How Did I Get Here continued … Gabrielle de Wardener, Human Resources Director, Loyalty Management Group (LMG)
Gabrielle de Wardener, HR Director at Loyalty Management Group, discusses the challenges and rewards of HR work, the importance of HR influence in senior management, and her philosophy on leadership and organizational change.
How Did I Get Here? Gabrielle de Wardener, Human Resources Director, Loyalty Management Group (LMG)
Gabrielle de Wardener, HR Director at Loyalty Management Group, shares how strategic people management translates business strategy into practical solutions, emphasizing responsive service over bureaucracy and leveraging technology to automate transactional HR work.
News in Brief: The Week in HR – HR globe-trotters do it for career success … continued
Global HR professionals advance careers through international mobility while organizations invest in upskilling initiatives. This week’s HR news covers digital literacy symposiums, airline staff training, civil service e-learning programs, women’s IT achievements, and football-themed adult learning projects.
News in Brief: The Week in HR – HR globe-trotters do it for career success
UK immigration plans to favor highly skilled workers while tightening rules for the unskilled, pensions reform debate intensifies with industry proposals to reduce management charges, and HSBC faces misconduct claims. This week in HR also explores why some professionals pursue international career opportunities.
The Couch?! Becomes a Self Help Guru
A satirical look at self-help culture and its impact on leadership, this piece humorously critiques the trend of DIY personal development while highlighting genuine concerns about declining managerial skills in the UK workplace.
Company cars: The safe approach … continued
Company cars and structured alternatives like ECO schemes provide employers with safety control, while cash allowances and employee-owned vehicles present higher risks. Employers remain liable for driver safety regardless of vehicle ownership, making control a key consideration when choosing a business car solution.
Company cars: The safe approach
Employers face different legal responsibilities when providing company cars versus cash allowances or other vehicle schemes. Company cars offer the highest level of control over safety, maintenance, and roadworthiness, while alternative arrangements present varying degrees of employer liability and duty of care.
HR Practitioner’s Diary: HR eats in Hell’s kitchen … continued
A blind man with a guide dog was left to navigate Northampton’s town center alone after bus depot staff refused to help him reach a nearby taxi rank, citing the need to “look after the buses.” His subsequent complaint revealed inadequate disability training and a troubling lack of duty of care from both the council and transport company.
HR Practitioner’s Diary: HR eats in Hell’s kitchen
HR consultant Sue Kingston shares her latest field experiences, including helping a food production company prepare for a critical safety inspection while managing recruitment challenges and workplace issues across various business operations.
Book review: Employee Reward
Michael Armstrong’s Employee Reward provides comprehensive coverage of reward strategy, including financial structures, benefits, and non-financial incentives. This CIPD-endorsed resource offers practical guidance for HR professionals seeking to develop effective total reward packages that support employee motivation and organizational performance.
HR Zone Briefing #286 – How to Get Rid of an Unwanted Employee
Learn how to negotiate an affordable settlement when terminating an unwanted employee. Daniel Isaac, principal in the employment team at city law firm Withers, explains the legal and practical steps to reach a mutually beneficial compromise.
Reviewer profile: Sandra Beale
Sandra Beale is a chartered FCIPD-qualified HR consultant based in the Midlands with over ten years of progressive experience. She provides strategic and operational HR services to companies of all sizes, covering employment law, recruitment, performance management, and organizational design.
Employment law briefing: Compensation awards … continued
The Employment Appeals Tribunal has approved joint and several compensation awards against employers and senior managers in discrimination cases, expanding circumstances beyond previous limitations. Employers should ensure managers receive thorough discrimination law training to avoid personal liability for compensation awards.
Employment law briefing: Compensation awards
Employment Tribunals can award discrimination compensation on a joint and several basis, making any named respondent liable for the full amount. The Employment Appeals Tribunal confirmed this power in Way v Crouch but emphasised such awards should remain rare, with apportionment of liability continuing as standard practice.
Insight: Sustaining the message … continued
Sustaining internal communications over the long term requires consistent commitment to keep messages alive and prevent initiative fatigue. Engaging senior leadership is essential—whether through leaders who naturally understand communication’s importance or through crisis situations that force organizational focus on inspiring and motivating staff.
Insight: Sustaining the message
Compass Group’s Tim Small explains how short-term communication goals lead to initiative fatigue. Effective internal communications require understanding your audience, matching channels to their needs, and empowering managers as active communicators rather than passive message distributors.
“More rights than a protected panda bear” – maternity leave … continued
UK HR professionals discuss the financial struggles families face with current maternity, paternity, and adoption leave policies. They highlight inadequate statutory pay rates, childcare costs that often exceed salaries, and how financial pressure forces parents to return to work sooner than desired, questioning whether Britain truly supports working families.
“More rights than a protected panda bear” – maternity in UK business. By Sarah Fletcher
UK businesses offer varying levels of maternity support beyond statutory minimums, with some providing enhanced packages while others stick to legal requirements. HR professionals debate whether current statutory maternity pay rates adequately support new parents and reflect corporate attitudes toward pregnancy in the workplace.
Effecting sustainable change: A practitioner’s view … continued
Sustainable organizational change requires change agents to maintain agility, assess readiness holistically, mobilize stakeholder support, and align existing and new initiatives. Key practices include investing in readiness assessments, developing resistance strategies, piloting changes, and implementing performance support systems to minimize business disruption.
Effecting sustainable change: A practitioner’s view
Learn practical strategies for preparing employees and stakeholders for organizational change before disruption occurs. This guide helps leaders and managers create sustainable improvements while maintaining business continuity in an increasingly unstable environment.
