Coping with cancer at work
The HR department of a large employer will see more new cancer diagnoses in a year than a GP. To address this, Macmillan has launched a pilot scheme with Nationwide and Ford to provide information and evidence on current practices and issues within the workplace. Dealing with cancer is hard not only for the person […]
Start from scratch: Teambuilding
HR may be handed the task of ‘building teams’ but how best to go about it? John Pope outlines his no-nonsense guide. Within any sector of business, good teams are essential to business function and success. We have teams so that people get better results by working together rather than separately. Members stay together […]
Paternity leave – the good, the bad and the ugly
New government draft regulations promise more flexibility for parents when it comes to caring for a newborn, but is the pressure to perform at work preventing paternity leave – and your organisation – being a success? When it comes to paternity rights there seem to have been three schools of thought: the employers who recognise […]
FAQ: Long-term sickness absence
Dealing with long-term sickness can be daunting. We present everything you wanted to know about dealing with long-term sickness absence but were afraid to ask, from legal expert Rayner Jones. Coping with staff sickness absence can be a major headache for employers. Dismissal is always a last resort. But, sometimes, it is the only option […]
Let’s hear it for HR’s unsung heroes
Currently, when is it comes to the vanguard of HR comment, you could be forgiven for thinking: ‘same old, same old’, says Denis Barnard. The same names appear in the ‘most influential’ polls who were there a decade ago. Writers who once were fire-breathers, academics (who presumably eschewed putting their great ideas into practice) and […]
SEO magic: Make your vacancy stand out
Nigel Muir, managing director of search engine marketing specialist DBD Media, has provided five top tips for recruitment search success to get your position noticed. 1. Take the time to understand and evaluate whether pay-per-click advertising or search engine optimisation (SEO) is right for you. High-ranking SEO results are often more trusted by users, but […]
Recession continues: Don’t forget your workforce
Many were expecting news of a small, but not insignificant, recovery of the recession when the lastest quarterly results were released. When, in fact, the economy was found to have contracted by a futher 0.4% it was a surprise to many who had predicted ‘green shoots’, and not without evidence. According to the recent 2009 […]
HR Tip: Using solicitor in Employment Tribunal
These questions are being answered by Learn HR, a market leader in the provision of HR and payroll training and nationally-recognised professional qualifications. Question: We have been summoned to appear in the Employment Tribunal to defend a claim of unfair dismissal. Do you advise that we engage a solicitor or handle the case ourselves by sending […]
Size acceptance – hard to stomach?
The recent demonstration by the Size Acceptance Movement has raised some thought-provoking issues. Unlawful or not, there is no doubt that size-ism and look-ism go on in workplaces, but what can realistically be done? James Williams offers a legal perspective. The Size Acceptance Movement held a demonstration in front of the Mayor of London’s office […]
Is the war for talent now flooded with recruits?
From a talent drought to a potential talent flood – but how to sort the great from the good? Lisa Proctor, Director of Changeworknow, explains how online and 'might as well' applications have swelled the talent pool's banks fit to burst – and how to handle it well. What a difference a year makes. Only one […]
Redundancy: sink or swim
Heidi Blakey finds that when undertaking redundancy, determining the correct selection pool is a key issue in avoiding legal challenges. Dismissal on grounds of redundancy has arguably become simpler to justify in view of the economic downturn. Not only is it easier in these recessionary times to demonstrate that a redundancy is genuine, but […]
When opposites frustrate – don’t give up!
Diversity can bring huge benefits to an organisation, but are you getting the most from it? Matthew Hill gives advice and guidance on managing diverse teams. When the pressure is on within a team, the cracks will begin to show. This is often evidenced by escalating displays of emotion and tension. Sometimes a negative spiral […]
Ask the expert: NI contributions for older employees
This week there is confusion over whether NI contributions are higher for older workers or not, and if so, why? Esther Smith and Harry Scott advise. The question We have previously looked at this. Looking through the work we produced in 2007 we came across this;"Employers’ national insurance contribution rates are higher for workers over […]
Fostering innovation
Innovative organisations are successful ones. Lisette Howlett explores how innovation can become part of your HR department and organisation’s DNA. As companies wrestle with the never-ending challenge of finding new sources of growth in stagnant or declining markets, the pressure to innovate is higher than ever. But can companies learn how to innovate? Or is […]
Legislation update: deferring holiday until after sick leave
With winter approaching fast, questions have been raised over what to do if workers are sick at a time when they were due to be on annual leave. In a recent case, one employee who was injured just before he was due to take annual leave. Richard White, specialist employment solicitor at Withy King, considers […]
Is there any life in LIFO?
‘Last in first out’ was a simple but crude formula well-used by businesses when needing to make redundancies. Stephen Ross explains why it fell out of favour and whether there’s room for LIFO now. ‘Last in first out’ or ‘LIFO’ used to be a popular method of making selections for redundancy. It was a simple […]
Saving the endangered business partner
Grahame Russell considers how far the Ulrich model has come and where it fits in with today’s human resources department. Three years ago I rather mischievously suggested that we were entering the ‘post Ulrich era’, a period of reflection for global HR given that our beloved guru and HR proponent had been quiet for three […]
HR tip: Making rules work
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. The question:Our […]
Tesco picking up pieces of ‘woeful’ education system
Standards are so low in schools that employers and HR departments are forced to pick up the pieces, claimed Tesco’s chief executive in a recent speech to grocery retailing body IDG. Tesco’s chief executive, Sir Terry Leahy, called on the government to increase schooling standards and simplify the education system for the sake of British […]
Views on HR News: HR’s Role in the Social Business
Jon Ingham trawls the net to provide his round-up of the great and the good of HR thought and opinion found on the web, so you don't have to. This month, he reviews HR’s role in the ‘social business’. I have been writing this bulletin over the last six months or so to help […]