Protect your staff from swine flu – or risk being sued
Employers must take adequate precautions against swine flu in the workplace or risk being sued by employees. Failing to provide proper health and safety measures could result in personal injury claims, unfair dismissal cases, and other legal disputes that cost companies thousands in damages.
All on board?
Assessing employee responsiveness to change is critical for successful organizational transformation. By understanding staff attitudes and concerns through regular engagement and feedback, leaders can tailor change strategies that build momentum, maintain morale, and reduce resistance during uncertain times.
It’s HR, not a magic pill
HR effectiveness requires proper diagnosis of organizational problems before implementing solutions, not quick-fix interventions. Strategic HR practitioners distinguish themselves by determining what value is needed and why, rather than reaching for generic training programs or initiatives that don’t address underlying issues.
Maintaining the talent pipeline through a downturn
During economic downturns, graduate recruiters must balance increased demand for higher-quality talent with fewer resources and tighter budgets. By implementing smarter recruitment strategies—including targeted attraction, efficient screening processes, and stronger business engagement—recruiters can maintain quality talent pipelines without simply working harder with fewer resources.
Ask the expert: Removing allowances from contracts
Public sector organisations seeking to remove contractual car allowances must obtain employee agreement, as allowances are binding contract terms. Without consent, employers face risks including unfair dismissal claims, constructive dismissal, or unlawful wage deduction claims. Offering compensation or other incentives can improve chances of voluntary agreement.
Poll: What effect will the Pereda decision have on your organisation?
The ECJ’s Pereda decision entitles workers who become sick during annual leave to postpone their holiday and carry leave forward. Share how this ruling will impact your organisation’s leave management practices in our poll.
Octopus wins another Software Satisfaction Award
Octopus HR won its second small business HR software award at the Software Satisfaction Awards, beating competitors like Select HR and Cascade HR. The awards, based on ratings from over 8,000 users across HRzone and related communities, recognize software excellence in ease of use, reliability, functionality, and value.
Risk for employees as businesses cut insurance
Many businesses are cutting insurance costs to stay afloat, leaving over half a million employees uninsured. Research from AXA and the British Chambers of Commerce reveals that only a third of businesses understand their legal requirement for employer’s liability insurance, putting employees and companies at serious financial risk.
HR tip: Regular absenteeism
Employers can address suspicious absenteeism patterns by documenting absences, meeting with employees, and issuing warnings. A pattern of Friday and Monday absences provides sufficient grounds for action through informal warnings and formal disciplinary procedures if behavior doesn’t improve.
Success in a recession: Politics
Office politics often gets a bad reputation, but it’s simply how groups make decisions in the workplace. Rather than avoiding it, developing good political skills—combining emotional intelligence, influencing abilities, and understanding workplace rules—is essential for professional success.
Does the Pereda ruling make you feel ill?
The European Court of Justice’s Pereda ruling requires employers to allow employees who fall ill before or during holiday to reschedule their time off later or into the next year. HR experts debate how to implement this decision, with approaches ranging from high-trust employers who already accommodate such requests to those resisting compliance.
On the case: flexible working and childcare
An employee’s informal flexible working arrangement to manage childcare creates performance issues when proper procedures weren’t followed. This case highlights why employers must document flexible work requests in writing and clarify expectations upfront with employees.
Tory plans to raise retirement age
The Conservatives propose raising the state retirement age to 66 for both men and women, accelerating current government plans by six to ten years. The policy aims to address demographic changes, though critics argue it needs fundamental pension reform and risks hardship for workers with stressful jobs or caring responsibilities.
Disciplinary and grievances in the aftermath of redundancy
Redundancies can trigger disciplinary issues and grievances among remaining staff who face low morale, increased workload, and pay cuts. Employers must follow ACAS Code procedures correctly when addressing conduct problems, or risk compensation increases up to 25% and further damage to staff morale.
Top 10 tips: Engagement for managers
Discover ten essential management tips for building employee engagement and motivation. Learn how to create the right culture, foster trust, empower your team, and implement effective leadership strategies that drive productivity and loyalty.
Ask the expert: Long term sickness and insurance
An employee on long-term sickness for seven years has exhausted disability insurance at age 60, five years before retirement age. Employers considering termination must navigate complex disability law, permanent health insurance implications, and statutory notice and holiday pay obligations, requiring specialist legal advice.
Sick or on holiday? Is it up to the employee now?
When an employee becomes sick during scheduled annual leave, they can delay their holiday and carry the unused leave forward, according to an ECJ ruling. This creates compliance obligations for employers to manage leave entitlements while preventing potential abuse of sickness policies.
Countdown starts for Software Satisfaction Awards 2009
The Software Satisfaction Awards 2009 take place Thursday, October 8, at London’s Royal Courts of Justice, where over 8,100 end-user votes will determine winners across business software categories including HR, talent management, and enterprise solutions. The ceremony features a keynote from Red Dwarf actor Robert Llewellyn and will be streamed live online.
The future is mobile: Time to give employees a fresh challenge
Employee retention depends more on development opportunities than compensation. Organizations can implement internal mobility strategies that offer staff fresh challenges, career progression, and lateral moves to keep top talent engaged and prevent them from leaving.
HR Tip: Signing contracts of employment
Employment contracts don’t require signatures to be legally binding. Employers must provide a written statement of terms and conditions, but this differs from a contract. Employees are bound by terms explained at hire if they continue working under those conditions.
