HR enjoys boosted earnings amidst fear of redundancies
In a further sign of a confused economy, new figures show HR jobs are being axed whilst salaries are increasing.The 2008 National Management Salary Survey, published by the Chartered Management Institute and CELRE, shows that within the HR sector, the redundancy rate is 1.7% up from 1.1% last year. Overall redundancies for UK executives have […]
Skills fear continues as adults fail basic literacy test
Findings from a new survey reveal that 67% of Britain’s adult population has below basic literacy skills.The basic writing skills survey, undertaken by educational software developer Basic Writing Skills, also discovered that women have higher average literacy levels than men, scoring an average of 15% higher than their male counterparts in the test. The results […]
Remote control: Home working technology
What gadgets, gizmos and gremlins do employees need to worry about to work remotely? Matt Henkes investigates. With over 41 million employees globally working out of the office for at least one day a week, the technological requirements of the modern mobile workforce can have IT managers wringing their hands. […]
Taking control of absence
Absence can be controlled by setting and maintaining the standards required – and sticking to your guns, says John Pope. Some organisations have very high rates of absence through sickness and this government has recently talked about reducing such absence by replacing sick notes with well notes, stating what work an individual would be able […]
Opinion: A ‘debate’ about Investors in People
HRZone.co.uk member Sue Harrison shares her experiences when researching Investors in People status as a business objective for her organisation. I meet regularly with a group of HR managers as part of a network for our sector. I had put Investors in People (IiP) as an agenda item, with the […]
The perfect manager
Matthew Jennings offers some invaluable advice on how to strive towards becoming the best manager you can possibly be. “Ultimately, the truly great managers are the ones who stop to think where they want to go and then have the shameless audacity to set out.” Gerard Blair. If we went to the shops and bought […]
Agreement reached on agency workers
The government has agreed a deal between unions and employers that will allow UK agency workers to receive equal treatment after 12 weeks of employment.Announcing the news today (Tuesday), business secretary John Hutton said that this is the right deal for Britain. “Today’s agreement achieves our twin objectives of flexibility for British employers and fairness […]
CIPD annual conference to move
The CIPD annual conference and exhibition is to move from Harrogate to Manchester in 2009.To coincide with this move, it will also change from its current September slot to November, so next year the event will be held at the Manchester Central Convention Complex from 17-19 November. This does not affect this year’s conference, which […]
Ask the expert: Persistent absence
What can an employer do about an employee who has not turned up for work on numerous occasions? Esther Smith, partner at Thomas Eggar, and Martin Brewer, partner at Mills & Reeve, advise. The question:An employee has not turned up for work at least 10 times, perhaps more. Is there a disciplinary procedure that should […]
Absence continues to climb in public sector
Public sector employees have an average nine days off sick – a figure that is 55% higher than employees within the private sector.This is according to a recent report by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), which also revealed that one in 10 employers believe that the absence is not genuine and often used to […]
Business software not Facebook is top time-waster
Poorly designed software is the new time-wasting culprit.This is according to a new survey of more than 1,000 business IT users, carried out on behalf of IFS, a global enterprise applications company. They claim that as many as 94% of business IT users are wasting precious time on aspects of poorly designed software. Only one […]
Commute slog saps five years over working career
Workers spend an average five years getting to and from work, over the course of their working life.It’s a statistic that has triggered alarm bells for Work Wise UK, the smarter working organisation that is working in conjunction with the Automobile Association (AA) in a new campaign to cut the commute.According to its findings, the […]
HR awards presented to top UK employers
Top UK employers have had their achievements recognised at the DWF Employer Awards 2008.The HR awards ceremony, which took place at the Hilton Hotel in Manchester this week, honour best practice in HR and are open to all employers throughout the UK. The entrants are judged by a panel consisting of representatives from the sponsors […]
Embrace benefits of flexible working extension
Businesses have been advised to embrace the benefits that come with the extended flexible working legislation, but must ensure comprehensive policies and procedures are in place now.It is anticipated that the extension to the right to request flexible working to parents of children aged up to 16 will come into force in April 2009. Although […]
Work-life balance: A little flexibility goes a long way
Work Wise Week 2008 is being launched today, Thursday 15 May, with ‘National Work from Home Day’. Annie Hayes finds out whether the work-life balance dream can be a reality. Flexible working todayTeleconferencing in the garden, brainstorming in the bath, report writing from under the duvet – it’s the stuff of dreams and something that […]
Right to request flexible working extended to older children
The government has accepted the recommendations made by Imelda Walsh, HR director of Sainsbury’s, to extend the right to request flexible working for parents of children aged up to 16.The extension will mean that a further 4.5 million working parents in the UK will be eligible to make requests to work flexibly following publication of […]
National Staff Dismissal Register: A step too far?
The launch of the National Staff Dismissal Register at the end of this month has caused quite a stir in the business world. Kerry Waters and Emma Roe explain the legal implications of the initiative. A National Staff Dismissal Register for retail employers is expected to go live shortly. The register is a commercial initiative […]
Beating sudden departures
New research shows that businesses are dangerously exposed to sudden departures by their senior team. Paul Barron explains why so many companies, when faced with this threat, are turning to interim management. In Executives Online’s ‘Business Exposure Report’, 38% of the 102 major companies studied said their business had been left vulnerable in the past […]
Millions quit the commute as National Work from Home Day begins
An estimated 5 million workers across the UK will realise the benefits of working from home today, Thursday 15 May.The aim of ‘National Work from Home Day’ is to allow people the opportunity to demonstrate that working from home can reduce stress and boost productivity.Phil Flaxton, chief executive of Work Wise UK, the not-for-profit organisation […]
HR tip: New recruit fails to arrive
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 recruited a man and waited for him to serve his notice with his current employer. However he has failed to turn up to work. What can we do?" HR tip:Contact him and […]