October news in brief: What makes a bad boss?
To go to a story click on the link below: Interviewees fail to prepare, poll reveals What makes a bad boss? What makes a bad boss?Workplace culture in the US and the UK might be different – but it seems some things are universal: including moaning about bosses. A US-based global human resource consulting firm […]
What makes a bad boss?
Workplace culture in the US and the UK might be different – but it seems some things are universal: including moaning about bosses. A US-based global human resource consulting firm – Development Dimensions International – teamed up with badbossology.com, which describes itself as a bad-boss protection resource site, to find out leadership sins. Top of […]
Fake ‘sickies’ on the increase
Increasing numbers of employees are ‘throwing a sickie’ according to a new survey – and more employers are disciplining them, even though they admit it’s difficult to spot the difference.Peninsula BusinessWise found that in the year to September 2006, 84 per cent of employees admitted to pulling a non-genuine ‘sickie’, compared to 79 per cent […]
Training beats pay rises for employee rewards
Companies across Europe are planning to invest more in training and development and less on basic pay increases next year according to a European-wide survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.The survey of more than 430 companies in Europe, mostly multinationals, found that only 16 per cent of respondents are planning to increase their investment in […]
Employment tribunal worry for firms
Employment tribunals are the second-biggest litigation fear for UK companies – beaten only by regulatory proceedings, according to a new report.And the fears could be justified – the number of UK businesses that faced court action over the past 12 months increased to 78 per cent according to international law firm Fulbright & Jaworski’s annual […]
Graduate assessment centres: Why, what and how?
In the first of an exclusive three part series on graduate recruitment, consultant Mike Morrison reveals best practice in hiring graduates using assessment centres. WhySo you have made the decision to recruit graduates. You know that if you place an advert you will get lots of replies, so how do you put systems in to […]
HR consultants – Help or hindrance? By Annie Hayes
Driving through a change may require some external help, but many organisations simply don’t have the in-house expertise required to achieve the desired results. Annie Hayes reports on what HR members really feel about bringing in the so-called experts. Industry trends:A report by the Management Consultancies Association (MCA), which represents 70 percent of consultancies in […]
Meetings: a waste of time?
A whopping 80 per cent of UK workers believe most of their work meetings are unnecessary or unproductive, according to research.An international survey of over 2,000 workers has revealed that in the UK, eight in ten respondents said they waste time by attending at least half of their meetings because they are unstructured and result […]
Employers react to ‘decades out of date’ slur
Employers have reacted to employment and welfare reform minister Jim Murphy’s accusation of being ‘decades out of date’ by saying they need more government support.And the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) agrees. A poll carried out for the DRC by GfK NOP found that two thirds of those surveyed have no procedures in place for managing […]
‘Clear business case’ for diverse workforce
Although some organisations have made considerable progress in addressing disability and employment more effort is needed to overcome employers’ resistance, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). The CIPD report – ‘Diversity in Business: how much progress have employers made?’ – finds the diversity issues that are most frequently covered by organisations […]
HR Tip: Multiple sclerosis and DDA
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 has been diagnosed with MS. It is not obvious to anyone at work at present but is likely to become so as it develops. At what point does she become protected […]
Any Answers: Capability procedures – Avoiding the tribunal
Peter Duckitt gives advice on managing capability procedures without facing a tribunal for constructive dismissal.View the original post on Any Answers You need to tread carefully in speaking to this chap to make sure that he cannot claim you are saying “resign or be dismissed” or giving him grounds for claiming constructive dismissal.It sounds as […]
Only two weeks to implement pension rules, CBI warns
A reissuing of age discrimination rules affecting pensions means firms will only have two weeks to comply, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has claimed.Before new anti-age discrimination rules were introduced on 1 October, employers’ groups and lawyers warned that thousands of company pension schemes would fall foul of the new regulations. The government agree […]
What’s the answer: Indirect age discrimination
Are employers that make salary and job decisions based upon length of service guilty of age discrimination? Martin Brewer, partner and employment law specialist at Mills & Reeve, and Esther Smith, partner at law firm Thomas Eggar, explain. The question: (1) The organisation I work for frequently uses the prefix ‘senior’ or ‘junior’ in job […]
Northern Foods signs multi-union training deal
Northern Foods has signed a multi-union National Learning Agreement to give employees easy access to a range of courses from numeracy and literacy through to languages and the European Computer Driving Licence.The groundbreaking agreement between Northern Foods and the Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), the Transport & General Workers Union (T&GWU) and the […]
Corporate manslaughter bill: changes proposed
The corporate manslaughter bill went through its second reading in the house of commons this week.And after years of wrangling to get this far, changes are already being proposed – particularly to the definition of management failure.With the unions demanding that the bill be strengthened to allow for the prosecution of individual directors, Home Secretary […]
Pencils to company secrets – Dealing with the modern IP thief. By Dan Martin
A decade ago, employees moving to a different company would often grab a few pens and pencils from the stationery cupboard as they left the office. However, modern technological developments have given departing workers access to a wealth of confidential information which could prove useful in their new job. Dan Martin, HR Zone business editor, […]
About PA Consulting Group
PA Consulting Group is a leading management, systems and technology consulting firm. Operating worldwide in more than 35 countries, PA draws on the knowledge and experience of 3,000 people, whose skills span the initial generation of ideas, insights and solutions all the way through to detailed implementation.PA focuses on creating benefits for clients rather than […]
How to get better results from clients
In this second of two exclusive articles for HR Zone, management consultant John Pope explains how to improve the success rate of consultancy projects. Consultancy is a journey into the unknownConsultancy is a journey into the unknown, with your client as your companion. You have agreed on the journey and have arrived on the client’s […]
Blackberries, mobile phones and broadband. By Nichola Ross Martin
HMRC have been busy over the summer updating their Employment Income Manual to keep up with changes in technology. It is becoming increasingly difficult to clarify the tax treatment of some new “gizmos” under the benefits code. The definition of a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)Blackberries are a good example of the sort equipment that could […]
