Ask the expert: Asking for redundancy
Following a reorganisation in the business, one member of staff has asked to be made redundant yet the employer does not view it as a redundancy situation. Esther Smith, partner at Thomas Eggar, and Martin Brewer, partner at Mills & Reeve, advise on what to do. The question:We have a member of staff who has […]
Caption competition: And the winner is…
This month’s competition was inspired by a recent poll by recruitment consultants Office Angels, which compared UK workers to the nation’s favourite celebrity chefs.There were some amusing entries this month – but there could only be one winner, so we have decided to give the prize to Bryony Bennett, an HR assistant from Kent. Her […]
Older workers and women first for the chop
Both women and older workers are the prime victims of the credit crunch chop, according to The Age and Employment Network (TAEN).The comments follow released figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which show a fall of 9,000 in the number of people aged 50 to state pension age in employment – 1,000 fewer […]
Unemployment set to reach 2 million
The UK is on the brink of a technical recession according to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), which is predicting a significant hike in unemployment rising to over 2 million.According to the BCC’s quarterly economic forecast, the jobless count is likely to increase by 250,000 to 300,000 over the next two to three years […]
Temp or Perm?
The term “The Shamrock Organisation” was coined by the management guru (and son of an Irish Pastor) Charles Handy. (http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/08/can-management-gurus-lead-us-to-nirvana.html ) This is a form of organisational structure with three bases on which people can be employed and on which organisations can be linked to each other. The three bases or groups are professional managers; […]
Talent & HR related blogs in one place
Hi there,I’ve been working with Jackie Cameron to create a list of UK based bloggers on the topics surrounding HR.The outcome is a site that outputs all blog posts in one place. It also includes a blogroll of those included.It can be found here: http://blogs.talentsocial.com/Contact me if you’d like additional blogs listed.I hope you find […]
Delivering effective L&D on a tighter budget
As the credit crunch bites, managing a learning and development (L&D) team and running effective programmes on a tight budget will again become familiar territory for L&D managers. Amanda Young looks at the best ways to deliver effective programmes in the challenging economic times ahead. Retaining quality employees is a big challenge for human capital […]
Training is not enough
Ability is only one factor that influences performance, says Donald H Taylor. Motivation and opportunity also play their part – and that’s where decent management comes in. Earlier this year, Andrew Mayo wrote an opinion piece on sister site TrainingZone.co.uk in which he asked for less leadership training, and more decent management. The practical business […]
Beware of what you wish for – lifelong learning has arrived!
The right to training is what learning & development specialists have been dreaming about for years, isn’t it? But Gordon Brown’s vision for learning could be the stuff of nightmares unless it is carefully thought through, says Nigel Paine. So employees are going to be allowed to ask employers for training. As long as there […]
The future for L&D: All drugs and no rock and roll?
Less money, less development, more outsourcing, more coaching. Do everything else online – even though we know that doesn’t work. Are these the real trends in L&D or are we bamboozling ourselves with myths and half-truths? Graham O’Connell asks: Is the future all drugs and no rock and roll? Let’s talk money first of all. […]
Nine months is only the start: Managing maternity
Sticking to the regulations is only half the battle when it comes to managing maternity in the workplace, yet in a shrinking talent pool managing the issues is crucial for success. Annie Hayes looks at where the opportunities lie. A tidal wave Poorly managed maternity is costly for employers. Those that recognise this realise that […]
Handling redundancies when times get tough
As the credit crunch continues to take hold, organisations are inevitably considering the prospect of redundancy. Martin Warren advises on the correct procedures to follow to ensure employers don’t fall foul of the law. A year on from the onset of the global credit crunch, businesses are starting to prepare for the impact of the […]
IT professionals in over 160 countries to accelerate their careers with British Computer Society and Pearson VUE partnership
IT professionals across the globe can now accelerate their careers in over 160 countries thanks to a new partnership between the British Computer Society (BCS) and Pearson VUE (www.pearsonvue.co.uk), a specialist provider of Computer-Based Testing (CBT) solutions. By helping BCS lead and build the IT professionalism agenda, Pearson VUE will deliver electronic tests to thousands […]
Registration open for ‘Best Companies’ awards
Organisations can now register to take part in the ‘Best Companies Accreditation’ and ‘The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For’ competition.According to Best Companies, its Accreditation awards is regarded as a benchmark of workplace engagement and the ‘Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For’ Competition is now an institution in its own right.The ‘Best […]
Should HR managers care about employee health?
The fourth article in her series exploring the findings of the five components of the Adecco Institute's 'Demographic Fitness Survey', [PDF] sees Donna Murphy discussing how much involvement HR professionals should have in health management at work. Until now, managing an employee's personal health has been the concern of the employee and their health advisors, […]
HR tip: Continuity of employment and length of service
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: "Three years ago an employee, who at that time had 10 years' service, left us one Friday to go to a seemingly better job. This did not work out so he returned […]
Colborn’s Corner: Poaching staff
The recent High Court victory for UBS in restraining a competitor from poaching members of staff brings back into the limelight the issues of both stopping staff being poached and encouraging them to stay. Quentin Colborn discusses how much HR teams can influence matters. At first glance, a High Court case involving multi-national finance businesses […]
Official statistics confirm job prospects are on the slide
Data released from the Office of National Statistics show the jobless count to be up; while the CIPD warn that the worst is yet to come.The claimant count measure of unemployment rose by 20,100 in July, reaching 864,700. The unemployment rate is now 1.67 million. This is the largest increase in a single month since […]
Sex-pest case exposes legal foul-up
Peninsula employment law service has been criticised for failing to put a ‘gagging’ order on a sexual harassment claimant; the case highlights the need for confidentiality.Nicholas Ellis, a beauty salon boss, admitted sexual harassment of former employee Sarah Whitefoot in a £10,000 out of court settlement.Employment law specialists, mhl support, claim rival firm Peninsula is […]
The boys are back in town: Men in HR
The HR role has traditionally been seen as dominated by women but Louise Druce believes you shouldn’t let appearances deceive you. When you talk about gender balance, the emphasis tends to be on equal rights and more career development for women in the workplace. However, HR has always been perceived as being dominated by women, […]