Unions send message of support to police on day of protest
Thousands of police officers marching in London, in a protest over pay, have been boosted by a message of support from the Trades Union Congress (TUC).The pay dispute has been prompted by the government’s refusal to backdate the 2.5 per cent pay award recommended by the Police Arbitration Tribunal last year.The Police Federation, representing officers […]
HR must take retention ‘seriously’, warn experts
A new survey claims that 75 per cent of organisations have no strategy or budget for employee retention.The Employee Retention Survey 2008 by TalentDrain, an employee engagement and retention consultancy, is developed from a survey of HR practitioners in 316 organisations.According to the results, 93 per cent have implemented retention initiatives over the past year, […]
Finders keepers: Retention for the year ahead
Broke? Unengaged at work? At least it’s raining. Must be January. Matt Henkes looks at some retention issues for the new year, how leadership can affect engagement, and the value of saying thank you. No one likes January; it’s cold and wet, and having spent all their money over Christmas, people back to work after […]
Thinking differently about motivation
Management consultant Rob Robson discusses how viewing motivation in a different light can lead to a happy, engaged workforce and deliver positive results for the business. Employee motivation has always been something of a holy grail: incredibly powerful but somehow elusive. Many frameworks have been employed over the years in the quest to find it, […]
Pay in lieu of notice: How to protect yourself
Can an employer force an employee to not work their notice? Barrister Charles Price has the answers. The question as to whether an employer can ensure their employee doesn’t work their notice was inadvertently put before the Court of Sessions in Scotland in the case of Morrish v NTL Group Ltd [2007], which considered whether […]
The end of certainty?
HR Zone member Karen Drury examines certainty and the role it plays in how we approach work, life and change, and offers some advice on how employers can help staff embrace the unknown. There was a time, say the popular press, that a life sentence meant 20 years, possibly 30. There was also a time […]
New survey flags faltering public sector morale
New research blames public sector failure to tackle chronic underperformance as the reason behind a continued dip in workforce morale.Just last week, HR Zone reported on findings from ORC International, which said public sector workers score lowest for overall employee satisfaction. The latest findings from management institute, Roffey Park, suggests things are getting worse. According […]
Ask the expert: Potential sex discrimination
A pregnant employee was dismissed for being absent without leave and is referring the case to tribunal for sex discrimination; yet the manager who dismissed provided HR with incorrect information. Esther Smith, partner at Thomas Eggar, and Martin Brewer, partner at Mills & Reeve, advise. The question:I am currently involved in an appeal from a […]
Fashion police snub ‘bad for bottom’ uniform
Female police officers are rebelling against regulation trousers which they say are unflattering for their bottoms.Reported by The Telegraph, dozens of officers complained to the trade magazine Police Review, saying they particularly disliked the high waistbands and the bulky, ill-fitting material which they say makes it difficult to run after offenders.A Hampshire Constabulary WPC, quoted […]
Laptop lock-up for civil servants
A blanket ban has been slapped on civil servants tempted to take laptops with unencrypted personal data out of their offices.Reported by The Telegraph, the order was issued as it emerged that two more military computers, containing the sensitive details of thousands of people, had been missing for more than a year.The command came from […]
‘Who you know, not what you know’ is key to career success
Having a key ally can be more important to a manager than being good at their job.That’s the view of an expert in the psychology of leadership, who says that people who succeed at ‘impression management’ can cultivate more success.Dr Patrick Tissington is a leading academic in work and organisational psychology, based at Aston Business […]
Encourage over 50s into enterprise, ministers told
The UK’s thousands of unemployed over 50s who are keen to work should be encouraged into setting up their own business, experts have claimed.According to PRIME, a charity which promotes entrepreneurship among older people, some 800,000 individuals between 50 and state pension age are currently inactive but want to work. One solution, it said, is […]
Northgate HR leads the way with first ever ‘green’ payslip
HR solutions provider Northgate HR has announced it is to become the first UK provider of recycled payslips and P60s.The move comes in a bid to cut carbon emissions from fossil fuels.“Not everyone can access the internet, so for large companies providing online payslips isn’t enough,” said Wendy Logan, technical operations manager for outsourcing services […]
HR clashes with IT over social networking
Social networking sites, including Facebook, are distracting workers for at least 30 minutes a day, costing UK Plc close to £6.5 billion annually in lost productivity.This is according to a new poll of 776 workers, by information security consultancy, Global Secure Systems and Infosecurity Europe 2008.Use of these sites is sparking a rift between HR, […]
New laws trigger HR warning
An international law firm is advising employers to be mindful of forthcoming legal developments expected to shake up current HR practices.Eversheds’ employment specialists have identified eight of the most significant employment law issues for 2008:1. Equal payOne of the main issues, particularly for public sector employers in local authorities and the NHS, will be equal […]
Union-led learning trumpeted as “magic bullet”
The key to workplace learning is cooperation between the employer and the union, according to the TUC’s unionlearn. Liz Smith, unionlearn director, is due to set out her beliefs in a meeting at the College of North East London (CONeL) with the secretary of state for innovation, universities and skills, John Denham MP. Smith said: […]
Police pay fails to serve the right purpose
Police pay should be radically overhauled to reflect performance and skills rather than length of service, a leading think tank has said.The Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr) report, to be published next month, comes as police officers prepare to march this week in a row over the latest pay deal.The report shows that the […]
The Learning Technologies Conference: An overview
It’s easy to be distracted by the bells and whistles of learning technology, hence the Learning Technologies Conference is focusing on the ‘what’, the ‘how’ and the ‘why’, says its chairman Donald H Taylor. The Learning Technologies Conference sees several themes converge that have been running in the learning and development (L&D) profession for some […]
Learning Technologies 2008: What to expect
A detailed preview of Europe’s largest organisational learning and performance improvement technology exhibition and conference. Learning Technologies, Europe’s largest organisational learning and performance improvement technology event, will take place on Wednesday 30 and Thursday 31 January 2008 at London Olympia. The two-day exhibition and conference, now in its ninth year, has established itself as a […]
Jay Cross to give keynote at Learning Technologies 2008
Jay Cross, world-renowned commentator on learning and technology and founder of Internet Time Group, will open the Learning Technologies 2008 conference.He is expected to present a view of what lies ahead for organisational learning professionals, and his keynote will look at how successful organisations are re-thinking how employees learn. He will also discuss how organisations […]