Employers struggle to find skilled staff
Employers are finding it hard to find staff with the right skills, with shortages most prevalent in sales, admin, engineering and manual trades.A survey of over 1800 employers by Manpower revealed that despite a slight improvement in being able to fill job roles, managers and executives are finding it harder than last year to find […]
Workers with HIV still facing discrimination
Ignorance, fear and prejudice over HIV are still common in the workplace, according to the National Aids Trust, affecting the recruitment process and leaving firms vulnerable to anti-discrimination laws.While most employers do not want to discriminate against HIV-positive candidates, the trust says they may not know the best ways to address concerns about recruiting people […]
Poor literacy spells disaster for job hunters
Gum chewing, flirting and dress code are policed more actively than poor spelling and grammar, despite employers saying they are frustrated by mistakes on CVs and application forms.Over half of the managers surveyed by the Department for Education and Skills complained about job candidates making errors such as mixing up ‘their’, ‘there’ and ‘they’re’ on […]
Leaders lacking HR support
Over half of UK business leaders are worried about their ability to do their job but few would look to HR for support.Research by Richard Events shows that many senior staff have the desire and talent to perform well but believe they still need help to improve their skills, especially when it comes to forming […]
Spelling disaster. By Sarah Fletcher
Most employers claim they're frustrated by the many errors littering CVs, so why do almost half admit they treat issues such as chewing gum, flirting and even dress code more seriously than spelling and grammar? The Department for Education and Skills says employers aren't doing enough to tackle the problem; so if companies refuse to […]
Professional development: Should the employee decide? By Lucie Benson
Encouraging employees to take an active role in their own development is certainly a positive thing to do, but do employees know best about what is most appropriate for their own training needs? Should it be up to them to take control and decide on their own development plan or is it part of the […]
Cartoon: Smokers protest
By Matt FSee other work by the artist here
Ask the expert: Probation problem
What steps should be taken to dismiss an employee who hasn’t completed their probationary period? Martin Brewer, partner and employment law specialist at Mills & Reeve, and Esther Smith, partner at Thomas Eggar, provide legal guidance. The question:We took on a new member of staff three months ago and have a six month probation period. […]
Talent Management: Don’t dismiss, talk. By Louise Druce
You can’t help but secretly relish the moment when Alan Sugar delivers the immortal line “you’re fired” to the crest fallen entrepreneurs about to take the walk of shame on BBC Two’s The Apprentice. For anyone who has ever been in that situation though, taking the decision to dismiss an employee is rarely as simple […]
Change management: Use your common sense!
Management consultant John Pope despairs at the poor way change is handled in many UK organisations. I see a lot of articles on change management and on overcoming resistance to change. Some of them focus on the need for change, some of the writers show interesting models of human behaviour; some have models of phases […]
It’s about time…
HR practitioners are always strapped for time because they waste too long on pointless tasks and miss the point of their job, argues consultant Denis Barnard. It’s commonly known that Human Resources departments are always strapped for time. The usual reason is that there is too much administration, although for some practitioners who suffer from […]
HR tip: Disciplinary and the police due to criminal damage
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: "One of our employees entered the site unlawfully at the weekend and caused criminal damage. A neighbour saw this and called in the police who are charging him with an offence. Must […]
Can an employer give a bad reference? By Charles Price
“It is important that employers do not ‘churn out’ a reference on a whim but should speak to the line manager of the employee before praising an incompetent employee he or she knows nothing about or denigrating the class star,” warns barrister Charles Price. There is no general or statutory obligation on an employer to […]
Q&A: Bullying and harassment in the workplace
Employment law specialists Empire HR advise best practice for tackling bullying and harassment in the workplace. Q1. What constitutes harassment? I’ve noticed that some of my employees indulge in light hearted banter. As it often seems to be at the expense of one individual I am concerned that this could possibly be construed as harassment. […]
Colborn’s Corner: Leading staff to their deaths?
A rise in deaths in the construction industry must force the government into reversing policies of cutting safety inspectors and inspections, a coalition of trade unions has insisted. Should we be paying more attention to health and safety or are we just trying to wrap staff in cotton wool? I address this topic with a […]
Ask the expert: Discrimination?
Is it discriminatory to expect an employee to work full office hours despite his family commitments? Esther Smith, partner at Thomas Eggar, and Martin Brewer, partner and employment law specialist at Mills and Reeve, offer legal advice. The question:I have a colleague who feels that he is being discriminated against as he is the only […]
Improving performance and setting goals. By Annie Lawler
Failing to give employees clear direction of what is expected of them is a common cause of underperformance, argues consultant and member of HR Zone, Annie Lawler. As we’ve touched on in earlier articles, communication is central to maintaining balanced stress levels in the workplace. Poor communication contributes massively to underperformance and demotivation in any […]
Court orders Home Office to re-employ sacked interpreters
In a highly unusual move an employment tribunal has ordered that two Home Office interpreters who had previously been sacked should be given new jobs.Marti Khan and Odette King were dismissed after writing to then Home Secretary Charles Clarke to complain that they had been employed for 15 years to ‘do nothing’.The case saw Judge […]
Pensions consultation: keep it simple
The government should adopt a ‘keep it simple’ approach to private pensions and focus on basic incentives for employers to run simple, transparent pension schemes.That’s the message from Mercer Human Resource Consulting in its initial response to the government’s consultation on proposals to change the regulatory framework for occupational pensions.The consultation explores the scope for […]
Culture shift required to help ethnic minority women in the workplace
The Equal Opportunities Commission has released the final findings of its two-year investigation into the employment opportunities for black and Asian women – and it’s calling for a fundamental cultural shift in the way they are treated at work.Moving on Up: Ethnic Minority Women at Work, the largest investigation of its kind in Great Britain, […]
