News in Brief: The things HR should know but don’t
Catch up on the week in HR including the latest news from the CIPD’s annual exhibition and conference and HR revelations: what professionals should know but don’t. W/C 24/10/05The things HR should know but don’tOver a third of HR/payroll professionals do not know the number of sick days their staff take, how long they stay […]
The Couch?! team present their top 10 Harrogate give-aways
Augustus Gloop would have been beside himself for at every turn sugary treats were to be found; but serious calories aside there were more tempting freebies to be found at this year’s CIPD bash then those of the teeth-rotting variety. Last year’s CIPD exhibition highlights included a set of juggling balls, a pair of day-glo […]
Review: The fusion manager
Title: The fusion manager Author: Robert Heller Publisher: Profile Books LtdISBN: 1861976461 Price: £14.99 Reviewer: Kay Maddox Fusion Management is, apparently, similar to fusion cooking. It combines the best of the West and East. Contextualising this in management speak it appears to be the certainty in the West (through scientific principles and the like) and […]
Opinion: Strategy and the fat smoker – Part II
David Maister, former Harvard business professor and managment thinker closes the second part in this two-part series with a look at how to get people to change before the heart attack comes. 1. It’s about a permanent change in lifestyleA major source of failure in implementing sensible business strategies is that we underestimate how much […]
Figuring things out: Useless management
<img src="/files/siftmedia-photolib/photo_joe.jpg" Why it is that UK management is seemingly useless at managing change effectively? Despite the increasing amount, speed and nature of change recent research suggests that leaders and managers are a primary cause of stress, conflict and harassment at work. With as many as a third of employees reporting that they are often […]
What’s the answer? Dyslexia: Verifying the condition
This week Nicholas Snowden, senior solicitor at Clarkslegal LLP and Stephanie Wooton, employment law expert at Browne Jacobson present their ideas on ways to authenticate dyslexia. The question:In an assessment centre situation what policy do people adopt when confronted with candidates who claim to be dyslexic: e.g. do they insist on evidence (Educational Psychologist’s report […]
Counting house: Deduction from wages
Mike Huss, senior employment law specialist at Peninsula looks at deductions from wages and explains the circumstances in which an employer has the authorisation to deduct money from hard earned salary. So what does ‘pay’ mean? The word used in the main legislation covering this subject (Employment Rights Act 1996) is ‘wages’, but this is […]
Payroll focus: The end for home-working?
Thousands of workers could be left out of pocket under revised rules for tax relief for unreimbursed homeworking expenses. The main changes are to disallow claims for council tax and rent, and allow a £2 per week deduction where it is not possible to calculate the additional costs incurred. The article appears in HMRC Tax […]
Opinion: Strategy and the fat smoker Part I
Much of what professional firms do in the name of strategic planning is a complete waste of time, no more effective than individuals making New Year’s resolutions. The reasons are the same in both situations. Personally and professionally, we already know what we should do: lose weight, give up smoking, exercise more. In business, strategic […]
HR outsourcing: the shape of things to come?
Many organisations faced with endless efficiency drives and demands for reduced overheads and increased profitability turn to outsourcing; so is it a one-size fits all solution? Payroll in particular is one of the most outsourced business processes, with a quarter of FTSE 100 firms and 30 per cent of all UK businesses now doing it, […]
Age discrimination: Will legislation help?
According to a report released by the University of Kent, 29% of workers claim they have been subjected to some form of age discrimination during their working lives, a figure that was far greater than the occurrence of any type of other discrimination including that based upon sex; so will legislation stamp out the problem? […]
HR Tip: The burden of proof in workplace discipline
These questions are being answered by Learn HR, a market leader in the provision of HR and payroll training and nationally-recognised professional qualifications. Question: Can we dismiss an employee if we do not have absolute proof of his guilt? HR Tip: You can but must take great care. In a criminal court the judge or jury […]
Mental health: Mind over matter?
Sufferers now make up 15-20% of the workforce with impressive knock-on costs to match; FirstAssist’s Tim Ablett, reveals the latest research into workplace interventions for people with common mental health problems. The British Occupation Health Research Foundation (BOHRF) organised a research working group to read the research papers on techniques to prevent, and to help […]
How Did I Get Here? Kate Price, HR Director, Punch Taverns
Kate Price started out in an administrative capacity working for the Royal Air Force, today she heads up the HR team for the UK’s second largest operator of leased and tenanted pubs; read her story on ‘military to hops’ to find out how she made it. 1. What’s your current job role?I’m the HR Director […]
Extracts of a Life Coach: Pandora’s box
Emma Ranson Bellamy opens Pandora’s box this week and in the process gets friendly with some negativity by feeling the fear. Did you do the beliefs exercise that I set last week? If so I’d like to hear how you got on, do you feel like I used to i.e. Pandora’s box is best left […]
The Couch?! What a waste of time!
Pointless meetings, ah the Couch?! team have had their share of these. That “What am I doing here?” moment as you stare through the glass office door at the mountain of paperwork looming on your desk while a colleague drones on about an inconsequential pet hate/ extended piece of self-congratulation. So the Couch?! team was […]
The National Minimum Wage: a hike too far?
It has been six years since the National Minimum Wage (NMW) Regulations were first introduced in the UK, since that time there have been successive rises each year for workers aged 22 and over; so have the inflation-busting rate rises gone too far and what is the cost to business? The last two years have […]
Review: The Motivation Game
Title: The Motivation GameEditor/Author: Peter Gerrickens and Marijke VerstegePublisher: GowerPrice: £44.22ISBN: 0566085194Reviewer: Nigel HarrisMaybe it lost something in translation from the original 2002 Dutch version, but whilst this looks like a pack of playing cards, it most certainly isn’t a game! I would prefer to think of it as a box of visual aids for […]
What’s the answer? Is time off for IVF sick leave?
This week Nadia Hoosen, senior solicitor at Clarkslegal LLP and Helen Badger, an employment law expert at Browne Jacobson provide advice on whether absence for IVF treatment should be regarded as sick leave. The question:I have had a question asked by an employee about whether time that she needs to take off in a few […]
Colborn’s Corner: Who cares?
As the tragic drowning of 21 cockle pickers at Morecambe bay is played out in a court room Quentin Colborn looks at the role of gangmasters within the UK and consider what can be done to ensure tragedies like this never occur again. There will be few people working in HR who have much of […]
