News in Brief: The week in HR – Brown commits to skills
Catch up on the week in HR with our at-a-glance news round up including the Chancellor’s commitment to skills, the homesick UK workers and why one in three major reorganisations fails. W/C 12/09/05Brown spells out commitment to skillsChancellor Gordon Brown reiterated his vision for a high-skills Britain, this week. Speaking at the TUC Conference in […]
HR Practitioner’s Diary: Much ado in Walford
Jealousy, petty rivalries, crass comments, public fights; Sue Kingston is really in the thick of it this week trying to keep Cupid in its rightful place while dodging some untoward washroom talk. W/C: 5 September 2005It looks like we’re enjoying an extended summer which is great and an opportunity to enjoy the last of the […]
Review: Assessment and Development Centres
Title: Assessment and Development Centres – 2nd EditionAuthor: Iain Ballantyne and Nigel PovahPublisher: Gower Publishing LtdISBN: 0 566 08599 2Price: Not knownThe first edition of Assessment and Development Centres was published in 1995. Not a long time in terms of progress per se but significant when we think about technology and its impact on almost […]
What’s the answer? Drugs and alcohol testing
This week Nicholas Snowden, Senior Solicitor at Clarkslegal LLP and Helen Badger, employment law expert, Browne Jacobson present their ideas on the extension of random drugs and alcohol testing. The question:We carry out random Drugs & Alcohol testing on our employees. Part of our policy is that if someone fails on the alcohol test then […]
Pension savings: Are employees losing interest?
Given an extra £5000, 50% of employees would rather invest in an ISA while 14% would opt for a bank or savings account over and above a pension scheme; so have they had their day and can any confidence ever be regained? Many employers and trustees operating pension schemes are facing similar issues. Take up […]
Restrictive covenants: worth the paper they’re written on?
I’ve heard it said that contracts preventing employees from competing or taking customers are not worth the paper they are written on. That is a myth, which is exploded every day in the Courts; in this feature Paul Lambdin, employment partner at Stevens & Bolton looks at a recent ‘Any Answers’ posting on restrictive covenants […]
Advertorial: Symposium Events
Symposium Events Ltd specialise in conferences aimed at key opinion formers in the public, private and not for profit sectors. Our events bring together senior politicians, policy makers, academics, journalists and business people to discuss both strategic directions for policy and the practical matters involved in implementation. All Symposium Events conferences combine a detailed overview […]
Review: The Facilitator’s Toolkit
Title: The Facilitator’s Toolkit (Second Edition)Authors: Maggie Havergal and John EdmonstonePublisher: GowerISBN: 0-566-08565-8Price: £75.00Reviewer: Tim LeveyIt used to be much simpler in the “command and control” business environment. The man at the top decided what had to be done and the managers then told the workers what they had to do. By and large the […]
Case Study: Leadership at the Legal Services Commission
The Legal Services Commission has put leadership within its organisation firmly on the agenda, with a development programme designed for its top managers. Such has been the success that a similar scheme for middle managers is considered as having high-potential. The Legal Services Commission, the public body which is responsible for legal aid, is running […]
Member wire #116 – Dyslexia: too many allowances? IVF: sick leave?
================================================================ HR Zone Members Newswire Issue 116 13 September 2005 http://www.hrzone.co.uk ================================================================ SITE HIGHLIGHTS **** SITE HIGHLIGHTS **** SITE HIGHLIGHTS **** 1. Dyslexia – should allowances be made? 2. HR Practitioner’s Diary: Cliffhangers 3. News in Brief: Unions make giant ‘equality’ steps 4. The Couch?! Any volunteers? 5. Any Answers: time off for IVF, L&D […]
HR Tip: Care of employees’ property
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: To what extent are we liable for damage to employees' property? Recently an employee brought to us his personal handheld computer that was badly damaged as a result, he claims, of a […]
Hard(y) Law Talk: The new ET Rules – less litigation?
At law school young foundling students are taught in their first few weeks the dry subject of ‘statutory interpretation’. From these studies they glean an insight into the magic circle of judicial thinking – the literal, golden and mischief rules. These three options conspire to cause mayhem, as is the current state of play of […]
Extracts of a Life Coach: Starting out
Life coaching is the latest phenomenon to bridge the gap of accessibility for the ordinary, no longer the indulgent prerogative of wealthy celebrities it is slowly becoming part and parcel of any discerning careerist’s life; in this new series, fledgling life coach Emma Ranson Bellamy steers us through the life coaching waters and shares her […]
The Couch?! Any volunteers?
Fortune magazine recently reported the off-the-wall case of a US-based start-up, SeaCode who plan to literally house their computer programmers in an ocean liner just off the coast of Los Angeles. That way they avoid American labour laws and can pay staff less. Similar to the case of the numerous call centres now operated from […]
News in Brief: The week in HR – Unions make giant ‘equality’ steps
Catch up on the week in HR with our at-a-glance news round up including the giant ‘equality’ steps made by the Unions, the ‘honest Jims’ that are UK workers, why e-learners need greater information and support and the pension myths that have been exploded. W/C 05/09/05UK workers are ‘honest Jims’A survey by Kelly Services, a […]
Editor’s Comment: All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
Cricket, it’s all so lovely, endless cream teas, the glorious sound of leather on willow, what more could you want? Editor’s Comment, urges bosses to relax a little. An indifferent attitude to the quintessential game just doesn’t cut it this summer. You can’t but fail to notice the hype that surrounds it. The papers are […]
What’s the answer? TUPE transfers
This week Nicholas Snowden, Senior Solicitor at Clarkslegal LLP and Helen Badger, employment law expert, Browne Jacobson present their ideas on the rules surrounding TUPE transfers. The question:I am currently looking at transferring the activities of one currently UK department overseas (outside of EU). As part of the overall process I am also looking at […]
HR Practitioner’s Diary: Cliffhangers
Deceit and deception are the ugly hallmarks of an illicit love affair; this week Sue Kingston picks up the pieces of an office romance that results in a broken marriage and some unhelpful office gossip. W/C 29 August 2005:Oh well, that’s it now, the last Bank Holiday of the year before Christmas, it’s official! Don’t […]
Colborn’s Corner: Benefits – your flexible friend?
Is it ethical to allow an employee to forfeit their right to life cover to take up a golf membership in its place? Following HR Zone’s focus on reward this month, Quentin looks at flexible benefits and questions whether they are as good as the hype that surrounds them. So what are ‘flexible benefits’?At the […]
Rewarding innovations: HRZone talks ‘Save to buy’ with HSA
For many young workers the pensions crisis is a hurdle only to be jumped when the bricks and mortar challenge has been met; something that healthcare company HSA Group recognised and responded to by way of their save to buy scheme, a plan that has already helped several of its workforce get a foot on […]
