John Lewis ‘bottom slapping’ case thrown out
A male John Lewis shop assistant has had his sexual discrimination claim thrown out after an employment tribunal ruled that there was no “culture of bullying” at the retailer’s flagship Oxford Street store. Konstantinos Kalomoiris sued John Lewis following claims that management did not take his complaints of sexual harassment by a female colleague seriously. […]
Mind the skills gap – HRzone at TRULondon
HRzone will be at TRULondon 3 – unconference time is here again! Bill Boorman, connector, community builder and TRU events organiser is back with TRULondon 3. This version is bigger than ever and the event is still growing. More than just a recruitment event, and different from a conference, the event has pre-announced ‘tracks’ which […]
Vox pops from Learning Technologies 2011 – Day 1
Last week HRZone joined TrainingZone at the Learning Technologies event at Olympia. We asked attendees: What changes would YOU like to see in L&D in 2011?
Half of bankers set to leave over 2011 bonus
With half of frontline banking staff threatening to leave if next year’s bonus again fails to meet their expectations, financial services organisations may need to find new ways of retaining top talent. According to a survey of more than 1,000 banking personnel undertaken by recruitment consultancy Hays Financial Markets, almost two thirds said they were […]
Jobs for skilled workers should be cut by 1/3
The number of occupations available to skilled workers coming to the UK from outside the EU should be cut by more than a third, a government-appointed panel has recommended. The Migration Advisory Committee proposed that the list of eligible jobs should be reduced to 121 from 192, which would result in the exclusion of hairdressers, […]
Reward management – where do we go from here?
Whether you are considering overhauling your reward structure or not, it’s clear that reward has changed. Could your remuneration strategy be more effective? Denis Crowe gives some tips. How far is the culture of bonuses in banks to blame for the financial crisis? Vince Cable has gone on the record to say that: “there is […]
The anti-personnel department
Those with a glancing interest in Afghanistan will know of the anti-personnel device which, in many tragic cases, injures and maims but does not kill outright. The enemy knows well that an injured soldier hampers their enemies more than a dead one and it is more damaging to morale. Well, I came across the Anti-Personnel […]
Social media policy goes bad at Commonwealth Bank
The Commonwealth Bank in Australia has been forced to rethink its social media policy after revelations that staff could be disciplined or even sacked if their friends criticised the bank on sites such as Facebook. The move followed an open letter to the bank written by the Finance Sector Union. It branded the policy as […]
Cable announces funding for on-job training
Business Secretary Vince Cable has unveiled plans to increase annual funding for on-the-job training by £222 million to hit £1.4 billion this year in a bid to create 100,000 new places. To mark the start of National Apprenticeship Week, Cable has also urged employers to follow the lead of firms such as British Airways, […]
Future looks bleak for employee relations
Deteriorating employee relations will be a hallmark of the year ahead as longer working hours for no additional remuneration, growing skills shortages and worsening relations with management lead to increased levels of stress and disengagement. According to a survey among 550 HR professionals undertaken by King’s College London and law firm Speechly Bircham, 46% saw […]
Man in sexual harrassment claim against John Lewis
A male worker is suing John Lewis for sexual discrimination over claims that management did not take his complaints of sexual harassment by a female colleague seriously. Konstantinos Kalomoiris attested that 68-year old Bianca Revrenna slapped his bottom on three separate occasions even after he had asked her not to and that he made a […]
Windpower breathes hope into ‘jobless recovery’
Despite warnings that the UK risks a US-style ‘jobless recovery’, one bright spot on the horizon is the wind energy sector, which has seen a 91% leap in employment over the last three years. A report commissioned by industry association RenewableUK and EU Skills, the Sector Skills Council for the power sector, revealed that the […]
Gen Y not so obsessed with social media
Despite preconceptions to the contrary, most Generation Y workers believe their employers should not allow staff to use social media at work, refrain from viewing their social networking activity and hold back from using the medium for recruitment purposes. Instead the 4,500 15 to 34 year-olds questioned by digital consultancy Decode tend to view the […]
Work visa crack down proposed
Immigration minister Damian Green is proposing to crack down on work visas for non-EU students after they leave education in order to create a “fair playing field” for UK graduates trying to enter the jobs market. In a speech to the think tank Reform, Green claimed that change was necessary to stop people from using […]
HR development not prioritised in budgets
Although three quarters of UK managers see staff development as a key priority over the year ahead in order to generate organisational growth and competitive advantage, HR personnel are not being included in the mix. According to a survey of 2,500 HR and non-HR senior managers from private and public sector organisations employing more than […]
Workday show the lean way to do HR tech
HR is responding to the new lean way of working in their organisations: and this extends to the way human resources is using technology, finds Stuart Lauchlan. “The Cloud has emerged as a great post-recession platform,” argues Aneel Bhusri, co-CEO of Cloud HCM firm Workday as he looks back at a year that saw […]
Pre-employment health questions – an FAQ
Last October the Government brought into force most provisions of the Equality Act 2010 (EqA). One of the more controversial aspects of this new law is turning out to be the prohibition on pre-employment health questions. The law is potentially a minefield and the Act itself is less than helpful, not even specifying what amounts […]
#ConnectingHR Tweet up: Doug Shaw goes for a song…
At the #ConnectingHR Tweet up on 31 January a whole load of HR folk got together to chat and meet each other face to face. Doug even went for a song… Doug has referenced a few people from the #ConnectingHR community, a social media based community of human resource professionals which seeks to connect HR […]
Paternity leave – can the government achieve family utopia?
Can the Government really achieve Utopia? Can there ever be a work life/balance for both men and women. That is what the Government hopes to achieve with expanding on the new Additional Paternity Leave provision. The current lawEligible employees as of 6 April 2003 are entitled to take either one whole week or two consecutive […]
Coalition must help lowest earners and prevent poverty
The coalition government must introduce specific, targeted policies to help move 10 million people out of low skill, low wage employment as well as hit poverty reduction targets, a think tank has warned. According to the Work Foundation, an estimated 10 million people in the UK currently earn less than £15,000 per annum and are […]
