£10k slap for hiring illegal workers
The Home Office has launched an advertising campaign designed to boost awareness of a new £10k fine and two-year prison sentence for every illegal worker negligently hired.The stark message will be driven home in a new marketing campaign laying out the new rules due to come into effect in February. The government is launching a […]
Bosses fail to match benefit expectations
Employers are being urged to reconsider the employee benefits they offer as new research reveals benefits are failing to match with workers’ lifestyles.The survey by pay and benefits specialist Croner Reward highlighted the fact that although employers offer many different perks, just over half (52.9 per cent) admitted employees were not utilising the benefits because […]
Four signs of dysfunctional management revealed
Poor management displays four key characteristics, new research has found.Global HR consultancy, BlessingWhite, has compiled the four signs of dysfunctionality as follows:1. Silent dissent: “Everyone always agrees with me, and that makes me uneasy.”2. Facts not meaning: “All I get is data, but not much insight.”3. Lack of passion: “We focus so much on competence […]
Ditch the character, say CV experts
Listing ‘socialising’ as an interest on your CV won’t cut the mustard, warn recruitment experts, who are urging serious job hunters to de-clutter their curriculum vitae.A whopping 67 per cent of recruitment outfit Unity Personnel’s clients are tired of job hunters’ attempts to make themselves sound interesting, and are asking for the CVs they receive […]
UK must rise to finance skills challenge to maintain world leader status
Union leaders, employers and the minister for skills David Lammy have set out the skills challenge facing the UK finance sector at a seminar hosted by unionlearn, the TUC’s learning and skills organisation.The finance sector has grown by more than five per cent a year since 2002 and currently accounts for 8 per cent of […]
Which? publishes ‘no go’ questions guide
The Which? CV and Interview Handbook has been published to clear up confusion about what can and cannot be asked of candidates at interview stage.The guide warns that questions such as age, length of experience and religious views are now illegal under discrimination legislation, and employers that fail to heed the warning can expect to […]
Workers admit using flu as an excuse to skive off work
A whopping 83 per cent of workers would consider using the Norovirus as a perfect excuse to ‘pull a sickie’ for a couple of days off work, according to a survey.The poll of 2,698 UK employees, by employment law firm Peninsula, also shows that 73 per cent of workers have used ‘flu like symptoms as […]
Green credentials attract top talent
Environmentally responsible employers are more likely to attract high quality candidates, a new survey has found. A poll by recruitment site jobs.ac.uk, which quizzed just over 200 jobseekers, found that 67 per cent believed a company's environmental policy would influence their choice of employer, while 45 per cent would be 'strongly' influenced by an employer's […]
‘Learnbus’ provides one way ticket to success
There’s no set route and you don’t need a ticket, but once you’ve been aboard there’s no limit to where you can go: The Learnbus is the latest venture from the GMB and unionlearn, the TUC’s learning and skills organisation that works with unions and employers to offer workplace training.The double-decker is being used as […]
Flexible working for all: Do we want or need it?
There are plans afoot to extend the right to request flexible working to those with older children. But should the government just bite the bullet and offer it to everyone, or is there no real need right now? Lucie Benson finds out. Back in November last year, the Queen’s Speech saw the government promising to […]
Single women tire of being married to the job
Single, female 30-somethings are the most unfulfilled at work, according to a new survey.Unmarried and single women aged between 34 and 44, and living in the West Midlands, are most likely to feel unfulfilled in the workplace, according to research by ethical volunteering organisation Global Vision International (GVI). The report also found that one in […]
Investment in training set to grow
Investment in training and career development is set to increase in 2008, as companies devote more resources to non-pay related strategies to keep their staff motivated and engaged, according to research.Mercer’s European Total Rewards Survey 2007, which covered 200 multinationals, provides an insight into the rewards practices, objectives and challenges facing European organisations. ‘Total rewards’ […]
Illness, return to work and the psychological contract
Jean Brading explains how the psychological contract has a crucial role to play in retaining valuable sick or injured workers, and maintaining the motivation and engagement of those around them. As HR professionals will know, the psychological contract (PC) is one way of thinking about behaviour at work and has been shown to play a […]
Human capital intelligence: Raising the bar
The time has come for HR departments, payroll and personnel managers to stop caring that technology allows them to track and reward their employees accurately, says John O’Neill, managing director of Bond HR. The fact that employee records can be shared across an organisation, kept up-to-date through self-service access, and result in timely and accurate […]
Colborn’s Corner: New year, new start?
According to a survey by www.jobsite.co.uk, a staggering 42 per cent of people are planning to hunt for work this month. But is this anything new, and what can or should employers do about it? Quentin Colborn addresses the challenges faced by organisations looking to restrict turnover. The prospect of increasing staff turnover causes many […]
HR tip: Monitoring bullying in the workplace
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: "How can we be sure that there is no bullying in our workplace? We cannot watch everyone all the time." HR Tip:No, but it is not at all difficult to monitor the […]
Video-based service to offer coaching on demand
Trainers are being invited to help test and improve a new video-based e-learning website that is due to be launched in early February. Called www.eConsult.tv, the site aims to provide the insight and knowledge of outstanding people in their fields using video clips. “For example, imagine being able to learn negotiation skills by picking the […]
Expert salutes talent potential of Facebook
Social networking site Facebook is a “talent goldmine” according to one expert.Flying in the face of criticism that the site damages candidate opportunities, Chris Russell, founder of Jobsinpods.com, told Online Recruitment magazine that Facebook is the perfect place to court potential job applicants.Russell said: “It’s filled with millions of passive candidates that employers covet.”He suggested […]
Police officer sacked for sex on the job
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has stated that a senior British Transport police officer, who had sexual intercourse while on duty, has brought the police service into “disrepute and ridicule”.Reported by the Daily Telegraph, Inspector Masood Khan admitted one charge relating to a breach of the police code of conduct at a hearing in […]
Chancellor’s three-year pay deals angers unions
Angry unions say that the announcement of three-year pay deals and a cap of 2 per cent makes a mockery of pay bargaining procedures and the pay review panels system.Unite, the largest trade union with more than 1 million members, says that Chancellor Alistair Darling’s plans for public sector workers to be party to three-year […]
