HR Tip: Is stress a disability?
Stress is considered a disability under the Disability Discrimination Act only if it significantly impacts normal daily activities and lasts or is expected to last at least 12 months. Employers should refer affected employees for medical examination and review job conditions.
Salary errors – recovering overpayments
Employers can recover salary overpayments through Employment Tribunals or civil courts, each with distinct advantages. However, employers must follow proper legal procedures and cannot simply deduct overpayments from final wages without contractual rights or employee consent, or they risk facing unlawful deduction claims.
Review: Buying Information Systems
This book guides managers through selecting, implementing, and assessing off-the-shelf information systems, offering checklists and case studies to structure the purchasing process. While it provides useful frameworks and covers key topics like stakeholder involvement and supplier selection, readers with no prior experience may need additional guidance, and those with experience may find it too high-level.
How Did I Get Here? Mark Burch, Crown Prosecution Service
Mark Burch shares his unconventional career path from bingo caller to Head of Reward and Performance at the Crown Prosecution Service, discussing how his early roles in leisure management and employment services prepared him for managing HR challenges across 8,000 staff members.
Editor’s Comment: The recruitment catwalk
Height and dishonesty surprisingly boost job prospects in modern recruitment, according to research showing that taller candidates and those willing to bend the truth on CVs often land positions over more qualified competitors. Despite employer warnings about CV fraud and the prevalence of reference-checking failures, many companies continue hiring based on appearance and personal chemistry rather than skills and competency.
News in Brief: The week in HR – 13/06/05
UK Labour Market shows signs of cooling with fewer job vacancies and higher unemployment, while new research reveals eight in ten working fathers would prefer to stay home with their babies but cite low statutory paternity pay as a barrier to extended leave.
The Couch?! Interview nightmares
A Glasgow boss facing probation and sex offender registration after conducting a job interview naked has sparked discussion about workplace interview conduct. Employment law experts warn employers to avoid inappropriate behavior during interviews, as candidates are increasingly willing to pursue legal action for unprofessional conduct.
HR Practitioner’s Diary: Secrets of interviewing
Discover an HR practitioner’s strategic approach to interviewing and workplace solutions, including how creative problem-solving helped a struggling business avoid insolvency through lease renegotiation.
Colborn’s Corner: What’s in a name?
HR titles have evolved from “welfare” and “personnel” to modern terms like “HR Business Partner,” yet debate continues about whether these names truly reflect the profession’s value. Ultimately, titles matter far less than delivering results and understanding how HR contributes to organizational performance.
Opinion: Recruitment – breaking the churn cycle
The current recruitment model wastes human resources and risks losing top talent by incentivizing consultants to fill vacancies rather than reduce turnover. Using competency-based assessments and structured interviews can help businesses and recruitment partners build a more effective, objective hiring process focused on long-term candidate value.
Case Study: Mecca improves its winning ways with LMS
Mecca Bingo uses a learning management system to train and manage its 5,500+ staff across 120 UK clubs. The dual-server LMS approach enables centralized oversight from head office while allowing local club control, providing real-time performance data and course management across the expanding organization.
It’s good to talk: navigating the consultation of employees regs
The Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004 significantly expand employers’ duties to inform and consult staff on business matters when at least 10% of employees request it. Initially applying to firms with 150+ employees, the regulations will eventually cover all businesses with 50+ staff, requiring disclosure of information on economic situation, employment prospects, and organizational changes.
Payroll Tip: Part of property used for business purposes
When living accommodation is partly used for business purposes, employers calculate the full benefit value but employees can claim a business deduction to reduce the reportable amount. The deduction is typically based on floor area or proportional room usage, as detailed in HMRC Help Sheet IR202.
Feature: Training Evaluation Part 4 – Taking control for ROI
Using control groups to evaluate training ROI involves comparing performance between trained and untrained groups, but requires multiple groups to isolate contributing factors and ensure credibility. This approach has practical limitations, including delayed results and potential bias effects that can undermine evaluation validity.
Blowing the whistle can be hard to do
Whistleblowing on workplace wrongdoing remains challenging despite legal protections, especially in small companies where misconduct may involve senior management. A five-point strategy—explaining issues, encouraging reporting, setting examples, providing support, and maintaining culture—can help organizations create effective whistleblowing policies that protect employees from retaliation.
Review: Secrets of the people whisperer
Perry Wood’s “Secrets of the People Whisperer” offers practical communication techniques across 12 chapters, with actionable exercises designed to improve interpersonal relationships. While the book avoids self-help clichés with genuine insights on conflict resolution and personal boundaries, success requires commitment to implementing the suggested tasks rather than passive reading alone.
Editor’s Comment: Doughnuts, Dementors and Daring!
Charles Handy uses artist Rachel Whitehead’s work to illustrate how organizations can unlock innovation by exploring overlooked opportunities. Drawing parallels between seeing “the space beneath the stairs” and business success, Handy argues that differentiation comes from employees going beyond core responsibilities to pursue creative ideas and meaningful change.
News in Brief: The week in HR – 10/06/05
Britain retained its opt-out from the 48-hour working week following European Parliament negotiations, though the issue faces deferral until 2006. This week’s HR roundup also covers mixed strike statistics, underutilized temporary workers, and workplace challenges around work-life balance and employee theft.
The IT Zone/HR Zone updated guide to payroll software and providers
This updated guide helps UK employers navigate payroll software options and providers as they adapt to mandatory online P35 and P14 filing requirements. It covers key decisions including Inland Revenue accreditation, outsourcing versus in-house solutions, and evaluates major suppliers in the marketplace.
HR Zone Briefing #249 – Matching software with HR objectives
Discover how to select and implement HR software that aligns with your business objectives. This briefing covers system selection, cost calculation, and integration strategies to help HR professionals optimize their technology investments.
