Book review: Change Management: a Critical Perspective
“As change becomes a constant in business life, there are also many elements to the book that will be useful for training management teams who are about to embark upon major organisational change.” Title: Change Management: a Critical Perspective Author: Mark HughesPublisher: Chartered Institute of Personnel and DevelopmentISBN: 1-84398-070-3Price: £32.99 (CIPD members £29.69)Reviewer: Sharon CooperI […]
Book review: Talent on Tap
FIMC Chartered Management Consultant John Pope finds this book “provides excellent guidance” but fails to deal with “the client’s often vague views of a business problem”. Title: Talent on TapAuthor: Emma Brierly Publisher: CIPD 2006ISBN: 1 84398 140 8Price: £24.99Reviewer: John PopeThis excellent book aims to help line management to get the best from freelancers, […]
Pensions – the changes
The age at which people receive the basic state pension will rise to 68, the government confirmed yesterday as it unveiled long-awaited reforms of the pensions system. Dan Martin, AccountingWEB business writer, explains the changes. Revealing the new White Paper in the House of Commons yesterday afternoon, pensions minister John Hutton said to pay for […]
Colborn’s Corner: Does absence really make the heart grow fonder?
Quentin Colborn takes a look at absence following latest CBI findings which suggest that it has fallen to its lowest level for 20 years. The recent CBI statistics suggest that the total number of sick days fell in 2005 by four million days to ‘just’ 164 million. It’s got to be good news for UK […]
What’s the answer? Grievance raised after a redundancy
Andrew Murphy gets legal guidance this week from Martin Brewer, a Partner with the employment team of Mills & Reeve and Sarah Bird, employment law expert, Browne Jacobson on how to deal with grievances raised following a redundancy programme. The question:Having been made redundant several of our employees have raised individual though identical grievances about […]
Book review: Take Control of your Career
HR Consultant Claudine McClean finds that, even though you probably fell into your career accidentally through “a history of luck (or lack of it)”, this book will help you “to balance what’s important and define what’s possible”. Title: Take Control of Your CareerAuthor: John LeesPublisher: McGraw-HillISBN: 0077109678Price: £12.99Reviewer: Claudine McClean Many people are still coming […]
Fixed-term employees: the changing laws
The Fixed Term Employee Regulations, which take effect from 10 July 2006, will allow fixed term employees to claim they are eligible for permanent status. Peter Done, Managing Director of Peninsula, explains the legal implications. The Regulations provide that the use of successive fixed-term contracts is limited to four years, unless the use of further […]
Pergamon Flexible Learning Launches new Training Series
Pergamon Flexible Learning, one of the UK’s leading publishers of open learning materials and trainer resources for management training, has successfully launched a new training series. The Trainer’s Workshop Series is a practical, hands-on roadmap to help companies quickly develop skills in key business areas. Each book in the series offers all the exercises, handouts, […]
Member’s Tip: Dubious sickness and DDA
Claiming anxiety, an employee takes long periods of sickness absence. She won’t discuss the issue with HR, doesn’t attend scheduled meetings and puts the phone down on her employer. Can the company fire her and avoid a challenge from the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)? Martin Schmalenbach gives his advice. To come under the Disability Discrimination […]
Off the record: What can I do to manage stress in the workplace?
Long working hours are recognised as being a cause of stress, which itself may cause or be a symptom of more serious clinical conditions, such as depression, heart conditions, high blood pressure and other problems. If not the cause of the medical condition, stress can certainly exacerbate any underlying medical problems of this nature. “Stress” […]
HR Zone Members Newswire #151 – Your Legal Questions Answered
================================================================ HR Zone Members Newswire Issue 151 23 May 2006 www.hrzone.co.uk ================================================================ *********************** Featured Sponsors ********************** HR Software Show 2006 http://www.hrzone.co.uk/redirects/cipd5a.html Effective e-learning implementation http://www.hrzone.co.uk/redirects/bournea.html Maximizing your training investment http://www.hrzone.co.uk/redirects/ken_blanchard1a.html **************************************************************** Editor’s note ============= Accessing a nursery web link to watch your child is one way of combining the demands of parental care with career […]
HR Tip: Carrying over holidays
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 few of our employees have told us that they were not able to take all their holiday last year and want to take it this summer. Are they entitled to do […]
Maximise Your Training Budget
When finances are strained, the training budget is often quick to get the chop. Amanda Clark, Managing Director of Optimum Training, shows how to ensure the survival of training processes through cost-effective business strategies. In today’s business environment companies demand so much more for so much less. When things are tough, one of the first […]
What happened next? Pregnant maternity cover. By Sarah Fletcher
Having waved a pregnant employee on her way to dirty nappies and sleepless nights, maternity cover is brought in. The only problem is, the baby bug has got her too. Faced with “horrified” directors, what happened next? By Sarah Fletcher Employee covering maternity leave is pregnant We have someone covering for an employee on maternity […]
E-Learning case study: Implementing a management skills project
An ‘original approach’ to e-learning was required for this management skills project dealing with higher education for early years professionals. Nik Kellingley explains his e-learning strategies and the business benefits. The European Enhancement of Early Years Management Skills (EEEYMS) Project was made possible by Leonardo funding. It began in October 2003 and will finish in […]
Avian Flu: Protecting Against a Pandemic … continued
These are difficult questions, but by considering them before a pandemic begins, companies can start to formulate plans. Ideally, these should include both high-level policy decisions and specific actions that will be taken as governed by those decisions. Your plan should be able to ‘activate’ certain processes as soon as clear triggers are met. That […]
Avian Flu: Protecting Against a Pandemic
Should businesses be preparing to protect themselves against the possibilities of a bird flu pandemic? What can be done to avoid disruption to the business? Should employers be accommodating to employees concerned about an outbreak, how seriously should they take requests to work from home? Can anything be learned from the 9/11 attack in New […]
Reviewer profile: Jo Lamb-White
Jo Lamb-WhiteJo is a self employed learning and organisational development consultant working largely in the public sector (NHS and Local Authority). She also works at an international level, within the Russian Federation. Jo provides professional business writing solutions and services for all kinds of organisations, has been commissioned as a News Editor for an International […]
Book review: How to find work when you’re over 50
Our reviewer finds this “a fairly comprehensive toolkit”, but wonders whether it specifically addresses the need of a particular age group. Is it, even, “a bit patronising”? Title: How to Find Work When You’re Over 50Author: Jackie ShermanPublisher: How To BooksISBN: 1-84528-089-9Price: £9.99Reviewer: Jo Lamb-WhiteThis book is a fairly comprehensive toolkit for those seeking work; […]
HR Zone Briefing #296 – Managing World Cup Absence
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