Editor’s Comment: Laissez faire … the best option?
Teambuilding activities like paintballing and obstacle courses aim to boost motivation and unity, but do they actually work? This editor explores whether traditional motivational tools deliver results or if a hands-off “laissez-faire” management approach works better.
News in Brief: The week in HR – 27/05/05
This week’s HR news roundup covers BBC strike suspension over job cuts, UK pay settlements declining to 3%, and Labour’s planned workplace reforms including statutory paid bank holidays and tighter agency worker controls.
What will losing the opt-out really mean?
The UK’s opt-out from the EU’s 48-hour working week directive faces threat from European Parliament members, potentially forcing industries like hospitality, finance, and emergency services to hire additional staff and raise prices. Gordon Brown champions workplace flexibility against “old fashioned” European labor protections, but losing the opt-out could significantly impact businesses relying on extended hours.
What’s the answer? Buying and selling holidays
Learn how to implement a buy-and-sell holiday scheme for employees. Expert advice covers legal requirements, administration, staff benefits, and important considerations like maintaining statutory minimum leave and handling carryover policies.
HR Practitioner’s Diary: Scoring on the golf course
Sue Kingston, an HR practitioner, successfully coordinated an internal recruitment reshuffle for a client needing a PA replacement. By identifying and promoting existing staff through a chain of internal moves, she delivered a cost-effective solution that avoided agency fees while developing three employees and satisfying all stakeholders.
Performing under pressure – New ways of managing stress
Learn practical strategies for managing modern workplace stress through proper nutrition and hydration. Expert advice covers body care, immune system support, and avoiding stimulants like caffeine and sugar that compound stress levels.
Legal round-up: Healthy and Safety obligations explained
Employers have a legal duty of care to ensure workplace safety through risk assessments, safe equipment and systems, and proper training. Key obligations include preparing health and safety policies, displaying required notices, reporting incidents, and monitoring working conditions to prevent injuries and work-related illnesses.
Health and Safety myths revealed
Employers across the country are unknowingly breaking health and safety laws due to common misconceptions about their legal responsibilities. Experts debunk myths including false beliefs about stress prosecution, accident reporting requirements, temperature regulations, and shared safety duties between employers and employees.
HR Zone Healthcare Supplement – Why PMI is the Top Benefit
Healthcare has become the top employee benefit, surpassing company cars in popularity. This supplement explores key healthcare trends, compliance obligations, and why private medical insurance (PMI) matters for competitive reward packages in today’s tight labor market.
Do healthcare benefits really boost the bottom line?
Healthcare benefits can boost employee morale, productivity, and retention while reducing sickness absence. Three HR experts discuss how companies from various sectors implement cost-effective health programs to improve both staff well-being and business performance.
Corporate Manslaughter – an end to getting away with murder?
Proposed Corporate Manslaughter legislation aims to hold companies accountable for workplace deaths by eliminating the need to identify a single “controlling mind.” While unlikely to dramatically increase convictions, the new law addresses longstanding prosecution challenges that have allowed negligent companies to escape justice for preventable fatalities.
The ‘neurosis’ affliction – screening in the workplace
UK workplaces are increasingly adopting health screening programs similar to US practices, driven by rising obesity rates, longer working lives, and government pressure to reduce NHS costs. While preventive screening offers long-term benefits, implementation faces challenges including NHS accessibility and upfront funding concerns.
Vox Pop: Is prevention really better than cure?
Healthcare prevention strategies can reduce absence rates, stress, and staff turnover by addressing root causes like work-related illness before they occur. Industry experts debate whether preventive measures are truly cost-effective, with health and safety leaders emphasizing sensible risk management and HR professionals highlighting improved morale and retention as key benefits.
Getting healthy: how to raise the call to action
Employers can combat rising health costs and absenteeism by promoting workplace fitness. Research shows effective workouts require just 30 minutes, five times weekly, and corporate gym memberships remove barriers to exercise participation.
Opinion: Presenteeism and stress – the new epidemic?
Presenteeism—employees working while too ill to do so—creates a paradox for employers trying to reduce sickness absence while tackling workplace stress. Expert analysis explores how conflicting management strategies damage worker health and examines solutions requiring cultural change from senior leadership.
Healthcare: What’s the cost of mis-management?
Poor management in healthcare carries significant financial and legal consequences, including Employment Tribunal awards up to £56,800 for dismissal cases, unlimited discrimination claims, and HSE fines averaging £15,000 or higher. Stress-related claims now exceed £50,000 on average, while regulatory non-compliance can result in prohibition notices that devastate profitability.
Open all hours: The working impact
Liberalised licensing laws set to take effect this November will impact workplace dynamics as employees stay out longer, raising concerns about alcohol abuse, safety risks, and health-related absences that employers must address through proper policies and duty of care obligations.
Q&A: HRZone talks ‘healthcare’ with BUPA
Healthcare has overtaken company cars as the top employee benefit in the UK, with private medical insurance (PMI) increasingly popular across sectors. BUPA’s Ann Greenwood explains how PMI appeals to employees of all ages while helping employers reduce absence, and discusses its growing role in attracting and retaining talent.
Applying ergonomics to improve health
Ergonomics in the workplace can significantly reduce musculoskeletal disorders and work-related stress, which affect over 1.1 million UK workers annually. By adjusting equipment, furniture, and environment to suit individual needs, employers can prevent aches, pains, and stress-related absences while improving productivity and health outcomes.
HR Tip: Managing staff with criminal records
Employers cannot dismiss an employee solely for having a criminal record if they have completed one year of service. Spent convictions—those reaching a certain age threshold—legally never occurred, and dismissal based on them is unfair. Employers should implement standard monitoring systems for all staff handling money rather than targeting individuals with criminal histories.
