by business leaders, finds study
Although good communication skills, demonstrating integrity and having the ability to motivate are the top three most desirable leadership attributes, few UK workers believe that their boss displays them. Instead a survey among 1,047 employees undertaken by ICM Research on behalf of executive search and leadership consultancy Korn/Ferry Whitehead Mann revealed that just under one […]
Cycling staff saved employers £128 million last year
The cycling industry is worth £2.9 billion a year to the UK economy and employs about 23,000 workers, a report by the London School of Economics has found. The figure includes the contribution made by bicycle manufacturing, retail and cycle-related employment, which contributed more than £600 million to the economy in wages and taxes last […]
Blog: Got sick while on holiday?
After months of hard work you finally booked a few days off to enjoy the gorgeous (?) British summer weather. But, a day before taking your long awaited break you got really ill and had to spend all of your holiday in bed. Ouch! The good news is that you are entitled to take sickness […]
Tackling the engineering skills shortage
The engineering and technology industries have the potential to contribute substantially towards sustained economic growth in the UK. But like a number of other sectors, they are experiencing damaging skills shortages, which are negatively affecting the economy and hampering future growth prospects. Up-skilling is required to plug the gap, but also to ensure […]
Pay awards to remain flat until end of year
High unemployment and the high cost of commodities such as oil mean that pay rates will stay at current levels until the end of the year. According to an analysis of 99 awards by pay specialists XpertHR, the median pay increase across the economy was only 2% in the three months to the end of […]
Employers must “challenge status quo” for women to reach the top
Employers need to challenge the status quo and revamp out-moded working patterns if they are to give women as much chance as men of getting to the top, according to experts. A report published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission entitled ‘Sex & Power 2011’ earlier this week revealed that, at current rates of […]
Empowering call centre workers boosts morale – and the bottom line
If call centre workers are given the power to provide customers with a personalised service rather being subject to scripts or call time targets not only does staff morale rise, but the bottom line improves too, a new study has found. Researchers from Loughborough University studied operations at the Velux Company Ltd contact centre in […]
Blog: From riot to clean-up – a reminder for HR
If the past couple of weeks have taught us, as a society, anything at all, it is this: underestimate the power of the people at your peril. The rioting that enveloped public interest last week started off on a north London street, and spread like wild fire throughout the entire country, threatening at times to […]
Identifying the leaders of tomorrow
It’s that time of year again. The process of graduate recruitment begins and, once again, we find ourselves with mountains of CVs from the would-be leaders of tomorrow, professing great interest in a career in…oh the virtues of the Find & Replace function! With more graduates on the market than ever before, all with a […]
Tribunal hears first UK caste-based discrimination claim
In the first case of its kind in the UK, an Indian couple is claiming unfair constructive dismissal from their legal jobs due to caste-based discrimination. Because of the precedent-setting nature of the lawsuit, Home Secretary Theresa May is believed to be watching the case carefully and considering whether to add a section covering caste […]
School leavers lack necessary workplace skills
Whether school leavers obtain the A-Level results they hope for today or not, almost half of employers do not believe that they have the necessary skills to work in a business environment. A survey of 2,000 micro-companies undertaken by the British Chambers of Commerce revealed that 47% would be ‘fairly’ or ‘very nervous’ of hiring […]
Too much fire-fighting stops L&D teams being strategic
Seven out of ten learning and development teams are too busy fire-fighting and dealing with day-to-day challenges to focus on strategic talent and learning issues, our sister site www.trainingzone.co.uk reports. The survey of 104 L&D managers, carried out by managed learning company KnowledgePool, asked respondents about their perceptions of training in their organisations. Key findings […]
More employer training levies will stifle staff development, warns CBI
Employers lobby group the CBI has warned that government plans to extend employer training levies would hinder further investment in learning and development programmes, our sister site www.Trainingzone.co.uk reports. The organisation said the levy systems, which operate by charging employers in certain sectors a specified proportion of their wage bill, which is then pooled and used […]
UK riots: Tottenham and Croydon given £20m job creation fund
The Department for Communities and Local Government has announced a £20m ‘enterprise and growth package’ for two areas of London most affected by the recent riots and looting in England, reports our sister site, www.businesszone.co.uk. Eric Pickles, the communities and local government secretary announced the London Enterprise Fund aims to “breathe new life” into Tottenham […]
UK IT workforce at its biggest ever
More people than ever before are now employed in ICT, unless they work in the public sector, which is seeing an overall relative decline, reports our sister site, www.publictechnology.net. According to just-released data from ICT sector skills body e-skills UK, www.e-skills.com/bulletin, on the state of demand and supply of ICT labour and skills in the […]
Blog: Long service awards are out of date
The traditional view of long service is out of date. ALL service, loyalty and achievements deserve recognition. Rewards for 20, 25, 30 years plus service are all very well in principle, but are increasingly out of date in today’s business environment where more than 10 years service is quite rare. Of course loyalty should still […]
The value of on-the-job assessments when managing older workers
Although Employment Minster Ed Davey hailed the abolition of the Default Retirement Age as ‘great news for older people, businesses and the economy’, not everyone agrees. As Mary Clarke, chief executive of Cognisco points outs, some business leaders and lobby groups have voiced concerns that businesses may be saddled with an ageing and incompetent workforce, […]
Part-time worker numbers hit record high
A lack of full-time jobs saw the number of people working part-time hit a record high as unemployment levels took an unexpected leap last quarter. According to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics, the number of people out of work rose to a peak not seen since February 2010. Unemployment jumped by […]
