Redundancy survivors: Managing increased workloads and stress
When redundancies are made, those surviving employees could be faced with having to work longer hours as they take on the workloads of their redundant colleagues. Yet, as Nick Golding discovers, all this can contribute hugely to employee stress and anxiety. When employers are backed into a corner and redundancy is the only solution, it […]
HR tip: Validity of warnings
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: "For how long are disciplinary warnings valid? What is meant by a 'warning on file'?" HR tip: Normally a final warning remains valid for 12 months and lesser warnings for six months. […]
Business psychology: Are you making the most of it?
The psychometric testing industry has developed rapidly in the last 20 years, but how can HR professionals ensure they continue to make the most of the latest steps forward? John Hackston explains how to use business psychology to unlock the potential of your people. Twenty years ago, psychometric testing had made it out of the […]
Budget 2009: Chancellor moves on unemployment to avoid another ‘lost generation’
Alistair Darling has promised not to allow short-term job losses to become long-term unemployment, announcing a raft of new measures aimed at helping the jobless gain skills and find work.Under new proposals revealed in the Chancellor’s 2009 budget speech, the government said that people under 25 who had been unemployed for over 12 months would […]
HRD 2009: Web 2.0 critical to HR’s innovation agenda
Web 2.0 technology forms one of the critical agendas for HR going forward, an expert has said.Addressing delegates at the HRD conference in London this week, Professor Graeme Martin, who was involved in the recent research report on Web 2.0 and HR for the CIPD, said that Web 2.0 promises to offer what other forms […]
Training your way out of the recession…
At last a solid academic report that suppots that which most of us know…Researchers from the Cranfield School of Management have released a report “Nurturing Talent”, which clearly supports the up-skilling of current staff, utilizing online training tools and not cutting the training budget is a smart thing to do in low economic times.If you […]
HRD 2009: HR must be “confidante” to CEO in a recession
CEOs want their HR directors to be a “sounding board” on all people issues during the downturn, according to a leading expert.Speaking at a seminar at the CIPD’s HRD conference, which explored what CEOs want from HR professionals, Steve Tappin, author of The Secrets of CEOs and advisor to some of the world’s top CEOs, […]
HRD 2009: Three rules to sustaining performance in a downturn, says expert
Solidarity, energy and autonomy are the three rules for creating organisational resilience during a downturn.This is according to Richard Reeves, director of the think-tank Demos, who was addressing delegates at the CIPD’s HRD conference in London this week. In his seminar examining how to sustain performance in a downturn, Reeves outlined the concepts around these […]
How does top talent react to cost cutting?
As businesses seek to consolidate and cut back, development opportunities for key talent may disappear. Claire Logan examines how to retain and motivate top talent whilst budgets are being slashed. Tactical cost cutting and management of redundancy programmes take up the majority of an HR team’s time during a recession. However, implementing both of these […]
Mental illness in the workplace: The hidden epidemic
With 50% of all sickness and absence attributed to stress every year, at an estimated cost of £4bn to UK employers, isn’t it about time that employers stopped burying their heads in the sand? Verity Gough explores how HR can play its role in dealing with this last taboo. When it comes to mental health […]
Ask the expert: Long-term sickness
An employee, who had been off sick with work-related stress for several months, was made redundant on her return to work but was not consulted with about the decision. Esther Smith and Martin Brewer advise on where this leaves the employer. The question: We provide property management services to a client. We have an employee […]
Up in smoke: ‘Quit’ day? Nothing to worry about
Through a stop-smoking programme set up by her employer, Becky Midgley has managed to ‘officially’ quit the cigarettes and is feeling positive about the future. Well, the day came, the day passed, and I have officially stopped smoking. This week was a bit tricky for the advisors; the bank holiday meant that they couldn’t come […]
Keep ‘Budget for jobs’ genuine, pleads CIPD
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has urged the Chancellor to ensure this really is a ‘Budget for jobs’ by keeping people in work through a cut in employers’ national insurance contributions.This should be backed by a focus on job creation for the young and long-term unemployed, added the institute.Dr John Philpott, public […]
Interview: Cath Bailey, European HR director, Kellogg’s
Cath Bailey has come a long way since she kicked off her HR career as a training manager for Barclays. She tells Verity Gough about her tips on nurturing talent and how she manages cultural change at Kellogg’s within her increasingly global remit. Cultural considerationsDespite the prevailing economic conditions, Kellogg’s is proving that it’s not […]
Video voxpop: What causes stress in the workplace?
In association with Vox Pops International, HRZone.co.uk presents the first in a series of video voxpops, where the general public shares its thoughts on stress in the workplace. In this video, members of the public are asked: What causes you stress in the workplace? Vox Pops International is an innovative research agency which captures and […]
Health, work and director leadership
Geraint Day, from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), comments on HSE survey findings regarding director leadership on health and safety, including practices and influences to ensure that health and safety is addressed at board level. Workplace health is on the agenda of most boards of directors in UK organisations that employ five or more […]
HR tip: Loss of driving licence for sales staff
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 sales representatives has been banned from driving for six months. Does this mean that we can dismiss him?" HR tip: Not automatically. First make sure that you have the […]
Increase in employment tribunals: Don’t get caught out
Statistics show that there has recently been an increase in the number of employment tribunal claims. Michael Delaney examines the reasons behind this and advises employers involved in making redundancies on how to avoid being taken to tribunal. Recent data from the Tribunals Service has shown an increase of 43% in the number of employment […]
A week in HR: The return of the British seasonal worker and other tales
Verity Gough reports on a change in employment trends, BT’s mass job cull, low UK pay rises, and a freeze on the national minimum wage. It appears that seasonal work is no longer the domain of immigrants, if a story in The Guardian is anything to go by. It has reported a change in job […]
Keeping stress down and motivation up in challenging times
During a recession, stress levels in the workplace are likely to be higher than usual. Annie Lawler offers some top tips on maintaining a healthy, motivated and competitive team that can kick-start the recovery of your business. During challenging times, it’s more important than ever to be aware of undue stress levels amongst your team. […]
