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 […]
New details of inter-regional unemployment
The Office of National Statistics has released its first ever report into differences in unemployment rates within regions.Local Area Labour Markets: Statistical Indicators July 2006 looks at unemployment rates within local authority areas and has found that differences within regions can be greater than differences between regions.The gap between the highest and lowest unemployment rates […]
HR hits rock bottom in the boredom list
HR is less boring than media or law but not as interesting as accountancy or teaching, according to graduates who work in the profession. The Training and Development Agency for Schools has published its Work Boredom Index which has turned popular myths – such as accountancy being boring and the media being interesting – around. […]
Women to wait 150 years for equal pay
Research by the London School of Economics has revealed that if current performance is maintained, it will be another 150 years before women’s pay is equal to that of their male counterparts.The gap in pay between men and women had been narrowing for the past 30 years, but has now started to become static, analysts […]
CBI launches human capital awards
Could you be onto a winner? The CBI, in association with Microsoft, has launched the Human Capital Awards which aim to recognise the contribution innovative schemes make to overall corporate performance.With eight categories, the awards are open to anyone with truly results-focused people management.The CBI’s director-general Richard Lambert said: “People are the UK’s biggest asset. […]
HR change management: Followers or champions?
If change management is so critical to the success of a project, why is it often an afterthought or not done properly? Bettina Pickering and Tony Marr of PA Consulting Group report. Why do projects fail? A quick Google search on that question throws up a range of possible reasons, including many (“poor user input”, […]
Record numbers seek Acas’ help
People seeking help on employment law issues are turning to the Acas helpline in record numbers its annual report reveals.In 2005/6 the helpline received 908,553 calls, compared to 880,787 the previous year. The top three topics were discipline and grievance, maternity/paternity and redundancy/layoff issues.There were also a record number of visitors to the website, with […]
Dress down days increase productivity
Could the death knell have been sounded for the collar and tie? As nine out of ten employers relax the dress code in the hot weather, Peninsula has found that eight out of ten have reported increased productivity on dress-down days.A survey of 562 employers from various industries found that 88 per cent had allowed […]
What’s the answer? Withdrawing a verbal offer of employment
Claire Paton gets legal guidance this week from Sarah Bird, employment law expert at Browne Jacobson and Martin Brewer, a Partner with the employment team of Mills & Reeve on how to make a u-turn on a verbal offer of employment. The question:If I have made a verbal offer of employment and the individual […]
People planning for merger success
At least 60 per cent of mergers end up destroying rather than creating value and the most frequently stated reason for this failure relates to people, and how they react or behave as a result of the changes; Peter Wallum, Worldwide Partner at Mercer Human Resource Consulting reports. The people factorMerging companies often become engulfed […]
Opinion: Successful change is all down to people
Some 70% of change efforts fail to achieve their potential so how can organisations ensure that they don’t throw their money away? Nick Fewings, Director of The Colour Works International Limited, formerly a senior change Director with Barclays outlines the path to change management success. With current economic pressure on profit margins, increased competition from […]
Pay rises below inflation
New figures from the Industrial Relations Services (IRS) indicate that pay rises are running below the level of inflation for the first time since April 2005.Analysis of 134 pay settlements in the three months to the end of June show the average basic pay award was 3 per cent.During the same period the Retail Price […]
Change management: In theory and in practice
How useful is change management theory? In a recent Any Answers posting member Eddie Newall reflected on over 30 years experience within the NHS in which he never once witnessed change management theory put into practice; in this article Jeremy Thorn, Chairman of QED Consulting responds to the issues. I have worked in an advisory […]
Corporate manslaughter: The death of employee freedom? By Sarah Fletcher
A recent court ruling which fined British organisation The Produce Company £30,000 when an employee died after 11 days of excessively long shifts raises the legal issue of an employer’s duty of care. Whether an isolated event or a precedent for future corporate manslaughter cases, it suggests a company’s responsibility to its staff doesn’t stop […]
Defined contribution schemes good for employers
HR managers can see the benefits of defined contribution (DC) pension schemes for employers but are less sure of their benefits for employees.Senior HR and benefits managers from some of the UK’s largest employers were polled at a Watson Wyatt workshop and some 78 per cent of attendees said that, as a basic design concept, […]
