Employment, pensions and share schemes in 2009
Employment law in 2009 faced major reforms, including the Employment Act 2008 changes to dispute resolution procedures and a proposed Equality Bill addressing discrimination. HR professionals needed to understand these regulatory shifts alongside cost-management strategies like job-sharing and flexible working arrangements during the economic downturn.
Holiday accrual on sick leave: What you need to know
An ECJ ruling grants employees the right to accrue annual leave during long-term sickness absence, potentially increasing employer costs. Workers must be paid for unused accrued leave upon termination, regardless of sick leave duration.
A week in HR: Agency workers angry over job cuts at Mini
BMW is cutting 850 jobs at its Mini plant in Cowley, with agency workers facing immediate redundancy. The cuts have angered trade unions over concerns that weaker employment protections for temporary workers are being exploited during the recession.
Charity website links employers and disabled jobseekers
Leonard Cheshire Disability launches Suitability, a free online platform connecting disabled jobseekers with employers. The resource helps companies recruit talented disabled candidates while providing jobseekers with personalized support, job alerts, and career development tools.
And they say romance is dead
Office romances are inevitable in today’s long-hours work culture, but HR must carefully manage workplace relationships to prevent harassment claims, favoritism accusations, and uncomfortable environments. Employers should establish clear bullying and harassment policies while ensuring employees understand that unwanted conduct—whether romantic or playful—can constitute harassment based on the recipient’s perspective.
COA Solutions Launches New HCM Portal for its HR Pro Human Resource System
COA Solutions launches a new HCM Portal designed to work with its HR Pro system, enabling line managers to access HR information, reports, and key processes through a single user-friendly interface. The portal provides absence, turnover, and performance data while freeing up HR department resources through manager self-service capabilities.
Health and safety laws: Avoiding a prison sentence
The Health and Safety (Offences) Act 2008 introduced prison sentences up to two years for workplace safety violations, significantly strengthening penalties beyond previous fines. Employers and employees now face serious criminal consequences for breaching health and safety duties, even without causing injury.
Show me the rewards
Employee recognition and rewards programmes are essential for retaining top talent, as 79% of employees who resign cite feeling unappreciated. Rather than token gestures, meaningful recognition drives employee satisfaction, productivity, and corporate profitability by fulfilling workers’ fundamental need for acknowledgment of their contributions.
Colborn’s Corner: What life is there outside work?
HR professionals increasingly search social networking sites during recruitment to learn about candidates’ personal lives. This raises questions about what constitutes fair game in hiring decisions and whether private behavior reliably predicts workplace conduct.
HR tip: Help for redundant employees
When facing redundancies due to financial constraints, employers can support affected staff by helping them write personal profiles to circulate to job centers and agencies, providing access to job listings, and assisting with CV preparation and job search resources like phone and photocopier use.
Developing your managers in a downturn
During downturns, organizations need resilient managers who can drive results under pressure. Develop high-potential managers through challenging assignments, responsibility, and mentorship rather than expensive training programs, leveraging the economic crisis as a learning opportunity.
A week in HR: A winter of discontent?
Banking sector bonus rows have triggered calls for HR accountability, while the UK job market deteriorates at an alarming rate with employers planning significant job cuts and freezing pay reviews for 2009.
The HR information system: The heartbeat of the organisation
An HR information system (HRIS) is critical infrastructure that manages your organisation’s most valuable resource: its people. Choosing the right HRIS requires HR ownership from the start, thorough business analysis, and input from IT and finance in supporting roles rather than decision-making roles.
Opinion: The trouble with HR
HR professionals face mounting pressure during economic downturns, managing redundancies and restructuring while often being overlooked for support themselves. This article explores the unique challenges HR departments encounter and advocates for better wellbeing practices for these weary executives.
Ask the expert: Ignored on maternity
An employee on maternity leave was denied information about job vacancies and promotion opportunities despite repeatedly requesting updates. Legal experts explain she can pursue a grievance, citing potential sex discrimination and breach of contract, as employers must ensure absent employees receive equal access to career opportunities.
Caption competition: And the winner is…
Lee Clayburn wins this month’s caption competition with a humorous entry about an anti-dandruff shampoo mishap during snowy weather. The winner can choose between Spanish red or Italian white wine as their prize.
Women in the workplace: A career in interim management
Interim management offers women senior-level career opportunities with greater flexibility than traditional boardroom roles. This project-based work allows professionals to balance career ambition with personal priorities while commanding competitive compensation, contributing to a notable shift in how women advance their careers.
ASR Computers (a COA Solutions Company) Showcases New Human Capital Management System for SMEs at Softworld North 2009
ASR Computers showcases OpenPeople Lite, a new human capital management system designed for small to medium-sized enterprises with 50-250 employees. The integrated HR and payroll solution offers fixed-fee implementation and includes features like workflow, analytics, and time tracking, providing cost-effective management for SMEs.
Cost-effective employee engagement
Employee engagement remains crucial during recessions despite budget cuts. HR can maintain staff motivation through cost-effective strategies like in-house training, clear communication, and identifying career opportunities, helping workers feel valued and secure in their future with the company.
HR tip: Pin-ups in the machine shop
Workplace pin-ups can constitute sexual harassment under employment law, even if some employees don’t directly work in that area. Employers can face legal liability if offensive materials create a hostile environment for any staff member who encounters them.
