What’s the answer? Sickness absence
Rebecca Wormald gets legal guidance this week from Sarah Bird, employment law expert, Browne Jacobson and Martin Brewer, a Partner with the employment team of Mills & Reeve on the legalities of forcing someone to take sick leave. The question:If an employee is not fit to do the work s/he is contracted to do but […]
Sexism at work on the increase
Workplace sexism is rising, with almost three quarters (72 per cent) of women claiming they have been bullied because of their gender. Women in 2006 feel more bullied at work than they did in 2002, legal services company Peninsula reports. The survey of 2,067 female staff found the amount of women feeling bullied at work […]
Teleworking claims overhyped
The opportunity for teleworking has been exaggerated and is not viable for most employees, according to the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD). Many reports artificially inflated the number of teleworkers in Britain by including ‘white van’ tradespeople and self-employed individuals who use a computer and telephone in their work, CIPD chief economist John […]
Investors in People CEO quits
Ruth Spellman, Chief Executive of Investors in People, the people standard has resigned after eight years service.The outgoing Spellman leaves to join the Institution of Mechanical Engineers as their new Chief Executive.Commenting on her departure, she said: “I am very proud of our record of achievement and the progress we have made in establishing the […]
Don’t up tax on temps, group demands
Recruitment experts have called on HMRC to shelve proposals to add extra taxation on the provision of temporary workers in sectors such as social work, healthcare and education. Responding to the Revenue’s consultation on the review of the VAT concessions on the supply of temps, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) said introducing extra taxes […]
Colborn’s Corner: Looking back
Quentin Colborn takes a look back at his HR experiences this week and reflects on the situations, good and bad that have helped shape his view of HR. Our current view of HR is often shaped by our experiences in the past. Some of these are funny, some are incredibly exhilarating, and all of them […]
Two thirds get flexible benefits
Almost two thirds of organisations now offer their employees flexible benefits, a new report reveals. The survey by consultancy Hewitt Associates shows an increase in the popularity of flexible benefits and salary sacrifice schemes. Half of UK firms offered flexible packages last year.Martha How, reward consulting team leader at Hewitt Associates, said: “Flexible benefits schemes […]
Women get bigger pay rises than men for tenth year running
Women have received larger pay rises than their male colleagues for the tenth year running and are more likely to get a bonus, but they are still more likely to resign than men. Research by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and salary analysts Remuneration Economics shows the highest salary changes for five years; Women's salaries […]
Interims Vs consultants: are the rumours true? By Sarah Fletcher
Some supporters of interim managers claim consultants are more expensive, sell products the business doesn’t need and fail to implement practical, ‘hands on’ solutions. Do consultants agree? By Sarah Fletcher. Many companies that supply interim executives to organisations provide detailed comparisons of the roles of consultant and interim, but although there are obvious similarities – […]
HR contract wins: June to August
Read on to find out who is scooping the major HR contracts this year. McDonald’s Deutschland Inc. selects StepStone for recruitment solutionMcDonald’s Deutschland Inc. has selected StepStone’s i-GRasp recruitment solution to help streamline its recruitment process. The fast food giant has 1,264 restaurants in Germany, which employ 49,000 staff and serve 848 million customers annually. […]
Opinion: Dealing with ‘dead wood’
An Investors in People survey found 75% of bosses and 80% of staff thought some colleagues were “dead wood” – and the main reason was thought to be laziness; Chris Syder Head of Employment at Clarkslegal LLP looks at the issues. Nearly half of employees added they worked closely with someone who they thought was […]
The human capital edge: developing a scorecard
The processes to evaluate, monitor and enhance Human Capital are considered to be something of a new science, a little difficult to interpret and unpredictable; Graham Borley, Practice Head for Change and Strategic HR at Blue Edge Consulting shares his tips on how to produce a working model, the human capital scorecard. Most people think […]
Standard Life says keep on working
Financial services firm Standard Life is scrapping the retirement age for its 8,000 employees in preparation for the age discrimination regulations that come into effect next month.From October its staff will be able to choose when they want to stop work, newspaper reports reveal.Josie Westley, of Standard Life’s staff association, said: “Regardless of age, staff […]
Be a green growther, says TUC
The TUC has launched a ten-step plan to cut energy use and protect the environment at work.UK workplaces and work-related transport produce around two-thirds of the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions, more than 66 million tonnes each year, the union claims. A 20 per cent cut in energy would be easy to achieve for many organisations […]
Flying high with talent management?
<img src="/files/siftmedia-photolib/photo_friendship.jpg" ?Talent development specialists don’t care much about average ability; they’re far more interested in retaining, indulging and nurturing their high-flyers. But what’s the secret of keeping the elite on board? Annie Hayes asked HR Zone members to share their tips. Elitist?Can talent be easily identified by a pinstripe suit and a swivel chair? […]
Any Answers: Internal Communications – a function in its own right?
HR Zone recently reported on the findings of a study by the British Association of Communicators in Business claiming that 87% feel internal communications should not be part of HR; we invited Bettina Pickering and Rachael Brassey of PA Consulting Group to present their responses. Whilst we are in agreement with the findings , we […]
HR Tip: Foster parents and flexible working
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: “A woman has requested flexible working hours to enable her to look after a three year old child. However she is only the foster mother. Does she have any entitlement?” A: Yes. […]
£50,000 or failure – what women want
Women consider men earning less than £50,000 a year to be unsuccessful, research suggests.Almost half (45 per cent) of the women surveyed said a significant income was their top priority when looking for a partner.Men are apparently less concerned about their partner’s earnings. Only 22 per cent said a large salary was their top priority […]
Government HR failures reinstate fired staff
Government HR departments are failing to follow statutory dismissal procedures, meaning increasing numbers of civil servants are being let off dismissal, an official report reveals.Over one fifth of all disciplinary cases involving appeals during 2005-06 were judged ‘unfair’, the report by the Civil Service Appeal Board (CSAB) says. This is an increase of 15 per […]
Worker injuries twice as likely in large companies
Workers in larger companies are twice as likely to be injured at work compared to their counterparts in smaller companies.New research from insurance giant Axa reveals that around a tenth of the workforce has been injured in the workplace over the past five years.Companies with less than 250 employees had a better workplace injury record […]
