Watch what you say – Or your boss will. By Louise Druce
Would you expect the boss to let you nip off to the supermarket every five minutes during work? Probably not. Yet some staff still happily spend hours trawling the net looking for bargains during company hours, or emailing their mates about plans for the weekend. It may seem harmless but, as Louise Druce finds out, […]
A guide to the smoking ban
Consultant Sandra Beale explains what the smoking ban in public places in England from July 1 will mean for business. From 1 July 2007 in England all smoking in enclosed public places will be banned. It is already banned in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (from 30 April 2007). The ban covers pubs, bars, private […]
Make the most of temps’ skills
Investors in People (IiP) is urging employers to make more of an effort to integrate temporary workers so they can benefit from the skills and experience temps bring with them.It’s estimated that 1.2 million temps keep businesses in the UK moving each week – but IiP says many do not know what’s expected of them, […]
Mental health problems on the increase
Research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) reveals there has been a sharp increase in the number of employees taking time off sick for mental health problems.The examination of 30,000 absence records across 40 organisations reveals that musculoskeletal conditions are still the number one cause of time lost due to sickness with […]
Take control of your e-learning
Patrick Fitzpatrick, director of e-learning strategy at Xperience, the IT solutions provider that recently won an e-learning contract with Deloitte, reveals how to manage your programme to produce optimum results. The e-learning industry has taken many different twists and turns over the last 10 years. We have witnessed great successes one day – followed by […]
Jobsharing: Double the trouble or twice as nice? By Rob Lewis
It’s still a rare sight, but anecdotally the amount of jobsharing going on in UK workplaces appears to be on the rise, even in the boardroom. Is it ever that responsible to agree to share responsibility? Rob Lewis looks at the legal and management aspects from a HR perspective and tries to find out if […]
Trust your intuition
Jan Hills of HR consultancy HR With Guts explains why intuition is a key skill in people management. As HR people we’re on a continual search for high performance, whether we’re examining our own performance, or helping businesses achieve their goals. But there’s increasing evidence we’re ignoring a skill that could radically propel ourselves and […]
Climate change creates specialist job boom
The growing issue of climate change has created a whole new job market that looks set for staggering further growth over the next five years.Research by sustainability recruitment consultancy Acre Resources shows that in the past year there was a 130 per cent increase in specialist jobs relating to climate change.And the explosion in climate […]
They went off to sunny Spain
It was viva Espana for all 15 employees of Portfolio Payroll whose boss took them off to Barcelona for a five-star luxury weekend – complete with spending money.The £50,000 trip was the reward for a successful year which saw the payroll recruitment business being recognised as one of the fastest growing companies in the country […]
Holidaymakers take work worries with them
The idea of a holiday to get away from it all appears to be thing of the past for UK workers – a new survey reveals that a whopping 86 per cent take their work worries with them.Even worse, according to Peninsula BusinessWise which carried out the survey, 67 per cent fear for their job […]
Changing face of skills at work
The past 20 years has seen a fall in the number of jobs requiring no qualifications for entry and a rise in the number of jobs requiring computer skills.But according to research published by the Economic and Social Research Council on skills, knowledge and organisational performance, the pace of change has slowed during the past […]
Pin money belief undervalues women’s work
It’s more than 30 years since the Equal Pay Act came into force and the cost of living has soared, yet research funded by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) has revealed that many people still think that women only work for ‘pin money’.Written by Damian Grimshaw and Jill Rubery, from the University of Manchester’s European […]
HR Tip: The right to privacy for sick employees
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: "If we visit a sick employee in his home are we in breach of his right to privacy provided by the Human Rights Act?" HR Tip: You would be in breach of good […]
Holding back on age
Despite firms of all sizes expecting a fall in the numbers of younger workers, three-quarters of small businesses have yet to provide procedures which will allow their employees to work beyond the age of 65.The research from Lloyds TSB Business and the Open University’s SERTeam found that since the introduction of the age discrimination legislation […]
Maternity legislation: How has your company coped? By Lucie Benson
One of the problems with any new legislation is that it can be seen as a burden for business, with increased costs, extra bureaucracy and red tape to contend with. However, the recent changes to maternity legislation can lead to greater flexibility and significant benefits to both employer and employee. Lucie Benson finds out how […]
What should replace the dispute resolution procedures?
As previously reported by HR Zone, the government is consulting on proposals to dump the statutory dispute resolution procedure. The question is: what should replace it?Early indications from the consultation are that no one has much idea, so the government has now opened a second consultation specifically to address the replacement issue.There are three options: […]
Video CVs: Is this the future of recruitment?
VoIP and video are starting to revolutionise recruitment, but what are the implications for encouraging diversity in the UK workplace? Jason Atkinson, director of sales and marketing at Russam GMS examines the pros and cons. With the rise in online job boards, specialist recruitment consultancies and even social networking sites, it should be easier than […]
Colborn’s Corner: Working from home
For those who missed it, a couple of weeks ago the UK ‘celebrated’ National Work From Home day. Much heralded in the past as the way technology would take us, how much have we really changed our approached to flexible working? This week Quentin addresses issues surrounding working from home and the true benefits for […]
TUC calls for new October bank holiday
The TUC has joined forces with voluntary bodies to call for a new October bank holiday to promote community activity and involvement.The National Council for Voluntary Organisations, Community Service Volunteers, Volunteering England and the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action have joined the TUC to make the call in a letter to Gordon Brown […]
Trustees to administer personal pensions accounts
The new system of personal pensions accounts, which comes into force in 2012, will be administered by trustees.As is the case with existing occupational pension schemes, the trustees will have legal obligations to handle the account scheme’s assets in the best interests of members.In addition, Work and Pensions secretary John Hutton told a National Association […]
