Age discrimination law – minister calls for support
In a speech to the Third Age Employment Network, government minister Lord Hunt of Kings Heath called for support for the Age Discrimination regulations introduced on Sunday.Lord Hunt, Department for Work and Pensions under secretary in the House of Lords, said the legislation aimed to ensure that older workers are not denied the opportunity to […]
Equal pay case – not a straightforward verdict
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has handed down its decision in the Cadman case, described as the most important equal pay case in a decade.And although on the surface, mothers appear to have lost their right to equal pay, lawyers are already pointing out that the judgment won’t apply in every case.The facts behind […]
HR Tip: Refusal to accept written particulars
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: "What do I do if an employee refuses to accept the written statement of particulars that I am trying to issue to him?" A: If an employee refuses to accept the written statement […]
Minimum wage, maximum impact? By Dan Martin
As another rise in the national minimum wage takes hold this week, HRZone business editor Dan Martin asks members of sister site AccountingWEB whether it is having too negative an effect on businesses. The national minimum wage (NMW) first hit the headlines when the Labour party included it as a pledge in its manifesto for […]
Executive directors are slashed
The structure of the UK plc boardroom is shrinking as the ‘Higgs effect’ has seen the number of executive directors of FTSE companies fall by 20 per cent since 2002.According to a report by Deloitte, the number of executive directors on main boards dropped by 6.5 per cent this year as businesses respond to the […]
What’s walking from your office?
A new survey reveals that UK businesses are the victims of high levels of data theft by staff.Confidential documents, customer databases, business contacts and sales leads are all on the hot list – and 56 per cent of respondents believe companies expect things to go walk-about.The survey, by Prefix IT was answered by more than […]
Interviewees fail to prepare, poll reveals
If you’ve ever wondered how many candidates have prepared have prepared for their job interviews, the answer according to a new survey by Office Team is less than half.The online poll revealed that 53 per cent of office workers admitted they could know more about the companies they apply to – and seven per cent […]
£37 billion cost of employment laws
Complying with new employment laws has cost firms £37 billion since 1998 and employers have little faith in the government’s ability to tackle the number and complexity of these regulations, according to a new CBI report.With only two per cent of employers confident that the government will deliver on its promises of simplification and deregulation, […]
Age discrimination – 8,000 claims expected in 2006/7
After all the build up, age discrimination has arrived – and the Department of Trade and Industry is expecting some 8,000 tribunal cases in the first year.And, according to international law firm Eversheds’ survey of HR directors and senior managers, confusion reigns.The survey found that around a third of employers are planning to keep a […]
Any Answers: Allocating holidays fairly
Paul Strickland advises how to allocate holidays without demoralising staff by hiring students as cost effective temporary cover.View the original post The main thing here is to keep your staff happy so don’t be too quick to dismiss holiday cover – even the smallest offices rely on cover for staff sickness, maternity leave and holidays.You […]
Date given for legal challenge to age laws
In a masterpiece of timing the High Court has set a date for the legal challenge to the regulations.The judicial review has been brought by Heyday, the membership organisation for people in or nearing retirement, and the hearing is set for December 6 – early in legal terms.And in another unusual move, the court is […]
Britannia allows staff to work until 70
Britannia Building Society has changed its HR policies to allow staff to work until the age of 70.The change was brought about by a review of HR policies and procedures in the light of the age discrimination legislation – the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations – which comes into force on October 1.From Sunday, Britannia employees […]
All change for Corporate Manslaughter Bill?
Unions defeated the Labour Party leadership in yesterday’s conference vote on the corporate manslaughter bill.After a 10-year gestation, the penalties in the corporate manslaughter bill are confined to company fines but delegates at the conference voted in favour of amending the bill so individual directors can be imprisoned for up to 14 years.The vote was […]
Briefing: New maternity and family friendly rules
With the spotlight being firmly on the introduction of age discrimination legislation, implemented as of 1 October 2006, the introduction of the Work & Families Act 2006 on the same day seems to have faded into the background. HR consultant Sandra Beale reports. This important piece of legislation brings some quite dramatic changes to existing […]
New legislation round-up
Age discrimination and family-friendly policies have been dominating the headlines but as one of the government’s two standard implementation dates for employment legislation, other changes are also taking place on Sunday.The first is the annual change to the National Minimum Wage (NMW). But as well as the new rates, there are also some changes to […]
Practical effects of age discrimination
What does the future hold for CVs and job titles once age discrimination rules come into force on Sunday?They are just two of the questions research by project management recruitment specialists Arras People has raised.The headline finding of a 40 per cent lack of awareness broadly supports the Employers Forum on Age’s findings earlier this […]
What’s the answer? Part-timers sick pay
Chris Burgess gets legal guidance this week from Helen Badger, employment law expert, Browne Jacobson and Martin Brewer, a Partner with the employment team of Mills & Reeve on sick payments for part-time staff. The question: We have a number of workers whose work is not time dependent and they can come into the office […]
Podcasts new weapon in graduate hunt
Cadbury Schweppes added podcasts to its armoury in its efforts to track down the graduate recruits it needs for 2007.Today’s graduates have a higher expectation of being able to use the internet as a primary source of information and communication. September 2005 saw the launch of the first graduate blog, offering an insight into a […]
Pay settlements hold steady
Pay settlements are holding steady as the current bargaining year draws to a close, according to pay specialists Industrial Relations Services (IRS).Analysis of the latest pay settlements reveals that basic pay awards are at an average 3 per cent in the three months to the end of August 2006. Of these, 64 per cent were […]
Half of working Brits unaware of age legislation
With just days to go before new anti-age discrimination regulations come into force new reserach reveals that half of working Brits aren’t even aware of the forthcoming changes.The shocking findings of the Employers Forum on Age (EFA) also revealed that ageist attitudes are ‘alive and kicking’. When asked to identify the ‘perfect age group’ for […]
