MacLeod steps up engagement
The government-backed campaign to improve employee engagement in Britain’s businesses has stepped up a gear, an audience at the headquarters of the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (DBIS) heard at the Sustainable employee engagement conference. Held to raise awareness of employee engagement on the recommendation of the government sponsored MacLeod Review, the ‘Sustainable employee […]
Sickie Monday – did you notice a high number of sick workers?
Some 350,000 British employees are estimated to have called in sick to work on ‘Sickie Monday’ (the first Monday in February), costing businesses around £30 million in lost revenue. According to research by the Employment Law Advisory Service (ELAS), 25% of employers now accept emails or text messages from staff to say they are ill, […]
Opinion: Online recruitment not that simple?
I took a day out of the office to learn about what the recruitment market has in store at the Online Recruitment Conference 2010, an event run by Enhance Media. What struck me throughout the day was what a disparate marketplace this is, especially for the proverbial ’employer looking for good candidates’. Despite some heady […]
Nearly half of HR look to online for candidate information
A huge 41% of UK HR professionals have rejected potential job candidates because of information they found out about them online, according to a new study. But the figure contrasts markedly with the mere 9% of consumers who believe that internet-based data has any impact on their job prospects. Although such a finding […]
The Public Sector People Managers’ Association to launch website
The Public Sector People Managers’ Association plans to launch a web portal later this year to help HR managers prepare for, manage and measure proposed change. The portal, which will be branded ‘Guiding you tHRu’ is due to be showcased at the PPMA Conference in March and is scheduled to go live later this year. The […]
Workforce planning: How many staff does it take to run an organisation?
Workforce planning is become an essential element in these lean times. In the first of this four part series George Blair looks at how many staff you actual need and how to increase their productivity. Workforce planning is rapidly rising to the top of the HR agenda. Companies are being forced to consider the prospect […]
Volunteering – but who benefits?
Voluntary work for charities has become an increasingly popular government-backed activity to be offered in the workplace over the last few years, and has been shown to give great satisfaction to those who volunteer. But is it really a useful and beneficial tool for charities themselves? Or does volunteering detract from the fundraising efforts of […]
2010: The year of interesting jobs?
As HR professionals know only too well, the recent months have been a difficult time for organisations but in 2010, this fluctuating operating environment can actually offer a great chance for HR teams to improve engagement among staff, says Carla Cavanagh of Best Companies. Coping with radical change has been one of the biggest challenges, […]
Abandoned to their fate – ex-employees whose companies cannot afford outplacement?
Richard Alberg, CEO of MyWorkSearch, says there’s no excuse for ‘not affording outplacement’ when so much is offered for free… I must declare a vested interest. I run an online outplacement firm. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) provides our services free of charge to jobseekers via its Jobcentre Plus offices. I am writing […]
HR tip: Phone before sick visiting?
Learn HR is a leader in the provision of HR and payroll training and nationally-recognised professional qualifications, and is experienced in advising on common HR and payroll problems. A wide selection of tips and guidance can be seen below. HRzone.co.uk recommends that any tips are taken as a starting point for guidance only. This week, can […]
HR professionals exploit the potential of social media
HR is becoming the next key function after sales and marketing to explore the potential of social media and other Web 2.0 technologies as managers increasingly set their sights on acquiring and retaining high quality staff. According to Rachel Philips, technology director for Oracle’s Enterprise 2.0 collaboration software, HR professionals are now "starting to realise that […]
Group call for government support on equal pay research
An employers’ membership group has called on the government to support organisations in collecting, analysing and publishing pay data in order to help them get to grips with tackling the ongoing gender divide. The move came in response to recommendations published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) around the government’s pay reporting and […]
Survey uncovers ‘simmering employee discontent’
Although the UK has now officially limped out of the worst and longest recession since records began in 1948, job satisfaction levels have hit an all-time low, with younger workers particularly unhappy at work. News that the economy grew a mere 0.1% in the final three months of 2009 alarmed financial experts, who were predicting […]
Retirement age abolishment would herald major HR rethink
Proposals by the UK’s equality watchdog to abolish a default retirement age would require a careful rethink of many existing HR policies and practices, according to one consultancy. A report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission has recommended that the government scrap a law, which enables employers to force staff to finish work at […]
New legal ruling clarifies employers’ obligation to risks assessments of pregnant workers
A new legal ruling clarifying that employers are only obliged to carry out assessments on pregnant workers if evidence shows they are subject to health and safety risks should help to reduce the burden on HR professionals. The clarification in the law came about following a judgement handed down in respect of O’Neill versus Buckinghamshire County […]
Do professional HR personnel need professional training?
HR is a profession many ‘fall into’. Whether this is a good or a bad thing, does it really mean you don’t need training? Dave Snow investigates the role of HR today and says training is never wasted. There are some within the HR profession who knew where their future lay from a young age […]
Ask the expert: Holiday on sick leave?
Can an employee go on holiday when they are on sick leave, and if so, what are we supposed to pay them? Martin Brewer and Esther Smith advise. The question: Holiday on sick leave? An employee on long-term sick leave (work-related stress) obviously accrues his/her holiday entitlement during this absence. However, during this time if […]
Competition: Win a Water Wellpoint Wellbeing review for your organisation
Getting fit for 2010? How healthy do you think you and your work colleagues are? You could win a Wellbeing review worth more than £500 with our competition. The Water Wellpoint online wellbeing review assesses how employees believe their work affects their health and provides a valuable insight for employers on how they can better […]
Personal development – essential to managers – essential for everyone?
Personal development starts from the very beginning of our lives and should not end when we start work. John Pope looks at professional and practical development. We start off in life not knowing much about ourselves and what we could be capable of achieving; we know little about managing other people. But we learn gradually […]
Stress assessed: 40 million Europeans suffering from stress
Stress appears to be endemic in workplaces across Europe, affecting more than 40 million employees in the European Union and costing the regional economy a huge E20 million. In response, the British Standards Institute and Nottingham University are leading an international team to develop good practice standards for assessing and managing work-related stress. But while European […]