A week in HR: News round-up and commentary
This week, Annie Hayes reports on glass ceilings, police uniform issues in Norfolk, recruitment troubles, and the CIPD annual conference in Harrogate. That pesky ‘glass-ceiling’ has strengthened, much to the annoyance of the chief executive of the Equality and Human Rights Commission who said it was more like “reinforced concrete”. And Katherine Rake, director of […]
Invest in your employee relations culture now
Tough economic conditions are pushing employee relations (ER) to the top of HR agendas, says Debora Sanders. The credit crunch, rising inflation and escalating fuel and food prices are more than ‘water cooler’ talk and are increasingly becoming a real workplace concern; relationships between employers and employees are subsequently being tested. Employees are looking to […]
Ask the expert: Employee complaints
What should HR do when a complaint is made by a member of staff about another employee? Esther Smith, partner at Thomas Eggar, and Martin Brewer, partner at Mills & Reeve, advise. The question:One member of staff recently made a complaint about another’s behaviour during an argument in his office. I have interviewed the defendant […]
HR: Creating a credible function
Jan Hills discusses how it is time for HR to take steps to make the overall HR function credible – not just individual HR people – and gives practical tips on what to do and what to avoid. There are endless depressing reports about how senior managers and CEOs say that HR is not credible. […]
Crunch time: Retaining staff through motivation
Best Employee Management Feature 2008With the economy in the doldrums, it is easy for staff to fall into the same trap as they reassess their career situation. But, as Louise Druce finds out, it’s not always money that will make them stay. They say money talks and not many people would refuse that kind of […]
Is your organisation secure?
HR has an important role to play in securing information assets and hiring top notch security staff, says John Colley. With our increasing dependence on electronic information in every corner of business and society, the need to hire first-rate information security staff to protect our information assets has never been greater. And there’s a lot […]
HR tip: Retiring an elderly employee at 70
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 wish to retire a 70-year-old employee. Our normal retirement age is 65 but we let him stay on. Do we need to do anything other than give him notice? And at […]
Keeping the seat warm
With increasing numbers of senior employees contemplating career breaks or sabbaticals, many UK companies are introducing policies for this, yet there are some employers that are unwilling to implement such a scheme. Chris Phillips argues that they can prove beneficial in revitalising ‘burnt out’ staff. With an increasing trend of senior employees considering career breaks […]
Legislation update: Compromise agreements
Richard White has a warning to employers when it comes to negotiating compromise agreements, and advises on the effective date of termination of employment. Employees have a time limit of three months from the effective date of termination of employment (EDT) within which to bring claims of unfair dismissal. A recent case considered how to […]
Trigger happy: Employment legislation October 2008
October is the second trigger point of the year for new employment legislation. Annie Hayes soothes HR’s brow with a round-up of what to look out for. Employment legislation – October 2008 implementation: 1 October 2008: National Minimum Wage Regulations increases. 1 October 2008: Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) (Amendment) Regulations 2008. 5 October 2008: Amendments […]
A week in HR: News round-up and commentary
Dip into our new-look commentary to catch up on the latest goings on in the world of HR. Older workers and those looking forward to a peaceful retirement have been dealt a double blow this week. The Guardian newspaper reports on age discrimination this week and finds that fame is no exception. According to the […]
Ask the expert: Company property
What can an employer do when an ex-employee refuses to return company property, including a lap top and mobile phone? Esther Smith, partner at Thomas Eggar, and Martin Brewer, partner at Mills & Reeve, advise. The question:An ex-employee still has a company laptop, mobile phone and sat nav. We have written to him requesting their […]
Diversity: It’s not just about avoiding discrimination
Tim Holden outlines a few ideas to ensure you benefit from a diverse workforce, thereby strengthening your brand and helping you to become an employer of choice. “But we operate in a sector with skills shortages.”“Agencies try their best but they don’t have people on their books who want to work here.”“Adverts just don’t work […]
Payroll giving: Charity begins at work
Even though payroll giving schemes have risen in popularity tremendously over the last few years, there could still be many more people signing up to it. Lucie Benson examines what HR can do to encourage uptake – and benefit the business, your employees and charities in the process. The basic premise for payroll giving is […]
How to survive a recession
In reality, most of us already know how to solve our problems; we just need someone else to tell us and focus us in on them. So, as the credit crunch continues, Phil Young explains how to survive a recession and come out on top. There is a chance that we might be entering a […]
HR tip: Custom and practice – starting time being changed
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: "Our contracts of employment state that our office hours are 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, but our previous general manager has, for the last three years, allowed everyone to leave at […]
Striking the right balance for performance management
Alyson Pellowe wanders into the world of performance management, and discusses who is responsible for it, what it really entails and how to handle poor performers. When I first heard the term performance management (PM) I wasn’t sure what it meant for businesses. After some research I realised it’s very straightforward. It’s about using a […]
Ethical Q&A: Compassionate leave
In this month’s article on how to be an ethical employer, Tor Goldfield tackles the issue of compassionate leave and the main factors to consider when implementing a policy for it. Question:An employee recently asked for a week’s compassionate leave to spend time with a sick relative who isn’t a dependent, which was granted. I […]
Workers down under are happier at work
Our Australian counterparts are more optimistic about their organisations’ growth and are more satisfied at work, a new report has found.Research by the Chartered Management Institute and the Australian Institute of Management, which studied the quality of working life for both UK and Australian managers, found that 65% of Australian managers were positive about the […]
Time off for training too ‘bureaucratic’
An organisation that represents small businesses is voicing concerns that government proposals to give staff the legal right to request time off for training are too bureaucratic and expensive for its members.Responding to a consultation on the government’s push for employees to have the right to request time off to train, the Federation of Small […]