Stress at work: Ignore at your peril
Work-related stress regularly tops the charts when the root causes of sickness absence are identified, and in the current economic slowdown, many employees are expected to work harder and longer for less. Tim Holden reveals the true cost of stress on your employees. In the UK, over 13 million working days are lost every year […]
Acas staff in strike vote over pay
Union members working for the conciliation service Acas have begun a ballot for strike action in a dispute over pay.The dispute concerns delayed pay settlements. Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) are angered that despite increases that were scheduled for 1 August, negotiations haven’t even begun. According to PCS, this year’s delay […]
What management want: Raising the contribution of HR
Outsourcing of HR is a topic that is likely to feature increasingly as the economic climate gets tougher. Can you justify the existence of your HR department? Can you show your contribution? Can you raise your contribution? Harvey Bennett has some answers. In the film What Women Want, Mel Gibson plays the part of a […]
Ask the expert: Data protection
Is an organisation falling foul of the law if it stores staff training records on a shared drive accessed by most of the office? Esther Smith, partner at Thomas Eggar, and Helen Elliott, solicitor at Mills & Reeve, advise. The question:In my new job, the company have a ‘shared drive’, which can be accessed by […]
How can you measure success?
As the best companies to work for tend to have a better return on investment, what does this mean HR should do with regards to measuring the value of their policies? Jan Hills discusses measuring success in your organisation. There has been much debate about the measures HR should be using to demonstrate whether their […]
Rogue employers target migrant women
Female migrant workers are the most likely group to be paid less than the national minimum wage (NMW), according to new research.The study, commissioned by the TUC’s (Trades Union Congress) Commission on Vulnerable Employment, revealed that 35,000 women are denied the NMW, which currently stands at £5.52 payable to workers over 22 years. Overall women […]
Employer fined £120k for lack of consultation
Union members working for former Swindon printing firm Centrabell Limited, which formerly traded as Tekprint, have won an employment tribunal claim to the tune of £120,000 for failure to consult over proposed redundancies.According to union Unite, on June of last year staff at the printing firm were called together and told that the business was […]
Redundancy gloom as employment prospects weaken
Yet another survey is predicting redundancy misery for thousands of workers as recruitment activity falls.The latest quarterly Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and KPMG Labour Market Outlook (LMO) survey shows employment prospects are weaker that at any time since the survey began four years ago.Although the survey finds that more than one in […]
Interims: Try before you buy
Anne Beitel explains why being an interim manager is such an attractive offering to so many highly-skilled people, and provides insight into why they are increasingly willing to then take on permanent, employed positions. A new pool of high quality executive talent has made itself available to the harassed recruitment director, as 57% of practicing […]
Time for a fresh look at CVs
Times have changed and the internet is now redefining the role of the CV in the recruitment process, argues Karl Gregory. For more than 50 years, the CV has been the standard way for most professional people to promote themselves when applying for a job. But in the digital age is the CV, in its […]
HR tip: Sexual harassment claim from ex-employee
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 woman who recently left our employment has now written to complain that, during her time with us, her boss sexually harassed her. As she has left, do we need to do […]
The danger of underestimating your fellow managers
We often rely on deep-rooted and often unsubstantiated opinions and perceptions of individuals and groups. David Pardey emphasises the importance of understanding your fellow managers and argues that the most successful managers approach new situations and opportunities with an open mind. All too often we, as both managers and individuals, are guilty of underestimating the […]
Overworked employees: A risky business
With working weeks getting longer, employees are increasingly suffering from being overworked. Richard MacKinnon explains that employers are particularly at risk in the current economic environment. Despite an overall decrease in working hours in the UK from 2000 to 2007, the average British working week is once again getting longer. Overwork, and the stress that […]
Breastfeeding women encouraged with £2m investment
Breastfeeding at work has been put in the spotlight following public health minister Dawn Primarolo’s announcement that a further £2m will be invested to help more women in England to breastfeed.The extra funding, announced during World Breastfeeding Week, promises to help improve the UK’s breastfeeding rate, which is among the lowest in Europe, and in […]
McDonald’s rides downturn and creates 4,000 jobs
Fast-food giant McDonald’s is hiring 4,000 new recruits to serve the needs of an extra 2 million customers a month.The recruitment campaign will centre on why employees love their ‘McJob’, following a two-year effort to overturn common misconceptions about working at McDonald’s.In 2006, McDonald’s reclaimed the term ‘McJob’ with its bold and disruptive ‘Not Bad […]
Downturn strategies focus of annual CIPD conference
The 2008 Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) annual conference and exhibition will focus on how to survive turbulent times. Amongst those speaking at the conference is the CIPD's chief economist, John Philpott and the Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP, Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform, Department for Work and Pensions. Philpott […]
School’s out for summer: Flexibility for parents
Alice Cooper might not have been so chuffed about school being out for summer if he’d had to juggle his busy rock touring schedule with a couple of bored kids. Matt Henkes looks at how two top firms are providing their staff with the necessary flexibility. The excitement that once accompanied the […]
Managing performance: Making it happen
In the second and final part of his series looking at performance management, John Pope examines what managers can do to encourage a culture of high performance. The previous article concentrated on developing a culture in the organisation where people were concerned about raising performance. A culture of high performance is essential – it is […]
No new laws to protect vulnerable workers
The government has announced there will be no new laws to protect vulnerable workers from rogue employers. Business groups have reported mixed feelings about the news. Neil Carberry, the CBI’s head of employment, said: “New laws and regulations do little to tackle unscrupulous firms, who simply ignore the law while they undercut law-abiding businesses. This […]
Are you well?
One of the latest hot topics to emerge in recent years is the management of wellness in organisations. Sandra Beale has some top tips on how to promote and encourage a healthy workforce. Lead by the government initially, wellness at work began in 2005 with the appointment of the first national director of health, work […]