Bully priest sacked: Anger management training for clergy
A vicar accused of bullying and intimidation is to be sacked following a ruling by a Church of England tribunal. Rev Thomas Ambrose, a Vicar in Trumpington, was accused of being a “bully and a liar” after a spate of resignations from volunteers and church wardens, The Times newspaper reported. Ambrose had brought the once […]
Annual pay rise is ditched by majority
The traditional annual pay rise is out of favour with almost half of all businesses, no longer awarding employees an across the board pay rise each year or cost of living adjustment.This is according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s (CIPD) annual reward management survey. Manufacturing, production and private sector service firms are […]
Five ways to get ahead in 2008
A new year is upon us and the annual reviews should now be a distant memory. However, if you weren’t fortunate enough to get the promotion or pay rise you wanted, Kate Farrell offers you some advice that could make all the difference in 2008. Before I start, working in the field of recruitment, you […]
When the grievance procedure is part of the problem
Martin Cheyne, employment expert at Hempsons, discusses a recent case where strict adherence to grievance procedures resulted in a constructive dismissal, and he examines the future implications of this. The grievance procedure is designed to resolve grievances at work. Occasionally, however, that procedure can itself become a part of, or the focus of, the grievance. […]
Outsourcing your HR: The benefits
Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) can provide companies with a flexible, scalable solution to the kind of business problems that HR professionals are increasingly being asked to deal with, says Nick Boothroyd. Finding and recruiting (not to mention keeping) good people has always been an interesting challenge for HR departments. But when the board wants an […]
HR tip: The disappearing employee – not turning up to work
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:"An employee has just stopped coming to work, though has been seen around town. After how long can we assume that he has resigned?" HR tip:You may accept that an employee has resigned […]
Banks rubber stamp huge bonuses despite redundancies and layoffs
Citigroup is the latest bank due to hand out huge bonuses worth more than £5.6 bn to its investment bankers today, despite writing off huge losses.Reported by The Daily Telegraph, the figure is roughly the same as last year and comes as the industry braces itself for more job cuts, with rumours that Citibank itself […]
Value of ‘Investors in People’ award in doubt
Minority groups lose out on training if they work for organisations that have won the Investors in People (IiP) gold standard, the Nottingham University Business School has claimed.According to the study of almost 15,000 people, women, ethnic minorities, temporary/fixed term employees, the disabled and older workers were all at more of a disadvantage, in terms […]
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 […]
