Ask the expert: Provision of services to temporary contractors overseas
This time the experts, Esther Smith and Martin Brewer give their advice on setting up service contracts overseas. The question: Provision of services to temporary contractors overseas If a company set up a service contract with an in-country service company to supply accommodation, transport to/from the airport etc. and other support overseas, is this blurring […]
Santa is coming to town – the HR nightmare before Christmas
Annabel Kaye provides this tongue-in-cheek memo for employees from an employer brave enough to risk a Christmas party. Dear employees: We are organising the annual Christmas party, and a Mr Klaus has agreed to be our entertainer. After last year’s party (by the way, congratulations on the baby, Miss Smith) we thought it would […]
Social media may aid unofficial industrial action
The ability for workers to communicate more rapidly using tools such as social media could lead to increased levels of difficult-to-manage unofficial industrial action, the conciliation service Acas has warned. Such technology is changing the way that staff are able to organise and means that demonstrations and flash mobs can be arranged at the push […]
Sainsbury’s cares for carers
Sainsbury’s claims to be the first UK retailer to work with carers’ organisations in order to develop flexible working policies targeted at staff with caring responsibilities. The supermarket chain has joined the Leadership Group of membership body Employers for Carers, which is chaired by BT and supported with expertise from charity Carers UK. Sainsbury’s intends […]
We met the biggest Cloud in the world at the Business Cloud Summit
The Business Cloud Summit gave another insight into the biggest cloud in the world – 4Success at Siemens. Tom Fisher, VP, cloud computing at SuccessFactors and Jurgen Strahwald, Vice President Corporate Information Technology Governance took to the stage to tell Stuart Lauchlan how they went about creating this massive cloud. At the Business Cloud Summit, […]
Pay gap publishing will not be compulsory
The coalition government has abandoned plans to make it compulsory for employers to measure and disclose the pay gap between male and female workers in favour of a voluntary publishing scheme. The move, which was criticised by equalities campaigners and unions alike, will result in the relevant clause in the Equality Act 2010 simply not […]
It’s snow joke for employers and the economy
This week’s snow has seen staff absence levels leap four-fold rise compared to last year, with the cost to the economy expected to hit as much as £1.2 billion per day in lost business. According to FirstCare, which provides absence management services, employers in Scotland and the North of England have been most affected as […]
Dealing with strikes: Manager advice on video
This is a sneak peek at a new learning resource from Video Arts, highlighting issues relating to behaviour, communication, support, consultation and disciplinary action. "Any manager who is caught in the middle of a strike will find the experience incredibly challenging," said Martin Addison, managing director of Video Arts. "It's vital that you know […]
The People Cloud: HR needs to get smarter
HR needs to “get smarter” with technology if it is to succeed in adopting a more strategic role within the business, according to a panel of experts at the Business Cloud Summit in London on 30 November. But when introducing new technology, HR also needs to give higher priority to the wider goals of the […]
Ask the expert: P45 – which date should be shown?
The experts, Adam Partington and Esther Smith advise on which date should be shown on this employee’s P45. The question: P45 – which date should be shown? A one month’s notice period has been served to one of our employees who has been working with us since last one year. We are confused as to […]
Opinion: What will the skills strategy really mean for business?
Terry Watts, CEO of Proskills, the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for process and manufacturing, comments on the new skills strategy and explains what this really means for businesses and the future of skills in our workforce. The government’s new skills strategy, ‘Skills for Sustainable Growth’ paints a very colourful picture for the future of skills […]
Aligning HR with the business
In a tough economic climate, uncertainty around job cuts looks set to dominate HR over the next few years. Cost saving, improved efficiency and streamlining are recurrent themes in media headlines. They are also terms increasingly being used by organisations fighting to safeguard their future. Whilst HR is naturally expected to take a pivotal role […]
How green is your office?
We all know we need to do more to help the environment, but at work we often forget and act in more wasteful ways than we would do at home. However, being green and encouraging your employees to do the same can save resources and money. Take our quiz to find out if you are […]
Does social recruiting actually deliver?
We’ll be considering the questions most often asked of any recruiter (or ‘recruitment guru’) who espouses the benefits of using social media in recruitment. Does it actually work? Can I actually hire somebody by using Social Media? Where does direct sourcing fit into this mix? Is it really an integrated approach or just another series […]
Just having a job gives satisfaction
Despite rising levels of stress and falling standards of living, job satisfaction is on the up as staff attach more value to simply being in work than they do in less uncertain economic times. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s quarterly Employee Outlook survey undertaken among 2,000 workers, job satisfaction – which […]
A right royal wedding – how will the extra bank holiday affect you?
Prince William and Kate Middleton will tie the knot on 29 April 2011 and, to the delight of the Nation, the day has been declared an additional public holiday. From an employer’s perspective, careful consideration must now be given to how to implement this holiday in their workplace. Here, we answer some of the questions […]
Survey: Shared services – more with less?
The implementation of Shared Services across organisations, especially in the public sector is being seen as one solution to cuts and belt-tightening despite the historical challenges and obstacles facing those wanted to deploy such a solution. In the ‘age of austerity’ many organisations are beginning to overcome these challenges. Traditional issues of cultural differences […]
Two-thirds poor at leadership development
Although effective management will be crucial to exploiting growth opportunities presented by the changing face of globalisation, just over two thirds of global employers admit to being poor at leadership development. A survey undertaken among 700 chief HR officers and senior executives in 61 countries around the world by IBM’s Institute for Business Value revealed […]
Gove reforms will not provide employability
A financial services employers’ body has slammed the Education Secretary’s plans for school reform, claiming that a renewed focus on academic rather than vocational subjects will not provide employers with the skills they need. Education Secretary Michael Gove outlined his plans for reform to Parliament earlier this week, indicating that there should be a return […]
The future’s bright – the future’s online…
Online learning returns as training providers and HR acknowledge past limitations writes Dell Education Services’ Martin Hill. In the late 90s the rise of out-of-classroom, electronically-supported learning and teaching, commonly known as elearning was seen as the future of training. For IT managers stuck with ineffective, out-of-date IT infrastructure, it was […]