Employee e-abuse: A major business concern? By Sarah Fletcher
Sarah Fletcher asked HR Zone members whether a lenient approach to employees’ use of company email and internet facilities is a sound business move. As the global use of email and the internet grows, so does the potential for electronically sending and receiving arguably offensive content. Cases involving employees being dismissed for viewing pornography online […]
HR Tip: Jury service
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: “One of our supervisors has been called up for jury service. What are our rights in this matter as his employer?” A: You must not prevent the employee from attending otherwise you […]
TUC paves way for employee snooping
The TUC has launched a new service which enables employees to uncover facts about the company they work for.All the information is already in the public domain – usually in annual reports filed at Companies House – but the TUC has brought details of shareholders, profits and losses, directors’ pay and staff pay and pensions […]
EU signals way forward for discrimination against smokers
The EU might be known for its keenness to pass anti-discrimination legislation – but its equality policies don’t extend to smokers.In a written answer – vetted by EU lawyers – commissioner Vladimir Spidla said that anti-discrimination laws only “prohibits discrimination on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin, disability, age, sexual orientation and religion and […]
Employers fail to take bullying at work seriously
Just days after former company secretary Helen Green won more than £800,000 after her employers failed to stop office bullies, a new survey shows just how widespread the problem of bullying is.The results from Peninsula’s survey indicate that 81 per cent of employees had been bullied at work – and 74 per cent would not […]
Any Answers: Maternity leave and working for a second employer
Understanding the finer points of maternity leave regulations can be complicated; in this feature HR Zone member and HR Consultant Kathryn Aldred responds to an Any Answers posting about the legalities of working for a second employer whilst on additional maternity leave. Firstly, there is a two week period of leave called compulsory leave, which […]
What’s the answer? Appearance as a selection criteria at interview
Sam Swinstead gets legal guidance this week from Helen Badger, employment law expert at Browne Jacobson and Martin Brewer, a Partner with the employment team of Mills & Reeve on whether it’s valid to select on the basis of looks. The question:A colleague and I are having a debate about the validity/fairness of assessing candidates […]
Off the record: How do I deal with a flexible working request that I don’t wish to grant?
Daniel Isaac, principal in the employment team at City law firm, Withers explains how to stay on the right side of the law. When the right to apply for flexible working was introduced in 2002, many lawyers saw it as a charter for refusal. The grounds on which employers could refuse applications seemed all encompassing […]
Colborn’s Corner: HR as Brand Managers
For many, HR has become a fairly traditional role with pretty well defined responsibilities, but do we have wider responsibilities than those typically associated with the function? In the latest edition of his column Quentin Colborn argues that we all have a marketing role to play – albeit that the product is not necessarily as […]
Bullying in workplace costs bank £800,000
A high court judge ordered an £817,000 pay out to a former employee of Deutsche Bank after a campaign of bullying caused her to have two nervous breakdowns.Helen Green, who worked for the bank as a company secretary between 1997 and 2001, brought a High Court action of negligence and harassment, claiming the bank had […]
Pensions – what employers have to say
The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has released the findings of the second stage of research into the proposed personal pensions accounts.This time, it’s the turn of the employers to express their opinions through face-to-face interviews conducted by BMRB on behalf of the DWP. The results reveal: Strong support for automatic enrolment across all […]
Briefing: Fostering line management capabilities
Sandra McCorgray, Director of Honeycomb Consulting offers some tips on developing confident and capable line managers to enable them to use HR policies effectively to improve business performance. Seven ways to instil confidence in your managers to use HR policiesThe role of HR is changing for everyone. In advice and guidance there is a shift […]
Age discrimination guidance updated
The Government’s Age Positive campaign, which offers advice on the forthcoming age discrimination regulations, has updated its guidance.From 1 October retirement ages under 65 will be unlawful unless they can be justified. Compulsorily retiring employees at 65 or above will not be unlawful – but there will be a new statutory procedure to follow.Employers will […]
New dads cut short paternity leave
Nearly two-thirds of Britain’s new dads are not taking their full statutory paternity leave according to a new survey.Financial pressures, career considerations and unsympathetic bosses are all given as reasons in the YouGov survey for ING Direct.Although the majority of firms offer three weeks’ leave – a week more than the statutory fortnight – only […]
HR Zone Members Newswire #162 – Part-time Working: Do Businesses Benefit?
================================================================ HR Zone Members Newswire Issue 162 1 August 2006 www.hrzone.co.uk ================================================================ ********************** Featured Sponsors *********************** Free ‘Working Progress’ Report http://www.hrzone.co.uk/redirects/orange1a.html Absenteeism – Free White Paper http://www.hrzone.co.uk/redirects/healthsure1a.html **************************************************************** Editor’s note ============= Flexible working regulations appear to lend themselves particularly favourably to working mums, wishing to juggle nappies with boardroom activities. In our feature of the […]
Part-time working: what’s the business benefit? By Annie Hayes
Part-time working is often believed to be the preserve of working mums, juggling nappies with pulling in a wage, but a recent survey by Cranet shows that it has now become an almost universally accepted way of working with 97% of organisations now offering it. In this feature Annie Hayes reports on the experiences and […]
HR Tip: Meaning of “reasonable”
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: “Legal advice that we read often requires us to be reasonable. What exactly does that mean?” A: A reasonable action is one that falls within the range of actions that a reasonable […]
September news in brief: Remote working offers not taken up
To go to a story click on the link below: OFT investigates Hays Recruitment Job cheats don’t do it online Disability guidance issued Mobile tracking could wind employers up in the dock Human capital management on summit agenda A quarter of staff aren’t taking a summer holiday Are you an office GOSSIP? DTI launches new […]
Homosexuality makes a difference to pay
New research from the London School of Economics reveals that gay men in couples earn around 6 per cent less than their straight counterparts and are more likely to be unemployed.But the difference is reversed for women, with lesbians likely to earn 11 per cent more than straight women and be 12 per cent more […]
Brits cite work-life balance as major challenge
When questioned about what people see as their biggest everyday challenge, 16 per cent of Brits struggle with having a good work/life balance with more men (23 per cent) than women (13 per cent) finding it a major issue.The finding comes in a survey conducted for insurer Churchill, which also revealed that 35 per cent […]
