HR Tip: Signing contracts of employment
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 had trouble with an employee and therefore have referred him to his contract where it makes the position perfectly clear. However he points out that, as he has not signed […]
Colborn’s Corner: Want to leave a tip?
October 1 sees a few changes in employment law. Firstly, the National Minimum Wage (NMW) is increased and secondly, changes to the ways tips are treated in terms of their role in remuneration. This month in Colborn’s Corner Quentin looks at the the role of NMW and questions how far legislation should impact on how […]
Top tips: Boosting motivation at work
When times are tough, it can be a bit of an uphill struggle to ensure your teams stay engaged and motivated. Jo Geraghty has some top motivational tips to ensure the workforce remains productive. Motivating teams in your organisation can be a tough and unrewarding task in the current economic environment. Morale is low so thoughts of […]
Employment law round-up: Changes in October
HR professionals need to be aware of a few legislation changes coming into force today. Craig Havard explains what you need to know. There are only a few pieces of employment legislation coming into force on 1 October this year. These are summarised below. 1. National minimum wage: Tips The effect of tips (and other gratuities), […]
Tribunal report shows redundancy claims up
The report from the Employment Appeals Tribunal into claims made between 2008 and 2009 showed that a failure to inform and consult on redundancy led to a rise in those types of Tribunal claims, despite cases falling overall. Key findings from the EAT report into tribunals from 2008-2009 revealed an overall decrease in claims accepted […]
Getting the best from Generation Y
Recruiting and retaining Generation Y poses a real challenge for HR professionals as the techniques used for previous generations no longer apply. Rob Cross explains how to master a different approach. "So where do you see yourself in five years?" I asked the 22-year-old who is now in their third week of […]
Now is the time for a new role
David Barnard examines the various ways in which managers must adapt their role to the recession, and explains how to lead teams successfully through the crisis. At ten o’clock last night, the tandoori restaurant on the corner of my road was empty. Unheard of. Each evening, I walk home down a street full of restaurants. The […]
How HR can sell itself to top management
Struggling to be strategic? Dave Millner offers his top tips to help HR directors to win friends and influence people. Many HR functions have been downsized, not because HR provides a lack of strategic value but because of the lack of effective marketing. Too often, HR simply fails to provide quantifiable proof […]
Ask the expert: Long-term absence during probation
An employee has been on long-term sick leave for most of her probation period. Matthew Whelan and Esther Smith advise on the risks of dismissing her. The question We have an employee who started work with us in a management position. Her references were not great but we decided we would give her a […]
The key to creating a great place to work
Long hours, high workloads, out-of-date leadership style and cultures do little to retain staff. Flexibility and good leadership is key to a happy workforce, says Lynne Copp. In the UK we work 46% longer hours than our European neighbours and are 27% less productive. Long hours and high workloads do not create successful businesses […]
High court says retirement age can stay – for now
The ruling is in. With the Government announcing it was bringing forward a review of the Default Retirement Age (DRA) to 2010, Mr Justice Blake has ruled that the DRA can stay. He did, however, recognise the ‘very substantial weight’ of arguments put forward by the Equality and Human Rights Commission and Age UK to […]
Tackling prejudice at work
With the number of workplace discrimination cases rising, it is vital that HR professionals confront, tackle and remove prejudice in the workplace, but how should they go about it? Nick Golding finds out. The number of workplace discrimination cases, where workers drag their employer through the courts over alleged unfair treatment because of their age, background […]
How to prevent stress in the workplace
The prevention of stress at work is a big problem in search of a big solution, yet is astonishingly easy to achieve, says Derek Mowbray. Stress is at the wrong end of the pressure-strain-stress continuum. Those who suffer from it badly may also suffer some of the most serious physical health problems […]
How talent development drives a high-performance culture
A united, high-performance workforce is not just a pipe dream, says Erik Finch, who examines the recommended steps of unified talent development to help achieve this goal. The pinnacle of any talent development initiative is, or at least should be, the creation of a high-performance culture. All businesses should aspire to this ‘utopia’. In […]
HR tip: Limiting recruitment – discrimination?
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: Ordinarily we visit four schools each year to give talks about engineering and what we do in the hope that they will produce some good apprentice recruits for us. The school just […]
The business case for diversity
Does greater diversity equal greater profits? Bella Mehta explains how diversity can deliver and make a positive impact on your bottom line. We’ve long thought that diversity was a ‘good thing’, something we should be doing. Now, though, we have concrete evidence that not only does diversity have the feel-good factor, but it […]
Ask the expert: Short-term lay-offs
How much notice does an employer have to give to shift workers, if there is no work available for them to do on a given day? Martin Brewer and Esther Smith advise whether short-term lay-offs would need to be imposed. The question: I have just started work for a small construction/professional cleaning company. We provide construction and […]
Caption competition: And the winner is…
City bonuses have dominated the headlines this year, and a recent inquiry by the Equality and Human Rights Commission has pushed the topic into the spotlight once more. It has found that women working in the UK’s financial sector receive around 80% less in performance-related pay than men – a shocking statistic. We have now […]
Achieving value-add performance management
For performance management to add value to an organisation, it must become a part of our day-to-day working lives, says Lisette Howlett, who explains how to inspire high performance in your people. Few organisations these days do not put time, effort and money into performance management in some form or another, and many operate highly […]
Opinion: Working beyond retirement age
As a 74-year-old who is still working, John Pope share his views on the issues around the raising of the state pension age, mandatory retirement rules, and the loss of talent to business. At present, retirement age for men is 65, soon to be raised to 66. That leaves about 45 years to generate the wealth that has […]