Caption competition: And the winner is…
A recent news round-up on the site reported that there has been an immigration check amongst traffic wardens in the London Borough of Lambeth, which resulted in over half of them quitting or losing their jobs, with several found to be using forged passports. Therefore, this month’s caption competition shows a traffic warden getting his […]
Whistleblowing
It is ten years since Britain passed a law giving protection to whistleblowers… employees who felt something was wrong in their workplace and told the bosses about it. However given the revelations of malpractice which have emerged with the current Banking Crisis the question may reasonably be asked “Where were the whistleblowers?”The Public Interest Disclosure […]
Employer branding: Biting through the candy floss
The credit crunch has put many employer brands to the test with some notable businesses falling at the first hurdle. Annie Hayes fights through the sugar-coated offerings to find out what it means to have a brand with teeth. What is an employer brand?Many household names owe their success to the strength of their employer […]
How to lead staff during an economic downturn
With the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the takeover of HBOS, everyone is focusing on how businesses can cut costs and streamline operations. Stephen Archer explains how to address and lead staff during these times to increase retention as well as commercial effectiveness. The current turmoil in the financial markets has meant that the media […]
Colborn’s Corner: A change of culture?
Some people may have given a wry smile at the thought of many financial services workers losing their reputedly high bonus payments, with a perception in the media that the ‘fat cats deserved it’. But is this fair? Are we adding to the hysteria? Quentin Colborn examines the issues of bonuses and the much larger […]
HR tip: Misuse of redundancy because a person isn’t good at her job
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 want to let a person go who is not very good at her job, so propose to make her redundant. Any problems with this?" HR tip: Yes indeed. You may make […]
A week in HR: News round-up and commentary
This week, Annie Hayes reports on the end of the bonus culture, managers behaving badly in the downturn, HR turning their backs on business jargon and the lesbian couple that were allegedly told to put up and shut up because they would “never suffer in the way that the Jews did”. ***As four bank chiefs […]
Human capital management: The next generation
Somewhere tucked away in Oracle’s portfolio of acquired software companies is what used to be HCM champion PeopleSoft. But while CRM and database engines grabbed the headlines at Oracle OpenWorld, the firm was also keen to demonstrate that its HCM and talent management strategies are alive and well and gearing up to tackle Oracle’s vision […]
Can you keep your head when all around you are losing theirs?
Claire Logan, Rhonda James and Jacky Simmonds discuss the uncertainty of today’s constantly changing business landscape and explain how to keep the focus on business delivery, citing a merger at TUI Travel as an example. Uncertainty is now the only constant. The current economic climate has made us all acutely aware that we are living […]
Making change stick
Organisations often need to make effective change and create innovation but, in many cases, the change happens initially and then reverts back to old habits. Iain Davidson suggests creating a ‘bubble’ of change, which contains hard and soft dimensions allowing creativity and innovation to take place. Organisations often need to effect change within a particular […]
Do you need a dose of vitality?
We all want to feel on top of our game – but how can we achieve it? Anthony Landale looks at the energies that people need to bring to their work and how HR professionals can prompt people to get back in touch with their vitality. There's a new word […]
Ask the expert: Misconduct or not?
An employee is constantly off sick and refuses to supply a medical certificate or sick note from his doctor. Esther Smith, partner at Thomas Eggar, and Martin Brewer, partner at Mills & Reeve, advise on whether it is grounds for misconduct. The question:We have an employee who has been with the company for nearly four […]
How To… Make Redundancies
In the current economic climate it seems as though daily we read in the press about another company making redundancies and shedding their workforces. Given the need to cut costs it’s not surprising that companies look to their most expensive resource, their employees, in order to streamline the business. However redundancy should be a last […]
Charity Selects HR and Payroll System from COA Solutions for Improved Reporting and Closer Monitoring of HR issues
TACT UK, a national charity that supports adults with learning difficulties, is implementing OpenPeople, an integrated human resource (HR) and payroll software system from www.coasolutions.com. This system, which will be launched in late 2008, will improve efficiencies in management reporting, significantly reduce manual data entry and enable closer monitoring of HR issues such as staff […]
In sickness and occupational health: Absence management
We all want a healthy and happy workforce, so how can occupational health work with HR to help manage employee absence? Louise Druce investigates. It seems the credit crunch is being blamed for everything these days, including days off work. Absence management company FirstCare, which monitors the likes of Coca Cola and the NHS, claims […]
HR tip: Paying for employee to learn Chinese
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 are planning to do a bit of business in China, though it will be handled by a specialist marketing organisation. However one of our employees has asked us to sponsor him […]
Driver eyecare and the law: Understanding your responsibilities
Andrew Adams advises all employers to be aware of the laws surrounding the eyecare of employees who drive on company business, especially since the introduction of the corporate manslaughter legislation earlier this year. Employers are increasingly becoming more accountable for the health and wellbeing of their employees. The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations, […]
Take a solutions-focused approach to change management
Paul Z Jackson describes how a solutions-focused approach to change can help create a vision of the desired future, involve key players and make the process as painless as possible. As traditional approaches to change management – by top-down decision making and one-way communication – become less appropriate, a growing number of organisations are […]
A week in HR: News round-up and commentary
This week, Annie Hayes reports on October’s new employment legislation, the productivity slump and the workers that just want to get away from it all. 1 October 2008 not only brought a distinctly autumn chill and another bout of credit-crunch nervousness, but a whole raft of new employment legislation to get to grips with. Amongst […]
Legislation update: Age discrimination in job advert
When the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 were first introduced, there was much speculation as to whether job adverts, which seek a specific number of years experience, could be discriminatory on grounds of age. Richard White considers a recent case on this issue. Rainbow v Milton Keynes CouncilMs Rainbow was employed by Milton Keynes Council […]