Ask the expert: Dismissal process with less than one year’s service
An employee, with just five month’s service, is not performing well and the employer wants to dismiss him. Esther Smith and Matthew Whelan advise on the correct process to follow. The question: If a member of staff has less than one year’s service (only five months in fact), can we dismiss him without following a […]
A week in HR: Is the recession the key to job satisfaction?
This week, Lucie Mitchell reports on a mass UK jobs exodus, a rise in job satisfaction, and the swine flu outbreak. The recession will cause a permanent UK jobs exodus, according to new research. A study by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants has revealed that 81% of the UK’s largest multinational firms are planning or […]
Colborn’s Corner: Swine flu – a media frenzy
The media has been in a frenzy over swine flu and we are all being subjected to a government communication plan that includes telling us what to do when we sneeze. But what does it all mean at work? Quentin Colborn examines what HR professionals should be doing about swine flu. Recently, if you say that you […]
No time for silence: Breaking news to employees
No news is good news – but sometimes breaking bad news to employees is unavoidable. Rob Ashton explains how to do it and provides five steps to effective employee communication. It’s bonus time. And your employees are waiting for their yearly salaries to be topped up with performance-related pay. The trouble is that sales have […]
HR Tip: Recovering relocation expenses
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: "Recently we recruited a man and paid a generous proportion of his relocation expenses, only to have him leave after six months to work for a nearby company. We suspect he used […]
How to beat the recession by empowering your line managers
In a downturn organisations are faced with the challenge of cutting costs whilst ensuring staff remain productive and motivated. Phil Brown examines the benefits of drawing on the capabilities of your line managers as a means of weathering the economic storm. The role of line managers has been a hot topic in recent years in […]
Views on HR news: The dangers of a tyrannical approach to Web 2.0
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 week he focuses on HR’s views on Web 2.0. I’ve just come back from presenting at a conference on HR 2.0 (the application of Web […]
HR in a recession: A change of focus
John Pope examines how HR professionals’ roles have changed since the downturn and how they must now adapt to the current climate. Business is a bit like gardening. To get good roses in summer, you have to prune in winter, root out diseased old stock, get rid of those which flower poorly or are no […]
Up in smoke: True liberation
In the last of her updates on her efforts to stop smoking, Becky Midgley is celebrating the fact that she can officially call herself a ‘non-smoker’. It’s official, I am a non-smoker. I just can’t stop celebrating the fact! People keep asking how it’s going, and the only answer I give is ‘it’s amazing, I […]
Vox pop: HR’s role during a recession
The downturn has meant that HR departments have had to alter their focus to adapt to the shifting environment. Lucie Mitchell speaks to some industry experts about what HR’s role is during a recession, and how it has changed as a result of the economic conditions. Anton Franckeiss, practice director, ASK:"In good times, what has […]
Ask the expert: Disability and failure to attend work
An employee, who has mental health issues, has been suspended for not attending work for one day. Esther Smith and Martin Brewer advise on whether this was the right decision to make, and the employer’s duty of care in this instance. The question: An employee has been suspended from employment pending an investigation. The employee […]
Cutting the cost of wellness
Ensuring staff wellbeing is obviously paramount, whether we are in a recession or a growth economy, but with budgets being cut wellbeing benefits could face the chop thus sending out the wrong signal to staff. Rob Woollen explains how to implement cost-effective wellness strategies. The business case for wellness is now well established, and forward-thinking […]
HR tip: Proof of drunkenness
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: "One of our supervisors sent a man home for turning up to work drunk. However when we held a disciplinary meeting, the man insisted that he was not drunk and that we […]
Talent management: The leaders of tomorrow
Identifying high potential within a workforce is critical if today’s business leaders are to exploit fully its own human capital. Richard A MacKinnon explores how organisations can best identify, develop, deploy and retain the leaders of tomorrow. Leaders are human too. Recent events, in politics and the world of finance, have shone a light on […]
Ask the expert: Short-time working, now redundancy
An employer had placed a number of staff on short-time working to avoid making redundancies. However, redundancy is now essential for some of these employees. Esther Smith and Matthew Whelan advise on how to calculate the redundancy pay. The question:We have had a number of employees on short-time since October 2008. The short-time working was […]
A week in HR: Equality Bill and Working Time Directive
Lucie Mitchell reports on the Equality Bill published on Monday; the collapse of working time talks in Brussels; the CIPD’s new approach to developing HR professionals; and the first company to have been charged with corporate manslaughter since the new law came into force last year. The big news this week is the publication of […]
Legislation update: Can a shareholder be an employee?
Until recently, there was confusion over whether a controlling shareholder of a company could also be an employee. In some recent cases, the tribunal held that a shareholder was not an employee. However, the position has recently been clarified, says Richard White. The questions over whether a shareholder can also be an employee was recently […]
How to manage sickness absence in a downturn
Paul Avis highlights the importance of effective absence management during a downturn to ensure an expedient resolution and to protect the employer from litigation. Staff absence seriously affects the workplace as not only does it cost businesses £666 per year, per employee (CIPD Absence Management Survey 2009), it also puts pressure on those colleagues still […]
Employment tribunals and April’s new procedures
The changes to the statutory grievance and disciplinary procedures have grabbed the employment law headlines this month, but some other important changes to the employment tribunal procedure are also worth a mention, says Charles Price. An order amending section 4(3) of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 will now allow an employment judge to sit alone […]
Up in smoke: The strength continues, for now
This week, Becky Midgley is still not smoking, and has surprised herself with her own strength and willpower, despite putting herself into some tricky situations. The group is back on track and back into our regular weekly slot which saw numbers return to, well, only three of us actually, although we are assured through the […]