Colborn’s Corner: Internal communication – who told you about that?
If you are anything like me you will have been deluged with communication in the past few weeks. And again, like me, I guess most of the election material has gone in the bin, albeit with a very swift cursory glance. Much of my work with clients involves internal communication in one form or another […]
Feature: Beating the bullies
Bullying is most frequently associated with children, however, cases have become increasingly common in the UK workplace; Philip Andrews a Behavioural Psychotherapist looks at the problem and reports on what can be done to manage it. Thirty million working days were lost last year (according to the Health & Safety Executive), as a result of […]
Case Study: Assessment tools help Costa get the right blend
Costa, the UK’s leading coffee store brand, has reduced the turnover of its shop-floor staff by almost 20% after introducing a personality questionnaire to help the company recruit the right people. The questionnaire has proved so successful that Costa has now introduced a separate selection tool for its store managers. Delivered online, it measures personal […]
Feature: Re-engineering the recruitment supply chain
In the first of a three-part series, Kevin Kerrigan, managing director of SHL UK, discusses the pressing need for an evolution in the recruitment supply process, and offers an insight into how HR suppliers, employers and the recruitment community can work together to make the hiring of new employees a more foolproof, measurable and successful […]
Member wire #97 – Living to work or working to live?
================================================================ HR Zone Members Newswire Issue 97 3 May 2005 http://www.hrzone.co.uk ================================================================ SITE HIGHLIGHTS **** SITE HIGHLIGHTS **** SITE HIGHLIGHTS **** 1. Editor’s Comment: Living to work or working to live? 2. The Couch?! Cooks in hells kitchen 3. Stone speaks: Building female networks 4. CSR and beyond: The pope, the EU and the Election […]
HR Tip: Employee handbooks
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: Is the employment handbook that we issue part of the contract of employment? A: I don’t know. If the handbook or the contract of employment or statement of particulars says that it […]
Opinion: Is training really the answer?
Nick Hood, senior London partner of business rescue and recovery specialists Begbies Traynor looks at whether training really is the answer to improving workforce performance. At the end of most job interviews, candidates are encouraged to ask questions about the role on offer. If there’s one question that nearly always comes up, it’s interviewees asking […]
Bosses expect to pay out for pensions
Last year, Adair Turner revealed a pensions shortfall amounting to £57 billion a year; compulsory saving has been touted as one solution to plugging this gap.And according to thomsons online benefits most bosses accept that contributing to workers’ pensions will become a reality in the future and five it would seem is the magic number […]
Editor’s Comment: Living to work or working to live?
We know the score – the pension outlook for most is bleak; Editor’s Comment looks at the option of life long learning as a means for plugging the shortfall. Last October, Adair Turner revealed a pension shortfall of £57 billion a year brought about by a population that lives longer and slowing birth rates; one […]
The Couch?! cooks in hells kitchen
Inspired by the TV programme hells kitchen the Couch?! team would like to hear about your dinner party disasters. Have you ever found the leg of lamb you cooked in the dog basket, cleaned it up and served it? Have you ever had a dinner party and in the chaos of getting ready you put […]
Study offers innovation lessons for leaders
A new report reveals that when it comes to creating new products and services, business, leaders play the most important role of all.Leadership for Innovation, published by the Advanced Institute of Management (AIM) and supported by the Chartered Management Institute, shows that the relationship between leadership and innovation is a complex but critical one.To be […]
Legal Briefing: Employment Legislation – April 2005
Alison Wallace, head of employment practice at Steptoe & Johnson updates HRZone members on the latest raft of employment legislation. If you’re not on top of it then read on! 1. Implementation of the Employment Relations Act 2004The measures in the Act that came into force on 6 April 2005 include: Amendments to the statutory […]
HR Outsourcing – the issues
Outsourcing part or all of the HR function is something that is considered by many companies; however, ‘outsourcing’ as a term can mean different things to different businesses, so what are the issues that need to be considered? By Barry Rees, Director of People Programmes Ltd What is outsourcing?Outsourcing, at its simplest, is getting work […]
Employment Tribunals – Winning the Case
John Evans, Head of Employment at Coudert Brothers, London looks at recent high-brow cases and explains what is involved and the likely pay-outs. Stephanie Villalba, the Merrill Lynch banker who heard just before Christmas that she had lost her marathon sex discrimination case against her former employer, is appealing the decision. Appeals at Tribunal can […]
Vox Pop: Does increased legislation justify the existence of the HR function?
HRZone tested the HR water by asking key spokespeople including Brendan Barber, TUC General Secretary and Mary Canavan, HR Director at the British Library their views on whether the increased burden of employment law justifies the existence of the HR function; scroll below to see how they and others reacted! The unions’ viewBrendan Barber, TUC […]
Market watch: The outsourcing game
For a long time outsourcing has been the business buzzword of choice. Companies, seeing widespread media coverage on the phenomenon and hearing about the cost benefits of pursuing an outsourcing strategy, may well have thought to jump on the outsourcing bandwagon; John Willmott of BPO analysts, NelsonHall looks at the issues. Take HR outsourcing (HRO). […]
Impact: Six months on from the dispute, grievance and dismissal procedures
On 1 October 2004 at 8.59am the world stopped turning for HR professionals and employers. At 9.01 am there was a collective sigh of breath as they realised that little had changed with the introduction of statutory dismissal, disciplinary (DDPs) and grievance procedures (GPs). Bevans solicitors looks at the impact the new procedures have had […]
Opinion: Should HR consider the ‘Offshoring’ option?
Neil McEwen of PA Consulting, an offshoring expert experienced in setting up service centres in Eastern Europe and India looks at the ‘shall I’ – ‘shan’t I’ arguments. The terms ‘Offshoring’ and ‘Outsourcing’ have tended to be bundled together and viewed rather negatively of late, the rhetoric used in the recent US presidential election is […]
How ‘friendly’ are family policies?
April 2003 marked a new dawn for family friendly policies. Legislation came into force which improved maternity rights, and introduced paid paternity and adoption leave, as well as a statutory right to request flexible working; Melissa Paz, Solicitor in the employment team at Withers LLP rounds-up the rights and obligations and spells out why these […]
I&C ‘how-to-comply’ guidance from Dr Stephen Hardy
Dr Stephen Hardy, Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Manchester unravels the obligations behind the Information and Consultation Regulations and sets out his ‘steps’ for HR compliance. The Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004 (“ICE” Regulations) came into force on 6 April 2005.These Regulations implement the EU Information and Consultation Directive (the […]
