Management annual bonus plans: Determining the best approach
Annual bonus plans are effective incentive tools for motivating management to achieve short-term business results, though their success depends on clear performance metrics, transparent communication, and appropriate organizational context. Not all companies benefit equally—smaller firms may find administrative costs prohibitive, while fast-growing businesses struggle with setting achievable targets.
How Did I Get Here? Laraine Levin, Head of HR, QA
Laraine Levin, Head of HR at QA, discusses how HR serves as a strategic partner guiding business decisions through emotional intelligence and people management. She explains how HR builds credibility by remaining accessible, efficient, and aligned with organizational objectives to support company growth.
Reviewer profile: Simon Johnson
Simon Johnson is an Information Systems Manager with a Masters in Human Resource Management and expertise in Knowledge Management, Management Information Systems, and Data Protection. A Chartered Member of the British Computer Society, he specializes in HR, employment law, and recruitment topics.
How Did I Get Here continued…Laraine Levin, QA
HR Head Laraine Levin discusses how HR professionals can gain board-level influence by speaking business language and adding measurable value, while emphasizing that accuracy and understanding are essential to building a strong HR function.
News in Brief: Half of workers are constantly tired … continued
Half of UK workers report being constantly tired, while the government faces criticism over cuts to training for adults with learning disabilities. Separately, UK employers lead globally in recruiting older workers, and a new workplace learning programme aims to help 250,000 employees annually improve their skills.
News in Brief: Half of workers are constantly tired
A new HR roundup reveals worker fatigue, workplace flexibility trends, and age discrimination concerns. Key topics include National Working from Home Day, Swedish age discrimination warnings for UK employers, skills shortages driving lawyer wages higher, and union engagement gaps in training initiatives.
Remote working: Does it make business sense? By Sarah Fletcher
Remote working can benefit businesses when properly managed through strong performance standards and regular communication, though many employers remain skeptical about productivity and control. Success depends on clear objectives, self-motivated employees, and treating it as an occasional tool rather than a full-time arrangement.
Book review: Hard facts, Dangerous half-truths and total nonsense
Pfeffer and Sutton argue for evidence-based management over instinct and fads in this Harvard Business School Press review. The Stanford professors critique common management myths and advocate making business decisions grounded in careful analysis and hard facts rather than prescriptive techniques or conventional wisdom.
Employment law briefing: Trade Union recognition
Trade union recognition occurs when an employer agrees to negotiate pay and working conditions with a union on behalf of workers through collective bargaining. Employers can voluntarily recognize unions or unions can apply to the Central Arbitration Committee to force recognition if the employer has over 20 workers and meets specific membership and ballot requirements.
What’s the answer? Maternity cover is pregnant … continued
When an employee hired as maternity cover becomes pregnant themselves, they retain full maternity leave rights and protections. Employers cannot treat them unfavorably without risking sex discrimination claims, regardless of their original contract terms.
What’s the answer? Worker covering maternity leave is pregnant
When a temporary maternity cover employee becomes pregnant, employers must grant 26 weeks ordinary maternity leave. Statutory Maternity Pay eligibility depends on 26 weeks’ continuous service. Employers should arrange additional cover and plan for the employee’s return rights or potential redundancy procedures.
Driving on company business: Employer responsibilities
Employers face significant legal liability when employees drive on company business, including criminal prosecution for negligent driving, unlicensed driving, or serious incidents like corporate manslaughter—regardless of whether the vehicle is company-owned or employee-owned.
Comment: Eight ways to continue learning
Continuing professional development extends beyond formal exams through eight practical strategies: scheduling dedicated learning time, studying psychology and unrelated fields, practicing empathic listening, mastering storytelling, and learning from client experiences to enhance career growth and business success.
Opinion: The ubiquitous mediocrity of learning evaluation
Learning evaluation in most organizations relies on outdated methods like smile sheets and basic ROI calculations that lack credibility with senior management. Industry experts argue that the profession must move beyond this “ubiquitous mediocrity” toward strategic, data-driven approaches that measure meaningful outcomes and align with organizational goals.
Member’s tip: Are job descriptions legally binding?
Job descriptions carry legal weight as they indicate the duties and objectives required of an employee. While employers can modify roles through implied adaptability clauses, significantly changing an employee’s duties could breach the implied obligation to maintain trust and confidence.
How Did I Get Here? Amanda Shaw, Head of Human Resources, Cottrills … continued
Amanda Shaw, Head of Human Resources at Cottrills, discusses the challenges and rewards of HR work, including managing difficult decisions while knowing employees personally, and emphasizes that HR professionals need greater confidence and commercial understanding to earn board-level positions.
How Did I Get Here? Amanda Shaw, Head of Human Resources, Cottrills
Amanda Shaw, Head of HR at Cottrills, discusses why fostering positive culture is central to HR strategy and why HR professionals must be commercially minded, involved in the business, and act as change ambassadors to remain effective.
HR Tip: Moonlighting
Employees with second jobs may create legal and performance issues for employers. You can require them to quit if they work for competitors, monitor work quality issues, and ensure combined hours don’t exceed Working Time Regulations’ 48-hour limit.
What happened next? Personality clashes… continued. By Sarah Fletcher
HR Zone member Kirsa Edwards shares how she managed workplace personality clashes and employee conflict. The article explores whether following formal grievance procedures was the right approach and whether the outcome satisfied all parties involved.
What happened next? Conflict resolution. By Sarah Fletcher
When personality clashes between employees escalate to resignation threats, HR faces a challenging dilemma: honoring confidentiality while preventing valuable staff from leaving. This case examines how one HR professional navigated conflicting loyalties to find a path forward.
