Pedalling your way to good health
Former world champion cyclist Tony Doyle, MBE, advises how employers can support their employees’ health and wellbeing without breaking the bank. With health secretary Alan Johnson’s announcement of a £372m anti-obesity strategy aimed at employers, communities and individuals last month, the pressure will be firmly on all UK employers to invest in new health policies […]
HR tip: Advising retirement age employees of their rights
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:"Are we obliged to inform people approaching their retirement age of their rights or is it up to them to find out?" HR tip:Indeed you are. You are required to inform employees in […]
Employers divided on rights of agency workers
A new study shows continued division on the principle of equal rights for temporary agency workers and qualifying periods.Friday 22 February sees the second reading of the Parliamentary private members bill seeking to give agency workers the same employment rights as permanent employees, with possible agreement on the stalled EU Temporary Agency Workers Directive on […]
Management slog reaps little reward
Despite working longer and harder hours, managers are seeing little return for their efforts.This is according to a report by the Chartered Management Institute, which has revealed that as many as 89 per cent of managers work over their contracted hours – the equivalent of working an extra 40 days a year on average.Over half […]
Breach of trust causes workers to walk
Over half of workers have left an organisation citing trust issues.This is according to a new poll by The Ken Blanchard Companies. According to the findings, almost 40 per cent cited ‘lack of open communication’ as one of the reasons for their departure. Other prevalent ‘trust busting’ behaviours included broken promises, breach of confidentiality, unethical […]
Management turns perpetrator as bullying cases soar
As many as seven in 10 employees have felt bullied at work with almost half of bullying instigated by management.The research conducted by Peninsula employment law service shows that bullying has increased significantly since 2003, with 69 per cent of employees saying that they have been exposed to bullying in the workplace, compared to 52 […]
McDonald’s basks in top restaurant employer award
Fast-food giant McDonald’s has been voted Caterer and Hotelkeeper’s Best Place to Work in Hospitality 2008 in the restaurant and bar sector.David Fairhurst, senior vice president, chief people officer, McDonald’s Restaurants said: “We invest time, energy and resources into getting the right people into our business – people who have the potential to deliver an […]
Workers ‘leap’ at chance to train
The opportunity to develop and train is what workers really want this leap year.According to a new survey conducted on behalf of the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), almost a third of UK workers would like to train on their extra working day, but 42 per cent lack confidence in their bosses to fulfil their […]
Data Protection Act ‘top’ burden
The Data Protection Act has cost companies more than £7bn over the past decade, while the Flexible Working (Procedural Requirements) Regulations 2002 have added £1.588 billion to businesses’ bills during the last six years. This is according to the 2008 edition of the British Chambers of Commerce’s (BCC) Burdens Barometer, which shows the cumulative cost […]
Keeping it in the family: The mentoring legacy
Mentoring has historic roots yet a thoroughly modern feel, and everyone from politicians to movie stars are at it. Annie Hayes finds out whether Batman and Robin were onto something. What is mentoring?Mentoring is often confused with coaching. The terms are used interchangeably, rolling off the tongue in a merry-go-round of terminology where professionals mistake […]
HR responsible for growing fear over benefit cuts
One in three employees expects a cut in their benefits package this year and HR is being blamed for poor communication.Research involving 300 HR professionals by pensions and employee benefits consultants, Hymans Robertson, suggests that HR may not be communicating effectively with employees about benefits.Over 95 per cent of employers have no plans to cut […]
Talent: What is it? Where is it?
Whilst it is important to know what ‘talent’ you have, it is even more important to make sure it is developed and not wasted, says John Pope. The word is misusedI am uneasy about the way ‘talent’ is used to describe the prominent high fliers; an elite singled out as being people whom it is […]
Networking: Supporting learning and creativity in the workplace
HR Zone member Jackie Cameron examines the advantages of networking for sharing knowledge and encouraging creativity at work. As a strong advocate of networking – face-to-face, using social networking sites and blogging – I could tell many stories about how an interaction with another person has given me an idea which in turn I could […]
The business case for HR technology
Recent research has shown that HR departments struggle with justifying the business case for new HR technology. Mark Barlow provides a practical guide to putting together such a case. Over a third of senior-level HR practitioners that were interviewed in Qikker’s 2007 research – ‘Hi-tech HR: A contradiction in terms?’ – had presented a business […]
Ask the expert: Terminating employment in a probationary review
An employee has made mistakes during his probationary period and the employer wants to terminate his employment. However, prior to this he was told he was in line for a promotion. Esther Smith, partner at Thomas Eggar, and Martin Brewer, partner at Mills & Reeve, advise on where the employer stands. The question:I have a […]
‘Ideas’ week gets ready to tap talent
‘National Ideas Day’ is being expanded to encompass a whole week of brainstorming and talent tapping in 2008.Ideas UK – the national association of suggestion schemes – is behind the week, scheduled to take place in the second week of March, to coincide with the anniversary of Einstein’s birth. Brainstorming breakfasts will be held across […]
Sick Britain welcomes ‘well note’ launch
Employers will welcome changes to transform the sick note culture to a ‘well note’ culture, said the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).The ‘well note’ will encourage GPs to offer fitness to work advice to patients and employers as part of the government’s plans to reduce the 2.64 million on incapacity benefit.Research from the […]
Employment spiral puzzles experts
Latest findings from the Office of National Statistics show that record numbers of people were in work from the three months from October to December 2007. The 29.4 million with jobs is the highest figure since comparable records began in 1971, up 175,000 over the quarter and 296,000 over the year.The jobless count has also […]
Facebook or Linkedin?
I’ve just done an interview with Louise Trance at ukrecruiter.co.uk on using social networking in recruitment.I’d be interested to hear of other people’s experiences of using social networking sites in the recruitment process.To hear the full interview go to www.topbriefings.com Duncan Gotobed
Wages restrict childcare choices for low income parents
State-run day nurseries are often the only choice for working parents on limited incomes.Research carried out by the Centre for Critical Education Policy Studies, at the Institute of Education, showed that whilst affluent middle class parents are in a position to choose their preferred childcare option, many working class parents are constrained by low income […]
