Employment law takeaways: June
Employment law takeaways: our bitesize legal updates for busy HR professionals, provided by Suzanne Horne of Morrison and Foerster. 1. McWilliam & Others v Glasgow City Council – Compromise Agreements2. Salford NHS Trust v Roldan – Disciplinary Investigation and Hearing3. Edwards v Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust – Damages in Wrongful Dismissal4. Chief Constable […]
Duck! Handling your human capital in a crisis
When a crisis hits, organisations instinctively prioritise their physical assets such as data and premises as they rally to continue ‘business as usual’. But when it comes to planning for the worst, making sure staff are looked after should be just as important, argues Graham Whitehouse, of HR and payroll provider Selima. With volcanic ash, […]
Recruitment: Is it a candidate’s world?
Now there are more jobs on the market and more talent willing to move, does this mean that candidates are finally in the driving seat when it comes to recruitment? A lot has changed over the past year. In the summer of 2009 we were experiencing what some called the worst recession since World War […]
Is your organisation a work-life balance champion?
A website for working mums and flexible work jobseekers has launched it’s own awards to see which workplaces are most family-friendly. Workingmums.co.uk, a website for professional working mums and flexible jobseekers, is proud to announce the launch of its inaugural annual Top Employer Awards to publicly recognise and celebrate the achievements of companies offering leading […]
Social media still ‘misunderstood by management’
Even though social media can be useful as an internal tool to encourage staff to network and share information among themselves, management fears over loss of control, reputational damage and legal issues are holding back adoption. According to a ‘Social Media Survey’ undertaken among 2,600 internal communications professionals from 1,800 organisations by research and training […]
Public sector HR braces for storms ahead
Public sector HR managers could face difficult times ahead if current debates being played out in the media over potentially radical changes to pay and pensions come to fruition. Only a day after Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg branded public sector pensions “unaffordable”, signalling possible future cuts, and 10 days after Prime Minister David Cameron […]
Take action on ‘blatant racism’ in best paid professions
A charity has called on HR professionals to do more to tackle institutionalised racism in their workplaces in order to encourage more members of the UK’s ethnic minorities to apply for prestige jobs. A report, which is due to be published tomorrow, has revealed that more than a quarter of people from ethnic minority groups […]
Dole claimants 5: Job vacancies 1
While the jobless rate among OECD nations may have remained static in April, TUC figures indicate that dole claimants in the UK now outnumber job vacancies by five to one, with London, the North East and Scotland worst hit. Statistics released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which includes mostly developed nations, revealed […]
Follow the 3 Cs for the key to recruitment
Recruiting, hiring, talent attraction, talent acquisition…whatever words you use you can’t escape the fact that sourcing and hiring new people for your business is far harder to get right than it is wrong, with new research showing that a negative experience can damage your bottom line. Its long been said that you can tell a […]
The disease of unconscious bias
Unconscious bias is everywhere, malingering like a disease. I have the disease, and so do you. Even the most freethinking, open-minded people are at its mercy – and it’s the single biggest block to UK organisations increasing diversity. Traditional thinking has generally assumed that patterns of discriminatory behaviour in organisations are conscious. We assume that […]
Ask the expert: Can a company offer improved benefits to new starters but not to TUPE staff?
Is it legal that new starters are offered better benefits than those already employed? Esther Smith and Martin Brewer consider their verdicts. The question: Can a company offer improved benefits to new starters but not to existing staff? The company I work for has offered an improved benefits package to new starters […]
Now is not the time for employers to short-change staff over outplacement support
With its recent decision to take its outplacement support in-house, RBS is missing an opportunity, says Richard Alberg. Replacing the cost of external expertise in this way may appear more cost-effective but I fear they are in fact short changing ex-employees. It is difficult to criticise any employer that is making an effort to assist […]
94% will hack or axe final salary pension schemes
Although 87% of employers believe that staff are not saving enough for retirement, a huge 94% plan to reduce or axe their final salary pension schemes because they can no longer afford them. According to a survey of 179 large companies, which include 38 FTSE 100 players, by consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers, the number of organisations that […]
Council tender advert ‘disturbing’, says rights and equality commission
A council may have opened itself up to costly legal action after issuing a tender for a ‘female, white and non-Muslim’ taxi driver as part of a wider contract. According to the Northampton Chronicle & Echo, Northamptonshire County Council has been forced to issue an unreserved apology following the incident. One of the elements of […]
World Cup fever: Keep calm and carry on, says CMI
A management body has moved to calm employer fears that the World Cup could cost them £1 billion in lost productivity, but staff themselves are showing mixed responses as to whether they intend to put football or their jobs first. According to research undertaken by the Chartered Management Institute, some 54% of UK bosses are […]
Wales gets WISE with sustainable training
Wales has had a good week in terms of training opportunities following the opening of an institute to deliver learning in new environmental technologies and the provision of funding to teach traditional conservation skills. Jane Davidson, Welsh Assembly Minister for the Environment, opened the Wales Institute for Sustainable Education (WISE) yesterday, which will specialise in […]
CIPD: unemployment to hit three million by the second half of 2012
Government plans to focus on spending cuts rather than tax increases will stall any recovery in the jobs market later this year and cause unemployment to hit three million by the second half of 2012. This is the stark warning that John Philpott, chief economic advisor for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development will […]
Council ‘Quo’ recruitment campaign off target
In a warning to HR professionals everywhere of the perils of using humour in recruitment campaigns, a council has caused outrage by apparently banning Status Quo fans from applying for management jobs. Brighton & Hove Council has been forced to apologise to the rock band and its fans after spending £10,000 on a recruitment web […]
Metrics are the key to effective business strategy
How are the best HR functions using metrics to inform and execute business strategy? Will HR ever add value to the business strategy through its development and execution of people strategy? If so, how will it prove it, and what are the benefits of being able to provide such proof? We at Orion Partners decided […]
Barratt homes discover the ideal time to build their dream workforce
The current economic situation has led to a growing number of candidates on the market, which in turn has meant many organisations have seen an increase in the volume of applications received. Many organisations have struggled to cope with the increased workload as the recruitment process has buckled under the strain of applications. Recruitment activities […]