HP boss wins breathing space over sexual harrassment letter
A letter detailing sexual harassment allegations against former Hewlett-Packard boss Mark Hurd will not be unsealed until September as revealing its contents before he has a chance to plead his case could cause him “irreparable harm”. The letter, written by celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred on behalf of former HP contractor Jodie Fisher, triggered a chain […]
Coaching ‘vital’ to laid off managers
Coaching can play a “vital” role in helping older managers cope with finding themselves unexpectedly on the job market again after being laid off, research has found. The two-year study undertaken jointly by academics at the Universities of Surrey and Bath among senior managers aged 49 to 62, who lost their jobs in acrimonious circumstances, […]
Engagement matters – HR and L&D can work together when they get engaged
At the Plateau Insights user conference – which took place in the ancient city of Rome – learning experts took on an age-old issue. Is the LMS dead? Plateau CEO, Paul Sparta, quizzed the panel of Clive Shepherd, Donald Taylor and Nigel Paine for their expert knowledge. One of the themes they picked up […]
Cable criticises Cameron immigration targets
Expert opinion came down firmly on the side of Vince Cable yesterday after he criticised the “very unwise” targets set by the Prime Minister to cut non-EU immigration to “tens of thousands” a year. The Liberal Democrat Business Secretary has repeatedly expressed fears that a permanent cap on immigration could damage UK economic competitiveness by […]
Judge ‘league tables’ proposed to improve employment tribunals
The CBI has called for the creation of regional league tables that rate the performance of individual judges as part of proposed reforms to an employment tribunal system it believes has become “a barrier to justice”. The suggestion by the employers’ lobby group came in response to the coalition government’s ‘Resolving Workplace Disputes’ consultation, which […]
HR at a crossroads: can we collaborate to improve business execution?
Successful organisations need strategic HR people working with IT people to create systems that empower the alignment of workforces through a combination of goals, targets, pay for performance, reviews and effective communication of strategy. That’s the theory anyway. The reality – as exposed by a new study from Cloud Computing firm SuccessFactors and services giant […]
Recruitment procurement framework for local authorities sees 11 companies triumph
Eleven recruitment agencies have been appointed to supply temps to local authorities under a newly-let Managed Services for Temporary Agency Resources procurement framework in a bid to cut costs and reduce the time spent on tendering. The national framework agreement is operational now, but the first wave of early adopters is not expected to go […]
Employers not buying into value of apprenticeships
Although the coalition government claims that apprenticeships generate a £40 return for the economy for each £1 of investment, two thirds of employers do not believe on-the-job training is appropriate for their organisation. According to a study commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to explore the economic value offered by government-funded post-19 […]
Chancellor Osborne – payroll’s hero, comp & ben’s villain?
The Chancellor of the Exchequer took the brave first steps to simplify Britain’s complicated tax and National Insurance (NI) payment systems in the recent Budget. Lengthy consultations follow, but with crystal ball in hand, Matt Duffy of Aon Hewitt considers the pros and the cons. From where we sit, we can see obstacles aplenty, but […]
The top 10: UK employment law changes in April 2011
April means the first tranche of the year’s employment law changes come into force and the Coalition Government has been busy. Suzanne Horne summarises this April’s top 10 new laws, guidance, rates and limits. 1. Draft guidance published on agency workers regulations On 1 April 2011 the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (“BIS”) […]
Income protection insurance instead of statutory sick pay
Lord Freud, the government’s welfare reform minister is considering proposals for the reform of the current system of statutory sick pay (SSP) to cover sick employees. His aim is to avoid people claiming long term sickness and disability benefits by providing earlier support for employees. He has commissioned an independent review of sickness absence which […]
Happiness and wellbeing during depression awareness week
Physical and mental wellbeing is a key theme this week, with the focus being on raising awareness of the impact of depression and the need for first aid skills and equipment in the workplace. Depression affects a huge one in five of the UK population at some point and costs the British economy more than […]
HR department pays price of false accusations at Renault
Heads have rolled at Renault following an HR failure that led to three employees being sacked after being falsely accused of industrial espionage. Patrick Pelata, the French carmaker’s chief operating officer, has stepped down, although he will remain with the firm, while Jean-Yves Coudreau, the HR manager responsible for senior executives, legal director Christian Husson […]
Over 20, 000 clinical NHS jobs to be cut
More than half of the 40,000 NHS jobs facing the axe over the next three years will be clinical posts, even though a majority of nurses are already struggling to cope due to inadequate staffing levels. Dr Peter Carter, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, warned at the nursing union’s […]
Regional financing to safeguard 127, 000 jobs
The coalition government has pledged that £450 million in financing for private sector businesses courtesy of its Regional Growth Fund will create or safeguard 127,000 jobs across the country. It expects that the £1.4 billion Fund’s first investment round, which has provisionally been awarded to 50 bidders subject to due diligence, will directly create and […]
Ask the expert: Sickness and pay increases
This week the experts, Adam Partington and Esther Smith advise on whether to give a pay increase to an employee on sick pay. The question: Sickness and pay increases I have an employee on long term sick, the SSP has long ended and we are approaching our financial end of year. The other […]
Deja vu – the back to work interview
Back-to-work interviews help to reintegrate staff returning to the workplace. This can include planned absences such as maternity leave or a sabbatical. The aim is to welcome employees back, brief them on any relevant matters and ensure they are fully prepared to take up their duties again. The most frequent use of return-to-work (RTW) interviews […]
Could you tweet your job application?
Digital marketing executives keen to work for a Brighton-based publisher are being asked to tweet as to why they should be considered for the post. As a result, applicants for the job at the Friday Media Group, which owns about 70 classified ad and recruitment websites as well as various print titles, […]
50p tax rate could be scrapped
Chancellor George Osborne is believed to want to scrap the 50p rate of tax in his 2013 Budget following claims that it does not make money for the Exchequer. Although a review is just about to start into how much the higher rate – which came into force in April last year […]
‘Private cloud’ provides best of both worlds for recruitment firm
Putting sensitive data ‘into the cloud’ is a step too far for many organisations. However a ‘private cloud’ can provide a solution which fits, like this example. A Scottish recruitment consultancy chose to migrate its IT infrastructure to a private rather than public cloud environment because the level of control and accessibility that the model […]
