CIPD: 1.6 million jobs will go in UK
The private sector will lose more jobs than the public sector following the coalition government’s spending cuts and VAT rise and will struggle to create a targeted 300,000 posts per year by 2015-16. The warning from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) came as researchers revealed that graduate unemployment had hit the highest […]
Attention ladies: you will not be getting paid until 2011
Despite the Equal pay Act marking its 40th anniversary, Nov 2 was Equal Pay Day,the day when the average woman is no longer paid this year, as on average women’s full-time mean hourly pay is 16.4% less than men’s. The 2 November symbolically marks the last pay cheque that women receive in a year, since […]
Engaging customer-facing employees to improve performance
Educating and engaging staff within the workplace is key to improving performance. Ian Luxford offers tips to help improve performance, ensure better service for customers: what better way of aligning your strategy with the business plans? If outstanding customer service is a must for successful businesses today, it’s also one of the biggest challenges they […]
Recruiters beware: 2/3 of jobseekers lie about previous salary
Just over two thirds of potential job candidates inflate the salary that they were paid in their last position in a bid to get more money, making it the most common interview fib. Next on the list come lies about candidates’ qualifications or grades in order to impress potential employers (61%), followed by bending the […]
Getting to the heart of the CSR for HR
The Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) signals a period of change for both private and public sectors that will last for at least the next four years. For the public sector in particular it marks one of the biggest shake-ups seen in recent times. Private sector organisations will also be forced to take stock of how […]
Ask the expert: Best way to move monthly payment?
This time the experts, Esther Smith and Martin Brewer give their advice on how to change from advance pay to arrears pay. The question: Changing from advance to arrears pay Employees are currently paid one month in advance on the 1st of the month. Obviously this can cause all sorts of recoupment problems if […]
Morrisons to employ and train 1000 homeless
The Morrisons supermarket chain is to give 10% of the 10,000 new jobs it creates by opening a raft of new stores to homeless and other vulnerable people. The UK’s fourth largest retailer, which is running the initiative in partnership with the Salvation Army and social enterprise Create, aims to train homeless staff in traditional […]
Workplace fatalities fall to lowest point
Although the number of work-related deaths and serious injuries may be falling, the incidents of stress, bullying and harassment are on the rise. According to figures published by the Health and Safety Executive, the number of workers that were killed at work dropped to 152 between April 2009 and March 2010, down from 179 the […]
HR uses hot tech to transform performance
Human resources and technology are not always bosom buddies, but the reality is that today many organisations want to achieve a sleek, integrated HR department which literally can use data for business critical elements like succession planning and managing the talent pipeline. It’s undeniable that technology plays a huge part in enabling this. However, it’s […]
The employer’s guide to maternity and paternity law
For all HR practicioners, dealing with maternity well is essential for talent retention, engagement and attraction as well as complicance with employment law. However with the new paternity rights as well it’s clear you need to make sure you work with your employees to help them fulfill their parental responsibilities as well as their careers. […]
Ask the expert: Providing a reference – what’s our duty to the employer?
The experts, Adam Partington and Esther Smith advise on whether a reference given should be updated to take account of a recent disciplinary hearing. The question: providing a reference – what’s our duty to the employer? About a week ago, we supplied a reference to a prospective employer of one of our employees. Our […]
Director who withheld £11k banned from running business
The director of a recruitment firm has been banned from running a similar business for seven years after withholding wages from staff. Christine Lewiss from Trimmingham near Norwich ran two recruitment firms, Rail Recruit UK Ltd and Rail Recruit UK Projects Ltd, which supplied employers with rail workers. The action was taken against her following […]
Auto-enrol pensions too costly for small businesses
Recommendations that all UK businesses should automatically enrol staff into a company pension scheme from 2012 will, if adopted, impose a damaging administrative and cost burden on small companies, an employers’ body has warned. The warning came as Steve Webb, the pensions minister, was expected to give the go ahead to the findings of a […]
Lancaster University acquires The Work Foundation
Lancaster University has acquired The Work Foundation after it was wound up due to a pension deficit. The 92-year-old workplace practices researcher and consultancy will continue to operate as a distinctive entity and its brand and work programmes will remain intact. It will stay at its Westminster headquarters and none of its 43 staff, including […]
Job creation plan: time to get real
The coalition government must act quickly to flesh out its National Infrastructure Plan to boost job creation and stimulate economic growth as it currently lacks the necessary specifics to generate business confidence, employers have warned. At business lobby group the CBI’s annual conference yesterday Prime Minister David Cameron outlined his “strategy for growth” for the […]
ConnectingHR – when the community came together
ConnectingHR was possibly the most eagerly-awaited date of the year for certain HR and social media enthusiasts. Having experienced the #TRU unconference format, I think I almost thought I knew what I was talking about. However, having joined the Yammer group set up in advance to discuss the day (after we bored all of our […]
The employer’s guide to: Redundancy
With the announcement of the public sector spending review the British public are braced for an age of austerity. This will almost certainly lead to extensive redundancy rounds, affecting both the public and also the private sector. This article looks at how an employer should go about getting a redundancy process right and minimising the […]
Immigration cap already too tight
Despite an overall drop in the use of temporary agency workers during September, the social care, logistics and manufacturing sectors are being hard hit by the coalition government’s temporary cap on skilled labour from outside Europe. According to a study undertaken by consultancy de Poel, which helps employers optimise their relationships with recruitment agencies, just […]
Shift in focus in training market
The global managed learning market is about to be hit by consolidation as the focus moves from improving the quality of clients’ service provision to demand planning, a provider has warned. According to AI Bird, learning consultancy director at KnowledgePool, while customers initially hired external specialists to buy and administer their training in order to […]
Employers warn extending paid maternity leave will add £2.5bn in payroll costs
Employers have reacted with dismay to a European Parliament vote extending paid maternity leave from 14 to 20 weeks, warning that the legislation will add £2.5bn in payroll costs and deter them from hiring new staff. Under the terms of the Pregnant Workers Directive, maternity leave will be extended to 20 weeks on full pay. Currently […]