HR Tip: Different disciplinary offences
These questions are being answered by Learn HR, a market leader in the provision of HR and payroll training and nationally-recognised professional qualifications. Q: "An employee made offensive remarks to her supervisor and was given a formal warning. She has just broken an important health and safety rule. As this is a different type of offence, do […]
Disability Equality Duty – DRC will see you in court
The new Disability Equality Duty (DED) came into force for some 45,000 public bodies yesterday – and the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) has said that organisations which fail to meet the new requirements will be facing it in court.Publicly funded organisations with specific duties under the DED had until yesterday (4 December) to publish a […]
Lunch breaks: Myth v reality
If you feel tied to your desk and guilty for taking a lunch break then you’re not alone. Research from PruHealth indicates that half of the UK’s employees say they do not have the time to leave their desks at lunchtime.The lunchtime break might be part of their terms and conditions but 20 per cent […]
Workplace relations: ‘a marriage under stress’
The relationship between employer and employees has been likened to ‘a marriage under stress’ by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).Lack of communication, feeling taken for granted, little trust, feeling dissatisfied – and ultimately the rush towards the exit were all highlighted in the report: ‘Working Life: Employee Attitudes and Engagement 2006’, commissioned […]
Any Answers: IVF and cosmetic surgery
HR officer Alan Barry explains how to deal with an employee request to take time off work for either IVF treatment or cosmetic surgery. I am developing a policy on time off for IVF treatment and hope that the following thoughts will help you.Most medical treatment is ‘elective’ – we choose to go to our […]
Overtime: Just plain cruel. By Sarah Fletcher
At primary school it was all so simple. Three o’clock came around, the bell rang and we all rushed joyfully into the playground for our mummies to take us home and feed us biscuits. Home Time was clear, regular and there was no question of us staying late.But then, alas, we grew up and were […]
Maximum performance: Managing talent seminar
“Many major organisations are increasingly realising the importance of the acquisition, management and retention of talent. Some foresee severe shortages in the next ten years; others see that they are vulnerable to the loss of high-performing teams or ‘star’ executives,” says management consultant John Pope; who reviews a seminar on talent management, run by Maximum […]
Straight talking wins in leader communication
When it’s time for your CEO or MD to communicate to staff do you relax, knowing everything will be fine, or do you wince, knowing it will take months to repair the damage?Workplace communications consultancy CHA has studied the way business leaders communicate and employees’ preferences and published the results in a report ‘Straight Talking’.Surprisingly, […]
Job future worries for UK workers
UK workers are the most pessimistic in the world about the future of their jobs with a third fearing redundancy in the coming year.The figures are revealed in the latest edition of HR consultancy Right Management’s global career confidence index.The bi-annual survey covers 18 countries and reveals that confidence in the UK has plunged by […]
Work-related stress and dismissal
Is it automatically unfair to dismiss an employee who is off long-term sick due to work-related stress?That was the question that came before the employment appeal tribunal this week in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) v McAdie.Mrs McAdie, who had worked for RBS for 20 years, had developed a stress-related condition owing to the […]
Review of working time regulations announced
The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced terms of reference for a review of the working time regulations which implement the European Road Transport Working Time Directive.This particular directive and its associated regulations applies to drivers, crew and other travelling staff.It provides for a 48-hour average working week, a 60-hour maximum for any single week […]
Smoking ban start date July 1
The Department of Health has announced that the ban on smoking in enclosed public places and workplaces in England will start on 1 July 2007.As previously reported by HRZone, the ban includes smoking in company cars when they are used by more than one employee.With seven months to go, the TUC and the government are […]
Ask the expert: Grievance during redundancy
Is the company obliged to pay time in lieu if an employee resigns during a redundancy process and doesn’t complete the notice period at work? Martin Brewer, partner and employment law specialist at Mills and Reeve, and Esther Smith, partner at Thomas Eggar, explain. The question:An employee decides to end the trial period of alternative […]
Pensions Bill finally published
After weeks of waiting – not to mention a fair bit of criticism – the government has finally published its Pensions Bill.The debate has been such that there are no real surprises: the bill makes provision for a gradual increase in the state retirement age – from 65 to 66 between 2024 and 2026; to […]
Tribunal system gets a shake-up
The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill has begun its legislative process in the House of Lords – and one of the key areas it aims to tackle is non-payment of employee tribunal awards.Sections of the bill state that any award made by a tribunal must be treated as if it were made by the high […]
Incentive pay – Getting it right. By Dan Martin
Incentive pay schemes can be a effective way of keeping staff motivated. But such initiatives can go wrong if the business has an inappropriate culture or the scheme is not managed effectively. HR Zone business editor Dan Martin examines the pitfalls to watch out for when running an incentive pay scheme. For managers, productivity is […]
Colborn’s Corner: Outsourcing: Need we worry?
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has insisted the threat to HR jobs from outsourcing is minimal, despite fresh warnings of a “slow and painful death” for the sector. Will outsourcing kill HR? Strange to think that outsourcing, in terms of HR input, now seems to have gone the full circle. There was […]
Statutory increases to tribunal compensation announced
The statutory increase in compensation awards that can be made by tribunals has gone before parliament. The increases will come into force on 1 February.The compensation covers unfair dismissal cases – there are no upper limits for discrimination claims – the basic award increases from £4,000 to £4,200 while the compensatory award rises from £58,400 […]
Employers ‘sceptical’ about new parental rights
Many employers think the new parental rights under the Work and Families Act, due to come into force next April, will cause them ‘difficulties’.That’s the finding of a joint study by KPMG and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.The legislation extends maternity and adoption pay from six to nine months and extends the right […]
Christmas benefits on the slide as manufacturing firms feel the squeeze
Tougher economic conditions for manufacturing firms mean that Christmas benefits are on the slide, according to new research.The figures come from the preliminary findings of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s (CIPD) annual reward management survey, to be released in February.There’s been a sharp drop in the number of manufacturing firms planning to provide […]
