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 […]
Hard(y) Law Talk: Parental rights at work – whatever next?
Alongside, fire exits and caution signs, required under health and safety law, every workplace should display a new sign: ‘Danger: parents at work!’ given the controversy that so-called family-friendly policies are still yielding. Parental rights:To clarify, the rights which parents have include: Maternity leave and pay: 26 weeks paid and 26 weeks unpaid, additional maternity […]
SOSR dismissal: A managerial prerogative?
Alison Wallace, head of employment practice at Steptoe & Johnson solicitors looks at recent case law which sheds some light on the grey area of dismissal for ‘some other substantial’ reason. Section 98 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 requires an employer to prove the reason for dismissal being either proscribed reasons or for “some […]
Beating the clock: Tackling lateness
HR Zone member, Nik Kellingley, workforce development project manager at the National Day Nurseries Association responds to an Any Answers posting by Martyn McShane on how to tackle persistent lateness in a tele-research outfit. ”I want to cure an increase in lateness in my team. More and more colleagues are coming in late to work […]
Case Study: Change management – the blended approach
In September 2004 ministerial approval was granted to establish Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Trust, a new Surrey-wide Mental Health & Learning Disability Trust. Made up from the amalgamation of three existing NHS Trusts, over three counties and 200 sites, the change over is a mammoth task. The Board has taken a blended approach to […]
HR Zone Members Newswire #121 Guidance on sick pay, workplace relationships and gross misconduct
================================================================ HR Zone Members Newswire Issue 121 18 October 2005 http://www.hrzone.co.uk ================================================================ SITE HIGHLIGHTS **** SITE HIGHLIGHTS **** SITE HIGHLIGHTS **** 1. Sick pay rules 2. Workplace relationships 3. The Couch?! Colleagues from Hell 4. Any Answers: Gross misconduct, employer references 5. Welcome new members SITE HIGHLIGHTS **** SITE HIGHLIGHTS **** SITE HIGHLIGHTS **** Editor’s […]
CSR and beyond: Volunteering is good news for HR Directors
Opportunities to help out in the community are becoming as big a pull for candidates as salary and flashy benefits; Leo Martin explains the allure of helping out in the local environment. Developing people, recruiting the best new staff and keeping staff turnover low has been a vital part of business success for years. Personal […]
Opinion: Simulation puts training in context
Competitive pressure often dictates that the finance industry needs to bring new products and services to market as quickly as possible, with training of telemarketing agents or branch staff an essential part of the picture. But training requirements can also be a bottleneck, with fully developed systems ready to use but understandably held over until […]
Payroll Tip: Entitlement to benefits during maternity/adoption leave
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: What are the cash and non-cash benefits entitlements during maternity/adoption leave? A: The first important point to make is that employees remain employees for the full period of their ordinary and additional maternity […]
Employment law: Case round-up
Alison Wallace, head of employment practice at Steptoe & Johnson solicitors rounds-up the latest employment case law and reports on the annual report by the Tribunal Service showing a significant decrease in the number of applications for the year 2004/05. 1. Religious discriminationCopsey v WWB Devon Clays Limited EWCA/Civ/2005/932The Court of Appeal has ruled that […]
Alcohol and drugs at work: The Kate Moss issue
Recent allegations that super model Kate Moss has more than dabbled in drugs together with the introduction of a new alcohol licensing system next month has highlighted some of the pitfalls of managing drugs and alcohol in the workplace; Amanda Hope an associate in the employment team at Norton Rose explains the issues. It has […]
Extracts of a Life Coach: Trouble with ‘de math’
This week, Emma Ranson Bellamy looks at negative attitudes and reflects on her own woes with maths and the problems that number crunching had to her self-belief. Last week we talked about how values are the essential building blocks for a value based life. This week I am looking at our belief system. If our […]
Indirect sex discrimination: A clouded view?
A 6ft 10 inch tall graduate recently lost a sex discrimination claim against National Traffic Services, who had first offered him a job and then withdrew it on safety grounds because of his height; Paul Lambdin, Partner in employment at Stevens & Bolton LLP looks at the thorny issue of indirect sex discrimination. The applicant […]
