Maternity leave: A practical guide
Maternity leave is a topic constantly being discussed on HRzone.co.uk. This handy guide is a first-stop-shop for reference – but experienced members and experts are always ready to answer your questions in detail over at Any Answers. This article deals with the statutory entitlement to maternity leave. Your business may have contractual or discretionary provisions […]
How to: Select a coach
Whether you are thinking about sourcing an external coach, or developing coaching in-house, the Association for Coaching UK offers some practical tips on what to look for in a coach. The value of coaching is recognised as a powerful tool for the development of people within an organisation and provides a ‘safe’ forum in which […]
Ask the expert: Notice period holiday
The experts, Neil Gill and Esther Smith advise on whether it can be made compulsory to take remaining holiday when serving notice. The question: Notice period holiday Can employers include a clause in their employment contracts which states that any outstanding holiday entitlement must be used up during notice periods? For example, if an […]
First time at an Unconference?
If you are thinking of joining us at the ConnectingHR unconference on 21 October and you haven't been to an event like this before, its understandable you'd be feeling a little unsure about what to expect. Use this list of tips to help you make the most out of the experience and make the unconference […]
Building a brand from within – the role of HR
It’s no secret in the industry that HR teams, like parents, do many jobs under one title. And, like parents, they are the go-to for good news and bad news, crises, problems and any major changes within the organisation. Everyone deals with the HR team; whether they work for a growing business or a multi-faceted, […]
The war for diverse talent
Let’s face it – diversity has become a pretty tired term in HR circles. By now, HR people should know that diversity is important. However, is there a genuine business case for diversity? Raj C. Tulsiani investigates. Are there distinct competitive advantages for organisations that manage to embed diversity? Could an HR Director stand in […]
Finance talent war rages on – and set to worsen
Although finding skilled finance, accounting and operational support professionals is already proving tricky for many employers, the skills shortage is only likely to worsen as business confidence starts to return. A survey undertaken among 6,300 financial leaders across 19 countries by specialist recruitment consultancy Robert Half revealed that, while the hiring market was still in […]
Equality Act: It’s recruitment, but not as we know it…?
We consider what changes will need to be made to recruitment in reality in the light of the equality act. Fergal Dowling, Partner in the Employment team at law firm Irwin Mitchell warns recruiting is tough enough as it is but now there are more things to look out for than ever before. The advice […]
Equality Act: What wasn’t enforced
There has been a lot of talk about what changes the Equality Act will bring to HR and recruitment professionals. However, there were a few items the coalition government held back on – and it is these more controversial elements that perhaps say more about the Act than what was enforced this time. One of […]
Equality Act: pre-employment health questions – what difference will it make?
The changes in the law concerning pre-employment healthcare questions have proved some of the most divisive out of all of the Equality Act adjustments. The moves outlaw medical examinations and healthcare questions prior to employment, and the changes are also designed to strengthen protection of disabled workers and applicants. The new provision prohibits employers asking […]
Equality Act comes into force: overview
The new Equality Act came into force on 1 October. As well as ‘harmonising’ much of the discrimination law into one single act, there are other changes HR need to be aware of. Worryingly, research from Eversheds reveals 75% of HR professionals surveyed fear that the Equality Act 2010 will lead to an increase in […]
National minimum wage rises as Ed Miliband commits to ‘living wage’
Ed Miliband has alarmed business groups by committing to the introduction of a “living wage”, after government figures indicated that changes to the existing national minimum wage would already cost organisations £48 million. As of today, Friday 1 October, the minimum wage will apply to low-paid workers aged 21 rather than over 22 for the […]
Leadership matters: A general manager problem
The general manager of our organisation seems to have completely changed her personality. Judith Germain advises on how to cope with this strange situation. The dilemma The General Manager of our organisation has five senior managers and over the last year this general manager seems to have completely changed her personality to the point where […]
Poor training retention costs UK millions
Regulated UK firms are wasting millions of pounds on statutory risk training by failing to ensure that workers put into practice what they have learned in the classroom. Jane Massy, UK partner at the Return on Investment Institute and chief executive of training evaluation consultancy abdi, warned that many companies operating in regulated sectors ranging […]
Share schemes – the basics
Jonathan Oxley explains the basics HR needs to know to differentiate between share schemes in the second of our videos on using shares as a benefit. See the first video from Jonathan here.
Business transparency: Converse, collaborate, illuminate
Transparency and trust are critical to getting the best out of employees – and new collaboration technologies can enable this, says Marc Benioff, CEO of Cloud Computing company Salesforce.com. Best known for its Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Cloud service, Salesforce.com last year fleshed out its portfolio with a collaboration offering called Chatter. Chatter is a […]
HR confused over agency worker regulations
Only 19% of HR professionals have a clear understanding of the forthcoming Agency Worker Regulations, while a worrying four out of five have no idea what the consequences of non-compliance would be. According to a survey of 100 HR decision-makers in UK companies who regularly use temporary staff, three out of five did not even […]
UK must address management skills gap
If the UK is to close the productivity gap with international competitors, the coalition government must focus expenditure on improving the country’s poor quality of management skills, an HR body has warned. In response to its ‘Skills for Sustainable Growth’ consultation, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) urged the government to develop a […]
Social media useful but still a security risk
While employers acknowledge that Web 2.0 technology can boost staff productivity, enhance marketing strategies and generate new revenue streams, seven out of 10 suffered average losses of $2 million due to related security incidents last year. As a result, 81% are restricting the use of at least one tool, whether that be social media, micro-blogging, […]
Ed Miliband needs to ‘reconnect’ business with Labour party
The British Chambers of Commerce has warned Ed Miliband that he must make reconnecting the Labour Party with business a key priority for his early months in office. According to a survey of Labour back-benchers undertaken by polling organisation ComRes on behalf of the BCC, while small-to-medium businesses are keen to see a reduction in […]