Recession over but pay still low
Employers are having to find new ways to retain staff as more than three quarters have failed to reinstate pay cuts that were introduced to avoid redundancies during the recession. According to research undertaken among 1,000 workers by recruitment consultants Badenoch & Clark, a huge 77% of the 8.7 million employees that took a pay […]
Apprenticeship academy for young people at Co-op
The Co-operative Group has set up an Apprenticeship Academy to provide 2,000 young people with transferrable skills and qualifications at a cost of £9 million over the next two years. The move is part of a wider £21 million ‘Inspiring Young People’ campaign, which is aimed at changing the negative perceptions of youth and supporting […]
Mobile support aids learning and security
Four colleges in South East England are undertaking a 12-week pilot to study how the use of mobile learning applications among students influences behaviour. The news came as research revealed that it was more effective to make people the first line of defence against data breaches rather than rely solely on technology to safeguard corporate […]
Apprenticeships appreciated at awards
Sellafield won the top accolade at last night’s Apprenticeship Awards ceremony in London for making the most effective use of its trainees in order to meet the needs of both its business and the local community. The nuclear power provider, which was awarded the title of Macro Employer of the Year, has taken on apprentices […]
Social media ‘critical’ to success but security is lacking
A third of UK personnel currently access social media in the workplace and more than half of managers now sanction such activity for motivational and productivity reasons, according to research. A survey undertaken among 1,600 staff in the UK, US, Japan and Germany by security software provider Trend Micro revealed that the percentage using social […]
Adopt the Cloud or lose key talent
Increased demand for flexible and remote working will push employers to progressively adopt cloud-based IT service delivery models in order to retain staff, according to research. The ‘Futurizon’ report, written by futurologist Ian Pearson and commissioned by high tech company Fujitsu, indicated that continuing huge advances in technology mean that it will become increasingly unnecessary […]
Meaning in abundance: Dave and Wendy Ulrich on The Why of Work
Dave Ulrich needs little introduction to human resource practitioners: the Ulrich model is a famous standard of HR used by many within their organisations. In his current venture, Dave has partnered with his wife, Wendy, as they use common themes from his work as a human resource thought leader and Wendy’s 20+ years of experience […]
Avoiding ‘December syndrome’
It’s the height of summer and the UK’s workforce is working flat out. With concerns over public sector spending cuts and pay freezes to the fore and ‘knock-on’ effects expected across the private sector, employees are striving to hit targets and perform to the best of their ability. But towards the end of the year, […]
Be prepared with our guide to the Agency Workers Regulations
The Agency Workers’ Regulations (AWR), due to come into force in 2011, will be one of the most significant and highly-debated pieces of employment legislation in the last decade. Be prepared with this guide and stay up to date with any changes on HRzone.co.uk. The new legislation will mean businesses will have to make […]
Employers fear backlash of bonus cuts
The coalition government is considering whether to introduce a second tax on bankers’ remuneration and profits and proposes to start a consultation on whether to make employers disclose their pay rates. The news came as research undertaken by recruitment agency Badenock & Clark revealed that, while nearly half of financial services organisations had committed to […]
Job deficit to last five years
Although unemployment fell slightly last quarter due to a record increase in the number of part-time workers, a leading HR body has warned that the UK faces five long years of a serious jobs deficit. According to the Office for National Statistics, the number of people in employment fell by 34,000 to 2.47 million in […]
Acas launches HR equality guide
The conciliation service Acas has published guidance to help HR professionals prepare for implementing the Equality Act, which is due to come into force this October. The Acas guide entitled ‘The Equality Act: What’s New for Employers?’ explains how the new legislation, which was passed on 8 April and replaces nine current laws including the […]
What does it feel like to be talent managed?
We’re looking at retention and what makes people ‘happy to be stuck with you’. Talent management programmes often play a big part in this retention strategy. But how does it feel to be part of it – or ignored by it? Claire McCartney, adviser for resourcing and talent planning, shares the CIPD’s latest findings drawing […]
Getting social with recruitment
While times have been tough recently, according to research by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG in January, the growth of permanent staff placements is at its fastest since July 2007, demonstrating that businesses are starting to recruit again. However, organisations are still operating on a lean budget so taking a cost-conscious approach […]
Ask the expert: Is depression covered by the DDA?
Martin Brewer and Esther Smith advise on whether depression is covered in this instance under the disability discrimination act. The question: Is depression covered by the DDA? I had been off work for some six weeks with depression. When I returned OH said that I was fit to work, without adjustments, but OH also said […]
Learning innovation: When the classroom won’t cut it
Building skills and harnessing talent are as critical, if not more so, in tough economic times but organisations will have to think innovatively if they are to build the skills necessary to thrive and survive. Recent figures from Lifelong Learning UK revealed that half of all office workers felt they would waste less time at […]
Government may plug BT pensions
Only days after BT averted strike action by reaching a £50 million deal on staff pay, its trustees are going to the High Court to seek a ruling on the extent to which the government should underwrite its £9 billion pension deficit. If the ruling goes in the telco’s favour and the government underwrites its […]
No break for SME bosses
Three out of five bosses in small-to-medium enterprises plan to remain in daily contact with staff during their summer break this year, a situation fuelled by concern over increasingly complex HR and payroll issues. According to a poll of 293 owners of small-to-medium businesses undertaken by internet service provider Eclipse Internet, while 73% plan to […]
Office chit-chat costs employers £2bn a year
Office chit-chats are costing employers more than £2bn each year, with the average UK worker spending over an hour a day talking to colleagues about their social lives. A poll undertaken among 1,546 workers by recruitment agency review site HireScores.com revealed that personnel spend on average 67 minutes each day chewing the fat with colleagues, […]
Coaches call for better regulation of industry
Most coaches would prefer to see self-regulation rather than government intervention to tackle fears that burgeoning numbers of unqualified people entering the profession could damage its reputation. Although the coalition government has no current plans to regulate the industry, training body, the Coaching Academy, has taken a first step in this direction by sponsoring The […]