Negative figures raise fears of double dip recession
“Astonishingly poor” economic growth figures for the fourth quarter of 2010 have led to fears of further jumps in unemployment, particularly in the crucial services sector, over the year ahead. According to initial figures from the Office of National Statistics, December’s snowy weather conditions were partly to blame for an unexpected 0.5% contraction in the […]
Tuesday, 10am – stress alert
A huge three quarters of workers regularly come to the end of their tether by 11.16am each day, but Tuesday morning at 10am is when they peak in terms of stress, according to research. A survey undertaken among 3,000 UK employees aged between 18 and 45 by recruitment agency Michael Page, revealed that, after staff […]
Employee engagement – finding the missing link
It is a truth, almost universally acknowledged, that an organisation full of engaged employees will outperform its competitors. Universally acknowledged it might be, but it seems that few organisations are achieving this. This is despite a great deal of effort including compelling vision and mission statements, leadership training, performance management systems and incentive schemes. Russell […]
Ask the expert: AWOL or Sickness?
This time the experts, Esther Smith and Martin Brewer give their advice on dealing with an employee who appears to be AWOL… The question: AWOL or Sickness? A member of staff has been off sick since beginning of October. The last contact was via a "family friend" in mid November which was followed up with […]
HR kidding itself it is strategic business partner
While almost three quarters of HR departments consider themselves to be strategic partners to the business, a huge 85% of their day-to-day activities are actually tactical in nature. A study undertaken by benefits consultancy and outsourced service provider Mercer among organisations in 40 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa revealed that there was […]
Work experience for young NEETs ‘blighting’ Britain
Employment Minister Chris Grayling will unveil a programme aimed at extending work experience opportunities for young people today in a bid to tackle the “blight” of youth unemployment. With unemployment rates among the under 25s now standing at around 20%, the Minister will reveal plans to extend the length of time that young unemployed […]
Training a priority in budgets, say managers
A huge 83% of UK managers expect their training budgets to either remain static or increase over the year ahead, with two thirds saying that they have been unaffected by the difficult economic conditions. Moreover, according to a survey among 96 business decision-makers undertaken by e-learning provider SkillSoft, a massive 95% said that they now […]
Union blasts ‘outrageous’ county council cost-cutting plan
Proposals by Dorset County Council to make thousands of workers take 12 days’ unpaid leave per year as part of plans to save £55 million by 2013/14 have been branded “outrageous” by the union. The unpaid leave, which would be implemented among the local authority’s 6,500 staff in calendar years 2012 and 2013 on top […]
What are you doing to prepare for the agency workers regulations?
This year will see the introduction of the new Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) on 1 October 2011. This new piece of legislation is set to have a significant impact on business and performance. But what are HR professionals doing to prepare themselves and their organisations for this change? This new law means that temporary agency […]
Job Centre Plus call centre on strike
Thousands of call centre workers at Jobcentre Plus are starting a 48-hour strike today in a dispute over “oppressive” working conditions and claims of “excessive monitoring”. Some 3,500 members of the Public and Commercial Services union at seven of the newest Jobcentre Plus call centres in Newport, Glasgow, Bristol, Norwich, Sheffield, Makerfield near Wigan and […]
Youth unemployment hits new high – and set to worsen
As official figures revealed that the number of people out of work had risen to 2.5 million, experts warned that youth and female unemployment was only set to worsen over the months ahead. According to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics, unemployment rose by 49,000 in the three months to November, putting […]
Avoiding Blue Monday
In 1979 Bob Geldof complained that "I don’t like Mondays". So many people agreed with him that he went to the top of the charts. The fourth monday in January is “Blue Monday" and as such should be disliked above all other days because it has been declared the most depressing day of the year […]
Invest in customer service skills, urges survey
As the consumer spending market becomes increasingly fragile, organisations must invest in developing staff customer service skills in order to avoid losing business and suffering the effects of a tarnished reputation. According to a survey among 2,082 UK adults undertaken by YouGov on behalf of training provider Kaplan, some 47% indicated that they had boycotted […]
Addressing skills gaps in project management
Most projects still fail to meet expectations. Eddie Kilkelly examines the extent to which this failure may be due to a lack of individual competence and identifies potential strategies for bridging skills gaps. Even the best planned and resourced projects can be knocked off track by constant technological change, new market entrants, and fluctuations in […]
Legal lowdown: Age discrimination at the BBC
Miriam O'Reilly’s successful age discrimination case against the BBC last week sets a benchmark for age discrimination cases going forward, says employment lawyer Emma Bartlett. The BBC’s public apology and acceptance of the Employment Tribunal’s decision and desire to take Ms O’Reilly back is somewhat exceptional. Taking her back could mitigate the BBC’s potential liability […]
IT and comms falling behind – Unite calls for better training
Unite is calling on employers in the IT and communications sector to improve their training and appraisal practices after research revealed widespread dissatisfaction among staff. A survey of just under 400 personnel working for firms ranging from Accenture and Apple to Capita and Hewlett-Packard undertaken by the union revealed that 62% were not receiving the […]
Unions criticise NHS revamp plans
The coalition government is to publish its “high risk” NHS Bill to revamp the health service later today amid warnings that Primary Care Trusts are already starting to implode as staff leave “in droves”. The Health and Social Care Bill, which will be laid before Parliament this afternoon, paves the way for GPs to seize […]
Work Programme targets are “over-ambitious”
The Association of Learning Providers has called on the government to rethink the way it structures its Work Programme-related contracts, warning that the current system could put small firms out of business. The move comes only a week after a Select Committee inquiry heard evidence that the targets set for providers to help […]
Parental leave shake-up “ignores needs of business”
Coalition government proposals to overhaul the current parental leave system have been slammed by employers’ groups as an example of "rushed thinking" that "fundamentally ignores" the needs of business. Speaking yesterday at the launch of a report on parenting by thinktank Demos, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg confirmed that measures formulated by the […]
Book review: ‘Strategic employee surveys’ – Dr Jack W Wiley
Member Jeremy Thorn reviews Jack Wiley’s book, ‘Strategic employee surveys’ for HRzone.co.uk. Find out what he has to say about the title. Title: ‘Strategic employee surveys – evidence-based guidelines for driving organizational success’, by Dr Jack W Wiley. ISBN 978-0-470-88970-1 – Jossey Bass £26.99 Review by Jeremy Thorn I am a sucker for being impressed […]
