Stonewall index highlights most inclusive places to work
Stonewall has named the Home Office as the best place to work for lesbian, gay and bisexual people because of its specifically inclusive policies and efforts to embed equality and diversity into everything it does. The Lloyds Banking Group was ranked second in the gay rights charity’s Top 100 Employers index, while accountancy firm Ernst […]
Mums at disadvantage in tough employment market
As unemployment continues to rise, the number of UK employers planning to hire working mums has plummeted over “prejudiced” concerns that family commitments will take precedence over workplace ones. A survey among 1,000 companies undertaken by Regus, which provides outsourced office space, revealed that only just over a quarter intend to hire working mothers over […]
Employment law takeaways for January
Employment law takeaways: our bitesize legal updates for busy HR professionals, provided by Suzanne Horne of Morrison and Foerster. This month; a Polkey reduction, six years to bring an equal pay claim and the BBC is in trouble… again. Arhin v Enfield Primary Care Trust – Unfairly dismissed employee gets no compensation due to Polkey […]
Are you stressed at work?
Many articles on stress concentrate on what the stressed individual can do to relax, actively manage health, reduce the workload, re-arrange priorities and clear away small niggling jobs. All of which is, I am sure, good advice and would give temporary relief, which might just be enough to get a stressed person back on track […]
A paradigm shift in performance management – part two
As addressed in A paradigm shift in performance management – part one, varying contemporary factors have fundamentally changed the requirements of performance management processes. Many changes within organisations and how they operate now impact performance management and many previous ‘givens’ are now being challenged. Here are the most common: Individuals who have clearly defined goals […]
Recruitment levels remain tough as employers exercise caution
Although private sector recruitment slowed only slightly in December, the next few months are likely to be “very tough” employment-wise as employers remain cautious while they wait to see the impact of the coalition government’s austerity measures. According to a study undertaken by management consultancy KPMG on behalf of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, the […]
BBC Tribunal has lessons for whole industry
The entire broadcasting industry needs to look at its diversity practices in the wake of presenter Miriam O’Reilly winning her age discrimination case against the BBC, the corporation has said. O’Reilly, who is aged 53, took the broadcaster to an employment tribunal for age and sex discrimination when she, along with three other female presenters […]
Stress and depression ‘no reason to take time off’
Employers are failing to take staff mental health issues seriously enough, with more than half claiming that anxiety, stress and depression are not good enough reasons to take time off work. According to a survey of 1,822 UK employers undertaken by online therapy and coaching marketplace Mentaline.com, a huge 64% did not consider anxiety as sufficient […]
BA and tube strikes threaten to cast cloud over Royal wedding
BA cabin crews and London Underground drivers are threatening to bring the capital to a halt with industrial action on the day of the Royal Wedding, the UK’s tourist highlight of the year. One official of the Unite union told The Sun newspaper that cabin crews’ next wave of strikes is set to include 29 April […]
Ask the expert: Work-related anxiety
This time the experts, Esther Smith and Martin Brewer give their advice on dealing with an employee away from work with anxiety and an eating disorder. The question: Work-related anxiety We have a junior member of office based staff currently signed off with “work related anxiety and an eating disorder”. The employee has been away […]
Top 10 tips to measuring happiness at work
As the Government sets out to measure levels of happiness across the UK, how happy the nation is at work will no doubt be affecting the figures. With 29.1 million people in employment, how do you measure how happy people are in their working day? There is no HR framework for this unusual measurement, […]
Socially acceptable – enforcing social media policies in the workplace
Consumer services such as Facebook and personal devices such as netbooks, the iPad and the iPhone are increasingly being used within businesses, eroding the line between business and leisure communications. In fact this convergence of business and leisure activity has led social commentators to coin the term, ‘bleisure’, to describe this shift in working patterns. […]
Employee engagement surveys ain’t no fad – there’s too much evidence that proves their worth
Employee engagement has been high on employers’ agendas for a few years now. Last year even the Government got in on the act by publishing the independent MacLeod Review. The HR community has been discussing the review widely ever since. The report was published at a time when private sector companies were addressing the damage […]
The decade that revolutionised learning, performance and talent management
Attitudes and practices regarding people management and development have changed dramatically over the past decade. Vincent Belliveau, EMEA General Manager for Cornerstone OnDemand, examines the most significant advances and outlines the key trends for 2011. If you’re interested in online training don’t miss the free webinar, Getting started in online training on 18 January, 3pm. […]
Employment law leniency won’t help employment stability, says CIPD
Coalition government plans to make it easier for employers to sack staff in their first two years of employment without facing unfair dismissal claims will do little to create hoped-for jobs but may destabilise the labour market, an HR body has warned. Under Prime Minister David Cameron’s new so-called ‘employers’ charter’, workers will also have […]
Cameron to host job-boosting summit
Although 19 mainly retail businesses will pledge to create as many as 40,000 new jobs over the year ahead at a Downing Street jobs summit today, the financial services sector is expected to axe 15,000 posts this quarter. Ahead of the publication of a joint report with management consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers, head of economic analysis at […]
Invest in development to reap tourism rewards
A tourism body has warned brands that they will need to invest in customer service training if they are to exploit a potential £2 billion in revenues from visitors to the London 2012 Olympics. People 1st, the sector skills council for the hospitality, leisure, tourism and travel industries, said it was crucial that organisations learn […]
Dinner lady who spoke to parents and press wins tribunal
A school dinner lady, who was dismissed for bringing her employer into disrepute when she went to the press after her suspension following a bullying incident, has won her employment tribunal case. Carol Hill was initially suspended from her £125 per month post at Great Tey primary school in Essex in July 2009 after telling […]
Staff sharing scheme to help public sector retain talent
About 30 local authorities are to start piloting an online staff secondment service as an alternative to making redundancies following deep cuts to their budgets. The pilot scheme was jointly developed by online skills exchange StaffShare and Local Government Employers, a body that represents employers when negotiating on pay, pensions and workforce-related issues. The idea […]
Below inflation wage increases threaten recovery
Although private sector pay settlements could rise to 3% this year, they will remain below inflation for the second year in a row, researchers have warned. Thomson Reuters’ Incomes Data Services, which analyses renumeration data, also forecast a widening gap between public sector workers, who face wage freezes, and private sector staff, where pay rises […]
