Company revises Facebook policies after firing employee
A US company that fired an employee after she criticised her boss on Facebook has agreed to revamp its policies to ensure they do not restrict workers’ rights. Ambulance service American Medical Response of Connecticut reached a private settlement with employee Dawnmaire Souza, after the US National Labor Relations Board, a US federal agency that […]
Oakeshott resigns over coalition bonus cave-in
The Liberal Democrats’ Treasury spokesman in the House of Lords resigned last night in protest at what he saw as a cave-in by the coalition government on a deal over bankers’ salaries and bonuses. Lord Oakeshott, who was a City fund manager for 35 years and advised Business Secretary Vince Cable when the Lib Dems […]
Align social media strategy with business objectives
Employers need to approach the development of a social media policy in an organised and planned fashion and ensure that it is consistent with the organisation’s mission, strategy and values, Gartner has advised. Social media provides “tempting opportunities” to interact more effectively with employees, customers, prospects, business partners and other anonymous users, but also “disrupts […]
Defining resilience: what we can learn from resilient role models?
Resilience is becoming a common word in the HR community and an increasingly important and desirable quality for employees. In this article, we look at what resilience really means for individuals, the key components that make up resilience and explain why it’s important to learn from our resilient role models. Why is resilience important?Resilience is […]
Forcing retirement after the DRA? A high hurdle…
The recent announcement by the Government that the default retirement age (DRA) will, as expected, be abolished with effect from 1 October has been welcomed by age campaigners. It does not, however, necessarily spell the end of forced retirement and employers groups, including the CBI, have pointed out. The proposed abolition of the DRA in […]
Catching stars – talent management and technology
Talent management is a thorny issue which touches everything from recruitment, to retention, through to succession planning. Many are utilising technology to help them plan for and manage their talent needs, but what difference can it make to HR? 1 What are the main challenges you find HR is facing today?As companies begin to emerge […]
January figures good but unemployment to remain high
The CBI has warned that unemployment will remain “stubbornly high” over the next two years, as new figures revealed that hiring in January grew at the fastest rate for six months. The employers’ lobby group predicted that the number of people out of work would jump from 7.9% last year to peak at 8.4% or […]
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 […]
