Ask the expert: Salary confidentiality
Can an employer include a clause in the contract stipulating that employees can’t disclose their salary details to other colleagues? Esther Smith, partner at Thomas Eggar, and Martin Brewer, partner at Mills & Reeve, advise. The question:We currently have the following clause in our terms and conditions of employment:“You shall not, during or (without limitation […]
Boost your business value with succession planning
The time will inevitably arrive when managers of a successful business must pass on the responsibility to new management. It is a critical time, says Stephen Seymour, who explains that careful succession planning can minimise the risk of damage during the change and enhance the value of the business. Over time, all enterprises evolve and […]
Good vibrations: Energise your team
How often do you reflect on the impact of your energy on others? Did you energise your team today or leave them feeling drained? Paolo Moscuzza looks at how energy can impact our relationships at work and what HR can do to help positively charge their people. We can all think of people who leave […]
Safeguarding company information against whistleblowers
Having a clearly defined whistleblowing policy would safeguard any sensitive company information and make employees aware of the consequences of publicising any such data. Laura Mitchell outlines some key advice for keeping your data safe. A worker at Marks & Spencer who ‘blew the whistle’ on plans by the retailer to cut redundancy payments has […]
CIPD conference news: Sugary treats, survival lessons and sad goodbyes
Annie Hayes reports on the highlights from this year’s annual Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) conference. Exhibition goodies:The lack of ‘big name’ speakers of conferences past including Joe Simpson, Sven-Goran Eriksson, and Adrian Moorhouse was perhaps the biggest tie in with the CIPD’s theme of Surviving in Turbulent Times. While the CIPD pocket […]
Using reward to become an employer of choice
Sylvia Doyle gives an insight into what it takes to become an Employer of Choice, and how best to reward employees to keep them on side. How often do you hear companies talking about becoming an employer of choice? This is hardly surprising since there is growing evidence that links high levels of engagement typically […]
HR tip: Phone strike as employees refuse to answer phones to protest pay
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: "A group of our employees is refusing to answer the telephone in an attempt to force us to increase the level of a pay offer. Answering the phone is part of their […]
You are what you wear
How important is a uniform to help engage and unify a workforce? Dan Murray explores the importance of embedding brand concepts in a staff uniform and keeping them involved with the design process. McDonalds’ new uniform designed by Bruce Oldfield and unveiled earlier this year highlights the investment that employers are prepared to make in […]
It’s crunch time: How will the HR sector respond to the war for talent?
Gavin Ingham Brooke defines the now widely coined phrase 'Web 2.0' and offers some insight into why HR professionals should be harnessing the technology to attract the pioneers and innovators of the future's workforce. Increasingly, 'Web 2.0' is being touted as the next big thing for HR – but should we believe the hype? Recent […]
Employee benefits: Are your people in the know?
Although most companies offer some sort of benefits package, you might be surprised how few staff are aware of what they actually are. Joanne Christie looks at some of the different ways to get the message across. “Did you know that we could get free dental and optical cover just by filling in a form,” […]
HR interims: The ‘crunch’ beaters
In an economic downturn where immediate and fluid resources win the day, HR are seeing the ‘plug and play’ capacity of the HR interim as a positive. Annie Hayes reports on a market that is beating the credit crunch. Soaring demandAccording to HR resourcing outfit Ochre House, demand for interims is up by nearly 10% […]
Clear the decks for action
With serious economic problems threatening, perhaps it is time to ‘slim down’ the HR workload, suggests John Pope, who explains that HR should concentrate on the few, really essential things to give themselves time to deal with the bigger problems. I claim ownership of the phrase: “About as much use as rearranging the deckchairs on […]
Ask the expert: Flexible working
If an employer accepts a request by an employee to work flexibly, will it open the floodgates for the rest of the workforce? Esther Smith, partner at Thomas Eggar, and Martin Brewer, partner at Mills & Reeve, advise. The question:An employee has requested to amend his contracted working pattern to come into the office earlier […]
Caption competition: And the winner is…
For those of you who missed it, Friday 22 August was National Hug Your Boss Day, where employees were encouraged to hug their boss in an attempt to encourage better working relationships. So this month’s competition continues along the same theme. There were some amusing entries this month – but there could only be one […]
Are agency reforms needed?
Charles Price explores the ins and outs of the upcoming agency workers’ rights reforms, and argues that it won’t be one-size-fits-all. As we all know, agency workers work through an agency which finds them jobs. The firm who’s hiring the worker pays a fee to the agency, and the agency pays the worker’s wages. The […]
Calling all HR heroes
With a brand new venue and date on the cards for 2009, what will Harrogate's last annual CIPD conference and exhibition serve up for delegates this year? Verity Gough finds out. Holding out for an HR hero It's one of the most widely anticipated events in the HR calendar, attracting thousands of professionals from across […]
HR tip: Obtaining redundancy form from Government discreetly
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 will shortly be announcing some redundancies and understand that we will have to submit an official form to a government department. We wish to get this form in advance and in […]
Age diversity in the workplace
In the final article in her series exploring the findings of the five components of the Adecco Institute’s ‘Demographic Fitness Survey’, Donna Murphy advises on the tools employers can use to meet the needs of workers of different ages. For the first time in history, four generations of workers in the same workplace is commonplace. […]
Colborn’s Corner: Watch your weight!
It has been reported that, as part of the government’s anti-obesity campaign, the Weight Watchers organisation is offering to run more lunchtime and after-work sessions in the workplace. Is this to be another role for HR – to assess the weight of employees and direct them to classes as necessary? Quentin Colborn looks at the […]
HR software: Can the pick ‘n’ mix approach work?
HR managers are caught in a trap. They want to take an holistic view of the organisation, but often have to do so with a rag bag of software systems. John Stokdyk and Lucie Benson explore the possibilities for pulling the different pieces together. As anyone who has trawled through the HRZone.co.uk guide to human […]