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 […]
Ask the expert: Sick employee
What should an employer consider before dismissing a sick employee who is regularly absent from work for long periods of time? Esther Smith, partner at Thomas Eggar, and Charlotte Cooper, solicitor at Mills & Reeve, advise. The question:We have an employee who returned to work two weeks ago, following seven months’ sick. He has already […]
Half of businesses to axe staff
More than half of Britain’s businesses are planning on making job cuts despite figures which show the majority of bosses aren’t feeling undue financial pressure.According to KPMG’s quarterly National Business Confidence Survey, 53% of businesses plan to reduce their staff headcount over the coming months, with a similar number planning to implement recruitment freezes. The […]
Maternity returners to share experiences in national survey
A national survey is being launched to find out what women returners really think of going back to work.Pregnancy and childcare charity the NCT is behind the survey, which will capture women’s experiences on returning from maternity leave or adoption leave. Around 400,000 women take maternity leave each year. A figure that is set to […]
Managing/Coaching or Working with Dyslexic Thinkers
People considered to be ‘dyslexic’ and therefore ‘different’ are also often thought of as ‘difficult’. In reality no two people are the same so, what makes one person or group of people more difficult than any other?Nearly always when I find myself in a situation or with people I’m working with that I might classify […]
Empowering Employees
Empowering employees can have significant results in an organization. If employees feel empowered, they work harder, faster, become more dedicated and enjoy their jobs more. Smart organizations are proactively working towards changing their organizational environment and doing more to connect with their employees. They are taking steps to shape their workplace and develop a plan […]
Working with dyslexia
Last week I was training with colleagues on our public speaking programme. We were both going through the programme ourselves and learning from the trainer how to deliver it. It was almost like going through 2 lots of training in the same day. Come to think of it that’s exactly what it was We do […]
Damage limitation: Managing poor performers
Best Employment Law Feature 2008 Poor performers are a danger not only to themselves but to their colleagues and the organisation as a whole. Annie Hayes finds out whether 'tough love' is the only solution. A lot of fuss about nothing? The capability process – points for consideration: Identify exactly what standards the employee should […]
Ethical Q&A: Effective appraisals
In the second in her series on how to be an ethical employer, Tor Goldfield examines how to implement a fair and effective appraisal system. Question:Everyone in my organisation has an annual review with their manager, but I am thinking of making these more regular and including feedback from other members of the team. What’s […]
Health and wellbeing: Empowering, educating, elearning
Nick Forgham suggests ways to ease employee stress and maintain their wellbeing during these current times of economic uncertainty. A key challenge in the current ‘credit crunch’ is for companies and organisations to consistently achieve the balance between pressure to achieve the organisations goals and objectives, and optimum performance from their employees. “The only lasting […]
The key to change and organisational development success
Why do so many change or organisational development (OD) initiatives fail, asks Mike Morrison? Change is serious and needs to be managed and cared for if you want to nurture success, he says. After more than two decades of HR trotting out the mantra ‘change is the only constant’ why do we appear to make […]
HR tip: Dyslexia – a disability?
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: "Is dyslexia a disability under the Disability Discrimination Act?" HR tip: An employee is protected by the Disability Discrimination Act if he or she has a physical or mental impairment, which has […]
Celebrity chef traits found in the office
From the fiery Gordon Ramsay to the ‘search for perfection’ Heston Blumenthal, workers everywhere can be compared to celebrity chefs, according to a new survey.The poll by recruitment outfit Office Angels reveals that almost half of workers believe they are multi-taskers with good organisational skills and attention to detail – traits readily compared to those […]
