Finance directors increasingly consider outsourcing HR
The burden of complying with regulations means that many finance directors either have or are considering outsourcing specialist functions.Noble Corporate Management polled finance directors of 100 AIM listed companies to discover their attitudes to outsourcing.The research found that some 88 per cent of AIM company finance directors would like to achieve best practice in complying […]
First month at work the most dangerous
Accidents to employees are most likely to occur during the first month at work according to research by Workplace Health Connect.New staff are, on average, about four times as likely to be injured in their first month of work than if they had been working for the same employer for a year or more.The findings […]
Policewoman wins £93k in sex discrimination case
A policewoman has been awarded £93,000 in a sex discrimination case after claiming she was forced out of the service after returning from maternity leave.Michelle Butler resigned from Hertfordshire Police with post-natal depression and exhaustion after her continual requests to work fixed daytime hours rather than rotating shifts with start times ranging from 7am to […]
HR Practitioner’s Diary: Investing in People?
Intrepid HR Practitioner Sue Kingston files her latest report from the HR field, with news on her client’s IIP reassessment, getting rid of unwanted staff, managing ill feeling at work and appearances that can be deceptive plus more on those vital wine, chocolate and boyfriend statistics. Month: May/June 2006Well, the longest day of the year […]
What’s the answer? Retirement and age discrimination
Elisabeth Thirlby gets legal guidance this week from Helen Badger, employment law expert at Browne Jacobson and Shazia Ali, Solicitor, Mills & Reeve on managing impending age discrimination regulations in relation to retirement. The question:We are likely to apply the statutory retirement age of 65 when the Regulations come in this October. We have one […]
Staff retention rates nose dive
Money isn’t everything according to this year’s National Management Salary Survey which reveals the lowest staff retention rate for 15 years.Despite increases in the frequency and value of bonus payments, organisations throughout the UK are struggling to hold onto employees, with 45.4 per cent reporting retention problems, according to the survey by the Chartered Management […]
Failure to report accidents puts colleagues at risk
Failure to report accidents or near misses results in putting colleagues at risk and leaving employers open to prosecution for breaches of health and safety regulations.City & Guilds, which has launched a drive to encourage good working practices, has found that 80 per cent of SME employees believe that up to a quarter of accidents […]
Health service workers most likely to be down in the dumps
Health service workers are more likely to be disillusioned with their jobs and have less faith in their leaders than other public sector workers.According to data from The Worker’s Index, health service workers are more likely to be critical of management and the service provided.Alexandra Jones, senior researcher at The Work Foundation, and co-author of […]
HR Zone Briefing #302 – HR Outsourcing: Friend or Foe?
================================================================ HR Briefing Issue 302 – 29 June 2006 http://www.hrzone.co.uk ================================================================ ********************** Featured Sponsors *********************** Corporate Manslaughter Bill – Free guide http://www.hrzone.co.uk/redirects/lloyds_tsba.html Human Resource transformation – Survey results http://www.hrzone.co.uk/redirects/hewitta.html Learn how to work more effectively with – The Apprentice http://www.hrzone.co.uk/redirects/learndirecta.html Debenhams – Styling the nation!http://www.hrzone.co.uk/redirects/debenhams5a.html **************************************************************** Editor’s Note ============= The endless cycle of efficiency initiatives, […]
Company of the week: Deloitte
*Benefits stats*Benefits offered: Pensions. Life assurance. Dental insurance. Personal accident cover. Private medical insurance (BUPA). Permanent health insurance. Childcare vouchers. Company car scheme. Core holiday entitlement of 25 days per year plus holiday purchase scheme. Bikes For Work programme. Online Lifestyle Management offering (Xexec – discounts site with a full range of staff discounts). Most […]
HR Outsourcing: Friend or Foe? By Annie Hayes
The endless cycle of efficiency initiatives, profit chasing and focus on the bottom line has led many to go down the HR outsourcing route so should it be feared by those in HR or embraced as the next step in the functions development? Annie Hayes, HR Zone Editor reports. What is meant by HR outsourcing?The […]
Mobile salary saver to bridge the HCI void
The withdrawal of the Home Computing Initiative in the March 2006 budget announcement shook the employee benefits world. The demise of HCI has seen organisations looking for a replacement for this popular benefit, particularly where they have a mature and well established benefits culture. Mobile phone provider Flexphone outlines the scheme. Mobile Salary Saver, which […]
Member’s tip: Medical expenses
Does medical expense cover ensure a healthy and productive workforce or is it an expensive policy that makes little difference to employee retention? Iain Young outlines some important considerations. Bearing in mind a simply thing like a PET Scan can cost over £1,300, if you are serious about getting people back to work I would […]
HR Zone Members Newswire #156 – Fleas at Work, Tatoos and CIPD Exams
================================================================ HR Zone Members Newswire Issue 156 27 June 2006 www.hrzone.co.uk ================================================================ ********************** Featured Sponsors *********************** Transforming an industry – Free whitepaper http://www.hrzone.co.uk/redirects/cccoma.html You and your money: Personal finance in context from the OU http://www.hrzone.co.uk/redirects/ou1a.html Revolutionise your HR system – Case study http://www.hrzone.co.uk/redirects/vizual6a.html Directors Rewards – Executive summary and results http://www.hrzone.co.uk/redirects/croner15.html **************************************************************** Editor’s note ============= […]
HR Tip: Probation periods
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: “Is it a good idea to put new starters on a probation period and, if so, what should we say?” A: If you put someone onto an initial probation period you commit yourself […]
Sophistication rules for 21st Century inductions
Forget the tea-making and toilets tour – 21st Century managers have introduced far more sophisticated induction processes according to a study in the current issue of IRS Employment Review.Almost all employers now offer some sort of induction to a new recruit with 19 per cent relying on a one-off session to orientate employees on their […]
New parental rights get royal assent
A range of new regulations covering parental and carers rights have been brought together under the Work and Families Act, which has received royal assent.The provisions come into force on October 1 but the effects won’t be felt by most organisations until April 2007.Changes to existing legislation include: Extending statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay […]
Let’s (not) go outside
The Government is considering extending the workplace smoking ban, which is due to come into force next summer, to office doorways.It is proposed that the ban would extend to outdoor spaces if there is a ‘significant risk’ that people would be exposed to ‘significant quantities of smoke’.At the moment, it is thought that any outdoor […]
Court rules victimisation applies to ex-employees
A new court of appeal decision has extended the protection against victimisation to whistle-blowing ex-employees who have made ‘protected disclosures’.Although there was protection from victimisation under discrimination law following a House of Lords decision in 2003, this had not been extended to other areas of employment law.Both the employment tribunal and the appeal tribunal had […]
Corporate control – value add or value laden?
Corporate communications specialist Karen Drury considers how organisations control and manage their employees by promoting their own values. One of the most popular management methods of control in modern organisations is through the development of value programmes which implicitly – if not explicitly – indicate how employees should behave, the style they should adopt, even […]
