HR Zone Briefing #285 – HR’s Working Hours – The Real Story
HR professionals reveal insights on working hours and unpaid overtime trends in this briefing edition. The issue explores the real story behind HR workers’ schedules, employment law updates on corporate manslaughter, and tips on informal warnings.
Insight: ‘Tick the box’ communication
Tick-the-box internal communication fails to meet employee needs, according to Colette Dorward of Smythe Dorward Lambert. Effective communication should be measured by results rather than process, requiring organizations to understand employees’ actual needs through genuine dialogue and focus groups rather than mandatory formal procedures.
Opinion: Cultural fitness and commercial health
Companies prioritizing cultural fit in senior recruitment may be limiting their talent pool and hindering innovation. While cultural compatibility matters, over-emphasis on this factor leads many UK organizations to overlook diverse candidates with valuable experience, contributing to talent shortages and slower boardroom diversity.
Reviewer profile: Sharon Cooper
Sharon Cooper is Director of Human Resources EMEA for IPC Information Systems, a communications solutions provider serving financial services, public safety, and government sectors. A former Army Captain with extensive HR experience across manufacturing, finance, and technology, she holds CIPD membership and a Master’s in Human Resource Management from Leicester University.
Book review: 24 carrot manager
This practical guide uses a space-age fable to explore employee motivation and recognition strategies. While addressing common management wisdom about rewards and praise rather than offering new research, it provides accessible insights for junior managers, though many concepts may feel too North American for UK workplaces.
Proper hours? HR professionals discuss unpaid overtime. By Sarah Fletcher
UK HR professionals discuss whether unpaid overtime is necessary for career success, with most agreeing that working hours should match job requirements and be contractually specified and paid. The TUC’s “Work Your Proper Hours Day” campaign challenges the culture of uncompensated extra hours affecting five million UK workers.
HR Tip: Value of informal warnings
Informal warnings are a valuable HR tool that address performance issues without formal disciplinary procedures. They must clearly state the expected standard and potential consequences, but shouldn’t be documented to remain informal. Delivered appropriately to each employee, they can resolve most workplace discipline problems effectively.
Corporate manslaughter: Implications for HR managers
Proposed corporate manslaughter legislation will impose criminal liability on organizations that cause deaths through gross breaches of duty of care. HR managers must understand how new laws will expand corporate accountability beyond current Health and Safety at Work Act provisions, requiring stronger organizational policies and management commitment to prevent workplace fatalities.
HR Zone Members Newswire #139 The Value of Networking the CIPD Way
HR Zone Members Newswire #139 explores the value of networking through the CIPD, examining whether the professional body serves as an effective connections hub for HR professionals. The newsletter also features discussions on childcare vouchers, trade union experience, Christmas party naming conventions, and employment law compliance.
Top fleet management tips from Fleet News
Effective fleet management can save companies hundreds of thousands of pounds through proper training, negotiating discounts, and controlling costs like insurance and fuel. Fleet News editor John Maslen shares essential tips for managing company vehicles efficiently, including getting professional training and seeking expert advice.
The real issue: Management inability to handle performance
Most performance management systems fail because managers lack the leadership capability to own employee performance and instead hide behind company procedures. The real issue isn’t the system itself, but managers’ inability to have ongoing, skilled conversations about expectations and provide continuous feedback beyond annual reviews.
How Did I Get Here? Rachel Court, General Manager (HR), Yorkshire Building Society
Rachel Court, General Manager (HR) at Yorkshire Building Society, discusses her role leading the transformation of HR from an ancillary support function to a strategic business partner. She emphasizes the importance of people strategy, talent development, and effective communication in driving organizational success and competitive advantage.
News in Brief: The Week in HR – CIPD expose working time myths
The CIPD challenges myths about UK working hours, revealing three-quarters of long-hours workers choose extended schedules and over a quarter work fewer than 30 hours weekly. Meanwhile, a separate survey found 73% of workers feel uninspired and uncreative in the workplace, despite being more creative in their personal lives.
The Couch?! Hears your working hours horror stories
The TUC’s Work Your Proper Hours event highlights the widespread problem of unpaid overtime in the UK, where five million employees work extra hours without compensation. HR professionals and workers share shocking stories of exploitation, including 16-hour shifts paid for ten hours, workplace cultures where employees fear leaving before their boss, and even a colleague arrested for leaving without proper escort clearance.
Reviewer profile: Jonathan Senior
Jonathan Senior is a business trainer and founder of Sharp End Training, which provides online assessment services for classroom training courses. With extensive experience in public sector consultancy and interim management, he developed his company to address the need for formalized training evaluation processes.
Book Review: Training International Managers
This book by consultants Melkman and Trotman covers key aspects of training international managers, including cultural diversity, learning styles, needs analysis, and evaluation, with practical guidance on English as a second language and training economics. The well-structured chapters feature case scenarios and templates, making it an accessible resource for directors, managers, and consultants working in the global training field.
The Top Pitfalls of 360 Reviews
Discover how to avoid common 360-degree review pitfalls that can undermine organizational development. Learn key strategies for implementing effective feedback processes focused on genuine behavioral change and employee growth rather than just data collection.
What’s the answer? Does their previous employment count?
When employees are laid off and later rehired, their previous employment may count as continuous if the break is deemed a temporary cessation of work. Courts assess factors like the break’s length and nature to determine continuity, with no fixed time limits defined.
HR Zone talks to: Pavel Belenko about HR life in Russia
Pavel Belenko, senior partner at IMICOR, discusses the state of HR in Russia, including average salaries ranging from $700-800 for specialists to $2000-3000 for directors, and confirms HR is a popular career choice in the country.
What happened next? Getting management buy-in. By Sarah Fletcher
A training manager struggling to secure management support for call center training resources finds success by presenting evidence from a successful partnership and emphasizing how collaborative training improves results and employee readiness.
